“I don’t believe I do, as people call love,” Rex said, getting up from the table and going into the parlor, followed by Colin, who exclaimed, “By the great horn spoon, Rex, what do you mean philandering with that girl all this time? What the deuce is the matter? What fault have you to find with her?”
“Not the slightest. She is perfect every way, except a little too tall for a woman,” Rex said. “But I am not a marrying man. Never thought of it till I saw that will, which I wish had never been made. I am very happy as I am and do not care to change. Tell me, you have never married, would you have been happier with a Mrs. McPherson and a colony of little McPhersons upsetting you generally?”
“Yes, by George! as many times happier as there were Mrs. McPhersons and little McPhersons. I wish I had a hundred of ’em,” and Colin struck his hand hard upon his knee, while Rex laughed at his excitement. “Have you a hankering notion after the other one, who is most like Nannie? I believe my soul you have,” was Colin’s next question, and Rex replied, “It would do me no good if I had; she belongs to Tom, but I think I fancy little women the most.”
“Confound your little woman,” Colin exclaimed, growing more and more excited. “Not that this Rena isn’t a pretty little filly, such as men like Giles like to cuddle in their arms. I wouldn’t mind kissing her myself, but I tell you, boy, she has not the backbone her cousin has. You wouldn’t amount to shucks with her. She’d just be a plaything and that’s all, while the other will make a man of you and keep you pulled together. She has a head on her. And such a head! and such hair! Never saw so much hair in my life on anybody.”
Rex could have told him something about that hair and the loss of a part of it, which had so greatly improved Irene’s appearance. He had noticed the improvement when he saw her that morning, but had said nothing, feeling that she would not like the subject referred to. Of course he could not speak of it to Colin, who went on. “Don’t you think something is due the girl? Here you’ve been playing up to her for weeks and given her reason to think you meant something, and you hang off because she is too tall! Great Scott! I’m ashamed of you! Too tall! Great Moses!”
Colin was growing quite heated and Rex took his castigation very meekly and only said, “What do you advise me to do? What shall I say to her? You know I have no fund of small talk, to say nothing of making love.”
“Say to her? Heaven and earth! I could find enough to say, old as I am. I never tried it, but common sense tells me what I should do in your case. Plunge in. Tell her you are a coward and a fool not to have spoken before. She probably has thought that forty times. Tell her you are ready to fulfil your part of the business if she is. Snug up to her, take her hand, and squeeze it a little. She will let you—ask her if her pulse beats in unison with yours! Go to-morrow, and have it out!”
Rex laughed till the tears ran, at Colin’s directions with regard to his lovemaking.
“I wish you had to do it,” he said, “but as it seems to devolve on me, I’ll go to-morrow and as a preliminary ask her what she thinks of the will, instead of how her pulse beats.”
“Hang your preliminary,” Colin growled, “Ask her to be your wife! That will look as if you wanted her, even if there were no will.”