"Oh, Sara, how cold your hands are!"
She grasped them in her own and fondly stroked them, as if to restore warmth to the long, slim fingers which gave the lie to Mrs. Coburn's declarations.
"I've been thinking all morning of what you and Brandon proposed to me last night, dear," said Sara, looking straight over the girl's head, the dark, languorous, mysterious glow filling her eyes. "It is good of you both to want me, but—"
"Now don't say 'but,' Sara," cried Hetty. "We mean it, and you must let us have our way."
"It would be splendid to be near you all the time, dear; it would be wonderful to live with you as you so generously propose, but I cannot do it. I must decline."
"And may I ask why you decline to live with me?" demanded Hetty resentfully.
"Because I love you so dearly," said Sara.