that it can never be. And there are
plenty of other girls that would be only too glad to walk out with a
young man like you without your troubling yourself about me.'

He was walking up and down the room like a cat in a cage. Presently
he began to laugh in a nasty, sly, disagreeable way.

'Oh! you think he'll marry you, do you?' says he. 'But he's just
amusing himself with you till he gets back to London to his own
girl. You let him see you was only amusing yourself with him, and
you come out with me when you get your evening.'

And he took the dusting-brush out of my hand, and caught hold of my
wrists.

'It's all a lie!' I cried; 'and I wonder you can look me in the face
and tell it. Him and me are going to be married as soon as he has
saved enough for a little public, and I never want to speak to you
again; and if you don't let go of my hands, I'll scream till I fetch
the house down, master and all, and then where will you be?'

He scowled at that, but he let my hands go directly.

'Have it your own way,' he said. 'But I tell you, you won't marry
him, and you'll find he won't want to marry you, and you'll marry
me, my girl. And when you have married me, you shall cry your eyes
out for every word you have said now.'

'Oh, shall I, Mr. Liar?' says I, for my blood was up; 'before that
happens, you'll have to change him into a liar and me into a fool
and yourself into an honest man, and you'll find that the hardest of
all.' And with that I threw the dusting-brush at him--which was a
piece of wicked temper I oughtn't to have given way to--and ran out
of the door, and I heard him cursing to himself something fearful as
I went down the passage.

'Good thing the gentlefolks are abed still,' I said to myself; and I
didn't tell a soul about it, even cook, the truth being I was
ashamed to.

Well, everything went on pretty much the same as usual for two or
three weeks, and I thought John was getting the better of his
silliness, because he made a show of being friendly to James and was
respectful to me, even when we was alone. Then came that dreadful
day that I shall never forget if I live to be a hundred years old.
Dinner was half an hour later than usual on account of Mr. Oliver
having gone up to town on his business; but he didn't get home when
expected, and they sat down without him after all. I was about my
work, turning down beds and so forth, and I had done Mrs. Oliver's
about ten minutes, and was in my lady's r