In fact, he had spoken from the simplest of motives. The girl
beside him pleased him unspeakably, and, suspecting that her charm
was essentially her own and not reflected from social circumstance,
he wished to give himself the satisfaction of contrasting her with the
meagre influences of her education. Miss Garland's second movement was
to take him at his word. "Since you are free to do as you please, why
don't you go there?"
"I am not free to do as I please now. I have offered your cousin to bear
him company to Europe, he has accepted with enthusiasm, and I cannot
retract."
"Are you going to Europe simply for his sake?"
Rowland hesitated a moment. "I think I may almost say so."
Miss Garland walked along in silence. "Do you mean to do a great deal
for him?" she asked at last.
"What I can. But my power of helping him is very small beside his power
of helping himself."
For a moment she was silent again. "You are very generous," she said,
almost solemnly.
"No, I am simply very shrewd. Roderick will repay me. It 's an
investment. At first, I think," he added shortly afterwards, "you would
not have paid me that compliment.
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