‘Miss Wynter,’ inquired Eleanor, ‘how are you going to get home?’
‘The brougham will be there for me, thank you.’
‘Oh, that is all right, then. Because we could have driven you round, if——’
‘My dear Miss Askam! Five miles round, on such a night! They say it is snowing.’
Here Michael saw that Otho fixed his eyes upon Magdalen’s face, and without speaking, offered her his arm. Michael watched, with a neutral but strong interest, to see what she would do. She took the offered arm, without any smile, certainly, but without any appearance of being angry or offended. Neither of them spoke. They dropped behind Gilbert and Eleanor, who were also arm in arm.
Then when they stood outside, Michael, pausing to see if Roger would join him again, heard Miss Askam’s voice—
‘There is our carriage. We had better let it go round again, and wait till Miss Wynter has got off, as she is alone.’
‘No,’ said Otho, signing to the Thorsgarth coachman to stop. ‘You get in, Eleanor; Langstroth will look after you. I’m going to see Magdalen home.’
‘Otho!’ exclaimed his sister, in a vehement whisper, ‘how can you behave in this manner?’
But Magdalen appeared to accept the announcement with the utmost calm, saying—