That sunflower compliment is permissible in an old friend , is n't it ? '' `` This mellow glow is kinder to me than sunlight now . I am thirty , you know , Selwyn . '' `` And I have some grey hairs , '' he confessed . `` I knew I had them but I had a sneaking hope that other folks did n't until Leo destroyed it today . These young brothers and sisters who wo n't stay children are nuisances . You 'll be telling me next thing that ` Baby ' is grown up . '' '' ` Baby ' is eighteen and has a beau , '' laughed Esme . `` And I give you fair warning that she insists on being called Laura now . Do you want to come for a walk with me -- down under the beeches to the old lane gate ? I came out to see if the fresh air would do my bit of a headache good . I shall have to help with the supper later on . '' They went slowly across the lawn and turned into a dim , moonlight lane beyond , their old favourite ramble . Selwyn felt like a man in a dream , a pleasant dream from which he dreads to awaken . The voices and laughter echoing out from the house died away behind them and the great silence of the night fell about them as they came to the old gate , beyond which was a range of shining , moonlight-misted fields . For a little while neither of them spoke . The woman looked out across the white spaces and the man watched the glimmering curve of her neck and the soft darkness of her rich hair . How virginal , how sacred , she looked ! The thought of Tom St. Clair was a sacrilege . `` It 's nice to see you again , Selwyn , '' said Esme frankly at last .
`` There are so few of our old set left , and so many XXXXX the babies grown up .
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