“To-morrow! Does it ever come? I’m leaving to-night. I promised you to-day; you’ve had it.”
“But I want to-morrow as well.”
She shook her head, laughing. “If I gave you to-morrow, you’d ask for the day after. You’re a greedy little boy, never contented.”
“But why must you go?” he asked.
“Because I’m expected. Lorie’s thinking of buying a place called Tree-Tops; it’s at Curious Corner, near a village called Whitesheaves. He’s heard all kinds of splendid things about it. It’s only thirty miles from Oxford, so——.”
“So we’ll meet quite often?”
She crouched her face against her shoulder and kept him waiting. “If you don’t try to kiss me,” she said. And then, seeing that he was going to be melancholy, “You never know your luck. Cheer up!”
At the barges, when they had stepped out, Peter remembered. He turned to the barge-man, “Mr. Hardcastle back? I don’t see his punt.”
“‘Asn’t returned as I know of, Mr. Barrington. ‘Ad a lady with ‘im, didn’t ‘e? Any message for ‘im when ‘e comes?”
Peter shook his head. It was growing dusk. Walking up through the meadows, Cherry let him take her hand.