"You furtive person! I ran across the omniscient Adelaide
and heard from her that you'd rushed up suddenly and
secretly " He stood between Anna and Darrow, strained,
questioning, dangerously on edge.

"I came up to meet Mr. Darrow," Anna answered. "His leave's
been prolonged--he's going back with me."

The words seemed to have uttered themselves without her
will, yet she felt a great sense of freedom as she spoke
them.

The hard tension of Owen's face changed to incredulous
surprise. He looked at Darrow.
"The merest luck...a colleague whose wife was ill...I came
straight back," she heard the latter tranquilly explaining.
His self-command helped to steady her, and she smiled at
Owen.

"We'll all go back together tomorrow morning," she said as
she slipped her arm through his.



XXXIII


Owen Leath did not go back with his step-mother to Givre.
In reply to her suggestion he announced his intention of
staying on a day or two longer in Paris.