r the look.

"These are womanish artifices, which you men hold cheaply, of course;
but little weapons suit little wars, Sir William, and such are our
campaigns. At all events, count upon my aid till Monday next."

"And why not after?"

"Because the Peninsular and Oriental packet touches at Malta on
Saturday, and Clara and I must be there in time to catch it."

"Oh no; we cannot spare you. In fact, we are decided on detaining you.
May would break up house here and follow you to the Pyramids,--the Upper
Cataracts,--anywhere, in short. But leave us you must not."

She covered her face with her handkerchief, and never spoke, but a
slight motion of her shoulders showed that she was sobbing. "I have been
so uncandid with you all this time," said she, in broken accents. "I
should have told you all,--everything. I ought to have confided to you
the whole sad story of my terrible bereavement and its consequences;
but I could not. No, Sir William, I could not endure the thought of
darkening the sunshine of all the happiness I saw here by the cloud of
my sorrows. When I only saw faces of joy around me, I said to my heart,
'What right have I, in my selfishness, to obtrude here?' And then,
again, I bethought me, 'Would they admit me thus freely to their
hearth and home if they knew the sad, sad story?' In a word," said she,
throwing down the handkerchief, and turning towards him with soft and
tearful eyes, "I could not risk the chance of losing your affection, for
you might have censured, you might have thought me too unforgiving,--too
relentless!"

Here she again bent down her head, and was lost in an access of fresh
afflictions.

Never was an elderly gentleman more puzzled than Sir William. He felt
that he ought to offer consolation, but of what nature or for what
calamity he could n't even guess. It was an awkward case altogether, and
he never fancied awkward cases at any time. Then he had that unchivalric
sentiment that elderly gentlemen occasionally will have,--a sort of half
distrust of "injured women." This was joined to a sense of shame that it
was usually supposed by the world men of his time of life were always
the ready victims of such sympathies. In fact, he disliked the situation
immensely, and could only muster a few commonplace remarks to extricate
himself from it.

[Illustration: 152]

"You'll let me tell you everything; I know you will," said she, looking
bewitchingly soft and tender through her tears.