Isabel smiled kindly. "Yes, it's hers; she gave it to me to hold."
"May I hold it a little, Mrs. Osmond?" the poor young man asked.
"No, I can't trust you; I'm afraid you wouldn't give it back."
"I'm not sure that I should; I should leave the house with it instantly. But may I not at least have a single flower?"
Isabel hesitated a moment, and then, smiling still,held out the bouquet. "Choose one yourself. It's frightful what I'm doing for you."
"Ah, if you do no more than this, Mrs. Osmond!"Rosier exclaimed with his glass in one eye, carefully choosing his flower.