"Yes!"
"That is impossible! He has never, in any way, hinted at such a thing."
"No! Because he was afraid of my anger."
"Of your anger!"
"Yes! He came to Farbis Court yesterday and declared that he loved me--that he wished to make me his wife."
"Oh, I cannot believe it," said Meg, jealously.
"Nevertheless, it is true! He proposed to marry me; but I refused his offer with scorn."
"Why did you do that?"
Miss Linisfarne raised her veil, and showed a face inflamed with anger. Having once committed herself, she did not measure her words, and raged on without considering the harm she was doing. The belief Meg had in Dan enraged her, and she was determined to blacken his character in the girl's eyes, so that any tenderness Meg might have towards him should be crushed in its infancy.
"Why did I do that?" she cried, with rapid speech. "Because his offer was an insult. He said that he loved you; in every action he has shown that he loved you. Fool that you are, do you think a man would stay in this place for weeks and weeks had he not been influenced by your presence? He was in love with me also--the base, dishonourable villain!"