It was a poor declaration of love, but it sufficed. "Then I will love you," she said. "I will with all my heart."
"There's a darling!"
"Shall I be your darling? Indeed I will. I may call you Felix now;—mayn't I?"
"Rather."
"Oh, Felix, I hope you will love me. I will so dote upon you. You know a great many men have asked me to love them."
"I suppose so."
"But I have never, never cared for one of them in the least;—not in the least."
"You do care for me?"
"Oh yes." She looked up into his beautiful face as she spoke, and he saw that her eyes were swimming with tears. He thought at the moment that she was very common to look at. As regarded appearance only he would have preferred even Sophia Longestaffe. There was indeed a certain brightness of truth which another man might have read in Marie's mingled smiles and tears, but it was thrown away altogether upon him. They were walking in some shrubbery quite apart from the house, where they were unseen; so, as in duty bound, he put his arm round her waist and kissed her. "Oh, Felix," she said, giving her face up to him; "no one ever did it before." He did not in the least believe her, nor was the matter one of the slightest importance to him. "Say that you will be good to me, Felix. I will be so good to you."
"Of course I will be good to you."