He knew what that meant--she had danced once. He followed her upstairs
in silence; she had not wasted her time--she had had her humiliation.
Ah, clearly she was too short! Yet on the landing above, where her
bedroom candle stood, she tried to be gay with him, asking him about his
own party and whether the people had stayed late.
"Mrs. Tregent stayed after the others. She spoke very kindly of you."
The girl looked at her father with an anxiety that showed through her
smile. "What did she say?"
He hesitated, as Vera had done a moment before. "That you must be our
compensation."