CHAPTER VII

A ROSE 0F WOMANHOOD

‘ N 7 HEN he emerged from the spruce

wood and entered the orchard

his heart gave a sudden leap,

and he felt that the blood rushed madly to

his face. She was there, bending over the

bed of June lilies in the centre of the gar-

den plot. He could see only her profile, virginal and white.

He stopped, not Wishing to startle her again. When she lifted her head he ex- pected to see her shrink and flee, but she did not do so; she only grew a little paler and stood motionless, watching him in- tently.

Seeing this, he walked slowly towards her, and when he was so close to her that he could hear the nervous flutter of her breath over her parted, trembling lips, he said very gently,

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