“Forgive me, my dear, but have you told me this because you wish me to get that curl back for you?” inquired his lordship.
“No, no!” Horatia replied impatiently. “You c-can’t get it back; I lost it in fair play. Something much, m-much worse happened then—though it w-wasn’t the worst of all. He—he caught hold of me, and took my m-mask off, and—kissed me! And Rule, the m-most dreadful thing! I f-forgot about my mask, and I ran away, and—and Lady Massey was just outside the w-window, and she saw me, and I know she had been w-watching all the time! So you see, I’ve m-made a vulgar scandal, and I thought the only thing I could do was to t-tell you at once, because even if you are furious with me, you ought to know, and I couldn’t b-bear anyone else to tell you!”
The Earl did not seem to be furious. He listened calmly to the whole of this hurried speech, and at them end of it walked forward across the space that separated the, and to Horatia’s astonishment took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.“My compliments, Horry,” he said. “You have surprised me.”
He released her hand, and went towards the desk that stood in the window. Taking a key from his pocket he unlocked one of the drawers and pulled it open. Horatia blinked at him, utterly at a loss. He came back to her, and held out his hand. In the palm of it lay a powdered curl.
Horatia gave a gasp, staring at it. Then she looked up, quite dumbfounded. “M-mine?” she stammered.
“Yours, my dear.”
“But I—but—How did you c-come by it?”
He gave a little laugh. “I won it.”
“Won it?” she repeated, uncomprehending. “How c-could you? Who—Rule, whom did you win it from?”
“Why, from you, Horry. Whom else could I have won it from?”