You did agree to marry him. Suppose he'd said
you'd got to marry him, what then?"
"He wouldn't. He didn't want to marry me--not after I'd took my time at
bossin' him around a while. And if he had--well, if he had, and I'd had
to do it, I would, I suppose. I'd do anything for Mrs. Thankful,
after what's she's done for me. Miss Emily and me had a talk about
self-sacrifice and I see my duty plain. I told Miss Emily why I did
it that night when you all came home from the Fair. She understood the
whole thing."
The captain burst into a roar of laughter.
"Ho! ho!" he shouted. "Well, Imogene, I said you beat all my goin' to
sea, and you do--you sartin do. Now, I'd like to be on hand and see how
Hannah takes it. If I know her, now that that engagement ain't hangin'
over her, she'll even up with her brother for all she's had to put up
with. Ho! ho! Poor old Kenelm's in for a warm Christmas."
And yet Kenelm's Christmas was not so "warm" after all. He told Hannah
of his broken engagement, wasting no words--which, for him, was very
remarkable--and expressing no regret whatever. Hannah listened, at first
with joy, and then, when Imogene's "love" was conveyed to her, with
growing anger.
"The idea!" she cried. "And you bring me over a message like that. From
her--from an Orphans' Home inmate to your own sister! And you let her
walk over you, chuck you out as if you was a wornout doormat she'd wiped
her boots on, and never said a word. Well, I'll say it for you.
Pages:
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394