“She was under the impression that you had come here with the intention of making love to, and marrying her. I had previously told her exactly the nature of your uncle Tom’s scheme, and that I liked it, and should be well pleased to see it carried out. She heard me without offering a single remark. She asked no questions about you--but simply inquired when you were coming. And now she has confessed to me that she was determined not to be married to any man by _contrivance_. I knew she had a proud nature--but I never suspected she was so silly as to suppose that, unless she should really love you well enough to be your wife, I should wish her to marry you.” “Ah!” I cried: “then her object was to disgust me.” “Precisely; and what does the minx do? She hangs about the avenue until she spies you coming, and then salutes you with a pistol shot! She repels your politeness with the most uncouth rudeness! In order still further to embarrass and disgust you, she coolly tells O’Twist that you are not always in your right senses, and desires him to keep his eye on you whenever he has the opportunity of doing so, particularly during meal-times, lest you should snatch up a knife, and attempt to murder one of us! A better tool than O’Twist for her sorry purposes she couldn’t have hit upon. He is not only credulous, but superstitious, and, but for this discovery, would have teazed your soul out of you. The idiot believes every word she says, and obeys her injunctions with even more zeal than she could have hoped for. She had told him to enter your room at night (not doubting he would awaken and terrify you), and pull down your blind, should he find it up, lest the moonshine should unduly excite you. The trick was so far clever, that she might depend at least upon both of you thinking the other mad. God knows how the joke might have ended, had you lost your temper. Then again, when I ask her to play and sing, she breaks into hideous noises, so resolved is she that you shall think her repulsive in every possible point of view.” “No, no. Not from every point of view--she couldn’t deform her beauty. But the truth is, she wanted to drive me out of the house.” “Yes, that was her object; and it is impossible to conjecture what other tricks she might not have played you, had you not told her you were in love with Conny.” (I blushed. Somehow or other I felt ashamed that _he_ should know this.) “_Then_ her false character fell from her. She saw the blunder she had perpetrated, the unnecessary cruelty of her tricks; her own conduct terrified her, and I pledge you my word, when I left her, she was crying like a child.” “Oh, pray,” I cried, starting up, “let me go and assure her----”