“I am afraid my sudden appearance has put your sister out dreadfully. I assure you I would have made myself into thin air if I could,” went on Archie, penitently; “but all the same it was impossible not to applaud the winner. I felt inclined to wave my hat in the air, and cry, ‘Bravo, Atalanta!’ half a dozen times. You made such pretty running, Miss Challoner; and I wish Grace could have seen it.”
The last word acted like magic on Phillis’s cloudy brow. She had passed over two delicately-implied compliments with a little scorn. Did he think her, like other girls, to be mollified by sugar-plums and sweet speeches? He might keep all that for the typical young lady of Hadleigh. At Oldfield the young men knew her better.
It must be owned that the youth of that place had been slightly in awe of Phillis. One or two had even hinted that they thought her strong-minded. “She has stand-off ways, and rather laughs at a fellow, and makes one feel sometimes like a fool,” they said; which did not prove much, except that 176 Phillis showed herself above nonsense, and had a knowledge of shams, and would not be deceived, and, being the better horse of the two, showed it; and no man likes to be taken down in his class.
As Phillis would not flirt,—not understanding the art, but Dulce proved herself to be a pretty apt pupil,—they left off trying to make her, and talked sensibly to her instead, which she liked better. But, though more than one had admired her, no one had ventured to persuade himself or her that he was in love; but for that there was plenty of time, Phillis not being the sort of girl to remain long without a lover.
So when she heard Grace’s name she pricked up her ears, and the proud look left her face; and she said, a little archly, but in a way that pleased Mr. Drummond,—
“All the same, I am glad your sister was not here, for she would think Dulce and me such tomboys!” using Dulce’s very expression.
Archie shook his head very decidedly at this.
“Ah! you do not know Grace, and how she loves a bit of fun; only she never gets it, poor girl!” sighing in a marked manner, for he saw how interested Phillis looked. “If you could only hear her laugh; but please sit down a moment and rest yourselves,” continued the artful young man, who had not dared to purpose such a thing before.
Nan hesitated; but a glance at Phillis’s hot face decided her.
“Just for five minutes,” she said, “and then we must go back to mother;” for she had already determined that they must cut their walk short for the purpose of getting rid of Mr. Drummond.