her mother wanted.
Her mother thought that by forcing her into a quarrel with Montague
she would force her also into a marriage with Roger Carbury. But her
mother would find out that in that she was mistaken. She would never
marry her cousin, though she would be always ready to acknowledge his
worth. She was sure now that she would never marry any man. As she
made this resolve she had a wicked satisfaction in feeling that it
would be a trouble to her mother;--for though she was altogether in
accord with Lady Carbury as to the iniquities of Paul Montague she was
not the less angry with her mother for being so ready to expose those
iniquities.

Oh, with what slow, cautious fingers, with what heartbroken tenderness
did she take out from its guardian case the brooch which Paul had
given her! It had as yet been an only present, and in thanking him for
it, which she had done with full, free-spoken words of love, she had
begged him to send her no other, so that that might ever be to her,--to
her dying day,--the one precious thing that had been given to her by
her lover while she was yet a girl. Now it must be sent back;--and, no
doubt, it would go to that abominable woman! But her fingers lingered
over it as she touched it, and she would fain have kissed it, had she
not told herself that she would have been disgraced, even in her
solitude, by such a demonstration of affection. She had given her
answer to Paul Montague; and, as she would have no further personal
correspondence with him, she took the brooch to her mother with a
request that it might be returned.

'Of course, my dear, I will send it back to him. Is there nothing
else?'

'No, mamma;--nothing else. I have no letters, and no other present.
You always knew everything that took place. If you will just send that
back to him,--without a word. You won't say anything, will you, mamma?'

'There is nothing for me to say if you have really made him understand
you.'

'I think he understood me, mamma. You need not doubt about that.'

'He has behaved very, very badly,--from the beginning,' said Lady
Carbury.

But Hetta did not really think that the young man had behaved very
badly from the beginning, and certainly did not wish to be told of his
misbehaviour. No doubt she thought that the young man had behaved very
well in falling in love with her directly he saw her;--only that he had
behaved so badly in taking Mrs Hurtle to Lowestoft afterwards! 'It's
no good talking