"I wish you wouldn't speak so loudly," said Hetty, pouting her lips and half crying. "Of course I like you; I--well, yes, I suppose I love you. I was thinking of you all the afternoon. See what I gathered for you--this bunch of heart's-ease. There's meaning in heart's-ease--there's none in honeysuckle." Frere's brow cleared as if by magic. "My little darling," he said, fixing his deep-set eyes greedily on the girl's beautiful face. "Forgive me for being such a brute to you, Hetty. Here--give me the flowers." "No, not until you pay for them. You don't deserve them for being so nasty and suspicious." "Give me the flowers, Hetty; I promise never to doubt you again." "Yes, you will; it is your nature to doubt." "I have no words to say what I feel for you." Frere's eyes emphasized this statement so emphatically, that the empty-headed girl by his side felt her heart touched for the moment. "What do you want me to do, Mr. Horace?" she asked, lowering her eyes. "To give me the flowers, and to be nice to me." "Come down to the brook after supper, perhaps I'll give them to you then. There's aunt calling me--don't keep me, please." She rushed off. "Hetty," said Mrs. Armitage, the innkeeper's wife, "did I hear you talking to Mr. Horace Frere in the porch?" "Yes, Aunt Fanny, you did," replied Hetty. "Well, look here, your uncle and I won't have it. Just because you're pretty--" Hetty tossed back her wealth of black curls. "It's all right," she said in a whisper, her eyes shining as she spoke. "He wants me to be his wife--he asked me this morning." "He doesn't mean that, surely," said Mrs. Armitage, incredulous and pleased. "Yes, he does; he'll speak to uncle to-morrow--that is, if I'll say 'Yes.' He says he has no one to consult--he'll make me a lady--he has plenty of money." "Do you care for him, Hetty?" "Oh, don't ask me whether I do or not, Aunt Fanny--I'm sure I can't tell you." Hetty moved noisily about. She put plates and dishes on a tray preparatory to taking them into the parlor for the young men's supper. "Look here," said her aunt, "I'll see after the parlor lodgers to-night." She lifted the tray as she spoke. Hetty ran up to her bedroom. She took a little square of glass from its place on the wall and gazed earnestly at the reflection of her own charming face. Presently she put the glass down, locked her hands together, went over to the open window and looked out.