“Rae…Rae…I thought that once, too…I was sure I was madly in love with Lester Conway…and it was nothing but the moon….”

“There wasn’t any moon the night of Dot’s party, so you can’t blame this on the moon.”

“I suppose,” said Pat sarcastically, “he’s extremely handsome and you’ve fallen for…”

“But he isn’t. I think he’s ugly really, when I think of his face at all. But it’s such a delightful ugliness. And he has such steady blue eyes and such dependable broad shoulders, and such thick black hair…though it always looks as if he’d combed it with a rake. But I like that, too. He wouldn’t be Brook if he had sleek hair. Dearest, it’s all right…it really is. Mother and dad like him and even Judy approves of him. We’re to be married when he’s through college and go to China.”

“China!”

“Yes. He’s going to take charge of the Chinese branch of his father’s business there…I forgot to tell you he’s one of the Halifax Hamiltons and Dot’s cousin.”

“But…China!”

“It does sound like a long hop. But, really, darling, nothing matters…Indian plains or Lapland snows…so long as I’m with him. I don’t talk like this to the others, Pat…but with you I’ve just got to let myself go.”

“And what about Bruce and Peter?” asked Pat, with a faint smile.

“Pat, it was really comical. Oh, there’s so much to tell you. You see, they didn’t know anything about Brook, but they told me two weeks ago that I had to make up my mind between them. And I just told them I was engaged to Brook. You should have seen their faces. Then they just faded out of the picture. I don’t think they ever really existed.”

“And were you engaged then…a week after you’d met him?”

“Darling, we were engaged three days after we met. I couldn’t help it. What would you do if Sir Lancelot just rode into your back yard and told you you had to marry him? Because Brook didn’t ask me, you know…he just told me I had to. There wasn’t the least use objecting even if I’d wanted to. And…oh, Pat, I…I cried. That’s the shameful truth. I haven’t the least idea why I did, but I simply howled. It was such a relief…I’d been thinking I was just one of the crowd to him…and Dot was trying to hint he was after Lenore Madison…that freckled, snubnosed thing. You may be sure I didn’t ask for any time to consider. Pat, you’re not going to cry!”

“No…no…but this is really a little unexpected, Rae.”