"I supposed we had been in love," she said with sad dignity. "I wrote you while I was abroad, and—I don't write many letters."
"Then you are in love with me.... We are in love. Is that true as you understand it?"
"You silly boy—of course!"
He stood stock still for a moment, tasting all the misery he had stored up for himself. Finally, he found his voice.
"If that is so," he said, "we ought to be engaged."
"Oh, Billy! Are you jealous?"
She laughed, radiant, delighted to feel the leash tighten in her soft little hand once more.
"No," he said, "I am not jealous; but, if we are to marry, it is time people understood it."
"Do you mean these people?"
"I mean everybody."