hought about it all the night through, and now I
know."

"Sheila!" called her father from the inside of the inn, and she turned
to go.

"But you do not ask that, do you?" he said. "You are only frightened a
little bit just now, but that will go away. There is nothing to be
frightened about. You have been thinking over it, and imagining
impossible things: you have been thinking of leaving Borva altogether--"

"Oh, that I can never do!" she said with a pathetic earnestness.

"But why think of such a thing?" he said. "You need not look at all the
possible troubles of life when you take such a simple step as this.
Sheila, don't be hasty in any such resolve: you may be sure all the
gloomy things you have been thinking of will disappear when we get close
to them. And this is such a simple thing. I don't ask you to say you
will be my wife--I have no right to ask you yet--but I have only asked
permission of you to let me think of it; and even Mr. Ingram sees no
great harm in that."

"Does _he_ know?" she said with a start of surprise and fear.

"Yes," said Lavender, wishing he had bitten his tongue in two before he
had uttered the word. "You know we have no secrets from each other; and
to whom could I go for advice but to your oldest friend?"

"And what did he say?" she asked with a strange look in her eyes.

"Well, he sees a great many difficulties, but he thinks they will easily
be got over."

"Then," she said, with her eyes again cast down and a certain sadness in
her tone, "I must explain to him too, and tell him I had no
understanding of what I said last night."

"Sheila, you won't do that!" urged the young man. "It means nothing--it
pledges you to nothing."

"Sheila! Sheila!" cried her father cheerily from the window, "come in
and let us hef our breakfast."

"Yes, papa," said the girl, and she went into the house, followed by her
companion.

But how could she find an opportunity of making this explanation?
Shortly after breakfast the wagonette was at the door of the little
Barvas inn, and Sheila came out of the house and took her place in it
with an unusual quietness of manner and hopelessness of look. Ingram,
sitting opposite to her, and knowing nothing of what had taken place,
fancied that this was but an expression of girlish timidity, and that it
was his business to interest her and amuse her until she should forget
the strangeness and newness of her position. Nay, as he had resolved to
make the best