“You sketch from nature, I believe, Miss Warren?” he asked, to get the relief of a new subject.
“To please myself, yes.”
“And to please a good many other people as well,” said Mrs. Clarendon. “Ada’s drawings are remarkably good.”
“I should so much like to see your drawing of the cottage at Wood End,” said Kingcote.
“When was that made?” Isabel inquired, with a look of surprise.
Luncheon was announced. As they went to the dining-room, Kingcote explained that he had passed Miss Warren when she was engaged on the sketch, before ever he had thought of living in the cottage.
“Was it that which gave you the idea?” Isabel asked.
“Perhaps it kept the spot in my mind. I was on a walking tour at the time.”
“Not thinking of such a step?”
“No; the idea came subsequently.”