If he were to beg a dance when Mrs. Gosnold had returned and Sally, recostumed, had rejoined the maskers, she hardly knew how she could in decency refuse him now. . . .
The clock on the mantelpiece struck a single stroke.
Sally started and looked up, to meet Marie's questioning glance.
"One o' clock?"
"Yes, Miss Manwaring."
"Then--why, she's been gone over fifteen minutes."
"Yes, miss."
What could Savage have found to say to Sally that her substitute need delay so long to hear it?
Sally frowned.
At the end of another five minutes the maid volunteered uneasily: "It's very odd. Mrs. Gosnold didn't expect to be away more than five or ten minutes, I know. She said as much before you came in."