“It was a very clever whim,” said Lilias, with a laugh. “You outshone them all. I shouldn’t be surprised if plain muslin frocks became the fashionable evening wear next season. What a relief it was to the glitter and the glare!” She looked at the slight figure admiringly. “You look such a girl to-night!” she said.
“And I feel so very, very old,” said Esmeralda, almost to herself. Then she started slightly, and drew back from the window. “There is some one down there on the terrace,” she said.
Lilias looked out.
“It is Trafford or Norman,” she said.
“It is Trafford,” said Esmeralda.
“Yes, so I see,” said Lilias.
“Love’s eyes are quick,” said Esmeralda in a low voice and with a smile. “You would have recognized Norman, would you not?”
There was a gentle significance in the question which brought the color to Lilias’s face. Esmeralda said no more, and both girls stood in silence and watched the solitary figure pacing up and down between them; then Lilias kissed Esmeralda.
“I must not keep you up, dear,” she said. “I am so happy to-night! I think it is because you are here—because I have found a sister to love and to love me.”