The Holladay Case Part 33

"No?"

The spirit of Paris--or perhaps the June suns.h.i.+ne--was in my veins, running riot, clamorous, not to be repressed.

"Certainly not. There might be another, for instance, with you and me as the princ.i.p.als."

I dared not look at her; I could only stare ahead of me down at the water.

She made no sign; the moments pa.s.sed.

"Might be," I said desperately. "But there's a wide abyss between the possible and the actual."

Still no sign; I had offended her--I might have known!

But I mustered courage to steal a sidelong glance at her.

She was smiling down at the water, and her eyes were very bright.

"Not always," she whispered. "Not always."