Did--did
Lady Lucy know?"
She looked at him timidly. Her aspect had never been more lovely. Tears
did not disfigure her, and as compared with his first remembrance of
her, there was now a touching significance, an incomparable softness in
all she said and did, which gave him a bewildering sense of treasures to
come, of joys for the gathering.
Suddenly--involuntarily--there flashed through his mind the recollection
of his first love-passage with Alicia--how she had stung him on, teased,
and excited him. He crushed it at once, angrily.
As to Lady Lucy, he smilingly declared that she had no doubt guessed
something was in the wind.
"I have been 'gey ill to live with' since we got up to town. And when
the stupid meeting I had promised to speak at was put off, my mother
thought I had gone off my head--from my behavior. 'What are you going to
the Feltons' for?--You never care a bit about them.' So at last I
brought her the map and made her look at it--'Felton Park to Brinton, 3
miles--Haylesford, 4 miles--Beechcote, 2 miles and 1/2--Beechcote Manor,
half a mile--total, ten miles.'--'Oliver!'--she got so red!--'you are
going to propose to Miss Mallory!' 'Well, mother!--and what have you got
to say?' So then she smiled--and kissed me--and sent you messages--which
I'll give you when there's time.
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