Letta laid her head on her mother’s shoulder, but spoke not.
A few minutes later Mrs Langley went to Sam and said—
“Robin must not go to India.”
Sam instantly went by the shortest conceivable route to London, where he found Robin in his room feverishly packing his portmanteau, and said—
“Robin, you must not go to India.”
From that text he preached an eloquent lay-sermon, which he wound up with the words, “Now, my boy, you must just propose to her at once.”
“But I can’t, Sam. I haven’t got the pluck. I’m such a miserable sort of fellow—how could I expect such a creature to throw herself away on me? Besides, it’s all very well your saying you have good ground for believing she cares for me; but how can you know? Of course you have not dared to speak to her?”
Robin looked actually fierce at the bare idea of such a thing.
“No, I have not dared,” said Sam.
“Well, then. It is merely your good-natured fancy. No, my dear fellow, it is my fate. I must bow to it. And I know that if I were to wait till I see her again, all my courage would have oozed away—”