"It is I that ought to beg your pardon for coming so early," said he; "but my time at present is so occupied that I hardly know how to find half an hour for myself; and I thought you would excuse me."
"Oh, certainly," said she; and then sitting down she waited for him to begin.
It would have been clear to any observer, had there been one present, that Mr Maguire had practised his lesson. He could not rid himself of those unmistakable signs of preparation which every speaker shows when he has been guilty of them. But this probably did not matter with Miss Mackenzie, who was too intent on the part she herself had to play to notice his imperfections.
"I saw that you observed, Miss Mackenzie," he said, "that I kept aloof from you on the two last evenings on which I met you at Mrs Stumfold's."
"That's a long time ago, Mr Maguire," she answered. "It's nearly a month since I went to Mrs Stumfold's house."
"I know that you were not there on the last Thursday. I noticed it. I could not fail to notice it. Thinking so much of you as I do, of course I did notice it. Might I ask you why you did not go?"
"I'd rather not say anything about it," she replied, after a pause.
"Then there has been some reason? Dear Miss Mackenzie, I can assure you I do not ask you without a cause."
"If you please, I will not speak upon that subject. I had much rather not, indeed, Mr Maguire."
"And shall I not have the pleasure of seeing you there on next Thursday?"