“It’ll be much wiser to wait till mornin’, Martin.”
“Perhaps it will.”
The brother and sister walked silently across the turf.
“I’m—I’m glad you’re willin’ we should take care of Lucy,” murmured Jane, after an awkward pause. “Mary, ’Liza, an’ I love her dearly.”
“An’ I too, Jane.”
The confession came in a whisper. If 295 Martin expected it to be greeted with surprise, he was disappointed.
Jane did not at first reply; then she said in a soft, happy tone:
“I guessed as much.”
“You did.”
The man laughed in shamefaced fashion.