“In order to cure, we must endure,” returned Bab in an undertone. Whereupon the sisters both chuckled softly.
At this juncture Marian appeared at the end of the piazza, and came slowly toward the group. Her eyes still showed traces of tears, and she looked ill and wretched.
Mr. Stuart greeted Marian kindly, and immediately invited her to Ruth’s picnic. And the invitation, of course, had to include Marian’s mother. “I am sorry you have been ill,” he said courteously, interrupting his conversation with Mr. Duval.
Monsieur Duval’s eyes rested curiously on Marian. His look searched her face. “Perhaps the climate of Palm Beach does not agree with your health,” he suggested. “You do not like it here?”
“It is not a question of what I like or dislike, Mr. Duval,” said Marian curtly.
“But what do you prefer?” persisted the Frenchman with a shade of interest in his manner.
“To mind my own affairs,” returned Marian coldly, turning her back on Monsieur Duval.
CHAPTER IX
A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY