I swallowed my
breakfast--what little I could eat--with the feeling that possibly each
succeeding mouthful might choke me; but full hearts do not usually prove
fatal, even at meal time.
I arose from the table as soon as Mr. Winthrop laid down his napkin, and
was hastening from the room when I heard him move back his chair; and,
swift as were my movements, he was in the hall before I had reached the
topmost step of the staircase.
"Just one more word, please," I heard him say. I turned around, resolved
to take the remainder of my lecture from a position where I could look
down on him. He held out a parcel, saying: "Will you come and get this,
or shall I carry it to you?"
I descended without replying, and held out my hand for the roll. He took
hold of my hand instead. The firm, strong grasp comforted me, though I
expected a severer lecture than I had ever received before in all my
life. I looked up at him through tear-filled eyes when he said, in a
strangely gentle voice for the circumstances:
"I saw you coming along the Mill Road last night with the Blakes and
their lantern. Why were you there so late?"
"I wanted so much to tell the widow Larkum I was in a position now to
help her."
He was silent for awhile; then he said:
"I am glad you did not try to mislead me at the breakfast-table. I could
not easily have forgiven such an act. Next to purity, I admire perfect
truth in your sex."
"Mr. Winthrop, you will believe me that I never went out of our own
grounds after night before alone, and I never will, if I live for a
hundred years.
Pages:
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90