The response is, "Not if I can help it."
We know not why, it may have been that these words of affection, brought suddenly to her mind all that she had loved and lost, or she might have intuitively divined young Marsden's sentiments towards her, we only know that her lip quivered, and she trembled and grew pale and sank helpless upon the sofa.
Her extreme agitation created in her friends no little alarm, but it soon passed off, and as they could not but observe that any futher allusion to the matter was annoying to her, the brother and sister exchanged expressive glances which, being interpreted, signified, "resolved that the subject be indefinitely postponed." But it was again mooted on the first occasion of the absence of their guest; Miss Marsden being the first to bring it under consideration.
"O, it was only fatigue," said her brother, in reply to her various surmises.
"No, it was not fatigue," she insisted with an arch smile. "It is my opinion she was laboring under some powerful emotion. I once saw her almost as much agitated in one of our school exhibitions, in which she was to act a prominent part; but she went through it splendidly, the determined little thing."
"O well, it might have been excess of joy at meeting you."
"At meeting me, do you say, sir? Now brother, don't try to crawl out of it, for I have determined to extort the truth from you. Was she not overjoyed at meeting you?"
"Well, then, my dear sister, the truth is, I think not. You must have noticed she takes special pains to address me as brother, and always to treat me as such, and you young ladies rarely faint at the sight of a brother."
"O, but you are only an adopted brother,"—slyly.
"That's all," sighed the young man.