“Oh, I hope you will. Let’s hope so,” was all he would say.
She nursed her chin with her hand; he, at his length beside her, plucked at the turf. Too many confidences had passed for her to be reticent now. “You say you will never marry,” she began.
“Never,” he said. “The state’s impossible, wrong from the beginning. It puts the woman hopelessly in the wrong. It’s monstrous.”
“Then you think—Yes, I believe you are right. At any rate, I mustn’t let Mr. Germain——”
He sat up. “Look here,” he said. “Germain will make you a very good husband. He’s a true man.”
She was busy with Bingo, to Bingo’s quiet satisfaction. “Yes, I’m sure of that. But——”
Her tongue was tied, and so now was his. The ensuing silence was not comfortable to either, and the instinct of a good girl made her end it at any price. Rising sedately, she held out her hand.
“Good-bye—and thank you very much. You have made me think.”
He laughed as he shook hands. “You have made me think, too. Good-bye. All happiness.”
She did not reply to that, but said, “We meet again, I hope.”