After another silence, he got up to leave.
“I’ll not wait any longer to-night,” he said, “but if it would be agreeable, I’ll drop round next Sunday, when there will be nothing else to be done. We can settle the thing then at once.”
“Mind, you’ll have to speak to Nelly herself first!” said Christina. By that she was trying to make herself believe that she was giving Nelly a chance of thinking of Jim.
But only God knows what is in people’s minds! Surely, half the time we don’t know ourselves. And the very things that are the most in our thoughts are the things we get ourselves the most confused over. And the more we try to see them clearly, the more confused we get.
With Christina, anyway, that’s how it was. Sleeping or waking, it was Jim, Jim, Jim! always and ever; no matter what she was doing, or who was there. What was he doing now? Was he just the same? And was he really and truly as fond of Nelly as he had seemed to be that evening?... And did Nelly care one thraneen about him?
But she did want to act fairly by them both! And that was why she had said to Heffernan that he must speak to Nelly herself first; she would have no hand in it, until Nelly had had time to think. She wouldn’t say a word to her, good, bad, nor indifferent, she thought.
“Whatever you say, I’ll agree to,” Heffernan said, the last thing as he was waddling off; “but sure she’ll do as you bid her, I’m sure!”
There’s the way marriages are generally settled in Ardenoo.
The days passed on, and Christina never said a word to Nelly still. And then, the very Sunday that she was expecting Heffernan to come again to Greenan-more, wasn’t there a letter from Jim; and most surprising news in it, this time.
It told that the uncle Jim had gone out to was after dying, very suddenly, and had left all he had to Jim. This had happened some time before, but Jim wouldn’t say anything about it, till he was sure. But now the whole thing was settled up. He had the money; and he was coming home at once.