There are other men in the
world."
When Orin had gone, Milly stood turning over and over in her hand the
roll of bills he had given her. Then she spread them out upon the
table, counting them and gloating over them, with a delight which arose
quite as largely from her foretaste of John's pleasure and the joy of
having helped to cause it, as it did from mere love of money. She had
just taken the precious roll to put it away, when her lover himself
appeared.
John Stanton was really of more kindly disposition than might have been
inferred from his misunderstanding with his betrothed. He had been half
a dozen weeks coming to his right mind, but whatever he did he did
thoroughly, and in the end he had reached a point where he was willing
to acknowledge himself wrong, and to make whatever amends lay in his
power. He came in to-night with the determined air of one who has made
up his mind to get through a disagreeable duty as speedily as possible.
Milly opened the door for him, and stood back to let him pass; she had
learned in these weeks of their estrangement to restrain the
manifestation of her joy at his coming. It was with so great a rush of
blissful surprise that she now found herself suddenly caught up into
his arms, that she clung closely to his neck for one joyful instant,
and then burst into a passion of weeping.
"There, there," her lover said, caressing her; "don't cry, Milly.
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