“It was very good.”

“I thought it would please you.”

Miss Barfoot drew nearer, and added,—

“It was addressed to you. It seemed to me that you had forgotten how I really thought about these things.”

“I have been ill-tempered,” Rhoda replied. “Obstinacy is one of my faults.”

“It is.”

Their eyes met.

“I believe,” continued Rhoda, “that I ought to ask your pardon. Right or wrong, I behaved in an unmannerly way.”

“Yes, I think you did.”

Rhoda smiled, bending her head to the rebuke.