CHAPTER XLII

tIsupposedtherewasn’tanychanceforyou,soIputitoutofmymind.NowIhadtofaceit—youwereundersentenceofdeathandIcouldn’tlivewithoutyou.WhenIcamehomelastnightIhadmadeupmymindthatI’dtakeyoutoallthespecialistsintheworld—thatsomethingsurelycouldbedoneforyou.Ifeltsureyoucouldn’tbeasbadasDr.Trentthought,whenthosemomentsonthetrackhadn’tevenhurtyou.AndIfoundyournote—andwentmadwithhappiness—andalittleterrorforfearyoudidn’tcaremuchforme,afterall,andhadgoneawaytogetridofme.Butnow,it’sallright,isn’tit,darling?” Wasshe,Valancybeingcalled“darling”? “Ican’tbelieveyoucareforme,”shesaidhelplessly.“Iknowyoucan’t.What’stheuse,Barney?Ofcourse,you’resorryforme—ofcourseyouwanttodothebestyoucantostraightenoutthemess.Butitcan’tbestraightenedoutthatway.Youcouldn’tloveme—me.”Shestoodupandpointedtragicallytothemirroroverthemantel.Certainly,notevenAllanTierneycouldhaveseenbeautyinthewoeful,haggardlittlefacereflectedthere. Barneydidn’tlookatthemirror.HelookedatValancyasifhewouldliketosnatchher—orbeather. “Loveyou!Girl,you’reintheverycoreofmyheart.Iholdyoutherelikeajewel.Didn’tIpromiseyouI’dnevertellyoualie?Loveyou!Iloveyouwithallthereisofmetolove.Heart,soul,brain.Everyfibreofbodyandspiritthrillingtothesweetnessofyou.There’snobodyintheworldformebutyou,Valancy.” “You’re—agoodactor,Barney,”saidValancy,withawanlittlesmile. Barneylookedather. “Soyoudon’tbelieveme—yet?” “I—cant.” “Oh—damn!”saidBarneyviolently. Valancylookedupstartled.ShehadneverseenthisBarney.Scowling!Eyesblackwithanger.Sneeringlips.Dead-whiteface. “Youdon’twanttobelieveit,”saidBarneyinthesilk-smoothvoiceofultimaterage.“You’retiredofme.Youwanttogetoutofit—freefromme.You’reashamedofthePillsandtheLiniment,justasshewas.YourStirlingpridecan’tstomachthem.Itwasallrightaslongasyouthoughtyouhadn’tlongtolive.Agoodlark—youcouldputupwithme.ButalifetimewitholdDocRedfern’ssonisadifferentthing.Oh,Iunderstand—perfectly.I’vebeenverydense—butIunderstand,atlast.” Valancystoodup.Shestaredintohisfuriousface.Then—shesuddenlylaughed. “Youdarling!”shesaid.“Youdomeanit!Youdoreallyloveme!Youwouldn’tbesoenragedifyoudidn’t.” Barneystaredatherforamoment.Thenhecaughtherinhisarmswiththelittlelowlaughofthetriumphantlover. UncleBenjamin,whohadbeenfrozenwithhorroratthekeyhole,suddenlythawedoutandtiptoedbacktoMrs.FrederickandCousinStickles. “Everythingisallright,”heannouncedjubilantly. DearlittleDoss!Hewouldsendforhislawyerrightawayandalterhiswillagain.Dossshouldbehissoleheiress.Toherthathadshouldcertainlybegiven. Mrs.Frederick,returningtohercomfortablebeliefinanoverrulingProvidence,gotoutthefamilyBibleandmadeanentryunder“Marriages.”