Mr. Carruthers drew back, stroked his mustache, and looked at me in quite a different manner.
“You have not lived all your life in the country, Miss Christie, I think,” said he dryly.
And I saw in a moment, by the change in his look and voice, what I had done. He had been making love to me, while I was thinking of nothing but Laurence. I put out my hand to his very gently, and said—
“Don’t be offended with me, Mr. Carruthers. I dare say all you say is true; but I am so fond of him that I cannot help thinking he does love me best.”
I said this just to comfort him, for I could not really have doubted Laurence for the world. He took my hand and kissed it, but not, I thought, as if he cared about it very much, and then he said we had better think about getting back; so he turned the boat round and put up the sail, and, the wind having freshened a little, we got back in a very short time, not talking much; but we were quite good friends again, for my mingled delight and fear amused Mr. Carruthers.
When we landed at the boat-house, the church clock was just chiming the half-hour past one. The lateness of the hour shocked me.
“Never mind,” said he. “They are sure not to have all gone to bed yet. I’ll take you in by a side-door I know, and you shall slip into the library and open a big book before you. And I’ll bring in Cole and one or two others, and say we didn’t know what had become of you; and you can pretend to have fallen asleep over a book.”
“But why should I do all that?” said I. “I haven’t done anything to be ashamed of. You said Lady Mills would not mind.”
“No, of course not, my dear child; I’ll tell Lady Mills all about it. Don’t trouble your head about that. She won’t say a word to you, and you need not say a word to her. But none of the other ladies could have done a thing so unusual as you have in your innocence—and—and Sir Jonas would scold you for your rashness, and say you might have taken cold.”
“But it wouldn’t look innocent to pretend I had never been out at all, Mr. Carruthers. And I wasn’t alone; I was with you—so I was all right. I dare say Lady Mills has not gone to bed yet. I’ll go and see.”