'Oh, Paul! how _tiresome_ you are, do you know I,' and then Miss Seaton
is filled with confusion, she has called him by his Christian name and
he is looking at her and smiling. 'I--er beg your pardon,' she says
quickly in her childish way.

'What for?' asks he, pretending not to understand her.

'For calling you by your Christian name--'

'Well, and what harm was there?'

'You see,' she says deprecatingly, 'Mabel is always talking about you,
and so I get into the habit of talking of you as Paul.'

Paul rises and standing in front of her says--'As I said before, where
is the harm? I have never called you anything else but Philippa, or
Lippa; I could not address you as Miss Seaton, it does not suit you one
bit you know; now let us make it a compact from henceforth, I call you
Lippa, and you call me Paul.'

'Very well,' replies she.

'What ever are you two doing here,' and the curtain is hastily drawn
aside by Mabel. 'You look as grave as judges, come and have some
strawberries and cream, Lady Dadford has gone.'

At the sound of strawberries, Lippa hastily rises, and they go into the
front room, where Jimmy Dalrymple is.

'How do you do,' says Philippa, wondering how long he has been there.