forgiveness an excellent thing in woman? None of us are quite
perfect. The guardian angel of Grindley junior seized the
opportunity.

That evening Solomon Appleyard sat upright in his chair, feeling
confused. So far as he could understand it, a certain young man, a
grocer's assistant, but not a grocer's assistant--but that, of
course, was not his fault, his father being an old brute--had
behaved most abominably; but not, on reflection, as badly as he
might have done, and had acted on the whole very honourably, taking
into consideration the fact that one supposed he could hardly help
it. Helvetia was, of course, very indignant with him, but on the
other hand, did not quite see what else she could have done, she
being not at all sure whether she really cared for him or whether
she didn't; that everything had been quite proper and would not
have happened if she had known it; that everything was her fault,
except most things, which weren't; but that of the two she blamed
herself entirely, seeing that she could not have guessed anything
of the kind. And did he, Solomon Appleyard, think that she ought
to be very angry and never marry anybody else, or was she justified
in overlooking it and engaging herself to the only man she felt she
could ever love?

"You mustn't think, Dad, that I meant to deceive you. I should
have told you at the beginning--you know I would--if it hadn't all
happened so suddenly."

"Let me see," said Solomon Appleyard, "did you tell me his name, or
didn't you?"