"It is not, assuredly not. I have no thought of departing. On the contrary, I have but begun to enjoy my stay. I may become a Marylander, yet, who knows?"
The smile rippled into a laugh. "You flatter us too much, Sir Edward—oh! too much!"
"I flatter not at all—I mean it."
"Is this a sudden notion—I thought you travelled for your pleasure?"
"And so I do—solely, for my pleasure. Perchance, my pleasure is to remain—I do not know."
She refused to take him seriously. "Have you advised your friends in England of this new idea?"
He shook his head. "You are the first to know it."
"Because the idea was, this moment, born?"
"You do not believe me."
"You do not believe, yourself."