The sound of his own words raised suspicion in his mind. "How did you come to be there," he asked abruptly, "at that hour?"
"Oh, it was just a coincidence. I like the early morning."
But he saw warm colour creep up her cheeks. Why had she been there? Odd that neither he nor Meg had seen anything strange in the presence of Eden and her on the shore at sunrise.
She knew that he was suspecting her, but she went on picking berries. She selected the largest ones and dropped them almost caressingly into her basket. He noticed that her finger-tips were stained and also her lip, giving her a look of childlike innocence. The trivial act of her laying the plucked berries so gently in the basket, the stain on her fingers and her lip, seemed suddenly of enormous importance to him, as though she were performing some rite. The harassment of his thoughts ceased, his mind became concentrated on the ritualistic act.
She said, dreamily: "Do you care for these? Shall I pick you some?" Her eyes slid toward him speculatively.
"No," he answered, "but I'd like to stay and watch you pick them, if you don't mind."
"Why should you want to watch me do such a simple thing?" Her eyes searched his face. She had a great longing for love.
"I don't know," he answered, perplexed. And, seeing that she looked rebuffed, he took her hand in his and kissed her bare arm on the white crook of her elbow.
He was not conscious of the approach of a third person, but he felt her arm quiver and he heard the quick intake of her breath. She was startled, but not by the caress. She said, "Oh!" in a defensive tone, and, turning his head, he saw across the bushes the pale set face of Alayne.
She had come upon what looked to her like a radiant understanding between the two. She saw Minny's exuberance responding to a calculated caress for which Renny had led her to this secluded spot.
She drew back and stammered something incoherent. Minny, not much put out, regained her composure and
