Her voice was steady, but the hands in her lap were clenched.
"With Ed miles away, t'other side of Winnipeg, he might just as well be in the old country for all the good he can be to you. You might naturally be a bit scared to find yourself alone with a man you don't know."
"I'm not the nervous sort."
"You did give me a fright, though," said Nora, with a laugh, "when I asked you if you'd take me. I suppose it was only about fifteen seconds before you answered, but it seemed like ten minutes. I thought you were going to refuse. How Gertie would have gloated!"
"I was thinking."
"I see. Counting up my good points and balancing them against my bad ones."
"N-o-o-o: I was thinking you wouldn't have asked me like that if you hadn't of despised me."
Nora caught her breath sharply, but her manner lost none of its lightness.
"I don't know what made you think that."