He held it with a tremulous lingering grasp.

'God bless you, Agnes!' he said in faltering tones, with his eyes on the ground.

Her face flushed again, and the next instant turned paler than ever; she knew his heart as well as he knew it himself--she was too distressed to speak.

He lifted her hand to his lips, kissed it fervently, and, without looking at her again, left the room.

The nurse hobbled after him to the head of the stairs: she had not forgotten the time when the younger brother had been the unsuccessful rival of the elder for the hand of Agnes.