Lucilla accepted my excuses, and took my place.
Half an hour passed, without news from Browndown.
Calculated by reference to itself, half an hour is no doubt a short space of time.

Calculated by reference to your own suspense, while your own interests are at stake, half an hour is an eternity.

Every minute that passed, leaving Lucilla still undisturbed in her delusion, was a minute that pricked me in the conscience.

The longer we left her in ignorance, the more painful to all of us the hard duty of enlightening her would become.

I began to get restless.