If he should mention it to you, I am anxious to acknowledge, of my
own accord, that I forgot myself--not, I hope you will think, without
some provocation.
"I pushed him into the hall, leaving Magdalen, for the moment, to Miss
Garth's care. Instead of going away, he sat down sulkily on one of the
hall chairs. 'May I ask the reason of this extraordinary violence?' he
inquired, with an injured look. 'No,' I said. 'You will be good enough
to imagine the reason for yourself, and to leave us immediately, if you
please.' He sat doggedly in the chair, biting his nails and considering.
'What have I done to be treated in this unfeeling manner?' he asked,
after a while. 'I can enter into no discussion with you,' I answered;
'I can only request you to leave us. If you persist in waiting to see
my sister again, I will go to the cottage myself and appeal to your
father.' He got up in a great hurry at those words. 'I have been
infamously used in this business,' he said. 'All the hardships and the
sacrifices have fallen to my share. I'm the only one among you who has
any heart: all the rest are as hard as stones--Magdalen included. In
one breath she says she loves me, and in another she tells me to go to
China.
Pages:
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292