“No, sir; my shoes are thick, and thoroughly protect them.”
She paused before him, and, in her soft, brown eyes, he saw a strange, unwonted restlessness,—an eager expectancy that surprised and disturbed him.
“Are you at leisure this morning?”
“Do you need my services immediately?”
She answered evasively; and he noticed that she glanced anxiously toward the road leading into town.
“You will greatly oblige me, if some time during the day, you will be so good as to superintend the preparation of some 399 calves’-feet jelly, for one of my poor patients. I would not trouble you, but Rachel is quite sick, and the new cook does not understand the process. May I depend upon you?”
“Certainly, sir; it will afford me pleasure to prepare the jelly.”
Looking more closely at her face, he saw undeniable traces of recent tears, and drew her arm through his.
“I hope you will not deem me impertinently curious if I beg you to honor me with your confidence, and explain the anxiety which is evidently preying upon your mind.”
Embarrassment flushed her transparent cheek, and her shy eyes glanced up uneasily.