She looked up with a sudden flash in her eyes, and said, almost
sternly:
"You must not look at me in that way, or else even friendship will
be impossible and we must become strangers. Perhaps, after all,
this will be the wisest course for us both," she added, in a gentler
tone.
He dropped her hand, but said firmly, "No, Miss Jennie, you have
given me the right to call you my friend, and I have seen friendship
in your eyes, and friends at least we shall be till the end of time.
I shall not say good-night. I shall not let you go away and brood
by yourself. I have learned that cheering others is the very elixir
of your life; so, come into the parlor. I will find Stanton and
our friend with the soprano voice, and the guests of the house
shall again bless the stars that sent you to us, as I do daily."
She smiled faintly and said:
"I'll join you there after a little while," and she flitted out
into the darkening hall-way, and sought her room by a side stair.
A few moments later Stanton, finding the object of his thoughts did
not appear among the guests who sought to escape the sultriness of
the evening on the wide piazzas or in the large, spacious parlor,
began to wander restlessly in a half-unconscious search.
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