'That is it,' said Margaret. 'It seems so selfish in me to regret

it,' trying to smile, 'and yet he is lost to me, and I am so

lonely.'

Mr. Lennox turned over his papers, and wished that he

were as rich and prosperous as he believed he should be some day.

Mr. Bell blew his nose, but, otherwise, he also kept silence; and

Margaret, in a minute or two, had apparently recovered her usual

composure. She thanked Mr. Lennox very courteously for his

trouble; all the more courteously and graciously because she was

conscious that, by her behaviour, he might have probably been led

to imagine that he had given her needless pain. Yet it was pain

she would not have been without.

Mr. Bell came up to wish her good-bye.

'Margaret!' said he, as he fumbled with his gloves. 'I am going

down to Helstone to-morrow, to look at the old place. Would you

like to come with me? Or would it give you too much pain? Speak

out, don't be afraid.' 'Oh, Mr. Bell,' said she--and could say no more. But she took his

old gouty hand, and kissed it.

'Come, come; that's enough,' said he, reddening with awkwardness.

'I suppose your aunt Shaw will trust you with me. We'll go

to-morrow morning, and we shall get there about two o'clock, I

fancy. We'll take a snack, and order dinner at the little

inn--the Lennard Arms, it used to be,--and go and get an appetite

in the forest. Can you stand it, Margaret? It will be a trial, I

know, to both of us, but it will be a pleasure to me, at least.

And there we'll dine--it will be but doe-venison, if we can get

it at all--and then I'll take my nap while you go out and see old

friends. I'll give you back safe and sound, barring railway

accidents, and I'll insure your life for a thousand pounds before

starting, which may be some comfort to your relations; but

otherwise, I'll bring you back to Mrs. Shaw by lunch-time on

Friday. So, if you say yes, I'll just go up-stairs and propose

it.' 'It's no use my trying to say how much I shall like it,' said

Margaret, through her tears.

'Well, then, prove your gratitude by keeping those fountains of

yours dry for the next two days. If you don't, I shall feel queer

myself about the lachrymal ducts, and I don't like that.' 'I won't cry a drop,' said Margaret, winking her eyes to shake

the tears off her eye-lashes, and forcing a smile.




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