"I am just a little cold," she confessed, "however, girls, I do not wish to rob you of your walk."
Charlotta smiled back at her serenely.
"Oh, you need not worry, Susan dear! Your returning home for something warmer to wear need not interfere with our plans. We will just walk on slowly toward the woods and when we reach there start back. If you do not overtake us, we will meet you on our way home."
This suggestion was not wholly approved of by Miss Pringle and yet at the moment, being a little frozen mentally as well as physically, she made no serious objection to it.
She believed she could walk home rapidly and be with the two girls again in a short time. Moreover, it was one of her serious weaknesses of character that she seldom objected to any positive wish of the young countess's.
In the brilliant March sunshine the path through the woods appeared like a path of gold. There were no leaves on the tall trees so that the light shone through the bare branches.
"Let us go on just a little further, Charlotta, and then we must go back to meet Miss Pringle," Bianca proposed.
But here the path grew narrow so that Charlotta led the way, Bianca following at first close behind her.
The air was like magic, the old magic of youth, "of love and life and light and laughter."
Charlotta sang along the way.