"You?" That was all. Just a little breathed note of incredulity.
"Yes. I wanted to tell you before he should have a chance to tell, and
to think that I had kept from you something which you should have been
told. But I am not sure, even now, that it should be told."
"But on Christmas Eve, you said that you did not believe----"
"I do not."
"And was that the reason you gave it up?"
"No. It is a long story. And it is not a pleasant one. Yet it seems
that I must tell it."
The wind had risen and blew a mist from the fountain. The dead leaves
rustled.
Mary shivered.
"Oh, you are cold," Roger said, "and I am keeping you."
"No," she said, mechanically, "I am not cold. I have my cloak. Please
go on."
But he was not to tell his story then, for a shaft of strong light
illumined the roadway, and a big limousine stopped at the foot of the
terrace steps. They heard Delilah Jeliffe's high laugh; then Porter's
voice in the garden. "Mary, are you there?"
"Yes."
"Grace Clendenning and her mother are going, and Delilah and Mr.
Jeliffe have motored out to show you their new car."
There was deep disapproval in his voice. Mary rose reluctantly as he
joined them. "Oh, Porter, must I listen to Delilah's chatter for the
rest of the evening?"
"You made me listen to Grace's. This is your punishment."
"I don't want to be punished. And I am very tired, Porter."
This was a new word in Mary Ballard's vocabulary, and Porter responded
at once to its appeal.
"We will get rid of Delilah presently, and then Gordon and Constance
will go with us for a spin around the Speedway. That will set you up,
little lady."
Roger stood silent by the fountain. Through the veil of mist the
little bronze boy seemed to smile maliciously. During all the years in
which he had ridden the dolphin, he had seen men and women come and go
beneath the hundred-leaved bush. And he had smiled on all of them, and
by their mood they had interpreted his smiles.
Roger's mood at this moment was one of impotent rebellion at Porter's
air of proprietorship, and it was with this air intensified that, as
Mary shivered again Porter drew her wrap about her shoulders, fastening
the loop over the big button with expert fingers and said, carelessly,
"Are you coming in with us, Poole?"