And, panting, she came in sight of Miss Tod's shop just in
time--just in time to see the beloved kilted figure disappear into
the doorway.
XIX
A SERIOUS REVERSE
The fact that Christina had not written was a paralyzing blow to
Macgregor's self-confidence and left him altogether uncertain of
his ground. For the time being his sense of guilt as well as that
of injury was almost swamped by the awful dread that she had simply
grown tired of him. He entered the shop with foreboding--and
received another blow.
A smartly dressed young man was lounging at the counter, apparently
basking in Christina's smiles. As a matter of fact, the young man
was merely choosing a notebook, and until the moment of Macgregor's
entrance had been treated with the slightly haughty politeness
which Christina made a point of administering to males under fifty.
But with amazing abruptness she became so charming that the young
man, a sensitive, susceptible creature, decided that an ordinary
penny note-book would not do.
'Well,' said Christina sweetly, 'here are some at twopence,
threepence and sixpence. The sixpenny ones are extremely reliable.'
After some desultory conversation in low tones, during which
Macgregor writhed with frequently averted gaze, the young man chose
a sixpenny one and put down a florin, regretfully remarking that he
had to catch a confounded train.
With a delicious smile Christina handed him his change, and with a
graceful salute he fled without counting it.
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