As her small form became visible between the paleness of the wooden platform and a luminous patch in the river, she heard a cry, then a hurrying down the rock steps.
He stopped about a yard from her. She did not offer her hand, and after an instant's pause, during which his eyes tried to search her face in the darkness, he took off his hat and drew his hand across his brow with a deep breath.
"I never thought you'd come," he said huskily.
"Well, certainly you had no business to ask me! And I can only stay a very few minutes. Suppose you sit down there."
She pointed to one of the rock steps, while she settled herself again on the seat, some little distance away from him.
Then there was an awkward silence, which Laura took no trouble to break. Mason broke it at last in desperation.
"You know that I'm an awful hand at saying anything, Miss--Miss Fountain. I can't--so it's no good. But I've got my lesson. I've had a pretty rough time of it, I can tell you, since last week."
"You behaved about as badly as you could--didn't you?" said Laura's soft yet cutting voice out of the dark.
"I can't make it no better," he said at last. "There's no saying I can, for I can't. And if I did give you excuses, you'd not believe 'em. There was a devil got hold of me that evening--that's the truth on't. And it was only a glass or two I took. Well, there!--I'd have cut my hand off sooner."
His tone of miserable humility began to affect her rather strangely. It was not so easy to drive in the nail.
"You needn't be so repentant," she said, with a little shrinking laugh. "One has to forget--everything--in good time. You've given Whinthorpe people something to talk about at my expense--for which I am not at all obliged to you. You nearly killed me, which doesn't matter. And you behaved disgracefully to Mr. Helbeck. But it's done--and now you've got to make up--somehow."
"Has he made you pay for it--since?" said Mason eagerly.
"He? Mr. Helbeck?" She laughed. Then she added, with all the severity she could muster, "He treated me in a most kind and gentlemanly way--if you want to know. The great pity is that you--and Cousin Elizabeth--understand nothing at all about him."
He groaned. She could hear his feet restlessly moving.