Laura smiled, but she said nothing by way of reply; and just then two pert-looking little girls came running up and claimed her attention. Alec drew back a little, and watched the group. He could not help seeing that in some subtle way Laura was greatly changed. Her manner was gentle and self-forgetful. The very tones of her voice had altered. Presently the children scampered off again, and Alec rejoined his companion. ‘Do you know what I was thinking of just now?’ he said. Something in his voice startled her. He did not wait for an answer, but went on: ‘I was thinking of an afternoon in the garden at Glendhu, half a dozen years ago.’ ‘Some things are best forgotten,’ she murmured, hardly knowing what she said. ‘I was only a foolish boy then,’ went on Alec, ‘but I think my heart has never changed.’ ‘Please stop, Mr. Lindsay. Indeed I cannot listen to you.’ ‘Laura--you are not--engaged?’ ‘No; oh no!’ ‘Then why won’t you listen? You did not doubt me then. Why should you doubt me now?’ ‘I don’t doubt you. But it can never, never be.’ ‘You think I am hasty. It may seem so, but I have been longing to tell you this for weeks and months. And you know my heart was always yours.’ ‘Oh, Mr. Lindsay, I entreat you not to say any more! I should not have allowed you to go on.’ ‘Why? If I can win your love, Laura----’ ‘No, no; you do not really know me. You do not understand.’ ‘I only understand one thing--I love you. Laura, you won’t refuse me?’ ‘But I have been so heartless, so unprincipled, so selfish, so----’ the rest was lost in tears. ‘Hush, hush! I won’t have you say such things.’ ‘But they are true.’ ‘Laura, just one word,’ whispered Alec, gently taking her hand in his. ‘Can you care for me? Look at me, dearest.’ ‘It is better not,’ she said, trying to withdraw her hand. ‘See, there are Mr. and Mrs. Blake coming down the cliff.’ ‘They don’t see us yet. There is time for you to hear me and make me happy.’ ‘Would it make you happy? Are you sure?’ asked Laura; and the sunlight seemed to play for a moment on her face. ‘Can you doubt it? Come; let us forget the last three years, and imagine that we are boy and girl again at Glendhu. Will you? And let me whisper, “Can you love me, Laura?”’ ‘Oh, Alec, in my heart I loved you even then!’ THE END. BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD. Transcriber’s Note: This book was written in a period when many words had not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have been left unchanged. Dialect, obsolete and alternative spellings were left unchanged. Misspelled words were not corrected.