"She would not have asked you if she had not meant it."
Bettina, with her small feet on the fender, considered the situation.
"You'll have to come and see me there, and I'll miss our twilight talks by the fire, with Miss Matthews away, and tea, and no one to interrupt——"
"The days are growing longer. Soon there will be no twilights and no fire——"
"And you want me to go?"
His nature was perfectly honest, and he meant that there should be no barriers between himself and this child-woman. So he told her the truth. "I don't know. But you'll be very gay. There'll be the dances at the yacht clubs, and you'll be entertained on the boats, and you'll meet lots of people. Diana knows every one, and her money and position and her beauty make her much in demand."
"Isn't it funny she has never married?"
"Funny"—sharply; "no, it's not funny. It's tragic."
"Why?"
"Because such women as Diana should marry. She has all the qualities for a wife and mother—she is wise and true and good, and there aren't many women like that in the world——"