“As to why I have made no further advances,” he pursued blandly, as though she had not signified that the conversation was at an end, “I’m waiting for you to grow up a little more. You see, it wouldn’t be much fun for me to kiss you now and I’m quite selfish about my pleasures. I never fancied kissing children.” He smothered a grin, as from the corner of his eye he saw her bosom heave with silent wrath. “And then, too,” he continued softly, “I was waiting for the memory of the estimable Ashley Wilkes to fade.”
