“Of course I remember you; I’d be ashamed if I didn’t. I’m glad of this chance to thank you. I know Leila—Miss Mills—will want to thank you, too. We must have seemed very silly that night on the river.”
“Such a thing might happen to anyone; why not forget it?”
“Let me thank you again,” she said seriously. “You were ever so kind.”
“The incident is closed,” he remarked with finality. “Am I keeping you from a partner? They’re dancing again. We might sit this out if I’m not depriving you——”
“You’re not. It’s warm inside and this is a relief. We might even wander down the lawn and look for elves and dryads and nymphs. Those big trees and the stars set the stage for such encounters.”
“It’s rather nice to believe in fairies and such things. At times I’m a believer; then I lose my faith.”
“We all forget our fairies sometimes,” she answered gravely.
He had failed to note at their meeting on the river the loveliness of her voice. He found himself waiting for the recurrence of certain tones that had a curious musical resonance. He was struck by a certain gravity in her that was expressed for fleeting moments in both voice and eyes. Even with the newest dance music floating out to them and the light and laughter within, he was aware of an indefinable quality in the girl that seemed somehow to translate her to remote and shadowy times. Her profile—clean-cut without sharpness—and her manner of wearing her abundant hair—carried back loosely to a knot low on her head—strengthened his impression of her as being a little foreign to the place and hour. She spoke with quiet enthusiasm of the outdoor sports that interested her—riding she enjoyed most of all. Henderson had intimated that her social life was restricted, but she bore herself more like a young woman of the world than any other girl he remembered.
“Maybelle Henderson will scold me for hiding you away,” she said. “But I just can’t dance whenever the band plays. It’s got to be an inspiration!”
“Then I thank you again for one perfect dance! I’m afraid I didn’t appreciate what you were giving me.”