Cecil felt his heart beat lightly again at the interest in him implied by her words, and the secret understanding they suggested and created.
Though we doubt very much if Mr. Hew Caddish Montgomerie ever heard of the Bard of Twickenhem, yet we are certain that he believed with him, that 'every woman is at heart a rake;' and thus he was the more irate with Mary, as he was prone to take the worst view of every one and everything.
As they pursued the circuitous path that led from the grotto to the house, Hew maintained a somewhat sulky silence, as he had neither the good feeling nor the good taste to conceal his annoyance. He, perhaps, loved Mary; but if so, it was after a selfish fashion of his own, and as much as it was in him to love anyone. He knew her fortune to a shilling; he had a passionate, an inherited, and avaricious love of wealth, and he knew right well the vast importance that attached to the possession of it; thus he took Mary to task, the moment Falconer left them—with a glance, which Mary read, though to Hew it was all unseen, or misunderstood.
'Were you and that fellow long in the grounds to-day?' he asked bluntly, and with anger in his eyes.
'What if we were?' was the defiant reply.
'I asked you a question, cousin.'
'One you have no right to ask.'
'No right?'
'None!' said she, with decision.
'Come, I like that! I am your cousin.'