Page:The little blue devil (IA littlebluedevil00mackiala).pdf/260

“Mr. Power, you are very different, as you say, but I know my own mind too. I—could—never—marry you.”

She spoke very slowly and with emphasis. He was suddenly silent and they drove on without another word, Pamela a little surprised that he did not protest further. She glanced at him presently. His lips were firmly shut; his eyes half closed. He did not look unhappy, but her tender heart began to reproach her. He really did care for her, so that excused a good deal. Probably it was hard to think things out calmly and be considerate when you were in love with a girl. And she had not been very nice to him—perhaps she had hurt him unnecessarily. She opened her lips to speak, but thought better of it. Evidently she had silenced him, but what an uncomfortable drive home they would have! And if Uncle Markham noticed anything and asked questions he would be so upset.

“He thinks such a lot of Mr. Power that he will wonder how ever I could refuse him. Oh, dear!—just when I had begun to feel safe and comfortable again. . . . I wonder what he is thinking now.”

She could not possibly tell, and her hope that he was quietly submitting to his fate was rudely shattered as they drew up at Mrs. Fraser’s door. Power turned to her and said, just above his breath: “I always get the thing I want—if not one way, then another. You can count on that.”

Then he was gone, and Pamela was left to three hours of small talk with Mrs. Fraser, a pleasant little woman, very curious about her pretty visitor and the romantic tales concerning her which were circulating in the district. Pamela made friends with the children, admired the garden, and heartily wished the day were over. Power had pointed out to her, as they drove through the town, the hotel where the horses were to be put up, and had asked her to meet