"It means much," Grace agreed, and after a pause resumed: "You had no doubt about taking up your uncle's engagement with the president, although you saw what it might cost?"
"Of course not," Kit replied. "There was nothing else to be done."
Grace smiled and got up. "No," she said, "there was nothing else you could do. Well, I must go home."
Kit went back with her for some distance. They talked but little on the way, but when she left him she gave him her hand and a look that made his heart beat.
Soon after Grace reached Tarnside, Osborn crossed the lawn to the tea-table where she and Mrs. Osborn sat beneath a spreading copper-beech. His face was thoughtful when Mrs. Osborn gave him a cup.
"I met the post as I was driving home," he said. "There's a letter from Gerald."
"Has he any news?" Mrs. Osborn asked.
"Nothing important. He's well and says he's kept occupied, which is fortunate. In fact, the harder they work him, the better; I'd sooner Gerald did not have much time on his hands."
"Then, why did he write?" Grace asked, because Gerald's letters were by no means regular.
"I hope he did not want money," Mrs. Osborn remarked.