The troubles of youth are none the less real because to riper age they appear trivial in the retrospect. In the constant fret against the irksome restrictions of her life Prudence’s sunny nature fought under unequal conditions, with the result that the sun suffered many an eclipse. In one of these depressed moods she wrote to Bobby to the effect that she felt unequal to holding out until he came home for good, and that if matters did not improve the desperation of the situation would drive her to elope with the curate.
“The sole consideration which deters me,” she added, “is that Jones is such an impossible name.”
“What’s in a name?” Bobby wrote back airily. “You’re safe, old girl, if you jib at a little thing like that.”
The curate, failing to meet Prudence alone and wearying of being fenced with, took a mean advantage of her at the annual Sunday-school treat, and secluding her in a corner of the playing-field with her class of infants, set the infants running races and came rather abruptly to his point.
“I love to watch you with little children,” he remarked with disconcerting suddenness. “You have such a wonderful sympathy with them.”
“I like children,” she answered guardedly; and tried to gather the babies about her; but the curate was throwing sweets for them, and they preferred scrambling for these to clinging to teacher’s hands. There is a time for everything.
“So do I,” he said, attentively scrutinising her averted face, and admiring the fine colour in her cheeks which a new quality in his voice had brought there. “Children in the home make home beautiful.”
He swept the field with his glance, and decided that his chance was short-lived and might not come again. He plunged desperately.
“I want to marry,” he said, hurriedly, and threw a further quantity of sweets to the children and turned more directly towards her. “I have been waiting so long for an opportunity of saying this to you that you will forgive me if I seem a little abrupt and choose my time inopportunely. I never see you alone now. You cannot have failed to observe how deeply in love I am. You are so sweet and gentle that I feel you will be kind. I want a little encouragement.” He paused expectantly. “I may go on?” he asked, when she took no advantage of his hesitation. “You will give me a little hope?”
Prudence turned her face and met his eyes fully. There was no possibility of mistaking his meaning.