She felt her pulses give a swift leap at the question, but with a hasty effort she kept down her rising colour. "Of course not!" she said.
He gave her a brief smile of approval. "Then you will sit in front with me, Vera. That is settled. Let us have no more argument!"
"It's too bad!" Vera declared stormily on the verge of indignant tears.
"My dear," he said, "don't be silly! Has it never occurred to you that I may like to have my wife to myself occasionally?"
It evidently had not, for Vera gave him a look of sheer amazement and yielded the point as if she had no breath left for further discussion.
He settled her in her place, and tucked the rug around her with more than usual care. As he finished, she leaned forward and touched his shoulder with a slightly uncertain smile.
He glanced up. "All right?"
"Quite, thank you," she said.
And Juliet in the back-seat drew a breath of relief. The squire was becoming quite an adept at the game.
They shot down the avenue at a speed that brought them very rapidly in sight of the gates. A figure was waiting there, and again Juliet was conscious of the hard beating of her heart. Then she knew that the car was stopping, and looked forth with an impersonal smile of welcome.