Louise Hansbury was the daughter of Davenport Carstairs' only sister, now deceased. Since the death of her mother,—her father had died when she was a small child,—the girl had made her home with this adoring uncle. She possessed a somewhat meagre fortune,—sufficient to guarantee independence, however, if she chose to care for herself,—-a circumstance that would have excited resistance in Davenport Carstairs had it ever come up for discussion.
“How are you, dearest?” inquired the young officer, holding her off to look anxiously, searchingly into her eyes. The colour of health was just beginning to flow in her cheeks.
“Gorgeous,” she replied, her eyes agleam with love and happiness.
“Go slow,” he said gently. “Don't tax yourself too much. It's a serious job, this business of getting well.”
“But I am well, you goose. I never felt better in my life.”
“You never were more beautiful,” he said softly.
“I'd much rather hear you say that than something really serious,” she cried, smiling divinely into his dazzled eyes.
“You've had pneumonia,” he said sternly, after the moment it took to regain a temporarily lost air of authority. “Mighty sick you've been, darling,—and—”
“And I'm not to get my feet wet, or sit in a draft, or—Very good, Captain! Orders is orders, sir.” She stood off and saluted him with mock solemnity.
“I'm so glad you came early, Derrol,” she cried, abruptly abandoning her frivolous air. “I've—I've wanted you so much. This has been a long—oh, an age, dear. You knew that poor Hodges was killed by an automobile, didn't you? I never know what I put in my letters. And there is all this talk about Belgium being a nest of spies at the outset, and—oh, that would be too much. Sit here with me, Derrol, and—you might hold me close to you,—just for a little while. It—yes, it does give me strength to feel your arms about me.” After a few moments, the troubled look that had been lurking in his eyes for a long time, reappeared. A light frown clouded his brow. He glanced over his shoulder, and, when he spoke, his voice was even lower than it had been before.