Cynthia nodded her head. With a smile in which there was irony and a little of her old resentment, she remarked:
"Yes, you have always looked ahead."
Harry replied simply and gravely:
"Always."
"Thank you," said Cynthia.
She thanked him because he was so perfectly honest with her. He admitted--for his words were no less than such an admission--that he had deliberately thought of her because she had money. On the other hand, it was true that he had stood by and left the opportunity open for any one to snatch until he could himself bring something into the partnership. That weighed with her in his favor.
"Will you tell me when you first began to think of me in this way?" she asked with an earnestness which to Harry Rames appeared quite singular. To his direct mind the one question which needed answering was whether she meant to marry him or no.
"Does the exact date matter?"
"Very much."
Rebellion again broke out in Cynthia. "I believe it is quite a usual question for maidens to ask on these occasions. But no doubt I ought to have asked it with a deeper bashfulness."