The words 'Whether you will or will not have me' rose to John's lips, but all power to speak them seemed to desert him; he had grown suddenly as weak as snow, and in an instant the occasion had passed.
On another occasion they were walking in the park.
'I never would have believed, John, that you would care to go out for a walk with me.'
'And why, Kitty?'
Kitty laughed—her short, sudden laugh was strange and sweet, and
John's heart was beating.
'Well,' she said, without the faintest hesitation or shyness, 'we always thought you hated girls. I know I used to tease you when you came home for the first time, when you used to think of nothing but the Latin authors.'
'What do you mean?'
Kitty laughed again.
'You promise not to tell?'
'I promise.'