He could see her through the thin curtain that hid him from view; and as he stood and watched her, he wondered what it was that had the power to call up such an expression to her face.  But as he looked the music suddenly ceased, and Dexie’s face was buried in her hands, and he could hear the sobs that shook her frame.  He longed to speak to her, yet dared not.  He knew he had no right even to witness her emotion, and he turned silently and sadly away.  Could he have been mistaken, after all?  That one brief moment when Dexie had looked into his eyes he felt sure of her love, and his heart had throbbed with joy; and but for that interruption he might even now be holding her against his breast, while he poured into her ears the story of his love.

But her tears and grief seemed a denial of his hopes.  Had thoughts of her absent lover given her that glorified look on which he had based his hopes?

If Guy Traverse had been permitted to read a part of the letter which Dexie penned that evening before retiring, he would not have waited so long before testing the value of his hopes, for he would have guessed the meaning of the words sent to “the lover over the sea.”

“I have thought several times lately that you are not so open and frank with me as you used to be.  Are you keeping something from me, Lancy?  I wonder if you have found out the truth of the words I said to you in Halifax.  Do not forget that it was to be ‘honor bright’ between us.  I am beginning to hope that my surmises are correct, but I know it is hardly fair to force a confession from you that I shrink from making myself.  It may be true that ‘open confession is good for the soul,’ but I find it is particularly mortifying to the body.

“But I have been talking to you through the piano to-night, Lancy, and I must set down in writing a little of what is in my mind, for I have to confess to you, Lancy, that I can no longer honestly keep the ring that has stood ‘for a sign between me and thee.’  Now, do not mistake me, dear Lancy.  I have heard no word of love from any man’s lips since I left you, but for all that I have met someone that will always stand between you and me, and I really have little to tell you, only that under the conditions I cannot keep the ring any longer.  Will you release me from any promise I may have given you, and tell me truly if you are not pleased that I asked for the release?  You must not think that I have ceased to care for you, for there are times, when I am at the piano, that I would give all I ever possessed to have you beside me, and I have missed you more than I can tell.  I see now that more than one kind of love can find room in the heart at one and the same time.  Now, Lancy, if I have made a mistake in thinking that you may have had the same experience as myself, and this confession of mine grieves you, I will keep my promise still, if you wish it.  I shall look anxiously for your answer.”