Grundy's pronouncement on such a
matter.
"You'll stay?" said the Englishman.
It savoured more of a command than a question. Metaphorically Ann threw
Mrs. Grundy overboard into the lake.
"Yes, I'll stay," she answered.
He accepted her decision without any outward sign of satisfaction, and she
experienced a slight chill of disappointment. Perhaps, after all, he had
only asked her to remain a little longer, not because he really desired the
pleasure of her company, but merely in order that he might not be
inconvenienced by the necessity of taking her back to Montricheux before he
himself was ready to go. She had all the sensitiveness of youth and, once
this idea had presented itself to her, she felt self-conscious and ill at
ease, only anxious for the moment to arrive when she need no longer
trespass on his hospitality.
And then, just as though some secret wireless had acquainted him of her
discomfort, he held out his hand with a sudden smile that softened the
harsh lines of his face extraordinarily.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "When you go to bed to-night you'll be able
to feel you've done your 'kind deed' for to-day."
Half reluctantly, yet unable to do otherwise, Ann laid her hand in the one
he held out to her.
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