"Not me, but what your charming fancy pretends is me. I dread the day you find me out."
"You are laughing at me," she said happily, walking beside him with her light, springy step. "You may make fun of me; you may say what you will. _I_ know."
"I think _I_ do, too. And this is what I know, Philippa; you have within you some very rare and delicate and splendid qualities. Also, you are very young, and you need a guide——"
"What! Of course it’s you I need to guide me——"
"Listen. You need a woman—older than yourself——"
They walked over the clover in silence for a few moments, then, glancing at her, he unconsciously tried his power:
The girl lifted her grey eyes, and he looked straight ahead of him while the flush lasted in his face.
"Because I like and respect you, and because you are my friend, I am ambitious for you. I want you to have your chance. _I_ can’t give it to you, rightly. No man could do that very successfully or very prudently.
"While you remain in my employment, of course, we shall see each other constantly; when, eventually, you secure other employment, we can, at intervals, meet. But, Philippa, I don’t want that sort of chance for you."
"I know you don’t. Let me tell you what I have done without consulting you. If it meets with your approval, the problem of your immediate future is in a fair way of being solved."
They had reached the bank of the little river: the punt was drawn up among the rushes; they seated themselves without pushing off.
"Over beyond the woods, yonder," he continued, nodding his head, "is the Château des Oiseaux—a big, old-fashioned country house. A friend of many years lives there with her younger sister—Madame de Moidrey, the widow of a French officer. When she was Ethra Brooks, a little American girl, we were playmates. Her sister, Peggy, attends my painting class. After Mr. Halkett left, I walked across to the Château des Oiseaux, and I lunched there with Madame de Moidrey."
He hesitated: the girl looked up out of clear eyes that read him.
"Yes; I want you to walk over to the Château with me," he said. "Madame de Moidrey has asked me to bring you.... And if she likes you, and you like her, she might desire to have you remain as her companion."