"Very good—I shall sound her, and tell you how it appears. I have an appointment with her, now," said Parkington.
On the way out, Miss Marbury hailed him.
"Come here!" she said, with pretty peremptoriness. "Come here, and tell me how you are—I have not seen you for a long, long time."
"And my days have been dreary as winter in consequence, full of rain and melancholy," replied Parkington.
"Then, cheer up, Sir Mournful—the sun is shining; you may bask in its rays a while."
He offered her his arm.
"To the Bay and back again?" he asked.
"Why, back again?" she laughed.
"Because I thought it the only way to get you. But, if you will," (bending down) "it shall be to Annapolis and St. Anne's Rector, ere we come back again."
She looked up at him with merry eyes—a charming picture in the moonlight.