Close by, the tall hedgerow was broken by a stile, from which a path led across a field and joined the road farther on.

He was in the moonlight and if he vanished the thing would look too marked.

Moreover, there would be something ridiculous about his running away.
Kit went forward, wondering whether Janet had noted his hesitation, and she stopped him near a big ash-tree.

The shadow of the branches made a black, open pattern on the snow and a belt of gloom lay behind the wide trunk.

Kit would sooner Janet had stopped in the moonlight, since the villagers often went to the shop and post in the evening, and his standing in the shadow gave a hint of secrecy to the accidental meeting.
He thought it strange that Janet did not see this.
"You were walking fast," she said.