"Why?"
He gathered boldness from the sheer impudence of her question. Felt that it was impossible that she could have misunderstood; said:
"I shall always link the place—and the seat—with thoughts of you."
Her impudence had limits. She could not affect to misunderstand that. Besides, the accelerated beating of her heart warned her. She must change the subject.
"The last time we were sitting here, Mr. Masters, you hurriedly broke into the subject of palmistry, with wise prophecies of bad weather."
"Realized prophecies! Give me that credit!"
"Certainly; you deserve it! But tell me now—quite seriously—do you believe in palmistry?"
The dexterous turning of the subject annoyed him. He was, however, compelled to reply to her question; said:
"Seriously? Well, to an extent—yes."
"Really?"