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see her, and Page took him off into the drawing-room across the hall. Mrs. Wessels seized upon the occasion to slip away unobserved, and Laura and Jadwin were left alone. "Well, my girl," began Jadwin, "how's the day gone with you?" She had been seated at the centre table, by the drop light--the only light in the room--turning over the leaves of "The Age of Fable," looking for graceful and appropriate names for the yacht. Jadwin leaned over her and put his hand upon her shoulder. "Oh, about the same as usual," she answered. "I told Page and Aunt Wess' this morning." "What did they have to say?" Jadwin laid a soft but clumsy hand upon Laura's head, adding, "Laura, you have the most wonderful hair I ever saw." "Oh, they were not surprised. Curtis, don't, you are mussing me." She moved her head impatiently; but then smiling, as if to mitigate her abruptness, said, "It always makes me nervous to have my hair touched. No, they were not surprised; unless it was that we were to be married so soon. They were surprised at that. You know I always said it was too soon. Why not put it off, Curtis--until the winter?" But he scouted this, and then, as she returned to the subject again, interrupted her, drawing some papers from his pocket. "Oh, by the way," he said, "here are the sketch plans for the alterations of the house at Geneva. The contractor brought them to the office to-day. He's made that change about the dining-room." "Oh," exclaimed Laura, interested at once, "you mean about building on the conservatory?" "Hum--no," answered Jadwin a little slowly. "You see, Laura, the difficulty is in getting the thing done this summer. When we go up there we want everything finished, don't we? We don't want a lot of workmen clattering around. I thought maybe we could wait about that conservatory till next year, if you didn't mind." Laura acquiesced readily enough, but Jadwin could see that she was a little disappointed. Thoughtful, he tugged his mustache in silence for a moment. Perhaps, after all, it could be arranged. Then an idea presented itself to him. Smiling a little awkwardly, he said: "Laura, I tell you what. I'll make a bargain with you." She looked up as he hesitated. Jadwin sat down at the table opposite her and leaned forward upon his folded arms. "Do you know," he began, "I happened to think--Well, here's what I mean," he suddenly declared decisively. "Do you know, Laura, that ever since we'v
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