"Very pretty," I said, "very beautiful. Did Sir William give it to you?"
"Oh no," she said; "papa does not know anything about it, and I must not tell him. You can guess who gave it to me; I am not going to tell you, but you can guess. And then, don't you see, if you know about it, then I can wear it sometimes; it seems such a pity never to wear it. I can put it on now and then, when we are here alone, and slip it off if I hear any one coming. Don't you think so, May dear? How grave you look!" she said, in an altered voice. "What is the matter? Are you very angry with me?"
"Not angry," I said, "not angry, Evelyn; but I feel troubled about what you have told me. Why don't you tell your father about it, dear?"
"Oh, I could not," she said; "he would be so vexed, so very vexed. I dare not tell him."
"Why do you think he would be vexed?" I asked.
"Oh, because it must have cost such a great deal of money. Look, May, they are real diamonds; and Donald has so little money to spend, and papa thinks he is so very extravagant. There! I've told you who gave it to me; I did not mean to do so, but of course you had guessed before."
"I think it would be much better if you told Sir William," I said; "he might be a little vexed at first with your cousin for giving so much money for it, but I am sure he would be far more vexed if, by any means, he found out that Mr. Trafford had given it to you, and yet you had never told him of it."
"Yes," she said, "I know he would; but the worst of it is, that isn't all, May; if I told him that, I should have to tell him something else—I could not stop half-way."
"But I think you ought to tell him all," I said, "and to hide nothing from him which you feel he ought to know. You would be much happier, Evelyn, if you told him."
"Yes," she said, "I know I should; but then you see I promised not to tell him, and it would never do to break my promise."