Here the girl looked up; and something in Miss Wing's eyes made her dash across the room to fling herself on her knees before that lady with an inarticulate gasp between a sob and a laugh, and the sentences came in a rush: "I had to come! I couldn't deceive you if I never saw him again. And besides, I hoped you would think of some way!"
"And you escape quite unpunished?" said Miss Wing gently.
At which the black head sank lower, while a smothered voice mumbled: "Do you think I—liked it, coming to tell?"
Miss Wing smoothed her hair. "It would have pained me very much if you had not come. Tell me; whether he sees you or not, will he not write to your father? Do you think his feeling is so slight that a disappointment will turn it?"
The black head threw itself up bravely and the fearless young eyes met Miss Wing's pensive brown ones. "No, Miss Wing, I know it will make no difference."
Miss Wing stifled a sigh; it may be that she was not so sure of the firm purpose of a lover; she spoke more gently: "It is only the disappointment, then, if you can't see him?"
The girl's face quivered a little.
"Perhaps I am foolish," said Miss Wing, "but I think it would be a disappointment very hard to bear. Still, you must admit that parents do not send their children to school expecting them to become engaged to be married; on the contrary, there is a tacit pledge that we shall protect our wards from any entanglement. But this did not happen at school; the only question is, ought I to prevent it going any farther? My dear, do you have confidence in me?"
"Yes, Miss Wing," said the girl.
"Of course, I do not think that I ought to consent to your driving alone together."