He took both her small hands in his as he asked the question.
She lifted her eyes to his, and he saw that they were full of bright, unshed tears.
"No, Ronald," she said, in a faint, fluttering voice. "I do not quite realize my happiness. It seems too bright to be real."
She shivered slightly as she spoke, and gave a swift, nervous look around her.
The soft sigh of the evening breeze, the rustling leaves seemed to whisper threateningly:
"In the moment that is the happiest of your whole life I shall take my revenge!"
"Lina, I do not believe you are well," cried Ronald Valchester, anxiously. "I saw you shivering that moment."
"The twilight is coming on, and these September evenings are chilly," she answered, rising. "Let us go to the house and sit on the porch. Uncle Charlie will be very glad to see you."
When they had crossed the purling brook and gone into the little vine-wreathed porch, Jaquelina felt easier. She was nervous out in the orchard among the whispering grasses.
She fancied a dark, demoniacal face peering at her behind the trees.