"I see that you will go to Miss Grant at once," said Mr. Clendon, with a
flicker of a smile, that was not one of irony, but of sympathy.
"By the first train, and as fast as it will take me," said Derrick, with
the note of youth and hope ringing in his voice. "Look here, sir," he
went on, impelled by a strange feeling, "I may as well tell you that
which you have no doubt guessed already. I--I love Miss Grant. It would
be very strange, if I didn't, considering that she's the most beautiful
girl I've ever seen, and all she did for me. All the time I've been away
I've thought of her and longed to see her again. Not a moment of the day
or the waking night----But I beg your pardon, sir, I'm afraid you'll
think me--rather mad."
"Yours is a madness common to youth, and befitting it well," said Mr.
Clendon. "That you should love her is not strange; she is all that you
say of her. Are you sure that you are worthy of her?"
"Good lord, no!" exclaimed Derrick, impetuously. "No man that ever was
born could be worthy of her; no man could see her, be with her five
minutes----Why, do you know, all the while I was talking to you, before
you called her 'Miss' Grant, I was tortured by the dread that has made
many an hour miserable for me, since I saw her last--the dread that some
other man--that she might be married----"
"She is not married," said Mr. Clendon, with a faint smile, "though it
is probable that many men have wanted to marry her."
"I've been thanking God that she is free, ever since I gleaned the fact
from your words," said Derrick. "I'm going down to her at once. May I
tell her that I have seen you, that you gave me her address?"
"You may," said Mr. Clendon. "Miss Grant honours me with her friendship;
I hope, I trust, her affection."
After a pause, he added: "You are staying in England for some time?"
"For some little time," said Derrick, stifling a sigh at the thought of
ever again leaving the girl of his heart.
"May I ask you to come to see me when you return to London?" asked Mr.
Clendon; and his tone, though courteously conventional, was fraught with
a certain earnestness.
"Of course, I will, sir," replied Derrick, promptly. "You have been very
kind to me; you might have answered my question with an abrupt negative,
have refused me the information; instead of which, you have--well, you
have been awfully good to me; you have relieved my mind of a load of
apprehension, and set me in the way of finding Miss Grant. Yes; you have
been very good to me, and I hope you will let me see you again. Besides,
you are a friend of hers, and that's quite enough to make me want to
know more of you."