"It's not likely that you'll ever come to Plaistow now;--and Mary never leaves it except to go to my uncle's." Clara instantly knew that he had heard of her engagement, though she could not imagine from what source he had heard it. There was something in the tone of his voice,--something especially in the expression of that word "now," which told her that it must be so. "I should be so glad to go there if I could," she said, with that special hypocrisy which belongs to women, and is allowed to them; "but, of course, I cannot leave papa in his present state." "And if you did leave him you would not go to Plaistow." "Not unless you and Mary asked me." "And you wouldn't if we did. How could you?" "What do you mean, Will? It seems as though you were almost savage to me." "Am I? Well;--I feel savage, but not to you." "Nor to any one, I hope, belonging to me." She knew that it was all coming; that the whole subject of her future life must now be discussed; and she began to fear that the discussion might not be easy. But she did not know how to give it a direction. She feared that he would become angry, and yet she knew not why. He had accepted his own rejection tranquilly, and could hardly take it as an offence that she should now be engaged to Captain Aylmer. "Mr. Green has told me," said he, "that you are going to be married." "How could Mr. Green have known?" "He did know;--at least I suppose he knew, for he told me." "How very odd." "I suppose it is true?" Clara did not make any immediate answer, and then he repeated the question. "I suppose it is true?" "It is true that I am engaged." "To Captain Aylmer?" "Yes; to Captain Aylmer. You know that I had known him very long. I hope that you are not angry with me because I did not write and tell you. Strange as it may seem, seeing that you had heard it already, it is not a week yet since it was settled; and had I written to you, I could only have addressed my letter to you here." "I wasn't thinking about that. I didn't specially want you to write to me. What difference would it make?" "But I should have felt that I owed it to your kindness and your--regard for me." "My regard! What's the use of regard?" "You are not going to quarrel with me, Will, because--because--because--. If you had really been my brother, as you once said you would be, you could not but have approved of what I have done." "But I am not your brother." "Oh, Will; that sounds so cruel!" "I am not your brother, and I have no right to approve or disapprove." "I will not say that I could make my engagement with Captain Aylmer dependent on your approval. It would not be fair to him to do so, and it would put me into a false position." "Have I asked you to make any such absurd sacrifice?"