“There 's a dear good girl,” said he, drawing her towards him, and kissing her cheek. “I 'd have sworn you felt as I did about this old fop; and we must be arrant snobs, Nelly, or else his coming down amongst us here would not have broken us all up, setting us exchanging sneers and scoffs, and criticising each other's knowledge of life. Confound the old humbug; let us forget him.”
They walked along without exchanging a word for full ten minutes or more, till they reached the brow of the cliff, from which the pathway led down to the cottage. “I wonder when I shall stand here again?” said he, pausing. “Not that I 'm going on any hazardous service, or to meet a more formidable enemy than a tart flag-captain; but the world has such strange turns and changes that a couple of years may do anything with a man's destiny.”
“A couple of years may make you a post-captain, Jack; and that will be quite enough to change your destiny.”
He looked affectionately towards her for a moment, and then turned away to hide the emotion he could not master.
“And then, Jack,” said she, caressingly, “it will be a very happy day that shall bring us to this spot again.”
“Who knows, Nelly?” said he, with a degree of agitation that surprised her. “I have n't told you that Julia and I had a quarrel the last time we met.”
“A quarrel!”
“Well, it was something very like one. I told her there were things about her manner,—certain ways she had that I didn't like; and I spoke very seriously to her on the subject. I did n't go beating about, but said she was too much of a coquette.”
“Oh, Jack!”
“It's all very well to be shocked, and cry out, 'Oh, Jack!' but isn't it true? Haven't you seen it yourself? Hasn't Marion said some very strange things about it?”