It was shameful of Dexie to thrust herself into the Gurney family as she was doing.  Anyone could see that it was more on Lancy’s account than Elsie’s that Dexie was so delighted to accompany them.  Why didn’t she go and live with them at once?  She might as well, seeing that so much of her sewing was being prepared in Mrs. Gurney’s sewing-room.

This, and pages more, was reiterated daily, till Dexie would snatch up her work and run to her aunt’s room, and she was heartily glad when the time came to leave Gussie and her unkind words behind her.

Yet it was not only on Gussie’s account that she felt so glad to be off, for, when Hugh McNeil heard of her intended departure, he added his persecutions also.  At first, when he learned that Lancy was to accompany Elsie, his heart beat high with hope.  Dexie would be free from Lancy’s influence, and he hoped much from a few weeks of uninterrupted intercourse.  His passion for Dexie had grown as the weeks went by, and when the one obstacle, Lancy, was removed, all would be well.  His visits to the Sherwoods were more frequent than ever, and he openly showed his preference for Dexie’s society.

But Gussie had no other admirer just then, and she accepted the attentions meant for her sister as if they were her own just due.  This was so exasperating to Hugh that, when Dexie turned away from him, he would take his hat and leave abruptly.  This strange behavior Gussie set down to everything except the true cause, for she did not dream that Hugh’s affections had been transferred to her sister, for Dexie openly snubbed him.

But, when Hugh learned that Dexie was preparing to accompany the others, he was almost beside himself with rage.  He refused at first to believe it—­the idea was too preposterous!  Well it was that the announcement was not made to him before the assembled household, for his face revealed the fierce conflict within, and he had quite as many objections to make as Gussie, though they were not so openly and freely expressed.  Chancing to meet Dexie in the hall, after repeated efforts to catch her alone, his bitter disappointment was so touchingly expressed that, for the first time, Dexie felt a sort of pity for the man, though she could not understand the intense feeling that seemed to possess him.

“Promise me five minutes alone! only five minutes!” he begged, as Dexie tried to pass him.  “You will surely grant me that small favor before you go!  I must speak to you, Dexie, even if you refuse me a private interview.”

“I have no right to grant even ‘five minutes’ interview’ to my sister’s lover,” was the cool reply.  “You can have nothing to say to me that might not be said before the whole family.”

“Am I your sister’s lover?  You know better, Dexie!  I have been blinded by her pretty face, but my eyesight has returned to me.  I want something more than beauty in my future wife,” and he tried to catch her hand.