And yet her hand had been on twenty shoulders that evening, and twenty arms had encircled her!
There was an interval of some length.
'Miss Hazel,' said Rollo at length, and his voice was clear and manly, 'have I offended you?'
'No,'—under her breath. 'I—suppose not.'
'Do you want me to give, if I can, some justification of myself?'
'There is none. Except that you did not mean to say what you said.'
'I meant no justification of my words,' said he, gently but steadily. 'If you want that, it is, that they were spoken to save you from harm.'
'Ah!' she said with a half cry,—then checked herself. 'What else does Mr. Rollo wish to justify?'
'Only my right to speak them;—if you did, as you might,— question it.' He paused a little, and went on. 'I can give you only half of my plea, but half will do. It is, that your father and mother dearly loved mine.'
It was all Hazel could do to bear her mother's name just then. Her hands took a sudden grip of each other, but no answer came. Not for some time: then words low and softly spoken—