He spoke the simple truth, she knew; he was incapable of doing anything else. A great wave of thankfulness went through her, obliterating the worst of her misery.
"I am so glad," she told him weakly. "I was--so dreadfully afraid. I--I had to go with her, Mr. Studley. I do hope everyone understands."
"Everyone does," he made answer gently. "Now let me give you this, and then you must sleep too."
She drank from the cup he held, and felt revived.
He did not speak again till she had finished; then he leaned slightly towards her, and spoke with great earnestness. "Miss Bathurst, do you realize, I wonder, that you saved my sister's life by going with her? I do; and I shall never forget it."
She was sure now that she caught the gleam of tears in the grey eyes. She slipped her hands out to him. "I only did what I could," she murmured confusedly. "Anyone would have done it. And please, Mr. Greatheart, will you call me Dinah?"
"Or Mercy?" he suggested smiling, her hands clasped close in his.
She smiled back with shy confidence. The memory of her dream was in her mind, but she could not tell him of that.
"No," she said. "Just Dinah. I'm not nice enough to be called anything else. And thank you--thank you for being so good to me."
"My dear child," he made quiet reply, "no one who really knows you could be anything else."
"Oh, don't you think they could?" said Dinah wistfully. "I wish there were more people in the world like you."
"No one ever thought of saying that to me before," said Scott.