Mark, having provided an elaborate tea and a profusion of flowers,
looked forward with considerable zest to Carrissima's visit with Phoebe
as her chaperon, and yet as he stood at the window awaiting her arrival
he wondered whether he had not perhaps been a little too precipitate
over his recent investment.
His outlook had been steadily changing since the day after his return
from Paris. Although it appeared as if love had come upon him
suddenly, he knew it had done nothing of the kind. While it seemed to
have blossomed in a day, he understood that it had been developing for
many months, perhaps, even for many years.
He could not feel absolutely confident. Carrissima had builded better
than she knew. So cleverly had she dissembled her emotions that there
were times when Mark feared lest he should take her completely by
surprise; but in any case the declaration must not much longer be
postponed. If his desires were gratified, it appeared obvious that
these three rooms would prove inadequate, while, incongruously enough,
it was the fact that he had made some kind of beginning by taking them,
which justified his increasingly impatient aspirations.
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