“A great responsibility devolves on the best man, Miss Van Norman,” he said, in response to a chaffing remark of hers. “I suppose that to-morrow I shall be general director-in-chief, and if anything should go wrong, I shall be blamed.”
“But nothing will go wrong,” said Madeleine, gaily, “and then, think how you’ll be praised!”
“Ah, but you won’t be here to hear the praise heaped upon me, so what’s the use?”
“No, I shall be gone forever,” said Madeleine, putting on one of her faraway looks. “I never want to come back to Mapleton. I hate it!”
“Why, Miss Van Norman! You want to desert this beautiful old house? Schuyler can never find you a home so comfortable and attractive in every way.”
“I don’t care. I want to go far away from Mapleton to live. We’re going to travel for a year, any way, but when we do settle down, it will be abroad, I hope.”
“You surprise me. Schuyler didn’t tell me this. We’ve been chums so long, that I usually know of his plans. But, of course, getting married changes all that.”
“You’re a very intimate friend of Mr. Carleton’s, aren’t you?” said Madeleine, with a strange note of wistfulness in her voice.
“Yes, I am. Why?”
“Oh, nothing; I only thought—I mean, do you think——”