She blushed. It really looked as if Roddy had come early in order to have a little time alone with her. He would not say so; but he twinkled and smiled so gaily that she smiled back at him, as if giving him secret for delightful secret.
‘They’ll tease me,’ he declared.
‘No. Will they?’
‘Yes, I assure you——’
‘How silly!’
‘Isn’t it? Do you know, they’ll suspect us of the most desperate flirtation on this exquisite secluded river.’
‘Will they?’ She was troubled.
‘What common minds! As if a man couldn’t be alone with a girl without making love to her.’
‘Oh, I do agree, Roddy.’
He threw back his head and laughed silently: he had been laughing all the time. And it had seemed for a moment that Roddy was prepared for the first time in her memory to have a little serious conversation.