Cecilia laughed a little. ‘Why should you fear that?’ she asked.
‘Because I am extremely anxious for your good opinion,’ he replied,—‘and, of course, for Lady Eliza’s also.’
‘I have no doubt you have got it,’ she said lightly.
‘You are not speaking for yourself, Miss Raeburn. I hope that you think well of me.’
‘Your humility does you credit.’
‘I wish you would be serious. It is hard to be set aside by those whom one wishes to please.’
‘But I do not set you aside. You are speaking most absurdly, Mr. Fordyce,’ said Cecilia, who was growing impatient.
‘But you seem to find everyone else preferable to me—Speid, for instance.’
‘It has never occurred to me to compare you, sir.’
Her voice was freezing.