“And will you be satisfied at the Springs?� he asked, smiling.
“Of course not,� answered Sylvia airily. “I shall be no better satisfied than at Belfield; but it will be a change. Ah, Mr. Skelton, you don’t know what it is to be caged!�
Skelton thought he understood her.
“Some day you will see the world,� he said, “and then you will lose all of your illusions. I am satisfied at Deerchase, because I know it is as good a spot as any in the world.�
“Do you think I will ever see the world?� said Sylvia. “Well, I don’t think I will. I want it too much. We never get what we want very, very much.�
“Yes, we do,� replied Skelton, looking skyward. “We want rain very, very much, and we will get it very soon.�
“If you are afraid of being soaked,� said Sylvia, with a kind of soft insolence, “you had better go home.�
Skelton perceived that she was trying to vex him. “No, I sha’n’t go home yet a while; and if a storm comes up, I shall stay with you, as I know your father and mother are away. I saw the carriage drive out of the lane before I started.�
“Yet you asked very politely if papa and mamma were at home?�
“Certainly I did. Politeness is a necessity when one is carrying out a deception.�