I know there is something wrong with George." "Will you go with me early to-morrow morning to see Betty--very early ?" I asked.
Her eyes opened in wonder, and she answered, somewhat amused: "You have been acting as my guardian for a long time, cousin Ned, and now I think I owe it to you to return the favor.

You should not see so much of Betty.

I know you mean no wrong to her, but you will cause her great suffering if you continue to see her, for you must know that already the girl is almost mad with love of you.

Yet you cannot marry her." "Nor can you marry some one else," I retorted, almost angrily, for a man dislikes to be prodded by a painful truth.
"Ah, well, I suppose we are a pair of fools," she said.
"You're right, Frances," I answered philosophically, "and the only consolation we can find lies in the fact that we know it." "Most fools lack that flattering unction," returned Frances, musingly.
"Perhaps you will take more interest in this matter when I tell you that it is not Betty I propose to see," I answered.

"I am deliberately offering to take you to see some one else who is about to leave England." She stood on tiptoe and kissed my lips for answer, then sank into a chair, covering her face with her hands to hide the sudden tears.
I went to the window and waited till she was calm.