"And how did you come? I mean when--have you been staying near?"
"I came by this morning's train," he said, "and I walked over; my
luggage follows by the carrier. I enjoyed the walk."
"You must be quite strong again," she said, with a quiet little
gladness. "Mamma--and Dick--will be so glad to see you!"
"They haven't forgotten me?" he asked insanely.
She laughed again.
"They have talked of very little else but you, since you have been gone,
and Dick is like a boy who has lost a schoolfellow."
She said it so frankly that Drake's heart sank.
"Well--I've thought--I've missed you--Dick," he said, stumbling over the
sentence. "Shorne Mills is, as you said, not the kind of place one
forgets in a hurry."
"Did I say that?" she asked. "I don't remember it."
"Ah! but I do," he said. "I remember----"
"Hadn't we better walk on?" she said. "You must be tired, and will be
glad of some tea--or something."
He seemed to notice for the first time that they had been standing, and
they walked on.
Her heart was still beating fast--beating with a new and strange
happiness glowing through her. Only a few minutes ago she had felt so
weary and wretched; the familiar scene, which she loved so dearly, had
seemed flat and dreary and full of melancholy, and now--oh! how lovely
it was! how good it was to look upon!
Why had everything changed so suddenly? Why was every pulse dancing to
the subtle music with which the air seemed full?
The question came to her with a kind of dread and fear; and her eyes,
which shone like stars, grew momentarily troubled and puzzled.
He scarcely dared look at her. The longing to touch her, to take her in
his arms--that longing of passionate love which he had never felt
before--rose imperiously in his heart; but something restrained him. She
was so young, so innocent and girlish that a kind of awe fell upon him.
When, as she walked beside him, the sleeve of her jacket came in contact
with his arm, a thrill ran through him, and he caught his breath.
But he would hold himself in check; not at this moment, when she was
startled by his sudden appearance, would he tell her. It was more than
likely that he would frighten her, and that she would fly from him.
"And is there any news?" he asked.
She looked up as if she had come from a reverie.