subject, she had been able to
answer him with scarcely a rise of colour in her cheeks; with a calm
and cool exercise of her reasoning powers, which left her fully
mistress of the situation and of herself. She had not been disturbed
then, she had not been excited. What was the matter now? For Dolly was
overtaken by an invincible fit of shyness, such as never had visited
her in all her life. I do not think now she knew that she was blushing;
according to her custom, she was not self-conscious; what she was
conscious of, intensely, was Mr. Shubrick's presence, and an
overwhelming sense of his identity with the midshipman of the
"Achilles." What _that_ had to do with Dolly's shyness, it might be
hard to tell; but her sweet face flushed till brow and neck caught the
tinge, and the eyelids fell over the eyes, and Dolly for the moment was
mistress of nothing. Mr. Shubrick looking at her, and seeing those
lovely flushes and her absolute gravity and silence, was in doubt what
it might mean. He thought that perhaps nobody had ever spoken to her on
such a subject before; yet Dolly was no silly girl, to be overcome by
the mere strangeness of his words. Did her silence and gravity augur
ill for him? or well? And then, without being in the least a coxcomb,
it occurred to him that her excessive blushing told on the hopeful side
of the account. He waited. He saw she was as shy as a just caught bird;
was she caught? He would not make so much as a movement to startle her
further. He waited, with something at his heart which made it easier
every moment for him to wait. But in the nature of the case, waiting
has its limits.

"What are you going to do about it?" he inquired at length, in a very
gentle manner. "Give me my note back again, with the conditions?"

Dolly did nothing of the kind. She held the note, it is true, and
looked at it, but without making any movement to restore it to its
owner. So decided an action did not seem at the moment possible to her.
She looked at the little note, with the prettiest sort of
embarrassment, and presently rose to her feet. "I am sure it is time to
have supper," she said, "and they cannot do anything at home till I
come."

Mr. Shubrick rose too and followed Dolly, who set off unceremoniously
down the bank towards the bridge. He followed her, half smiling, and
wholly impatient. Yet though a stride or two would have brought him
alongside of her, he would not make them. He kept behind, and allowed
h