"You expect me to believe that Aymar himself was willing to relegate his marriage to I know not what epoch? He knows how long those matters take." She looked keenly at her granddaughter and again receiving no answer, said: "Then you must have shown him pretty plainly what your feelings were about it."
"I did," said Avoye, goaded, "but they were not what you think."
"You mean to tell me that you did not deter him?"
"I said I would marry him to-morrow if he had the dispensation."
"Oho!" said her grandmother. "So much warmth—after so much scrupulosity! And in the face of that, Aymar—Aymar—still hung back!"
"He had his reasons," said Avoye, very low. "I did not endorse them."
"So you say. If I am to believe that I must know what they were."
But Avoye shook her head obstinately.
"Perhaps he had discovered that he was not your only admirer? Aymar is somewhat exclusive."
"You can think that if you like," replied her granddaughter scornfully.