As she touched it she threw it aside with a sudden gesture of impatience, and sat upright.
"Mamma! I have something to say to you." "Yes, my dear." "Mamma, the wedding must be put off!--it _must_!--for some weeks.

I have been thinking about it while I have been lying here.

How _can_ I ?--you can see for yourself.

That miserable woman depends on me altogether.

How can I spend my time on clothing and dressmakers?
I feel as if I could think of nothing else--nothing else in the world--but her and her children." She spoke with difficulty, her voice high and strained.