I had our dear girl's arm in mine, and I felt it tremble.
She suddenly stopped. 'Oh,' she said, 'not so soon!' I said, 'My dear,
consider Richard!' She turned to her father. She said, 'Don't, pray
don't press it so soon, papa! I respect Richard; I like Richard as your
true and faithful friend; but I don't love him as I ought to love him
if I am to be his wife.' Imagine her talking in that way! What could she
possibly know about it? Of course we both laughed--"
"_you_ laughed, Lavinia."
"_you_ laughed, Joseph."
"Get on, for God's sake!" cried Turlington, striking his hand
passionately on the table by which he was sitting. "Don't madden me by
contradicting each other! Did she give way or not?"
Miss Lavinia turned to her brother. "Contradicting each other, Joseph!"
she exclaimed, lifting her hands in blank amazement.
"Contradicting each other!" repeated Sir Joseph, equally astonished on
his side. "My dear Richard, what can you be thinking of? I contradict my
sister! We never disagreed in our lives."
"I contradict my brother! We have never had a cross word between us from
the time when we were children.
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