“I never thought I should—ever do such a thing again,” he said awkwardly. “I couldn't help it. It has made a different man of me.”
She drew herself up quite proudly and looked him straight in the eyes. They were brave, clear eyes, and so were the man's that met them.
“Are you in earnest?” she asked.
“Am I the man not to be in earnest?” he answered.
The doctor's page, running across the strip of lawn to them, broke the spell with the time-honoured morning announcement,—
“There is some one in the surgery, sir.”
Sylvester dismissed the urchin and looked at his watch. It was some minutes past his consultation hour.
“We will have a long talk this evening,” he said, bidding her farewell.