Paul was very kind, treating her anxiety with marked solicitude. He succeeded in allaying her doubts as to the outcome of this incident, and they talked freely upon little events of their past.
Gradually Paul approached the subject uppermost in his mind. Alice tried to divert him until some better time. Her ingenuity was not equal to the occasion in dealing with Paul Lanier. She became aware of this, and tremblingly awaited the attack.
With softened accents and apparent deference, Paul asked:
"Do you remember, Alice, the promise made me about a year ago?"
"That I would wait a year before deciding?"
"Yes, I believe you did say a year."
"But, Mr. Lanier, that was only nine months ago."
"While I have no right to hurry you, Alice, yet when a man's dearest hopes are at stake, waiting three long months is a great trial."
"Still, Mr. Lanier, to decide such an important question is a year too long?"
Mistaking her trembling earnestness for genuine interest in the proper solution of this heart problem, Paul gravely urged: