"Excuse me—er—I beg your pardon!"
By this time she had jumped hastily to her feet, dropping the jagged tear into concealment and swiftly dabbing her eyes with the tiniest of handkerchiefs. Annoyance crept into her face. Then came an awkward pause and her annoyance seemed to conflict with a sudden fit of shyness. They faced each other in silence.
"How—how long had you been there?" she enquired at last.
Hector, self-possession rapidly returning, came out from among the screening leaves into which he had temporarily recoiled.
"Not long," he said. "Only a second or two, in fact. I had no idea you were there, of course; and then—when I saw you—I was rather caught unawares and I hated to disturb you because——"
He paused, the ghost of a laugh in his eyes. 'Well, because what?' was what he wanted her to say. But she continued to look at him in silence and he finished the sentence himself:
"Because you looked so beautiful."
She flushed a little. He wondered if she would reprove him. Instead, she bit her lip and a hint of laughter played about the corner of her mouth, reflecting back his whim.
"I know I ought to have coughed or something. I most certainly should have coughed. I really am very sorry."
The apology was genuine. She accepted it and said so, not in so many words, but in continuing the parley.