But she shut her gloved hand over his mouth.
"Stop!" she cried. "Hush, dear. You have brought me the greatest happiness of my life."
Then under her breath, her eyes wide and thoughtful, she murmured:
"A capitulation and not a triumph, and I have won a victory by surrendering."
"Hey—what?" demanded Jadwin. "I didn't hear."
"Never mind," she answered. "It was nothing. 'The world is all before us where to choose,' now, isn't it? And this big house and all the life we have led in it was just an incident in our lives—an incident that is closed."
"Looks like it, to look around this room," he said, grimly. "Nothing left but the wall paper. What do you suppose are in these boxes?"
"They're labelled 'books and portieres.'"
"Who bought 'em I wonder? I'd have thought the party who bought the house would have taken them. Well, it was a wrench to see the place and all go so dirt cheap, and the 'Thetis', too, by George! But I'm glad now. It's as though we had lightened ship." He looked at his watch. "That hack ought to be here pretty soon. I'm glad we checked the trunks from the house; gives us more time."
"Oh, by the way," exclaimed Laura, all at once opening her satchel. "I had a long letter from Page this morning, from New York. Do you want to hear what she has to say? I've only had time to read part of it myself. It's the first one I've had from her since their marriage."