“Is why there was a crowd at my heels all the time,” finished Leslie rather excitedly. She and Marjorie both laughed.
Even Leila’s austerity of feature relaxed into an amused smile. “I must have come into the gym when you were preparing to leave it for I caught not even a glimpse of such a costume as you had. Now a rumor is drifting merrily about the campus that I was the funny mask, but that I changed to an Irish peasant costume to puzzle the freshies.”
“How utterly providential!” Marjorie’s opinion was cordially hearty. “I am afraid I shall be too busy from now on to enlighten the campus dwellers concerning their fond delusion.”
“I have plenty to do myself,” was Leila’s vague inference.
Leslie’s eyes traveled from one to the other of the pair of amused faces. Were these the two Hamilton girls she had hated so unreasonably when a student in college with them? She now dejectedly wondered why she had hated them.
“There’s something I must say to you,” she persisted to Marjorie. “I used to hate you. That is, I thought I hated you. After I found out who you were I knew I could never hate you any more. You took with you all my weapons of offense. Why should I ever have hated you? The answer goes back to myself. You ought to hate me. But I know you don’t. That makes me double hate myself.” Leslie made an impatient movement of the head, indicating her distaste for herself.
“I never hated you, Miss Cairns. I’ve felt dreadfully exasperated with you at times,” Marjorie honestly admitted. “I haven’t felt that way toward you for a long time,” she added with her winsome smile.
“That’s good news.” Leslie faintly answered the smile. Her hands began to tighten on the wheel. “Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Miss Monroe had nothing to do with my campus lark. I planned it myself. She knew of it, but it wouldn’t be fair to censure her for what I would have done anyway. Will you stand by her if—if any gossip should start about the affair?” Leslie looked almost appealingly from one to the other of the two Travelers.
“You need have no fears in that respect,” Marjorie promised staunchly.
“There will be little or nothing said,” was Leila’s dryly authoritative prediction.