"I shall love that," said Dinah.
He took her into a room that overlooked terrace and river-valley and the sunny southern slope that lay between.
Breakfast was laid for two, and a cheery fire was burning. "How cosy it looks!" said Dinah.
"It does, doesn't it?" said Scott. "We always breakfast here in the winter for that reason. Not that it is winter to-day. It is glorious spring. You seem to have brought it with you. Take the coffee-pot end, won't you? What will you have to eat?"
He spoke with a lightness that Dinah found peculiarly exhilarating. He was evidently determined that she should not be dull. Her spirits rose. She suddenly felt like a child who has been granted an unexpected holiday.
She smiled up at him as he brought her a plate. "Isn't it a perfect morning? I'm so glad to be here. Don't let us waste a single minute; will we?"
"Not one," said Scott.
He went to his own place. He was plainly in a holiday mood also. She saw it in his whole bearing, and her heart rejoiced. It was so good to see him looking happy.
"Have you seen Isabel this morning?" he asked her presently.
"No. I went to her door, but Biddy said she was asleep, so I didn't go in."