"I was to give it you when nobody was around." Barbara's heart beat, but she gave the boy a quarter and opened the envelope.

The note was short and not romantic.

Shillito stated he had grounds for imagining it might not reach her, but if it did, he begged she would give him her address when she left the hotel.

He told her where to write, and added if she could find a way to get his letters he had much to say.
His coolness annoyed Barbara, but he had excited her curiosity and she was intrigued.

Moreover, Cartwright had tried to meddle and she wanted to feel she was cleverer than he.