"Thought you were in a desperate hurry to be off," said Pepperell dryly.
Elizabeth blushed. She was convicted of changeableness, and she felt that she had been impatient. "Forgive me," she said. "So I was. But I did not realize then what I ought to do."
"Um! Where's your father?"
"Just gone out in the dispatch boat to the fleet."
"Does he know of this—this enterprise? Of course, though," he corrected himself, "since he has not sailed."
"Yes, of course," she said. "He stays with me. But," she added, "I suppose he expected me to ask you about it first."
"And you knew I wouldn't consent—hey?"
The girl smiled without speaking. "Mr. Royal is over-indulgent," he went on decidedly.
"Perhaps," answered Elizabeth, "He thinks that a little over-indulgence in being useful will not be bad for me. You assured both Nancy and me that we were doing good service, real service, and that you should be sorry to lose us."