It was the first time he had alluded to his marriage, and she answered with an arch smile:
"Oh, yes! I dare say I might guess very accurately. It would not require Yankee ingenuity."
She examined the jewels, and, after giving an opinion as to their superiority, turned to go, saying:
"I want to see you a few moments before you leave the city. I am going home immediately, and any time during the day, when you can call, will answer."
He looked curious, glanced at his watch, pondered an instant, and promised to call in an hour.
She bowed and returned home, with an almost intolerable weight on her heart. She sat with her face buried in her hands, collecting her thoughts, and, when summoned to meet Eugene, went down with a firm heart, but trembling frame. It was more than probable that she would be misconstrued and wounded, but she determined to hazard all, knowing how pure were the motives that actuated her. He seemed restless and ill at ease, yet curious withal, and, after some trifling commonplace remarks, Beulah seated herself on the sofa beside him, and said:
"Eugene, why have you shunned me so pertinaciously since your return from Europe?"
"I have not shunned you, Beulah; you are mistaken. I have been engaged, and therefore could visit but little."
"Do not imagine that any such excuses blind me to the truth," said she, with an impatient gesture.
"What do you mean?" he answered, unable to bear the earnest, troubled look of the searching eyes.