“Oh, don’t say that!” I exclaimed, not quite sure whether she meant to compliment herself or her cousin.
“She would never have played you such a trick as I did.”
“Impossible to say. Had she misjudged the motive of my visit to Grove End—imagined, as you did, that I had come to make love to her for the sake of her money—oh, Theresa! she might have poisoned me!”
“Tell me, do you think it is proper that a girl should be made love to only for her money?”
“Certainly not. I consider it insulting.”
“I acted wrongly in not giving myself time to find out what sort of a man you were, before I began my tricks. But then it would have been too late; for after you had seen me in my natural capacity, as the menagerie people say, shamming would have been ridiculous.”
“Don’t let us talk about anything that vexes us, Theresa. Yesterday is dead and gone, and our acquaintance dates from this morning. But there is one view of the question of marrying for money which ought to be considered: Suppose a fellow falls in love with a girl who has a fortune? doesn’t he run a great risk of being misjudged?”
“If a girl has any sense, she will soon see whether he is fond of her or not.”
I shook my head.
“Some men flatter so well, feign so skilfully, appeal so dexterously to a woman’s weaknesses, that it needs more clear-sightedness than most girls possess to divine either their real feelings or their real motives.”