It was not kind, perhaps, but youth is cruel.
And so the years wore on, till at length Beatrice knew that a crisis was at hand.

Even the tardiest and most retiring lover must come to the point at last, if he is in earnest, and Owen Davies was very much in earnest.

Of late, to her dismay, he had so far come out of his shell as to allow himself to be nominated a member of the school council.

Of course she knew that this was only to give him more opportunities of seeing her.

As a member of the council, he could visit the school of which she was mistress as often as he chose, and indeed he soon learned to take a lively interest in village education.