“I see, Edmund, you are silly enough to be quite jealous.”
This was rather an unfortunate choice of expression; for Edmund, colouring to excess, began to stammer out—“I—me—oh—a, I have a—I—”
“I dare say you think,” continued Julia, who had no suspicion of the kind of jealousy, which on mention of the word, had presented itself to Edmund’s fancy—“I dare say you think we did not appear as glad to see you as usual, when you arrived so by surprise yesterday; but you came in in so hurried a manner—and—among so many strangers—that—that—”
“Indeed, Julia, I—you—” again stammered Edmund.
“I am sure none of us intended to be unkind,” continued Julia, “—or less glad, I mean, of your safe return.”
“You are too good to be unkind to any one, Julia,” said Edmund, with a sigh. Julia still fancying his manner seemed strangely dissatisfied, began to feel offended in her turn, and a rather awkward pause followed. At length, she compelled herself to make another effort, and said, with a reasoning tone—
“You cannot suppose, Edmund, that any of your friends at Lodore regard you less, merely from your having been a few years from home! Indeed, if you could know how highly, both grandmamma and Mr. Jackson always speak of you, you would not think so!” He made no reply; for it was neither grandmamma nor Mr. Jackson that he was thinking of.
“I believe,” she added, trying to laugh, “it really was all I had heard about ‘Captain Montgomery, the gallant Captain Montgomery!’ which made me find it so difficult to imagine Edmund, who used to play with Frances and myself here in these woods, and the said terrible Captain fighting the French and destroying the Turks on the high seas, one and the same person!”
“Ungentle employment, it must be confessed!” he replied, with a faint smile.