“Miss Lundy, please!”
“Well, Miss Lundy then! May I talk to you seriously?”
“I prefer you frivolous,” she murmured. “I like to be amused.”
“I’ll be frivolous enough later on this evening. I’ve been wondering if you’d think it impertinent if I asked you to tell me about your guardian.”
“What do you want to know?” she asked.
“Just who he is, and why he is content to let you live with only an old woman to look after you. It isn’t the best thing in the world for you, is it? I should like to know him, Juliet.”
She shook her head.
“I am sorry,” she said, “I cannot tell you anything.”
There was a short silence. Aynesworth was disappointed, and showed it.
“It isn’t exactly ordinary curiosity,” he continued. “Don’t think that! Only I feel that you need someone who has the right to advise you and look after you. I should like to be your guardian, Juliet!”