“Why of course not?”
Her neck took on a quite new poise—not new to the man behind her, however.
“I asked you, ‘Why of course not’?” he repeated.
“You know how foolish such a question is.”
“It isn’t foolish. Yourself considered, it’s the most natural question in the world.”
“You never met me before when I was walking with a stranger, and then asked me such a thing.”
“This man’s different. Some one wrote home that you were going to marry him. You can imagine Uncle John! I was sent for from the beach and shipped by the first thing that sailed after my arrival.”
Rosina stopped on the first landing to stare in tranceful astonishment.
“Some one wrote!” she ejaculated faintly. “Who wrote?”
“Never you mind who wrote. Whoever it was set uncle thinking, and I was posted off to look him up.”