"That is so," Sir James agreed. "I think Miss Stannard a charming girl, but she was not the girl for you. Leylands are manufacturers and your job is to control a big industry; Miss Stannard's is to cultivate her social talents and amuse herself. Margaret Jardine, however, is our sort. She's stanch and sincere; you know her pluck and all she risked for you. You want a wife like that, and I wish you luck!"
Jimmy found Margaret in the drawing-room. Mrs. Dillon had gone off with Laura, and Jimmy advanced resolutely.
"At Green Lake I asked you to marry me and you refused. Yet you knew I loved you and perhaps I had some grounds to think——"
The blood came to Margaret's skin. "I did know, Jimmy; but to marry you because I stopped the trooper was another thing."
"Now you're ridiculous! All the same, in some respects your refusal was justified. My drawbacks were plain. For all you knew, I was an extravagant wastrel, and the police were on my track. Since I mustn't urge you, I was forced to be resigned."
"Sometimes you are rather dull," Margaret remarked and smiled.
"Well, I'm not forced to try for resignation now. I was something of an extravagant fool, but the police will leave me alone."
"The police were not the obstacle," said Margaret in a quiet voice.
Jimmy laughed. "It looks like that; the trooper who tried to catch us did not bother you long. If Sir James was the obstacle, he's, so to speak, removed. You have conquered him and he declared a few minutes since you were the girl for me. He's a kind old fellow. Don't you think you ought to indulge him?"
He reached down and took her hands. "I want you, Margaret. My extravagance is done with. I'm going back to undertake my proper job and I need your help."