The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

But things did not end here. I went back to the town, did the business

he publicly directed me to, and was at home before anybody thought me

long. As for my gentleman, he stayed out, as he told me he would, till

late at night, and there was not the least suspicion in the family

either on his account or on mine.

We had, after this, frequent opportunities to repeat our crime

--chiefly by his contrivance--especially at home, when his mother and

the young ladies went abroad a-visiting, which he watched so narrowly

as never to miss; knowing always beforehand when they went out, and

then failed not to catch me all alone, and securely enough; so that we

took our fill of our wicked pleasure for near half a year; and yet,

which was the most to my satisfaction, I was not with child.

But before this half-year was expired, his younger brother, of whom I

have made some mention in the beginning of the story, falls to work

with me; and he, finding me alone in the garden one evening, begins a

story of the same kind to me, made good honest professions of being in

love with me, and in short, proposes fairly and honourably to marry me,

and that before he made any other offer to me at all.

I was now confounded, and driven to such an extremity as the like was

never known; at least not to me. I resisted the proposal with

obstinacy; and now I began to arm myself with arguments. I laid before

him the inequality of the match; the treatment I should meet with in

the family; the ingratitude it would be to his good father and mother,

who had taken me into their house upon such generous principles, and

when I was in such a low condition; and, in short, I said everything to

dissuade him from his design that I could imagine, except telling him

the truth, which would indeed have put an end to it all, but that I

durst not think of mentioning.

But here happened a circumstance that I did not expect indeed, which

put me to my shifts; for this young gentleman, as he was plain and

honest, so he pretended to nothing with me but what was so too; and,

knowing his own innocence, he was not so careful to make his having a

kindness for Mrs. Betty a secret I the house, as his brother was. And

though he did not let them know that he had talked to me about it, yet

he said enough to let his sisters perceive he loved me, and his mother

saw it too, which, though they took no notice of it to me, yet they did

to him, an immediately I found their carriage to me altered, more than

ever before.