At the tea-table Polly saw David looking keenly at her, and then once again. Both times she turned her eyes quickly; she did not even glance at him the third time, and he did not speak to her directly during the meal. Afterwards she helped Mrs. Randolph and Miss Crilly put the children to bed, and then they joined Mrs. Daybill on the veranda. Lilith and Dr. Abbe and David did not appear until late. Then David looked grave and forbidding. He scarcely spoke. Polly wondered what had become of the note--if it were a note--that David had wished Esther to give her. At breakfast David addressed Polly directly. “I must be going down to Fair Harbor,” he said. “Are you willing I should take your car down the mountain?” “Certainly,” answered Polly, “if you feel that you must go.” “I have been away from home too long already,” he replied. “Will you go down with me, to bring the car back?” he asked, meeting her eyes squarely. For an almost imperceptible instant she hesitated. Then she answered, “Why, yes, thank you, I shall be glad to go.” He smiled. The hour was set. Dr. Abbe and the others expressed regrets; but Polly said nothing further. Mrs. Randolph and Miss Crilly and Lilith demurred when Polly asked them to accompany David and herself to Overlook. “He did not invite us,” they said. “I am inviting you,” returned Polly, and she would take only their acceptance. David looked crestfallen, so Miss Crilly affirmed, when he saw the bevy of ladies ready to go down to Overlook. But he accepted his fate gracefully, and the ride turned out to be pleasant to at least three of the passengers. At the Overlook station David caught a brief chance to say a word to Polly. “Why didn’t you meet me last evening, or at least answer my note?” he demanded quietly. She looked up in innocent surprise. “I haven’t received any note from you,” she answered, her face scarlet at once. “Didn’t that little girl who was playing with Grissel on the veranda yesterday afternoon hand you the note I gave her for you?” “No,” she reiterated. “She gave me nothing.” He laughed a little. “Forgot it, probably! So much for trusting to a kid’s memory. I waited for you up in the woods till ten o’clock.” “Too bad!” she faltered. “H’m,” he returned. “Well, I’ll see you when you are back in Fair Harbor. I might write--shall I?” “Why, yes, if you like,” she answered. “Perhaps--I think on the whole I’d rather wait till you come home.” The train was thundering in; there was no more time. With a grasp of the hand and a grave good-bye, he turned, and Polly saw him disappear in the car. The next day Mrs. Randolph and Miss Crilly said good-bye, too. The little family on Overlook Mountain was by itself again. CHAPTER XXVIII BENEDICTA’S OPPORTUNITY It was not until Polly returned from taking her last guests to the Overlook train that she inquired of Esther Tenniel about the note with which David had entrusted her.