"My dear, can you borrow such a thing as a horse?"
"No, and I can't ride."
"Well, we must take what Nature gives us. How far is it?"
"Two miles."
"I'll walk—for the sake of sympathy."
They seemed to have known each other years by the time the oaks of Darvel's Wood rose against the white clouds of the summer sky. Their instinctive liking for each other met and kindled in these moments of suspense. Both of them were thinking of Jasper, but Jeremy coupled his thoughts with the tense, white face of this young girl.
"She's true metal; she has edge and temper," he kept saying to himself. "Confound the lad, why was he in such a damnable hurry!"
When they came to the gate that led into Darvel's Wood, Jeremy paused and looked questioningly at Nance.
"Will you stay here?"
"No, I will come with you."