Then slowly: "You thought I wasn't in earnest ?" he said.

"You thought I didn't care enough ?" She did not answer him in words; her silence was enough.
"God forgive me!" whispered Hugh....
There came the thud of horses' hoofs upon the grass, and his hand relinquished hers.

He turned to see Jeff Ironside barely ten paces away, leading the two animals.

Very pale but wholly collected, Hugh moved to meet him.
"I have just been hearing about your marriage, Ironside," he said.

"May I congratulate you ?" Jeff's eyes, with the red sunlight turning them to a ruddy brown, met his with absolute directness as he made brief response.