He
had told her he should never marry Blanche, but in his heart he thought
it possible, for, as there was no money in his own family, and he could
not exist without it, he must marry money and forget the sweet face and
soft blue eyes which moved him with a strange power and made him long to
fold Bessie in his arms, and, young as she was, claim her as something
more than a cousin. But, always politic and cautious, he restrained
himself, and said to her instead:
"I do not believe I shall ever marry anybody, certainly not for many
years, and you and I will be the best of friends always, brother and
sister, which is better than cousins. Do you consent?"
"Yes," Bessie answered, falteringly, not quite understanding him, or
knowing whether she should like the brother and sister arrangement as
well as the cousin.
Then they talked together of what Bessie had seen in the park, and she
told him all Jack Trevellian had said, and how kind he was, and how much
she liked him, until Neil felt horribly jealous of his cousin, and
wished he had staid in Ireland while Bessie was in London.
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