"Then you ought to give him back his presents and his letters," said Emily, anxious to bring the whole affair to a conclusion at once.
"Of course!" said Delia. "And so I will. We agreed to burn each other's letters, and so they are disposed of, but I will return the ring and bracelet, and the book he gave me last night."
She rose as she spoke, and took down the dress she had worn the evening before, but on putting her hand into the pocket, it was empty. The book was gone!
"What is the matter?" asked Emily surprised and terrified at Delia's sudden change of countenance. "What has happened?"
"I have lost that book," said Delia, sitting down in the chair that Emily hastily placed for her. "I must have dropped it, instead of putting it into my pocket. If it is found, I am ruined."
"What was the book?" asked Emily. "Was your name in it?"
"I don't even know the title of it," replied Delia, "nor whether my name was in it or not. He gave it to me and told me to read it. How careless I was! What shall I do?"
"I don't see that you can do any thing just now," said Emily after some consideration. "If you dropped it on the walk, or in the arbor, it must have been found long before this time. If your name is not in it, you are not obliged to know any thing about it, since you can say with truth that you never read even the title."
"Upon my word, Emily, for a young lady who was afraid to tell even a white lie a few months ago, that is a pretty fine calculation. I should say you had made pretty good progress in your education."
"If I have, you are the very last person to reproach me with it," said Emily, with bitterness. "I am your pupil, and you have spared no pains to teach me, either by precept or example."