But he went slowly, and at the door he paused.

He turned to her smiling.

'And you give me your blessing ?' he asked.
He was most endearing when he smiled so.

It was a smile like a child's, that caressed and cajoled, and that saw through its own cajolery and pleaded, with a little wistfulness, that there was more than could show itself, behind.

Helen knew what was behind--the sense of strangeness, the affection and the touch of fear.