Celia looked at his extended hand, and shook her head. "I cannot take it," she said.
"But it does not belong to me; you must take it. You put me in an awkward position by refusing."
Celia's eyes flashed. "And how about my position if I should take it? Has not all Friendship been speculating about the meaning of the Gilpin will? Is not everybody wondering what you are going to do with it? What—" She paused, clearly unable to keep her voice steady.
She seemed about to hurry away when Allan intercepted her. "Forgive me—wait—just a moment. I see now. I was unpardonably stupid. I am not in the habit of considering what people say or may think, but I can see it would not do. I seem to be always annoying you," he concluded helplessly.
A faint smile dawned on Celia's face. "No one can help it; it is just an awkward situation," she said, and left him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIFTH.
QUESTIONS.
"They asked one another the reason."
Although the auction was over, the air of Friendship still vibrated from the stir. Bereft of its treasures, the Gilpin house stood an empty shell, facing an unknown future; for beyond the statement that he was from Baltimore, nothing was known of its purchaser.