We are not expansive." His face was grave again, and she noticed it with a sudden throb of misgiving.

She did not want to begin taking life seriously so soon.

It was like going back to school in the middle of the holidays.
"But it will be all right in a day or two, will it not?
It is not serious," she said.
"I am afraid it is serious, Millicent." He took her hand with a gravity which made matters worse.
"What a pity!" she exclaimed; and somehow both the words and the speaker rang shallow.

She did not seem to grasp the situation, which was perhaps beyond her reach.

But she did the next best thing.