"
Smiling, and flushing a little, she drew off the silken garment, and the
firelight bathed her softly rounded shoulders and arms in a rosy glow.
He looked at her silently for a minute, until she said again that she
must go, and took a step toward him, smiling down at him and holding out
both hands.
"I don't know how I can spare my friend, when I've just found her," he
said, searching her face with an intentness she found it difficult to
bear. "I suppose I ought not to ask it, but--it's Christmas Eve, you
know--and--you'll give me one more thing to remember--won't you, Nan?"
She bent, like a warm-hearted child, and laid her lips lightly upon his
forehead, but he caught her hands.
"Is that the proper degree for friendship--and you feel that more would
be too much?"
She hesitated; then, as his grasp drew her, she stooped lower, blushing
beautifully, to give the kiss upon his lips. But it was not the breath
of a caress she would have made it. Invalids are sometimes possessed of
unsuspected reserves of strength.
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