As Miss Annie walked along the narrow path which ran by the roadside to Howlett’s, with the blue sky above her, and the pleasant October sunshine all about her, and followed at a little distance by the boy Plez, carrying a basket, she did not seem to be taking that enjoyment in her walk which was her wont.  Her brows were slightly contracted and she looked straight in front of her, without seeing anything in particular, after the manner of persons whose attention is entirely occupied in looking into their own minds, at something they do not like.  “It is too much!” she said, almost loud, her brows contracting a little more as she spoke.  “It was bad enough to have to furnish the paper, but for me to have to carry the letter, is entirely too much!” And, at this, she involuntarily glanced at the thick and double stamped missive, which, having no pocket, she carried in her hand.  She had not looked at it before, and as her eyes fell upon the address, she stopped so suddenly that Plez, who was dozing as he walked, nearly ran into her.  “What!” she exclaimed, “’Junius Keswick, five Q street, Washington, District of Columbia!’ Is it possible that Mr Croft has been writing to him, all this time?” She now walked on; and although she still seemed to notice not the material objects around her, the frown disappeared from her brow, and her mental vision seemed to be fixed upon something more pleasant than that which had occupied it before.  As it will be remembered, she had refused positively to have anything to do with Lawrence’s suit to Miss March, and it was a relief to her to know that the letter she was carrying was not for that lady.  “But why,” thought she, “should he be writing, for two whole evenings, to Junius.  I expected that he would write to her, to find out why she went off and left him in that way, but I did not suppose he would want to write to Junius.  It seems to me they had time enough, that night they were together, to talk over everything they had to say.”

And then she began to wonder what they had to say, and, gradually, the conviction grew upon her that Mr Croft was a very, very honorable man.  Of course it was wrong that he should have come here to try to win a lady who, if one looked at it in the proper light, really belonged to another.  But it now came into her mind that Mr Croft must, by degrees, have seen this, for himself, and that it was the subject of his long conference with Junius, and also, most probably, of this letter.  The conference certainly ended amicably, and, in that case, it was scarcely possible that Junius had given up his claim.  He was not that kind of a man.

If Mr Croft had become convinced that he ought to retire from this contest, and had done so, and Roberta had been informed of it, that would explain everything that had happened.  Roberta’s state of mind, after she had had the talk in the parlor with Junius, and her hurried departure, without taking the slightest notice of either of the gentlemen, was quite natural.  What woman would like to know that she had been bargained about, and that her two lovers had agreed which of them should have her?  It was quite to be expected that she would be very angry, at first, though there was no doubt she would get over it, so far as Junius was concerned.