Her age was, I
supposed, near forty-five. Her face was strong and resolute, yet it was
with the strength and resolution of a woman, not of a man. Altogether
she looked a fit mate for Doddridge Knapp.
"Yes," I replied, adjusting my manner nicely to hers, "I have been very
busy."
As she felt the touch of my hand and heard the sound of my voice, I
thought I saw a look of surprise, apprehension and hesitation in her
eyes. If it was there it was gone in an instant, and she replied gaily:
"Busy? How provoking of you to say so! You should never be too busy to
take the commands of the ladies."
"That is why I am here," I interrupted with my best bow. But she
continued without noting it:
"Luella wagered with me that you would make that excuse. I expected
something more original."
"I am very sorry," I said, with a reflection of the bantering air she
had assumed.
"Oh, indeed!" exclaimed the younger woman, to whom my eyes had turned
as Mrs. Knapp spoke her name. "How very unkind of you to say so, when I
have just won a pair of gloves by it. Good evening to you!" And she
held out her hand.
It was with a strong effort that I kept my self-possession, as for the
first time I clasped the hand of Luella Knapp.
Was it the thrill of her touch, the glance of her eye, or the magnetism
of her presence, that set my pulses beating to a new measure, and gave
my spirit a breath from a new world? Whatever the cause, as I looked
into the clear-cut face and the frank gray eyes of the woman before me,
I was swept by a flood of emotion that was near overpowering my self-
control.
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