Meg looked around, and doubted Jasper was going to show up after all. She sat down on the cold grass and only then realized it had been raining an hour before and that the jade blades of grass were still moist. Now with a wet behind, she stood up.

Why should Jasper be here? She hadn’t told him to come; he had overheard her talking to Fanny. Meg knew Jasper had heard her, his eyes had bulged and his eyebrows flew to the sky. It was instinct, Jasper’s instinct. He couldn’t resist a challenge. Meg knew he would come, it was only a matter of time. She waited and waited for what seemed to be eternity. Then the rustle in the bushes gave him away. Jasper had come.