CHANGES
"Was I not right to come? You said a year, and that is over."
"I did not expect you so soon." Marion smiled over the great bunch of wild sunflowers she held. Coming in a few minutes earlier she had found Francis Landor pacing impatiently back and forth. Something, perhaps it was the unexpectedness of it, made her a trifle stately.
It seemed to Francis that those flaunting yellow flowers made a barrier between them. "It was only by chance I found you. Charlotte gave me a hint. How long did you intend to leave me in uncertainty? Was it quite fair?"
"I have been in uncertainty myself; happily my fears have not been realized. I did what seemed best at the time, and please remember the year is only just over." Marion looked at him gravely from behind her flowery screen.
"I did not mean to begin by reproaching you," he said, drawing nearer. "But you cannot realize what it has meant to be left in complete ignorance. Even now I don't understand why you are here." He glanced about the room.
"Norah Pennington and I are living here, earning our daily bread—really doing it,"—she laughed a little; "and, as you see, it has made me over. It was Norah's plan, and you can see how we were obliged to keep it to ourselves, if it was to be carried out. I had to cut loose from everything,—the suspense about my eyes was killing me. Of course, looking back, it seems needless; but one cannot argue with nerves."
She paused a moment, then continued: "There is one thing I want to explain at the beginning. This winter's experience has made a different person of me. I can never go back to the old life of a society woman, with perhaps a little charitable work thrown in. I want to come in touch with people—all sorts of people. I want to try experiments. I think I must have inherited some of my grandfather's business instincts. I haven't made any very definite plans, but I should like to start other shops such as this, where women who have some ability and the gift for making useful and beautiful things can find their opportunity. I shall make mistakes, and lose money perhaps, but I want to experiment. I want you to understand how I feel, before—before—" Marion's eyes shone, a lovely flush was on her face as she hesitated.
Francis Landor took sudden possession of the yellow flowers, tossing them with scant courtesy on the table, and leaning forward he grasped her hands. "May, what has this to do with it? Does it crowd me out of your life? Since you were a little girl, since the days when we played together, you have been my help and inspiration. Do you mean this has come between us, or do you still care?"
Tears shone in Marion's eyes; she bent her head till it touched his shoulder. "Francis, I do care—I have always cared; I told Charlotte to tell you."