LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM
of the imposition. "You ought not to have done that," he said, encountering her steadfastly.
She looked down and then into his face again. "No," she said, "I suppose I ought not to. I'm very sorry."
Her looking down and up again produced another unreasonable effect. It seemed to Lewisham that they were discussing something quite other than the topic of their conversation; a persuasion patently absurd and only to be accounted for by the general disorder of his faculties. He made a serious attempt to keep his footing of reproof.
"I should have detected the writing, you know."
"Of course you would. It was very wrong of me to persuade him. But I did—I assure you. He seemed in such trouble. And I thought———"
She made another break, and there was a faint deepening of colour in her cheeks. Suddenly, stupidly, his own adolescent cheeks began to glow. It became necessary to banish that sense of a duplicate topic forthwith.
"I can assure you,” he said, now very earnestly, "I never give a punishment, never, unless it is merited. I make that a rule. I—er—always make that a rule. I am very careful indeed."
"I am really sorry," she interrupted with frank contrition. "It was silly of me."
Lewisham felt unaccountably sorry she should have to apologise, and he spoke at once with the idea of checking the reddening of his face. "I don't think that," he said with a sort of belated alacrity. "Really, it was kind of you, you know—
254
