Mrs. Carson’s surprise was frank, Mrs. Haigh’s look got thoughtful, and Jasper chuckled.
“You don’t boast, Kit! I know something about the undertaking. The opposition’s tanks leak, and if yours are tight I reckon your advance will be fast.”
“It’s possible, sir. All the same, the tanks are not yet built, and another time when I got an important job my luck was not very good.”
The others said nothing, and Kit thought their quietness ominous. Jasper had indicated that he had made good, and all knew the reward he was entitled to claim. After a moment or two, however, Mrs. Carson looked up.
“We hope you will be successful, Kit, and you no doubt deserve a holiday; but when you arrived we imagined you had got your uncle’s letter and had come for the wedding.”
“Whose wedding?” Kit asked sharply.
“Evelyn’s and mine,” said Ledward. “We are to be married very soon.”
Kit tried for control. Mrs. Haigh had cheated him, and he turned and faced her. Her mouth was crooked and her face was lined; he felt he saw her as she really was—unscrupulous, shabbily ambitious, and altogether mean. The strange thing was, he knew she pondered.
“Since all is fixed, there is not much use in talking; but perhaps I am entitled to inquire from Evelyn why she decided to turn me down,” he said in a level voice.
“After all, Evelyn did not promise to marry you.”