'Indeed you _did_,' says Ponsonby, laughing, 'and you looked so fierce I
was afraid to go after you and fled in the opposite direction, leaving
you to vent your wrath on Dalrymple whom I had just left.'

'I am very glad you did,' says Lippa, with a little conscious laugh.
'Two's company, three's none.'

'Yes,' replies Paul, quietly, and then a pause ensues.

'Oughtn't I to have said that?' asks Philippa, suddenly looking up into
his face. 'Because--well ... you see, if you'd been there--now, if I
tell you something, promise to keep it a secret,' this very persuasively
and slipping her arm through his.

'On my word and honour,' Paul answers.

'Well, Mr Dalrymple asked me--to--marry him--there!'

'What, Jimmy!' exclaims Paul. 'I'm so glad; he's quite the nicest fellow
I know. I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.'

'Thank you,' says Lippa, simply. 'But you won't tell anybody, will you?
Nobody knows, not even Mabel--'

'But, my dear child, why did you tell _me_, of all people first?' asks
he.

'I had to tell somebody, and I know George couldn't keep anything from
Mabel, or Mabel from him.'