"Little goose!--as if I ever cared twopence for any of them!"-- he thought angrily.

"And now she makes us both laughing-stocks!" And yet, Doris being Doris--a proud, self-contained, well-bred little person, particularly sensitive to ridicule--the whole proceeding became the more incredible the more he faced it.
One o'clock!--striking from the church tower in the valley! He hurried towards the slight figure on the distant seat.

Lady Dunstable might return at any moment.

He foresaw the encounter--the great lady's insolence--Doris's humiliation--and his own.

Well, at least let him agree with Doris on a common story, before his hostess arrived.
He sped across the grass, very conscious, as he approached the seat, of Doris's drooping look and attitude.