"And there seems no possibility of getting hold—" one or two words were murmured inaudibly. "Always something in the way—preventing—"
"Why, Ned!" she all but exclaimed. "You haven't tried!" Happily she checked the words.
"It seems no use trying," he went on, with a touch of dejection. "I cannot get hold of her or make her understand. She slips away as soon as I appear on the scene—or at least, as soon as—" He left the sentence unfinished, and Magda could supply the missing words. "You must have noticed! And I thought I would have it out with you, and ask your help. You can put things right for me."
Once launched, he found it easy to proceed; and he did not observe her silence, nor the averted face.
"I believe I have had it in my mind from the first moment that I saw her again—you know! When I met her in the garden, on my way to find you. I believe I went in, over head and ears, there and then. She is the sort of sunny-tempered darling that does take hold of a man! But she was so young, I didn't venture to say anything. It was wiser to wait. However—I spoke to your father and mother a few weeks ago, when I was down in Burwood, and they gave their consent. The difficulty now is to get hold of Merryl. I seem to have no chance. You see—"
He paused again and had no response. Perhaps he hardly expected one yet, as he had not finished. Magda was in the thick of a fierce conflict which rendered her voiceless.
So Ned was not in love with her! He did not want her! He was in love with another—and that other was Merryl. Merryl—of all people! The younger sister—the quiet little useful nonentity—Merryl, who was not clever, nor charming, nor really good-looking—Merryl, who had no conversational gifts, no particular talents or powers—Merryl who was so far inferior intellectually to Magda herself! Yet here was Ned Fairfax, her friend!—professing himself to be deep in love with Merryl. Not only so; but calmly asking her to help forward his suit! A passion of wrath had possession of Magda—wrath towards Merryl, and wrath towards Ned.
"You see," he went on, "she seems to have got it into her head that she is an intruder if you and I are together. And that, of course, is absurd. I want her to understand."
"You want me to make love to Merryl for you!" Magda spoke with a curt laugh.
"Well, no—not exactly." Ned took this as a joke—a rather ill-timed joke in his opinion—but he echoed her laugh good-naturedly. "What I want you to do is to make her understand that she is not in the way—that she never can be in the way—that it is her dear little self that I want—always!"