Maurice saw the danger, and was too quick-witted to fall unawares into the trap which Lesley had laid for him. A war of words was the very thing in which he and Ethel most delighted; and it was usually quite easy to induce brother and sister to engage upon it. But on this occasion he was too much in earnest for word-play. He laughed at Lesley's simile, and then became suddenly and almost fiercely grave. "I can't let you turn the whole thing into a joke," he said. "You know that I mean what I say. It is a matter of life and death to me. I love you with my whole heart, and I come to-day to know whether there is any chance for me--whether you can honor me with your love--whether you will one day consent to be my wife." His voice sank to a pleading tone, and his face was very pale. But he felt that a great display of emotion would frighten and repel the girl, and he therefore sedulously avoided, as far as possible, any appearance of agitation. He could not, however, entirely achieve the calmness which he desired, and the very suppression of his agitation, which, in spite of himself, made his voice shake, and brought fire to his eyes, had an unwontedly unnerving effect upon Lesley. "Oh, I don't know," she said hurriedly. "I can't tell--I never thought----" "Think now," he said persuasively. "Am I disagreeable to you?" "No,"--very softly. "Have you forgiven me for my bad behavior in the past?" "You never did behave badly." "But you have forgiven me?" "Oh, yes." This was illogical, as she had previously intimated that there was nothing to forgive; but, under such circumstances, Lesley may be excused. "And--surely, then--you like me a little!" "A little," Lesley breathed, rather than spoke, with an unconscious smile of happiness. "Can you not call it 'loving?'" asked Maurice, daring for the first time to take her soft little hand in his. But the question, the look, the touch, suddenly terrified Lesley, and brought back to her mind a long-forgotten promise. What was it her mother had required of her before she left Paris for her father's house? Was it not a pledge that she should not bind herself to marry any man?--that she should not engage herself to be married? Lesley had an instinctive knowledge of the fact that to proclaim her promise would be to cast discredit on Lady Alice; and so, while trying to keep her word, she sought for means to avoid telling the whole truth. "No, oh no," she said, withdrawing her hand at once and turning away. "Indeed, I could not. Please do not ask me anymore." The shock was very great to Maurice. He stood perfectly silent for a moment. He had thought that he was making such good progress--and, behold! the wind had suddenly changed; the face of the heavens was overcast. He tried to think that he had been mistaken, and made another attempt to win a favorable hearing.