"
"I trust," he answered, "that I can accept a defeat; and you had all the
luck, you know."
"I had," she admitted. "It was, after all, nothing to do with me. I see
you have cleared your cupboard out. I can assure you that it was a
terribly stuffy place with all those clothes of yours hanging there."
He smiled.
"Well," he said, "you were very patient and very persistent. You have
won and I lost. I am not at all sure that it is not a good thing that I
lost. My friend Deane tells me so even now. But let that go. I am sure
you would like to tell me what it is that you have come here for."
"I have come," she answered, "to talk to you about Stella."
"Stella?" he repeated slowly.
Virginia nodded.
"Yes!" she said. "You see, I have all the time the feeling that I have
somehow or other done Stella an injury by taking her place with my
uncle, and do you know, Mr. Vine, since he has been in London he seems
quite altered. He has been simply delightful, and I haven't felt
frightened by him once. He keeps on giving me beautiful presents, and he
does not seem in the least in a hurry to get back to America."
Norris Vine smiled grimly.
"I do not blame him," he said.
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