"He has
been kind to me beyond my power of words to express; but, till told
by you, he knew nothing of my secret. Nor would he have known it,"
she added, looking down upon the ground. As to that latter
assertion, I was at liberty to believe as much as I pleased.
The Pole now came to the door, informing us that any who wished to
start by the packet must go on board, and therefore, as the
unreasonable old gentleman perceived, it was necessary that we
should all make our arrangements. I cannot say that they were such
as enable me to look back on them with satisfaction. He did seem
now at last to believe that I had been an unconscious agent in his
niece's stratagem, but he hardly on that account became civil to me.
"It was absolutely necessary," he said, "that he and that
unfortunate young woman," as he would call her, "should depart at
once,--by this ship now going." To this proposition of course I
made no opposition. "And you, Mr. Jones," he continued, "will at
once perceive that you, as a gentleman, should allow us to proceed
on our journey without the honour of your company."
This was very dreadful, but what could I say; or, indeed, what could
I do? My most earnest desire in the matter was to save Miss Weston
from annoyance; and under existing circumstances my presence on
board could not but be a burden to her.
Pages:
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81