A sort of shadow crossed his face, as he answered, 'One nightin the woodswhere it was a mere little point of light in the gloom.'
'O!' she said eagerly, looking up,'did you? that night? I remember. And you kept it. Then, Mr. Rollo?' The soft, surprised intonation of the last three words left them anything but incoherent.
'Well?' said he smiling.
'I wish I had known you had it. That glove gave me a great deal of trouble.'
'Why?'
'I was so much afraid it had got into the wrong hands. But when was this done?' she said, eyes and words going back to the ring again. 'Not sincethe other day?'
'Hardly! No. It was done last winter.' And Rollo's eyes flashed and laughed at her, a kind of soft lightning. Hazel laughed the least bit too, in return; but then her head went down as low as it gracefully could, and under the shadow of her broad hat she questioned. Had she betrayed herself then, to him? What has she said? what had she done, that night? Her face rested on her hand in the very attitude of perplexity.
'Come,' said Rollo, 'you are finding out a good deal about me that you did not know before. You had better go on.'
'Did you buy up the whole Hollow?' said Hazel abruptly. 'All the way from the mills up to Gyda'sMrs. Boërresen'scottage?'
'No,' said Rollo, with a somewhat surprised recognition of the change of subjects; 'not yet. I have obtained possession only of the mills which were held by Morton himself. Those are the two cotton mills, and one of the woollen mills, which had lately reverted to him from the closing of the lease term and the inability of the former lessee to make any agreement for a new one. Further down the Hollow below me, lie the woollen mills of Paul Charteris.'