“I’ll try to give it carefully,” she promised.
“Well,” he said, “the life you people lead here has its attractions; they must be strong to you. It would be hard to break with all its associations, to face one that was new and different; I mean for a woman to do so?”
“Ah!” she exclaimed, seeing the drift of his remarks at last. “You had better tell me whom you are thinking of.”
“Millicent.”
She started. This was a painful surprise, though she now wondered why she had never suspected it. He had met the girl frequently before his accident, and she had since gone over to Nasmyth’s to talk with him now and then; yet, for some not very obvious reason, nobody seemed to have contemplated the possibility of his falling in love with her. Mrs. Gladwyne had undoubtedly not done so, and she was filled with alarm. It was most desirable that Millicent should marry Clarence.
“How long have you had this in your mind?” she asked.
“That is more than I can tell you,” he answered thoughtfully. “I admired her greatly the first time I saw her; I admired her more when we made friends, but I don’t think I went much farther for a while. In Tact, I believe it was only when I knew I must go back soon that I realized how strong a hold she had on me, and then I fought against yielding. The difficulties to be got over looked so serious.”
“Has Millicent any suspicion of your regard for her?” It was an important question and Mrs. Gladwyne waited in suspense for his reply.
“Not the slightest, so far as I can tell. I tried to hide my feelings until I could come to a decision as to what I ought to do.”
This was satisfactory, provided that his supposition was correct, and his companion could imagine his exercising a good deal of self-repression.