A ROSE OF WOMANHOOD When he emerged from the spruce wood and entered the orchard his heart gave a sudden leap , and he felt that the blood rushed madly to his face . She was there , bending over the bed of June lilies in the centre of the garden plot . He could only see her profile , virginal and white . He stopped , not wishing to startle her again . When she lifted her head he expected to see her shrink and flee , but she did not do so ; she only grew a little paler and stood motionless , watching him intently . Seeing this , he walked slowly towards her , and when he was so close to her that he could hear the nervous flutter of her breath over her parted , trembling lips , he said very gently , `` Do not be afraid of me . I am a friend , and I do not wish to disturb or annoy you in any way . '' She seemed to hesitate a moment . Then she lifted a little slate that hung at her belt , wrote something on it rapidly , and held it out to him . He read , in a small distinctive handwriting , `` I am not afraid of you now . Mother told me that all strange men were very wicked and dangerous , but I do not think you can be . I have thought a great deal about you , and I am sorry I ran away the other night . '' He realized her entire innocence and simplicity . Looking earnestly into her still troubled eyes he said , `` I would not do you any harm for the world . All men are not wicked , although it is too true that some are so . My name is Eric Marshall and I am teaching in the Lindsay school . You , I think , are Kilmeny Gordon . I thought your music so very lovely the other evening that I have been wishing ever since that I might hear it again . Wo n't you play for me ? '' The vague fear had all gone from her eyes by this time , and suddenly she smiled -- a merry , girlish , wholly irresistible smile , which broke through the calm of her face like a gleam of sunlight rippling over a placid sea .
Then she wrote , `` I am very sorry XXXXX I can not play this evening .
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