Page:Bambi (1914).djvu/357

Rh “Do you remember Christmas Eve, when I came home?”

“Yes.”

“Did you notice anything different about me?”

“How, different?”

“Did it occur to you that I cared about you, for the first time?”

“I— I— suspicioned it a little.”

“Then you deliberately ignored it because you did not want my love?”

“I— I— didn’t mean to ignore it.”

“But you did.”

“I wasn’t sure; you never spoke of it, never said you cared. After that first night I thought I must have been mistaken.”

“But you were glad to be mistaken?”

“No. I was sorry,” she said, softly.

“What?” sharply.

“I wanted your love, Jarvis.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“But I do!”

“But, Strong— you love Strong—”

She rose quickly, her face flushed.

“I love Richard Strong as my friend, and in no other way.”