Their being alone now was from accident rather than design on his part.
"I think it right for me to go, Kate," the young man replied, as calmly as it was possible for him to speak under the circumstances.
"And when I think it right to do a thing, I never hesitate or look back." "You have a reason, for going, of course.

Why, then, not tell it frankly?
Are we not all your friends ?" Edwin was silent, and his eyes rested upon the floor, while a deeper flush than usual was upon his face.

Kate looked at him fixedly.
Suddenly a new thought flashed through her mind, and the color on her own cheeks grew warmer.

Her voice from that moment was lower and more tender; and her eyes, as she conversed with the young man, were never a moment from his face.

As for him, his embarrassment in her presence was never more complete, and he betrayed the secret that was in his heart even while he felt the most earnest to conceal it.
Conscious of this, he excused himself and retired as soon as it was possible to do so.
Kate sat thoughtful for some time after he had left.