She was coaxed by degrees to empty a glass. She had a gentle heart, and could not hold out long against a visible lively kindliness. It pleased him that she should bow to him over fresh bubbles; and they went formally through the ceremony, and she smiled. He joked and laughed and talked, and she eyed him a faint sweetness. He perceived now that she required nothing more than the restoration of her personal pride, and setting bright eyes on her, hazarded a bold compliment.
Dahlia drooped like a yacht with idle sails struck by a sudden blast, that dips them in the salt; but she raised her face with the full bloom of a blush: and all was plain sailing afterward.
"Has my darling seen her sister?" he asked softly.
Dahlia answered, "No," in the same tone.
Both looked away.
"She won't leave town without seeing you?"
"I hope—I don't know. She—she has called at our last lodgings twice."
"Alone?"
"Yes; I think so."
Dahlia kept her head down, replying; and his observation of her wavered uneasily.