"Why didn't I?" he answered. "I am going to tell you why I didn't, and
why Jack did. He is his own master, with money to do as he likes, and no
one to question or nag him at home; while I am _not_ my own master at
all, and have no money except what mother chooses to give me, and that
is not much. Father, you know, is poor, and mother holds the purse,
which is not a large one, and keeps me awful short at times, especially
after paying my Oxford bills and a few debts I contracted the last year.
There would have been no end of a row if I had asked her for money to
spend on you and your father."
"Does she then hate us so much?" Bessie asked, and Neil replied:
"She cannot hate you, as she does not know you; but, you see, she is
prejudiced against your mother and visits her anger upon your innocent
head. I wanted her to call upon you and invite you to our house, and I
wanted to take you to drive in the park, but I could not; my hands were
tied. Do you suppose it was pleasant for me to see Jack Trevellian doing
what I ought to have done?"
"No," Bessie replied, beginning to feel a great pity for Neil, who had
suffered so much.
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