If he wished to follow up his success of the
previous spring he must refuse no more orders: he must not let Mrs.
Van Orley slip away from him. He knew there were competitors enough
ready to profit by his hesitations, and since his success was the
result of a whim, a whim might undo it. With a sudden gesture of
decision he caught up his hat and left the studio.
On the landing he met Kate Arran. She too was going out, drawn forth
by the sudden radiance of the January afternoon. She met him with a
smile which seemed the answer to his uncertainties, and he asked
abruptly if she had time to take a walk with him.
Yes; for once she had time, for Mr. Mungold was sitting with Caspar,
and had promised to remain till she came in. It mattered little to
Stanwell that Mungold was with Caspar as long as he himself was with
Kate; and he instantly soared to the suggestion that they should
prolong the painter's vigil by taking the "elevated" to the Park. In
this too his companion acquiesced after a moment of surprise: she
seemed in a consenting mood, and Stanwell augured well from the
fact.
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