He continued: "She has seemed different of late, somehow; she has eluded
me so often I have felt as though she were in some way slipping away
from me, and now I fear I have lost her altogether. How is it?"
Darrell gently raised the sweet face so that he looked into the clear
depths of the brown eyes.
"Tell me, Kathie dear, has she drifted away from me?"
For an instant the eyes were hidden under the curling lashes; then they
lifted as she replied, with an enigmatical smile,-"Not so far but that you may follow, if you choose."
Darrell bowed his head and his lips touched the golden-brown hair.
"Sweetheart," he said, in low tones, scarcely above a whisper, "I
follow; if I overtake her, what then? Will I find her the same as in the
past?"
Her heart was beating wildly with a new, strange joy; she longed to get
away by herself and taste its sweetness to the full.
"The same, and yet not the same," she answered, slowly; then, before he
could say more, she added, lightly, as a wave of laughter was borne
upward from the parlors.
"But I came to see if you were ready to go downstairs; ought we not to
join the others?"
"As you please," he replied, stooping to pick up the programme she had
dropped; "are the guests arriving yet?"
"No; it is still early, but I want to introduce you to my friends. Oh,
yes, my programme; thanks! That reminds me, I am going to ask you to put
your name down for two or three waltzes; you know," she added, smiling,
"I promised you two weeks ago some waltzes for this evening, so take
your choice."
For an instant Darrell hesitated, and the old troubled look returned to
his face.
"You are very kind," he said, slowly, "and I appreciate the honor; but
it has just occurred to me that really I am not at all certain regarding
my proficiency in that line."
Kate understood his dilemma. They had reached the hall; some one was at
the piano below and the strains of a dreamy waltz floated through the
rooms.
"I haven't a doubt of your proficiency myself," she replied, with a
confident smile, "but if you would like a test, here is a good
opportunity," and she glanced up and down the vacant but brightly
lighted corridor. Darrell needed no second hint, and almost before she
was aware they were gliding over the floor.
To Kate, intoxicated with her new-found joy, it seemed as though she
were borne along on the waves of the music without effort or volition of
her own. She dared not trust herself to speak. Once or twice she raised
her eyes to meet the dark ones whose gaze she felt upon her face, but
the love-light shining in their depths overpowered her glance and she
turned her eyes away. She knew that he had seen and recognized the
woman, and that as such--and not as a child--he loved her, and for the
present this knowledge was happiness enough.