“Oh, yes, you will,” said he.
“No; I can’t like it; but, Hugh, I will
not think ill of it any more. Only be here as
much as you can when you come home.”
“All right,” said he; then he kissed her
forehead and escaped from her, and went his way, telling
himself; as he went, that she was a fool.
That was the last he saw of her—before
his yachting commenced; but she—poor fool—was
up by times in the morning, and, peeping out between
her curtains as the early summer sun glanced upon her
eyelids, saw him come forth from the porch and descend
the great steps, and get into his dog-cart and drive
himself away. Then, when the sound of the gig
could be no longer heard, and when her eyes could
no longer catch the last expiring speck of his hat,
the poor fool took herself to bed again and cried
herself to sleep.
Captain Clavering Makes His Last Attempt
The yachting scheme was first proposed to Archie by
his brother Hugh. “Jack says that he can
make a berth for you, and you’d better come,”
said the elder brother, understanding that when his
edict had thus gone forth, the thing was as good as
arranged. “Jack finds the boat and men,
and I find the grub and wine-and pay for the fishing,”
said Hugh; “so you need not make any bones about
it.” Archie was not disposed to make any
bones about it as regarded his acceptance either of
the berth or of the grub and wine, and as he would
be expected to earn his passage by his work, there
was no necessity for any scruple; but there arose the
question whether he had not got more important fish
to fry. He had not as yet made his proposal to
Lady Ongar, and although he now knew that he had nothing
to hope from the Russian Spy, nevertheless he thought
that he might as well try his own hand at the venture.
His resolution on this head was always stronger after
dinner than before, and generally became stronger
and more strong as the evening advanced; so that he
usually went to bed with a firm determination “to
pop,” as he called it to his friend Doodles,
early on the next day; but distance affected him as
well as the hour of the day, and his purpose would
become surprisingly cool in the neighborhood of Bolton
Street. When, however, his brother suggested
that he should be taken altogether away from the scene
of action, he thought of the fine income and of Ongar
Park with pangs of regret, and ventured upon a mild
remonstrance. “But there’s this affair
of Julia, you know,” said he.
“I thought that was all off,” said Hugh.
“O dear, no; not off at all. I haven’t
asked her yet.”
“I know you’ve not; and I don’t
suppose you ever will.”
“Yes, I shall; that is to say, I mean it.
I was advised not to be in too much of a hurry; that
is to say, I thought it best to let her settle down
a little after her first seeing me.”
“To recover from her confusion?”
