“I thought I would work at home on some of these sketches.”
“And Lynette and I have been making a fire in the Wilderness. We missed you.”
Eve felt stifled. Lynette was looking up into her face, and she was fingering the white lace collar round the child’s neck. She knew that she must face Canterton. It was useless to try to shirk the challenge of such a man.
“Isn’t it close to-day? Lynette, dear, what about some raspberries? I’m so thirsty.”
“Where are they, Miss Eve? Aren’t they over?”
“No, they are a late kind. You know, round behind the house. Ask Anne for a dish.”
“I’ll get a rhubarb leaf, and pick the biggest for you.”
“Dear heart, we’ll share them.”
Lynette ran off, and they were left alone together. Canterton had brought up a deck chair, and was looking over some of Eve’s sketches that lay in a portfolio on the grass. His silence tantalised her. It was a force that had to be met and challenged.
“I sent Lynette away because I wanted to speak to you.”