'Now you must give him an answer to-day or to-morrow. You remember
what you promised me when we were coming home the other day.' Marie
remembered her promise very well, and thought that a great deal more
had been made of it than justice would have permitted. 'I don't
want to hurry you at all, only it makes me so sad at heart when my
own girl won't come and say a kind word to me and give me a kiss
before we part at night. I thought so much of that last night,
Marie, I couldn't sleep for thinking of it.' On hearing this, she
flung her arms round his neck and kissed him on each cheek and on
his lips. 'I get to feel so, Marie, if there's anything wrong
between you and me, that I don't know what I'm doing. Will you do
this for me, my dear? Come and sit at table with us this evening,
and make one of us. At any rate, come and show that we don't want
to make a servant of you. Then we'll put off the rest of it till
to-morrow.' When such a request was made to her in such words, how
could she not accede to it? She had no alternative but to say that
she would do in this respect as he would have her. She smiled, and
nodded her head, and kissed him again. 'And, Marie darling, put on
a pretty frock,--for my sake. I like to see you gay and pretty.'
Again she nodded her head, and again she kissed him. Such requests,
so made, she felt that it would be impossible she should refuse.

And yet when she came to think of it as she went about the house
alone, the granting of such requests was in fact yielding in
everything. If she made herself smart for this young man, and sat
next him, and smiled, and talked to him, conscious as she would be--
and he would be also--that she was so placed that she might become
his wife, how afterwards could she hold her ground? And if she were
really resolute to hold her ground, would it not be much better that
she should do so by giving up no point, even though her uncle's