"Not exactly that," said Davila, blushing. "Mr. Macloud has been very attentive and very nice and all that, you know, but you mustn"t forget there are not many girls here, and I"m convenient, and--I don"t take him seriously."
"How does he take you?" Elaine asked.
"I don"t know--sometimes I think he does, and sometimes I think he doesn"t!" she laughed. "He is an accomplished flirt and difficult to gauge."
"Well, let me tell you one fact, for your information: there isn"t a more indifferent man in Northumberland. He goes everywhere, is in great demand, is enormously popular, yet, I"ve never known him to have even an affair. He is armor-plated--but he is a dear, a perfect dear, Davila!"
"I know it!" she said, with heightening color--and Elaine said no more, then.
"Shall you prefer to meet Mr. Croyden alone, for the first time, or in company?" Davila asked.
"I confess I don"t know, but I think, however, it would be better to have a few words with Colin, first--if it can be arranged."
Miss Carrington nodded. "Mr. Macloud is to come in a moment before luncheon, if he can find an excuse that will not include Mr. Croyden."
"Is an excuse difficult to find--or is any, even, needed?"
Elaine smiled.
"He doesn"t usually come before four--that"s the tea hour in Hampton."
"Tea!" exclaimed Elaine. "If you"ve got him into the tea habit, you can do what you want with him--he will eat out of your hand."
"I never tried him with tea," said Davila. "He chose a high ball the first time--so it"s been a high ball ever since."
"With gratifying regularity?"
"I admit it!" laughed Davila.
Elaine sat down on the couch and put her arm about Davila.
"These awful men!" she said. "But we shall be good friends, better friends than ever, Davila, when you come to Northumberland to live."
"That is just the question, Elaine," was the quick answer; "whether I shall be given the opportunity, and whether I shall take it, if I am. I haven"t let it go so far, because I don"t feel sure of him. Until I do, I intend to keep tight hold on myself."
"Do it--if you can. You"ll find it much the happier way."
Just before luncheon, Macloud arrived.
"Bully for you!" was his greeting to Miss Cavendish. "I"m glad to see you here."
"Yes, I"m here, thanks to you," said Elaine--and Davila not being present, she kissed him.
"I"m more than repaid!" he said.
"But you wish it were--another?"
"No--but I wish the other--would, too!" he laughed.
"Give her the chance, Colin."
"You think I may dare?" eagerly.
"You"re not wont to be so timid," she returned.
"I wish I had some of your bravery," he said.
"Is it bravery?" she demanded. "Isn"t it impetuous womanliness."
"Not a bit! There isn"t a doubt as to his feelings."
"But there is a doubt as to his letting them control--I see."
"Yes! And you alone can help him solve it--if any one can. And I have great hopes, Elaine, great hopes!" regarding her with approving eyes.
"How any chap could resist you is inconceivable--I could not."
"You could not at one time, you mean."
"You gave me no encouragement,--so I must, perforce, fare elsewhere."
"And now?" she asked.
"How many love affairs have you come down here to settle?" he laughed.
"By the way, Croyden is impatient to come over this afternoon. The guest in the trap with Miss Carrington has aroused his curiosity. He could see only a long brown coat and a brown hat, but the m.u.f.f before your face, and his imagination, did the rest."
"Does he suspect?" she inquired, anxiously.
"That it"s you? No! no! It"s simply the country town beginning to tell on him. He is curious about new guests, and Miss Carrington hadn"t mentioned your coming! He suggested, in a vague sort of way, that there was something familiar about you, but he didn"t attempt to particularize. It was only a momentary idea."
She looked her relief.
"Shall you meet him alone?"
"I think not--we shall all be present."
"And _how_ shall you meet him?"
"It depends on how he meets me."
"I reckon you don"t know much about it--haven"t any plans?"
"No, I haven"t. Everything depends on the moment. He will know why I"m here, and whether he is glad or sorry or displeased at my coming, I shall know instantly. I shall then have my cue. It"s absurd, this notion of his, and why let it rule him and me! I"ve always got what I wanted, and I"m going to get Geoffrey. A Queen of a Nation must propose to a suitor, so why not a Queen of Money to a man less rich than she--especially when she is convinced that that alone keeps them apart.
I shall give him a chance to propose to me first; several chances, indeed!" she laughed. "Then, if he doesn"t respond--I shall do it myself."
XVII