"I am not to go home until this evening?"
"Not if you wish to give unlucky Oleander his coup de gráce. Poor devil! I pity him, too. If you intend to make your entree like the ghost of Banquo at the feast, you can't appear, of course, until evening."
"Must I stay here all day?"
"Will it be so very hard?" with an eloquent glance. "I shall be here."
"No, no!" Mollie said, hastily, blushing and laughing. "It would be light penance, in any case; to spend a day here, after a fortnight down yonder. What I mean is, I might improve the time by going to see Miriam."
"If you wait, Miriam may improve the time by coming to see you."
"No! What does she know about your studio?"
"Heaps!" said Mr. Ingelow, coolly. "It isn't the first time ladies have come to my studio."
"I know; but Miriam—"
"It isn't the first time for Miriam, either."