Everybody was against him,—­her mother, her brother, and her cousin:  and she felt that she had not a word to say in his defence.  A horrid woman!  A wretched, bad, bold American intriguing woman!  It was terrible to her that a friend of hers should ever have attached himself to such a creature;—­but that he should have come to her with a second tale of love long, long before he had cleared himself from the first;—­perhaps with no intention of clearing himself from the first!  Of course she could not forgive him!  No;—­she would never forgive him.  She would break her heart for him.  That was a matter of course; but she would never forgive him.  She knew well what it was that her mother wanted. ...