“We walked together repeatedly. I am not so ungrateful as to forget her charming companionship.”
“Confound your gratitude, sir! it's not that I'm talking of. You made advances. You—you told her—you said—in fact, you made her believe—ay, and you made me believe—that you meant to ask her to marry you.”
“Impossible!” said Maitland; “impossible!”
“And why impossible? Is it that our respective conditions are such as to make the matter impossible?”
“I never thought of such an impertinence, Commodore. When I said impossible, it was entirely with respect to the construction that could be placed on all my intercourse with Miss Graham.”
“And did n't I go up to your room on the morning I left, and ask you to come over to Port-Graham and talk the matter over with me?”
“You invited me to your house, but I had not the faintest notion that it was to this end. Don't shake your head as if you doubted me; I pledge you my word on it.”
“How often have you done this sort of thing? for no fellow is as cool as you are that's not an old hand at it.”
“I can forgive a good deal—”
“Forgive! I should think you could forgive the people you've injured. The question is, can I forgive? Yes, sir, can I forgive?”