"Good morning," she returned half-inquiringly. She did not take a seat near him, and turned, as if for instruction, to Mrs. Bowen. It was probably the force of habit. In any case, Mrs. Bowen's eyes gave no response. She bowed slightly to Colville, and began, "I must leave Imogene to entertain you for the present, Mr.--" "No!" cried the girl impetuously; "don't go." Mrs. Bowen stopped. "I wish to speak with you--with you and Mr. Colville together. I wish to say--I don't know how to say it exactly; but I wish to know--You asked him last night, Mrs. Bowen, whether he wished to consider it an engagement?" "I thought perhaps you would rather hear from your mother--" "Yes, I would be glad to know that my mother approved; but if she didn't, I couldn't help it. Mr. Colville said he was bound, but I was not. That can't be. I _wish_ to be bound, if he is." "I don't quite know what you expect me to say." "Nothing," said Imogene. "I merely wished you to know. And I don't wish you to sacrifice anything to us. If you think best, Mr. Colville will not see me till I hear from home; though it won't make any difference with me _what_ I hear." "There's no reason why you shouldn't meet," said Mrs. Bowen absently. "If you wish it to have the same appearance as an Italian engagement----" "No," said Mrs. Bowen, putting her hand to her head with a gesture she had; "that would be quite unnecessary. It would be ridiculous under the circumstances. I have thought of it, and I have decided that the American way is the best." "Very well, then," said Imogene, with the air of summing up; "then the only question is whether we shall make it known or not to other people." This point seemed to give Mrs. Bowen greater pause than any. She was a long time silent, and Colville saw that Imogene was beginning to chafe at her indecision. Yet he did not see the moment to intervene in a debate in which he found himself somewhat ludicrously ignored, as if the affair were solely the concern of these two women, and none of his. "Of course, Mrs. Bowen," said the girl haughtily, "if it will be disagreeable to you to have it known----" Mrs. Bowen blushed delicately--a blush of protest and of generous surprise, or so it seemed to Colville. "I was not thinking of myself, Imogene. I only wish to consider you. And I was thinking whether, at this distance from home, you wouldn't prefer to have your family's approval before you made it known." "I am sure of their approval. Father will do what mother says, and she has always said that she would never interfere with me in--in--such a thing." "Perhaps you would like all the more, then, to show her the deference of waiting for her consent." Imogene started as if stopped short in swift career; it was not hard for Colville to perceive that she saw for the first time the reverse side of a magnanimous impulse. She suddenly turned to him.