Naturally when one is watched one colours up. Who could help it? The Honourable Jim said rather more loudly: "I'll tell you something. You have every symptom about you of a girl who has had a proposal of marriage in the last couple of days. Didn't I see it at lunch? The way you held your head! The new pride in your voice! Something in the very movement of the hand——"
He caught me very gently by the wrist of my left hand as he spoke. I hadn't yet put on my gloves.
"No ring there," said the Honourable Jim, dropping the hand again. "But—Miss Lovelace, child! Will you deny to me that some one has not proposed to you since you and I had tea together?"
At that I could not help thinking of poor Mr. Brace in Paris. He would be coming over at the end of the week to receive the answer which I had not yet had time to think about. I was so amazed at Mr. Burke's perspicacity that I could not help reddening even deeper with pure surprise. The Irishman said softly: "I am answered! Tell me, when are you going over to the Stars and Stripes?"
Good heavens! what an idiotic mistake. He really imagined that the man who had proposed to me was not Mr. Brace, but Mr. Hiram P. Jessop, of Chicago! I protested incoherently: "Why! I only met him last night."
"What is time to love?" laughed Mr. Burke.
"But don't be so ridiculous," I besought him. "This Mr. Jessop has nothing to do with me! He is——" Here the conversation was stopped by the entrance of Mr. Jessop himself.
I think Mr. Hiram P. Jessop soon discovered that Mr. Burke had made up his mind about one thing.
Namely, that he meant to start first from the inn where we'd lunched!
He rose to say good-bye, and to add that he must be "off" so very firmly, and just after he had helped me to another plateful of raspberries drowned in cream.