“I stopped at their cabin. He was not there. Peachy did not know where he was. Of course, I guessed at once. I came here immediately.”
“Did Peachy seem troubled?”
“No. She doesn’t care. Pete was there, examining her drawings. They’re half in love with each other. And then again, Pete doesn’t know, or if he does know, he doesn’t care, that Clara is doing her damnedest to start a flirtation with Honey. And Lulu has walked about like a woman in a dream for weeks. What are we all coming to? There’s nothing but flirting here!”
“It must be so,” Julia said, “as long as men and women are idle.”
“But how can we be anything but idle? There’s nothing to do on this island.”
“I don’t know,” said Julia slowly; “I don’t know.”
“Julia,” Billy said in a pleading voice, “marry me!”
A strange expression came into Julia’s eyes. Part of it was irresolution and part of it was terror. But a poignant wistful tenderness fused both these emotions, shot them with light.
“Not yet,” she said in a terrified voice. “Not yet!”
“Why?”