hubrick, who did want her. He wanted her very much, Dolly
knew; he had been waiting patiently, and she had disappointed every
effort he made to get speech of her and see her alone, just because she
was shy of him and of herself. But it was hardly fair to him, after
all, and it could not go on. He had a right to know what she would say
to his proposition; and she was keeping him in uneasiness, (to put it
mildly), Dolly knew quite well. And now, when could she see him? when
would she have a chance to speak to him alone, and to hear all that she
yet wanted to hear? but indeed Dolly now was thinking not so much of
what she wanted as of what _he_ wanted; and her uneasiness grew. He
might be obliged to go off suddenly; officers' orders are stubborn
things; she might have no chance at all, for aught she knew, after this
afternoon. She looked at her father; he had dozed off. She looked out
of the window; the afternoon sun, sinking away in the west, was sending
a flood of warm light upon and among the trees of the park. It must be
wonderfully pretty there! It must be vastly pleasant there! And there,
perhaps, Mr. Shubrick was sitting at this moment on the bank, wishing
for her, and feeling impatiently that his free time was slipping away.
Dolly's heart stirred uneasily. She had been very shy of him; she was
yet; but now she felt that he had a right to his answer. Something that
took the guise of conscience opposed her shy reserve and fought with
it. Mr. Shubrick had a _right_ to his answer; and she was not treating
him well to let him go without it.

Dolly looked again at her father. Eyes closed, breathing indicative of
gentle slumber. She looked again over at the sunlit park. It was
delicious over there, among its sunny and shadowy glades. Perhaps Mr.
Shubrick had walked on, tempted by the beauty, and was now at a
distance; perhaps he had not been tempted, and was still near, up there
among the trees, wanting to see her.

Dolly turned away from the window and with a quick step went
downstairs. She met nobody. Her straw flat was on the hall table; she
took it up and went out; through the garden, down to the bridge, over
the bridge, with a step not swift but steady. Mr. Shubrick had a right
to his answer, and she was simply doing what was his due, and there
might be no time to lose. She went a little more slowly when she found
herself in the park; and she trembled a little as her eye searched the
grassy openings. She was not qui