' Val----" But the next
moment Leo demanded inconsequently: "What is it you want to say? Say
it."

"He's an uncommonly nice fellow, and all that,--but----"

"But--well, but----?" impatiently.

"I should have thought he was more your sort than Maud's, that's all."

"My sort!" She was white to the lips, and there was a sudden heaving of
her bosom. "My--my sort?"

"I'll tell you what I mean. We had a long day together yesterday--no, it
was the day before. There wasn't much doing, the birds were shy and
scattered, and I took Foster into our church, as he seemed to want to
see it. I told him I generally went to yours for the sake of the walk,
but--anyhow he seemed to hanker after going inside, and it is an awfully
nice, rum, little old place, you know; lots of people come to see it.
Oh, they come from long distances. Foster was delighted; I couldn't tear
him away. He poked and poked about, and at last he said to me: 'This is
the sort of thing I've dreamed about. An English village church, with
its old worn pillars and arches----' and he raved on a bit. I said I
liked it too; of course I did; I had known it all my life, and he said
'Ah?' and was quite interested. And then--I don't know how it was--it
just seemed as if we were in the thick of it all of a sudden--he was
talking about his ideas of marriage and that. You never heard anything
so queer! But it was very nice, you know. I didn't mind it a bit, only I
thought to myself, 'Do you jolly well imagine you are going to catch old
Maud going in with those highflown ideas? Because if _you_ do, _I_
don't.'"

"What ideas?" said Leo, in a strangled voice. She had a choking
sensation in her throat.

"Eh? Well----" he considered; "they weren't exactly what you would have
expected from a fellow who's knocked about as Foster has. Sort of
romantic, you know."

As she made no reply, he continued: "I expect he had to let them out to
some one, and perhaps Maud--what do you think? Do you see Maud playing
the pious and charitable?--but I daresay she will, you know. Woa there!
I have it, I knew there was something," his tone quickened, "he called
her, that's to say he didn't call _her_, but of course he meant her, he
said he hoped his wife would be an 'Angel in the House,' or something of
that kind. He said a lot more, but I can't remember it."

"You are remembering very well. Go on."

"So then I thought of you."

"Of me? Oh, no."

"But I did, Leo. I can't help it. Anyhow I