"Nothing would have been different. I was bound to meet you sooner or later."
She laughed contentedly, and they walked on in silence for a while. Harding felt that he ought to tell her about Gerald, but he hesitated.
"Tell me what you have been doing in Winnipeg," she said, as if she had divined his thoughts.
He explained his business there carefully, and Beatrice was pleased that he took her interest and comprehension for granted.
"Gerald wanted me to make him our agent, and I refused," he ended.
She was conscious of disappointment, though she appreciated his candor.
"I'm afraid he will find things hard. Of course, it's his own fault, but that won't make his difficulties lighter. Couldn't you have taken the risk of giving him another chance?"
"No," said Harding. "I wanted to help him, for your sake, but I couldn't give him the post. You see, I was acting for others as well as for myself." He hesitated before he added: "I felt that we must have the best man we could get."
"And you could get more reliable men than my brother! Unfortunately, it's true. But the others were willing; Kenwyne told me so."
He looked at her in surprise, for there was a faint hardness in her voice.