"What do you want, sister?" the young man replied, without lifting his eyes from the floor.
"You are not happy, brother."
To this, there was no reply, and an embarrassing pause of some moments ensued.
"May I speak a word with you, brother?"—the young girl at length said, with a tone and manner that showed her to be compelling herself to the performance of a painful and repugnant task.
"On what subject, Alice?" the brother asked, looking up with a doubting expression.
This question brought the colour to Alice's cheeks, and the moisture to her eyes.
"You know what I would say, John," she at length made out to utter, in a voice that slightly trembled.
"How should I know, sister?"
"You were not yourself last night, John."
"Alice!"