"Yes, I know," he said sadly. "You see, I lack experience in such
things. Now, if Margaret--"

"Don't tell me you want to use her simply as a model," she began, with
another incipient gentle bristle.

"I want her as a model and a great many other things besides, dear
Lady Elspeth. I love Margaret Brandt with every atom of good that is
in me."

"And she?" with a nod and a sparkle.

"Ah! There now--that's what I don't know. She's not one to wear her
heart on her sleeve. At times I have dared to hope. Then again I have
feared--"

"That is quite right. That is quite as it should be. Anything more, so
early as this, would imply unmaidenliness on her part."

"Truly? You mean it? You are, without exception, the most charming old
lady in the world! You relieve my mind immensely. You see, she is
always so sweet and charming. But then she could not be anything
else, and it may really mean nothing. Do you really think I may hope?"

"'White-handed Hope, thou hovering angel, girt with golden wings,'"
she quoted, with a smile.

"That's Margaret," he murmured rapturously.