"I know that! Nevertheless, I love it as I love no spot on earth to-day." There was a little pause, full of awkwardness for the two who had accidentally brought Carolina’s loss home to her. To Carolina it brought home a sense of real guilt. If she had believed that Guildford was lost she would have screamed aloud and gone mad before their very eyes. She was almost afraid to juggle with the truth even to protect her sacred enthusiasm from their profane eyes. It was St. Quentin who spoke first. "I can understand wanting a farm or country estate in England," he began. "I myself enjoy the thought of thatched roofs and cattle standing knee-deep in waving, grassy meadows; of tired farm horses; of mugs of ale and thick slices of bread and the sweat of honest toil--" "On another person’s brow!" interrupted Carolina. "You want your farm finished. I want to make mine. I want to see it grow. I almost believe when it was complete, that I would want to leave it." "You’d want to leave it long before that," cried Kate. "Oh, can’t you understand my idea?" cried Carolina, with sudden passion. "I want to get back to Nature and sit in the lap of my mother earth!" St. Quentin nodded his head. "I do understand," he said, "and _apropos_ of your idea, I have a piece of news for you." Carolina looked at him distrustfully. "You will take that look back when you hear," he said, with a trifle of reproach in his tone. "I know you expect no help from any of us--discouragements, rather--but I have only to-day heard of business which calls me to Maine, and as I expect to be obliged to wait there a fortnight, I will devote that time to looking up a farm for your purpose." "You will?" cried Carolina, in a faint voice. Her deception was already tripping her up. Kate looked at him with undisguised amazement, mingled with a little reluctant contempt. St. Quentin’s eyes dilated when he saw the flash of personal interest in Carolina’s demeanour. Her eyes and voice and manner all underwent a subtle but delightful change. For the first time, although he was distantly related to her family and had known her since childhood, she seemed to approach him of her own accord. Hitherto her fine sense of pride had kept her individuality inviolate. She was not a girl to permit familiarity even from an intimate. She seemed to hold aloof even from Kate’s verbal impertinences, but this was largely due to the fact that Kate’s own nature was such that she never attempted to break down the barriers in deeds. There was always a dignified reserve between them--a respect for each other’s privacy, which was the foundation for their friendship. One of the greatest proofs of this was that neither had ever thought of suggesting that they spend the night together, with the result that they had never exchanged indiscreet secrets.