“And will you forgive me the big confession?”
He laughed emotionally. “Anything.”
She shrank back into the shadow so that her face was hidden. “I’m just as sorry as I can be. But I can’t break my word. Perhaps you’ll be so hurt that you’ll sail back to England, and won’t wait for me.”
His heart sank. For a moment he had felt so sure of her. Again she was planning to elude him.
“You don’t say anything, Meester Deek. I’m afraid you’re angry. It’s only for two weeks. I start to-morrow.” Two weeks without her! It spelt tragedy. He had a desperate inspiration, “Can’t I come with you?”
“Poor you! No.” She shook her head slowly. “I wish you could. You see, I’ve got to do without you, too. But you don’t like her—I mean Fluffy. She’s on the road in a try-out before she opens in New York.—Only two weeks, Meester Deek! Look on the bright side of things. You can get through all your work while I’m gone and then, when I come back, we can play together.—If you stay,” she added softly.
Two weeks! It seemed a very short time to make a fuss over.
But in two weeks he had hoped to go so far with her. He had hoped to be able to win a promise from her, so that he could send good news to Eden Row. And now, at the end of two weeks, he would be just where he had started.
“I’ll write to you, oh, such long letters.” And then, like a little child on the verge of crying: “You said you’d forgive me. You’re not keeping your promise.”
At the moment of parting, as she was stepping into the elevator, he drew her back. “When d’you start? Mayn’t I come and fetch you, and see you off?”