She rose to her feet, but found him standing in the way. For once the long humorous mouth was set fast, his eyes were no longer full of the shadow of laughter, his tone had a new note in it, the note which a woman never fails to understand.
"Dear Lady Caroom," he said, "I was not altogether jesting."
She looked him in the eyes.
"Dear friend," she answered, "I know that you were not, and so I think that we had better go back."
He detained her very gently.
"It is the dearest hope I have in life," he said, softly. "Do not let me run the risk of being misunderstood. Will you be my wife?"
She shook her head. There were tears in her eyes, but her gesture was significant enough.
"It is impossible," she said. "I have loved another man all my life."
He offered her his arm at once.
"Then I believe," he said, in a low tone, "in the old saying—that a glimpse of paradise is sufficient to blind the strongest man…."