“I will not, dear—I promise I will not,” Philip murmured, with well-assumed humility. “But, oh, Mollie! this uncertainty seems cruel and unendurable. How long must I wait before you will tell me what I want to know?”
“I cannot say, Phil,” Mollie kindly but thoughtfully replied. “I like you right well in many ways, though what has just occurred has been like a dash of cold water over me; but liking is not love, you know, and you will have to be patient until I know my own heart.”
He snatched one of her hands again and kissed it passionately. Her reticence and the uncertainty of his suit only served to make him so much the more determined to win a confession of love from her, even though he knew that he was liable to change his mind later and break her heart; though, to his credit be it said, there were times when better impulses moved him, and he vowed that he would marry her in spite of his mother—in spite of his own pride and love of worldly wealth, prestige, and ease.
“I will try to be patient,” he said, “but do not make the test too hard.”
He devoted himself to her more assiduously than ever after that, and was so guarded in his behavior and so congenial in every way during the few remaining days of Mollie’s visit that she began to tell herself that she did love him, and was sometimes tempted to speak a word of encouragement to him.
But something held her back—she never went beyond a certain limit, although she was as kind and sweet and charming as ever.
Mr. and Mrs. Temple also showed their guests all due courtesy and attention while they remained with them; but they experienced a feeling of intense relief when they announced the day of their departure, for both realized the danger of Phil’s infatuation. They were somewhat chagrined, however, when Mr. Heatherford informed them that they would remain in Boston for the present—until some matters of business were settled, he said, with a quick, anxious glance at Mr. Temple which caused that gentleman to change color a trifle—and would make their home at the Adams House.
As soon as they were gone, Mrs. Temple persuaded Phil, though evidently against his will, to accompany her and her husband to Newport for the month of August. She then tried to entice him to the Adirondacks for another four weeks, but this he refused to do, and returned immediately to Boston, where he at once began to dance attendance upon Mollie again, though he constantly fretted and fumed within himself because he appeared to make no progress in his suit.
He sometimes wondered why he allowed himself to be so absorbed in his pursuit of her, when there were plenty of girls with large expectations—Gertrude among others—who would have said “Yes” without presuming to impose probation upon him.
But Mollie’s rare beauty intoxicated him; her brilliancy and versatility dazzled him, while her persistent reticence, more than all else, made him her slave. She would not allow him to make love to her. Whenever he approached the forbidden topic she would invariably interrupt him with some irrelevant remark, or with a reproving smile and shake of her head.