Read "The Shadow of the Past" by Ethel Mills online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Whether as a result of the talk with Macfarlane, or the expiration of Aplin's leave and his departure for Algoa Bay, Matheson's visits to the Rondebosch household fell off in regularity. He went out for tennis when the mood inclined him, and on occasions still met the two girls at the cafe in the luncheon recess and ate ices with them. It was a somewhat remarkable coincidence that they were so often in the vicinity of the cafe he frequented at the same hour as himself; it was always an accident, and so unexpected.
He came in time to look for them, and evolved a formula in response to their surprised exclamations. There were even times when he experienced a faint disappointment if they failed to appear. There were other times when, disinclined for their chatter, he dropped into a less fashionable cafe nearer his work and took his iced coffee in solitary enjoyment. They detected him immediately upon his new discovery diving into the small cafe, and followed him, and were "so surprised" when they met within to see that he too patronised this nice quiet little place.