"You'm going to say this place be vull o' liars," suggested Sidney. "Oh no, indeed! Our friendship is quite over, and you are not to come near Windward House again." "What's it all about, Nellie?" "You know perfectly well. I'm walking with you this evening just to hear what you have to say." "You think I'm a bad lot?" "I'm getting dreadfully certain of it." "Because you've heard tales. I know you'm the prettiest maid in the world, but if a stranger wur with us he wouldn't believe me if I said so, vor 'tis too dark to see you. You can't be sure of anything you'm told. I'm not the best chap in the world by a long way, but if you could see me 'just as I am,' as we wur singing in church just now, you might fancy I b'ain't quite what folks make me out to be." Nellie was disturbed by this speech, and still more by the manner in which it was uttered. She had an uncomfortable feeling that Sidney was trying to bring himself down to her level, although her birth and education were undoubtedly superior to his. "I suppose it's easy to sing like that, especially as you must have had no end of practice," she said crossly. "Now you'm out o' tune, Nellie." "Miss Blisland has discovered you have made a fool of her. You asked her to--to--well, you know what, when all the time you are married--" "Here, I say, steady! I didn't know it had got to that," he broke in sharply. "Then who was that girl who came to see you?" "She's not a girl. If you want to know her age, I'll tell you. She is forty-three--and I'm nineteen. Is it likely I'd be married to a lady old enough to be my mother?" "Who is she?" "A very kind lady who has done a lot vor me. Her name is Mrs. Stanley." "Then she is married!" "Her husband's been very kind to me too." "And I suppose you are very fond of her?" "Well, that's natural, considering what she's done vor me." "You love her!" cried Nellie, getting out of patience with his coldness. "There's someone I love better." "And that's yourself," she snapped. "'Tis the pretty maid I'm going to marry, and that's you." "If you dare to say such a thing again," gasped Nellie, "I'll--I'll run away." "You can run t'other end of the world, but I shall come and fetch ye back," declared the bold youth. "What's to prevent me from marrying someone else?" "Yourself, I fancy." "But I never did like you much, and now I hate you," she said, troubled again by his accent, which recalled her own superior education. "If you won't hate me any more than what you do now, I shan't grumble," replied the confident young man. Then he asked gently, "Won't you come out Sunday afternoon?" "No, I will not." "I could tell you a tale what might make us sweethearts again," he continued. "I expect there is hardly any sort of tale that you don't know. But why don't you?" "I'm going to make you believe in me and trust me." "Tell that to Mrs. Stanley--I'm sure she's a widow."