Fay happened to be in one of her unresponsive moods. "She is going to Scotland," she said.
"I know she is; but she will not find Scotland as bracing as Bythesea. In fact, I always think the Macdonalds' place decidedly relaxing."
"Well, she had her choice. She could have come with us if she had wanted to. You asked her."
It occurred to me that perhaps Fay was a little hurt at Annabel's having preferred, for the time being, the Macdonalds' society to ours; so I hastened to put this right. "You mustn't misjudge Annabel, my darling, and think that her refusal to go with us to Bythesea shows any want of affection for you, or any lack of appreciation of your dear society, because I know it really isn't so."
"I never thought anything of the kind," replied Fay, and her usually gay voice sounded a little flat.
"I expect that it was really her unselfishness that made her refuse to come with us. Annabel always puts other people's pleasure before her own. She evidently thought we should enjoy a bit of time to ourselves."
"Well, we shall, shan't we?"
I agreed with Fay to the bottom of my heart; but I would not let her see that I did. I felt it would be disloyal to Annabel. "Of course we shall, darling; but we should also have enjoyed it if Annabel had been there, and I could not bear to feel that we took our pleasure at the expense of hers."
"Still, she may think that a change of society is rather jolly sometimes. You are always such a one for sending out whole families together, Reggie, as if they were in Noah's Ark."
"I am sure Annabel would not think that as far as you and I are concerned," I answered; "she loves to be with us."