"Oh, don't! That's the kind of thing some of Gerald's smart friends say,
and it makes one want to slap them! Besides," she added naively, glancing
down at her curtailed skirt, "I'm by no means so young as I appear to be.
The fact is, I'm not allowed to grow up yet."

"Why?"

The girl laughed at him.

"Oh, you've lived in the woods. If you had stayed in England, you would
understand."

"I'm afraid I've been injudicious," Vane answered with a show of
humility. "But don't you think it's getting on toward breakfast time?"

"Breakfast won't be for a good while yet. We don't get up early. Evelyn
used to, but it's different now. We used to go out on the tarn every
morning, even in the wind and rain; but I suppose that's not good for
one's complexion, though bothering about such things doesn't seem to me
to be worth while. Aunt Julia couldn't do anything for Evelyn, though she
had her in London for some time. Flora is our shining light."

"What did she do?"

"She married the Archdeacon; and he isn't so very dried up. I've seen him
smile when I talked to him."

"I'm not astonished at that, Mabel," laughed Vane.