‘Well—the only talk between a young woman and man that is likely to amuse an eavesdropper.’
‘Ah yes,’ she said, smiling in spite of her preoccupation. ‘Well, my cousin Owlett has spoken to me about matrimony, every now and then, that’s true; but he was not speaking of it then. I wish he had been speaking of it, with all my heart. It would have been much less serious for me.’
‘O Mrs. Newberry!’
‘It would. Not that I should ha’ chimed in with him, of course. I wish it for other reasons. I am glad, Mr. Stockdale, that you have told me of that listener. It is a timely warning, and I must see my cousin again.’
‘But don’t go away till I have spoken,’ said the minister. ‘I’ll out with it at once, and make no more ado. Let it be Yes or No between us, Lizzy; please do!’ And he held out his hand, in which she freely allowed her own to rest, but without speaking.
‘You mean Yes by that?’ he asked, after waiting a while.
‘You may be my sweetheart, if you will.’
‘Why not say at once you will wait for me until I have a house and can come back to marry you.’
‘Because I am thinking—thinking of something else,’ she said with embarrassment. ‘It all comes upon me at once, and I must settle one thing at a time.’
‘At any rate, dear Lizzy, you can assure me that the miller shall not be allowed to speak to you except on business? You have never directly encouraged him?’