Jasper was silent a moment, his eyes wandering round the room in search of the flowers—his flowers. They were nowhere to be seen; but on her bosom were the wild blossoms which Lord Leycester had gathered.
A dark shade crossed his face for a moment, and his hands clinched, but he composed himself. The time would come when she would wear his flowers and his alone—he had sworn it!
He turned to Frank with a smile.
"Are you going to stay at home for long?" he asked.
Frank had withdrawn into the shadow, where he had been watching Stella and Jasper's faces alternately. He started visibly.
"I don't know," he said.
"I hope we shall see a great deal of each other," he said. "I am staying at the Rectory, taking holiday also."
"Thank you," said Frank, but not overjoyously.
Jasper rose.