Never had Rachel so longed to see Diana as now. If Diana knew nothing about this adventure—then it was only a dream, and that would be too dreadful.
She could scarcely wait till the afternoon, when her friend was to come round to go for a walk with her. One glance, however, at Diana’s face when at last she came, reassured her. Their eyes met, and Diana’s were sparkling and full of mystery. You may imagine what they talked about in Kensington Gardens that afternoon when they ran on together in front of Miss Moore.
SIXTH WONDER
THE LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA
The day after their walk in Kensington Gardens, Diana, full of distress, ran in to see Rachel early in the afternoon.
“What do you think? I have to go to the seaside to-morrow!” she exclaimed, breathlessly. “Mother and Father are going, and they say I’m to go with them, and—”
“But how lovely!” interrupted Rachel. “For you, I mean. It will be horrid for me,” she added, dejectedly. “Why don’t you want to go?”
Diana stared at her. “Don’t you understand? I shall be away more than a week, and”—she lowered her voice mysteriously—“the seventh day, you know, will come round, and I shan’t be here, and I shall miss the chance of an adventure. Oh, I do envy you, Rachel! I’d rather never go to the seaside again than miss all the exciting things that might happen. And you see I can’t explain why I don’t want to go—so it’s all perfectly horrible.”