Jean discovered that Ruth was frowning upon her more severely than usual. Besides, what answer had she to make to her cousin? Really, she had no actual reason for disliking their new acquaintance and the impression that had once or twice come into her mind on shipboard may have been absurd. Ruth had thought it ridiculous and had not agreed with her. Now certainly the stupidest possible thing she _could_ do would be to permit Jack to guess her suspicion.
"Oh, of course I like them too, I was only bad tempered," Jean replied, giving Jack's gloved hand a penitent squeeze and thinking how unusually beautiful she was looking this afternoon. Somehow no one appeared so well in white as Jack did. She was so fine and pure, so different in many ways from other girls. It would never dawn on her to dream of evil in man or woman. Jean found herself blushing.
"I like Frank Kent better than most anybody, Jack dear. He is one of our oldest and truest friends, I feel sure. Sometimes I wish we were going to see him before arriving in England," she murmured.
Half an hour later, driving slowly down the long hill away from the wonderful Pincian gardens into the city of Rome, Ruth and the four girls were equally surprised at seeing a stiff, military figure on horseback lift his hat to them.
"It is Captain Madden, I do believe! I didn't know he was to be in Rome!" Frieda exclaimed, and no one made answer.
Later that evening, however, when a great box of her favorite red roses containing the English army officer's card mysteriously arrived for Jack at their hotel Jean did not know whether to be glad or sorry for having held her tongue. Of course Jack was pleased, just as any other girl would have been with the attention. But for the life of her Jean could not have explained why she felt so convinced that in some fashion or other this Captain Madden was to be the evil genius of their European trip. However, Ruth Drew was her cousin Jack's chaperon and she did not appear concerned. That night, after having thought the subject over for an hour when the other girls and Ruth were probably asleep, Jean finally came to this conclusion: undoubtedly she must be more foolish than anybody else. So no matter what she herself believed, if Ruth and Olive remained unsuspicious of Captain Madden's attentions the wrong thinking must be her own.