Her eyes shown with a wonderful radiance as she drew his face down to hers and kissed him on the lips.
"It's sweet of you to say that; I could love you for that alone, were there nothing else, Donald. But tell me, dear, did you receive my letter?"
"Yes—and ignored it. That's why I'm here."
"That was a risk you should not have taken."
He looked thoughtfully at the multicolored flame of the driftwood fire.
"Well, you see, Nan, it didn't occur to me that I was taking a risk; a confession of love was the last thing I would have thought would happen."
"Then why did you disregard that letter that cost me such an effort to write?"
"Well," he replied slowly, "I guess it's because I'm the captain of my soul—or try to be, at any rate. I didn't think it quite fair that you should be shunned; it occurred to me that I wouldn't be playing a manly part to permit the idle mewing of the Port Agnew tabbies to frighten me away. I didn't intend to fall in love with you—Oh, drat my reasons! I'm here because I'm here. And in the matter of that old hen—" He paused and favored her with a quizzical smile.
"Yes?"
"I brought a substitute hen with me—all ready for the pot, and if I can't come to dinner to-morrow, I'm going to face a very lonely Sunday."