"What walk?" asked the bewildered Philip. "Didn't you expect to meet me?"
"Certainly not. Why should I? I wasn't thinking about you at all," replied Eve's daughter.
"But you promised to meet me here at half-past three," cried Philip in dismay.
"And now it's a quarter to five!" blazed Peggy, abandoning her strategical position, woman-like, in order to score a tactical point.
Sure enough, the sound of a church chime fell musically on their ears through the still evening air.
"I'm awfully sorry," said Philip.
"It doesn't matter at all," replied Peggy, still inflexible. "Good-night!"
"Good-night!" said Philip quietly. He was constitutionally incapable of forcing his society where it was not wanted. He turned to go. "It's a pity I'm late," he added regretfully. "The most exciting things have been happening, and I wanted to tell you about them."
The small damsel's hauteur melted in an instant. She deliberately resumed her perch upon the gate.
"You can come and sit up here if you like," she intimated, holding out her hand.