"I think the words are rather pretty," said Douglas.
"Do you?" murmured Miss Graham; and then she stopped suddenly, looking downward, with one of those conscious blushes which were always at her command.
There was a pause. Douglas Dale stood by the music-stand, listlessly turning over a volume of songs.
Lydia was the first to break the silence.
"Why did you not come to see us sooner, Mr. Dale?" she asked. "You promised me you would come."
"I have been too much engaged to come," answered Douglas.
This reply sounded almost rude; but to Lydia this unpolished manner seemed only the result of extreme shyness, and, indeed, embarrassment, which to her appeared proof positive of her intended victim's enthralment.
Her eyes grew bright with a glance of triumph.
"I shall win," she thought to herself; "I shall win."
"Have you really wished to see me?" asked Douglas, after another pause.