Annelookedthoughtfulandreticent，forherreasonwasalmosttoosillyaonetoconfess。’Well，Iwantedtoavoidapersonwhoisverybusytryingtomeetme——that’sall，’shesaid。
Hermotherglancedoutofthewindow。’Andthereheis，Isuppose，’
shesaid，asJohnLoveday，tiredoflookingforAnneatthestile，passedthehouseonhiswaytohisfather’sdoor。Hecouldnothelpcastinghiseyestowardstheirwindow，and，seeingthem，hesmiled。
Anne’sreluctancetomentionFestuswassuchthatshedidnotcorrecthermother’serror，andthedamewenton:’Well，youarequiteright，mydear。Befriendlywithhim，butnomoreatpresent。
Ihaveheardofyourotheraffair，andthinkitisaverywisechoice。Iamsureyouhavemybestwishesinit，andIonlyhopeitwillcometoapoint。’