They gazed at each other like two fencers, for a moment; then Juliet sprang up, and held out her arms. He clasped her, and kissed her hair, her face, her bare white neck. Something he held in his hand, out of her sight behind his back, fell to the floor. She started at the sound, and he let her go, laughing like his old self.
"'History repeats'!" he exclaimed. "Do you remember the little box I brought you, with its blobby seals? Well, I have another sealed box for you to-night. You're to open it as you opened that one, and you will find the same thing inside. Only, it will be the same thing with a difference."
He picked up the packet from the floor, and handed it to Juliet with a flourish. "Voilà, Madame! Les plus belles chases, pour la plus belle dame."
"The pearls!" Juliet breathed.
"The pearls!" echoed Pat.
The girl was thrilled. How could she have hated the things so angrily an hour ago? Her whole mood concerning them and concerning life had changed under Pat's kisses. She was going to love his pearls for his sake, and the sake of their own romance!
"Why, the seals haven't been broken!" she exclaimed, as she took the box.
"No, I was determined you and you alone should do the breaking."
"But—didn't the messenger insist?"
"He did. Two can play at that game, though!"