“Come here and buy some sweets,” she said, in a voice as full of command as entreaty, and as she looked him boldly yet curiously in the face, he saw that her lips were red and full, over large but beautifully white teeth.
“Sweets? Nonsense, my lass. I don’t eat sweets. What cove is this?”
“Gwennas,” said the girl. “Come down and buy some sweets. Here’s the money.”
Geoffrey stared, as the girl held out a penny in her large, well-shaped hand.
“Poor lass! A love case for a sovereign. She’s crazy,” said Geoffrey to himself, and, changing his manner, he took the coin from the girl’s hand, receiving, at the same time, a smile for reward. “What’s your name, my lass?” he said aloud.
“Bessie—Elizabeth Prawle,” said the girl, shortly. “You’re a stranger.”
“Yes,” he said, looking at her sidewise. “Do they sell sweets here?”
“Yes,” said the girl, sharply.
“And you are very fond of them, eh?”
They were going side by side towards the cottage, when the girl faced round, looked at him in a puzzled way for a moment, and then laughed merrily.