feared bad news. walter might have taken a lover, and the letter might beg her understanding. perhaps he had married a german girl, and wrote to ask her to keep the earlier marriage secret forever. worst of all, perhaps he had started divorce proceedings.

she tore open the envelope.

she read:

my dearest darling,

it is winter in germany and in my heart. i cannot tell you how much i love you and how badly i miss you.

her eyes filled with tears. "oh!" she said. "oh, mr. dewar, thank you for bringing this!"

he took a tentative step closer to her. "there, there," he said. he patted her arm.

she tried to read the rest of the letter but she could not see the words on the paper. "i'm so happy," she wept.

she dropped her head to gus's shoulder, and he put his arms around her. "it's all right," he said.

maud gave in to her feelings and began to sob.