Clodagh looked down into the pretty, eager face, and laughed again softly, though her eyes were full of tears.
"Pierce was right," she said. "I don't think any one could say more in one word than you could. But do you love him, Nance? Do you love him? That is the great, great thing. And you are so very young." A look of keen anxiety crossed her face, and she gazed into Nance's eyes, as if striving to read her heart.
Nance returned her look with a steadfast gravity, curious in one so young.
"Next to you, Clo, he's the best person in all the world," she said.
The tears in Clodagh's eyes brimmed over.
"You put me first? Really, Nance? Really?"
Nance nodded seriously.
"And next to you, he's the very best! But, Clo"—she blushed deeply—"he wants me to marry him soon—fearfully soon—in the autumn. He's coming over with Mrs. Estcoit and Daisy in three weeks' time, to try to persuade you. Clo, you're not vexed? He has promised that we shall be together more than half every year, if you wish."
Clodagh, touched by a pang of loneliness, turned away and gazed through the open window across the sleeping country.
"And you love him? You are certain that you love him?" She turned again and laid her hands on her sister's shoulders.