flowers with that girl hanging on
his arm, begging a hundred pardons with her eyes. The folly of it! as
if she had not a right to do as she pleased, or he would try to prevent
her; but finally, the soft, silent apology of that clinging, and the
look full of petitions touched his surly heart. "Well--Nelly," he said,
with involuntary softening.

"Oh, if you call me that I am not afraid!" she cried, with an instant
upleaping of pleasure and confidence in her changeable face, which (John
tried to say to himself) was not really pretty at all, only so full of
expression, changing with every breath of feeling. The eyes, which had
only been brown a moment before, leaped up into globes of light, yet
not too dazzling, with some liquid medium to soften their shining. Even
though you know that a girl is in love with another man, that she thinks
of you no more than of the old gardener who has just hobbled round the
corner, it is pleasant to be able to change the whole aspect of affairs
to her and make her light up like that, solely by a little unwilling
softening of your gruff and surly tone.

"You know, John," she said, holding his arm tight with her two hands,
"that nobody ever calls me Nelly--except you."

"Possibly I shall call you Nelly no longer. Why? Why, because that
fellow will object."

"That fellow! Oh, _he_!" Elinor's face grew very red all over, from the
chin, which almost touched John's arm, to the forehead, bent back a
little over those eyes suffused with light which were intent upon all
the changes of John's face. This one was, like the landscape, swept by
all the vicissitudes of sun and shade. It was radiant now with the
unexpected splendour of the sudden gleam.

"Oh, John, John, I have so much to say to you! He will object to
nothing. He knows very well you are like my brother--almost more than my
brother--for you could help it, John. You almost chose me for your
friend, which a brother would not. He says, 'Get him to be our friend
and all will be well!'"

_He_ had not said this, but Elinor had said it to him, and he had
assented, which was almost the same--in the way of reckoning of a girl,
at least.

"He is very kind, I am sure," said John, gulping down something which
had almost made him throw off Elinor's arm, and fling away from her in
indignation. Her brother----!! But there was no use making any row, he
said to himself. If anything were to be done for her he must put up with
all that. There had sud