As my feet first felt the yielding turf beneath them, I stood still, took off my hat, threw back my head and let the warm, white sun burn down upon my skin.
"Oh, my God!" I muttered, "how wonderful this is!"
"And you might have had it always," said Bellwattle.
I looked at her swiftly. There was more than just what she said. In the tone of her voice I detected a thousand things to which my imagination leapt for answer.
"What do you mean?" said I.
"Why did you send Clarissa home?" she asked.
"Why? Because it was her own wish. Because she wanted to go."
"Never tell me you know anything about women again," said she.
"I was not aware that I'd said anything about any woman," I replied, and then I tried hard to think where I had heard that excellently evasive remark before. For the moment I could not trace it. I was, moreover, too interested in what she had yet to say. "Wasn't that a good enough reason?" I added.
She shook her head as she smiled at me.