"No one is going I care about. Only take care of yourself, Charles."
At another moment the words might have struck him, and perhaps sent conviction into his heart; but now?—
"Then do as I told my brother's wife just now," he replied; "have supper ready for us by the time we come back; I'll answer for our doing justice to it."
"Can you think of nothing but eating and drinking?" she asked, bitterly and yet could have thrown herself on her knees, and implored and besought him to stay. Ah! if only in days gone by she could have allowed her warmer nature to have had play, have crushed out her pride and stubbornness, things might have been different between them, and she have been dearer to him; now she was his cousin, nothing more, and with no thought of what she was suffering, he turned away without any reply, rather annoyed at her words than otherwise.
A few moments later he joined Amy.
"I trust you do not give me credit for being such a sinner as the rest of your sex do? or throw all the onus of this expedition on me, Miss Neville?"
"Every one seems to think it originated with you."
"Perhaps it did; but then every one need not follow in my footsteps. Surely I am not answerable for any one but myself?"
"It seems," replied Amy, evading his question, "to have thrown a damp on every one's spirits. I suppose it must be undertaken now?"
"If you had said the last words to me to-day, Miss Neville, it might have been different."