"My dear--my darling!" said Ralph, tenderly, and Audrey saw how lean and anxious his face looked. "I have been worrying about you all the night."
"You needn't have," said Audrey, as they walked down the lane. "I have been all right, and the sleep has done me a lot of good. But you can worry about me now, Ralph, because I am dreadfully hungry, and want my breakfast."
"What!" Shawe was rather indignant. "Hasn't Madame Coralie given you food?"
Audrey shook her head. "She suggested that I should breakfast with you, since you refused to go away without seeing me. I could have got food in the house had I chosen. But, Ralph"--she put her arm in his confidentially--"I agreed to see you because I have much to say."
"What is it? Any new discovery?"
"Yes, and a very important one. But I can't talk until I have eaten. Remember, dear, I have had nothing in the way of food since dinner last night, and I have undergone a great deal."
"You poor darling!" cried Ralph, with great compunction. "You shan't say another word until you have had breakfast. I shall have mine also, for, to tell you the truth, Audrey, I could eat nothing this morning. Now that I have seen you my appetite is reviving."
He proved this at the sumptuous meal they ordered at the restaurant in High Street. It was an excellent place with an excellent cook, and the two young people chose exactly the dishes they enjoyed most. In the middle of the meal Audrey laughed, as it struck her as strange that people so troubled as they were could eat and drink so freely.
"No one would think that I was a pauper turned out of house and home by a hard-hearted father," said Audrey, smiling.
"I am glad you see the humour of it," said Ralph, drily.