"I never realised how much I liked this place before," she said.
"Isn't it odd? I have been actually happy here—and I didn't know it."
"You are not happy to-night," said Grange.
She did not attempt to contradict him. "I think I am rather tired," she said.
"I don't think that is quite all," he returned, with quiet conviction.
She moved, turning slightly towards him; but she said nothing, though he obviously waited for some response.
For awhile he was discouraged, and silence fell again upon them. Then at length he braced himself for an effort. For all his shyness he was not without a certain strength.
"Miss Roscoe," he said, "do you remember how you once promised that you would always regard me as a friend?"
She turned fully towards him then, and he saw her face dimly in the starlight. He thought she looked very pale.
"I do," she said simply.
In a second his diffidence fell away from him. He realised that the ground on which he stood was firm. He bent towards her.