“Is it?… Am I?”

Her lips were parted, her eyes were glowing, and he bent and kissed first the radiant brown eyes with their drooping white eyelids, and then the soft warmth of her mouth. With a little gasp of happiness and ecstasy she surrendered it to her, and both her arms fastened themselves tightly about his neck.

Hannah emerged from the house and looked startled when she observed them locked in one another’s arms. Then she smiled and advanced and offered her congratulations.

“I hope you’ll both be very happy!” she said. “James said you’d marry one another in the end… and as I’m going to marry James I think that will be very nice, because we shall be neighbours when you settle down at Tremarth! ”

Charlotte blinked at her a little stupidly.

“James?” she echoed.

“Dr. Mackay. He asked me to marry him last night… but I declined to say yes until Miss Brown had taken her departure. I take it she’s gone for good?” she asked, her healthily attractive face beaming complacently, as if she really had no doubt at all that the beautiful Claire had gone for good.

Richard caught Charlotte back into his one sound arm, and over the top of her flaming red head he smiled at Hannah.

“I think you can take it that she will not be returning to Tremarth,” he said. “I’ve a kind of idea that the Cornish air doesn’t really suit her!”

Susan Barrie

***