“But now that we’re no longer children, I think it is your duty to speak to Uncle Philip.”
The thought of facing Philip Davison on such a mission flushed Justin’s face. Yet he did not hesitate.
“I will do so,” he promised; “I ought to have been courageous enough to do it long ago, and without you telling me to.”
Instantly he felt taller, stronger, more manly. He knew he was deliriously happy. To feel the soft pressure of her body against his, the electric touch of her hand, and to hear her say that she loved him, and would some time marry him, thrilled him. He looked down into her face, with the love light strong in his eyes. He recalled how he had loved her during her long absence.
“You didn’t see any one while you were gone that you thought you could love better?”
He believed he knew what the answer would be, but he awaited it breathlessly.
“I oughtn’t to say so, Justin, until after you have spoken to Uncle Philip; but I saw no one I could love half as much as you—no one.”
“Yet you saw many men?”
She laughed lightly; it was like sunshine after rain.
“Not so very many as you might think. Mrs. Lassell’s Finishing School for Young Ladies is a very exclusive and select place, you must remember. She holds a very tight rein over the girls placed in her charge.”