Probably I was mistaken, but in my despair the impulse to disclose
it was almost irresistible. I struggled against it, however, and when
she pressed me, I praised him and strove in my praise to be sincere.
Whether it was something in my tone, quite unintentional, I know not,
but she stopped me almost in the middle of a sentence and said she
believed I had kept something back which I did not wish her to hear;
that she was certain he had talked to me about her, and that she wished
to know what he had said. I protested he had never uttered a word which
could be interpreted as disparaging her, and she seemed to be content.
She kissed me a little more vehemently than usual, and went away. We
ought always, I suppose, to be glad when other people are happy, but God
knows that sometimes it is very difficult to be so, and that their
happiness is hard to bear.
The Elizabethan studies had now altogether come to an end. In about a
couple of months I heard that M. and B. were engaged. M. went home, and
B. moved into a larger town. In a twelvemonth the marriage took place,
and M.
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