IT was not from Marston, then, that she had to fear betrayal. Neither was she any more afraid of the rumours of the Cliff Hotel. She was aware that her engagement to Robert Lucy, unannounced but accepted for the simple fact it was, had raised her above censure and suspicion.
It had come just in time to occupy Mrs. Jurd and Miss Keating on their way to Surbiton.
When Kitty thought of Grace Keating she said to herself, "How will Bunny feel now?" But her mortal exultation was checked by her pity for poor Bunny, who would have been so happy if she had been married.
Then there were the Hankins. She reflected sanely that they couldn't be dangerous, for they knew nothing. Still she did feel a little uneasy when she thought of the Hankins.
She was thinking of them now as she and Robert sat on the Cliff, making the most of their last hour together before the arrival of the little girls.
"Robert," she said, "the Hankins are probably sitting down there under the Cliff. Supposing they see us?"
"They can't, we're over their heads."
"But if they do what do you suppose they'll think?"
"If they think at all, they'll have an inkling of the truth. But it isn't their business. The children will be here soon," he added.
She looked at him intently. Was he trying, she wondered, to reassure her that the presence of his children would protect her? Or was he merely preoccupied with the thought of their arrival?