Louise was for keeping close to her companion, but her brother evidently intended her to have a tête-à-tête encounter with his friend, and she realised directly that Madelaine did not second her efforts. In fact the latter yielded at once to Harry’s manoeuvres, and hung back with him, while Pradelle pressed forward, so that before many minutes had elapsed, the couples, as they walked west, were separated by a space of quite a couple of hundred yards.
“Now I do call that good of you, Maddy,” said Harry eagerly. “You are, and you always were, a dear good little thing.”
“Do you think so?” she said directly, and her pleasant bright face was now very grave.
“Do I think so! You know I do. There, I want a good talk with you, dear. It’s time I spoke plainly, and that we fully understood one another.”
“I thought we did, Harry.”
“Well, yes, of course, but I want to be more plain. We’re no boy and girl now.”
“No, Harry, we have grown up to be man and woman.”
“Yes, and ever since we were boy and girl, Maddy, I’ve loved you very dearly.”
Madelaine turned her clear searching eyes upon him in the most calm and untroubled way.
“Yes, Harry, you have always seemed to.”