ed position. As
soon as he was seated, she began:

'Now, Leonard, tell me all about the debts?' She spoke in tones of gay
friendliness, but behind the mask of her cheerfulness was the real face
of fear. Down deep in her mind was a conviction that her letter was a
pivotal point of future sorrow. It was in the meantime quite apparent to
her that Leonard kept it as his last resource; so her instinct was to
keep it to the front and thus minimise its power.

Leonard, though inwardly weakened by qualms of growing doubt, had the
animal instinct that, as he was in opposition, his safety was in
attacking where his opponent most feared. He felt that there was some
subtle change in his companion; this was never the same Stephen Norman
whom only yesterday he had met upon the hill! He plunged at once into
his purpose.

'But it wasn't about my debts you asked me to meet you, Stephen.'

'You surprise me, Leonard! I thought I simply asked you to come to meet
me. I know the first subject I mentioned when we began to talk, after
your grumbling about coming in the heat, was your money matters.' Leonard
winced, but went on:

'It was very good of you, Stephen; but really that is not what I came to
speak of to-day. At first, at all events!' he added with a sublime
naivette, as the subject of his debts and his imperative want of money
rose before him. Stephen's eyes flashed; she saw more clearly than ever
through his purpose. Such as admission at the very outset of the proffer
of marriage, which she felt was coming, was little short of monstrous.
Her companion did not see the look of mastery on her face; he was looking
down at the moment. A true lover would have been looking up.

'I wanted to tell you, Stephen, that I have been thinking over what you
said to me in your letter, and what you said in words; and I want to
accept!' As he was speaking he was looking her straight in the face.

Stephen answered slowly with a puzzled smile which wrinkled up her
forehead:

'Accept what I said in my letter! why, Leonard, what do you mean? That
letter must have had a lot more in it than I thought. I seem to remember
that it was simply a line asking you to meet me. Just let me look at it;
I should like to be sure of what actually is!' As she spoke she held out
her hand. Leonard was nonplussed; he did not know what to say. Stephen
made up her mind to have the letter back. Leonard was chafing under the
position forced upon him,