Page:Maud Howe - A Newport Aquarelle.djvu/177

 him what he had said, and, remembering the business he had in hand, he determined to plunge in medias res, and so, gathering all his forces together, he said with a voice that was not quite natural,—

"Of course you must have seen how much I am in love with you, Gladys, and I cannot stand the uncertainty any longer; will you marry me?"

Gladys thought, of all the proposals she had ever listened to,—they had been in number exactly twenty-five, an average of one a year for her whole life,—this one certainly was the most abrupt. But she had been prepared for it, and with a sense of thankfulness for the form in which the fatal question had been asked, she said quietly, her eyes fixed on the rumble of Mrs. Fallow-Deer's carriage in front of them,— "Yes, I will."

For he had not asked her if she loved him, and she had been spared the lie, which her proud lips could hardly have spoken.