“And how much older must you be, mistress, ere you may speak of such things?”
“Well, Susan Ring is no more than fifteen, and she is to marry Thomas Clarke so soon as he has William Wright’s house finished, for he’s a carpenter, and William Wright would fain marry Prissie Carpenter, the governor’s wife’s sister”—
“Ohé! I had forgotten! So, so, indeed, and so it is! Now, then, here is a coil!”
Betty, perceiving that her prattle was no longer heard, ceased abruptly, and in silence completed the spreading of the bed, and dusting and arranging the furniture with all the mature and responsible methods not uncommonly characterizing the oldest daughter of a large family, especially in those early days. Suddenly the knight broke silence:—
“Betty, you know Mistress Carpenter?”
“Prissie?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, yes, sir, I know her very well. We have merry games of play together, and I am main fond of her.”
“Well, child, I also know her a little, and I too am fond of her, but that is another of the things you may not tell abroad.”
“And yet you have never been here before, have you, sir?”