"I sat up late with some of the men, and slept ill after."
Magdaléna raised her eyes and looked at him steadily. "You have fallen in love with Helena," she said.
"What nonsense! My dear child, what are you talking about? Miss Belmont asked me to take her to the conservatory; and as I do not dance, and as you do, and as she announced her intention of not dancing again, and is a very entertaining young woman, I decided to remain there. If our engagement had been made known, of course I should have done nothing of the sort. But as it was—"
"You turned white when you first saw her. Alan Rush looked just like that. Now he is mad about her."
"I am not Alan Rush, nor any other boy of twenty-five. The man you have elected to marry, and who is not half good enough for you, as I have told you many times, is a seasoned person past middle age, my dearest. I could not go off my head over a pretty face if I tried. My day for that is long past."
He spoke vehemently.
"You never looked at me like that."
"Doubtless my pallor was due to some such unromantic cause as an extremely bad dinner."
"I have seen that look several times. Alan Rush is not the only one. And Helena is no doll. She has every fascination."
"Possibly. Shall we go for our walk? I am most anxious to see those old houses and graves."