"I don't want to write anything," he said. "I should not know how it had
been received, nor would it be likely to get me any satisfaction. I want
a live, sympathetic medium, such as you are. Won't you do this favor for
me?"

"No, I won't," said Miss Annie, her very decided tone appearing to give
a shade of paleness to her features. "How often must I tell you that I
will not help you in this thing?"

"I would not ask you," said Lawrence, "if I could help myself."

"It is not right that you should ask me any more," she said. "I am not
in favor of your coming here to court Miss March, while my cousin is
away, and I should feel like a traitor if I helped you at all,
especially if I were to carry messages to her. Of course, I am very
sorry for you, shut up here, and I will do anything I can to make you
more comfortable and contented; but what you ask is too hard for me."
And, as she said this, a little air of trouble came into the large eyes
with which she was steadfastly regarding him. "I don't want to seem
unkind to you, and I wish you would ask me something that I can do for
you. I'll walk down to Howlett's and get you anything you may like to
have. I'll bring you a lot of novels which I found in the house, and
which I expect, anyway, you will like better than those old-time books.
And I'll cook you anything that is in the cook-book. But I really cannot
go wooing for you, and if you ask me to do that, every time I come near
you, I really must--"

"My dear Mrs Null," interrupted Lawrence, "I promise not to say any more
to you on this subject. I see it is distasteful to you, and I beg your
pardon for having mentioned it so often. You have been very kind to me,
indeed, and I should be exceedingly sorry to do anything to offend you.
It would be very bad for me to lose one of my friends, now that I am
shut up in this box, and feel so very dependent."

"Oh, indeed," said Miss Annie. "But I suppose if you were able to step
around, as you used to do, it wouldn't matter whether you offended me or
not."

"Mrs Null," said Lawrence, "you know I did not mean anything like that.
Do you intend to be angry with me, no matter what I say?"

"Not a bit of it," she answered, with a little smile that brought back
to her face that warm brightness which had grown upon it since she had
come down here. "I haven't the least wish in the world to be angry with
you, and I promise you I won't be, provided you'll stop everlastingly
asking m