“Oh, now, this is nice!” she said. “I was wondering if I should see you before you went.”
“I am not going until late this evening,” was the answer.
“I thought you were going this afternoon.”
“No; I have decided to travel by night. It is too hot for day travelling at present.”
He sank into a seat and began to pull at his pipe vigorously. Annie gave a gentle sigh.
“What is the matter?” he asked.
She looked at him, glanced round her, and then, dropping her voice to a whisper, said:
“I wonder if I might confide in you.”
“Of course you may, Miss Brooke,” he said.
“But it is,” said Annie, “a most sacred confidence. I mean that if I tell you, you must never tell anybody else.”