"I do, my lady," he replied.
"I had not been there more than an hour or two," she went on, "when they arrived. I suppose Florimel—Lady Lossie—thought I would not come if she told me she expected them."
"And would you have come, my lady?"
"I cannot endure the earl."
"Neither can I. But then I know more about him than your ladyship does, and I am miserable for my mistress."
It stung Clementina as if her heart had taken a beat backward. But her voice was steadier than it had yet been as she returned, "Why should you be miserable for Lady Lossie?"
"I would die rather than see her marry that wretch," he answered.
Again her blood stung her in the left side. "You do not want her to marry, then?" she said.
"I do," answered Malcolm, emphatically, "but not that fellow."
"Whom, then, if I may ask?" ventured Clementina trembling.