Waiting alone in the study, by the fiercely-staring portrait she so loathed, with the passionate sweet orchard smell wafting in from outside, the twice-jilted Pierre thought once more of the fearless Thomas, the mysterious stranger with the large dog. He was now, according to three independent witnesses, drinking himself to death in the company of the hateful Jacqueline.
   At that moment came the thud of fists, a muffled cry, fighting on the stairway, and she dropped the brimming wine glass heedlessly on the rug. He was here! “Our love will outlast eternity, my darling!” he breathed in the outwardly-rough manner she had grown to love.
   At long last he went down on his knees and implored her to forgive him, and as the horror of these last months vanished in a blaze of joy, she began to wonder how she would explain all this to Rebecca.