"How long were you there?" he said severely.
"Six months."
"And you have kept me in the dark about it all this time? I think I deserved greater confidence from you."
"I think you did," she said frankly; "but you see, Uncle Douglas, I promised to go at a time when I only knew you by name, and I had not the least idea then that you would be so kind to me. I felt bound to keep my word, and I did not feel quite sure that you would approve of it."
"Approve of it!" he exclaimed indignantly.
"But I always meant to tell you about it sooner or later."
Mona sighed. She had expected the whole story to come out in connection with her engagement to Dr Dudley. And now that engagement seemed to be becoming more and more problematical.
"Particularly later," said Sir Douglas sarcastically. "It is nearly a year now since you left."
"Yes; but that isn't exactly due to intentional secrecy on my part. The fact is, my visit has some painful associations for me now."
"So I should think," he said. "Is it really true, Mona, that you stood behind a counter?—that you kept a shop?"