"It doesn't matter, anyhow. What I was going to say is, that my
grandmother's notion of what one of our family ought to do in such a
case can't be carried out: whatever you may think of a man, you can't go
and try to rob him of his sweetheart behind his back. Even supposing she
were willing to break with him--which she is not--you've at least got to
wait to give the fellow a chance."

"There I quite disagree with you, Mr. Trelyon," Mabyn said warmly. "Wait
to give him a chance to make our Wenna miserable! Is she to be made the
prize of a sort of fight? If I were a man I'd pay less attention to my
own scruples and try what I could do for her--Oh, Mr. Trelyon--I--I beg
your pardon."

Mabyn suddenly stopped on the road, overwhelmed with confusion. She had
been so warmly thinking of her sister's welfare that she had been
hurried into something worse than an indiscretion.

"What then, Mabyn?" said he, profoundly surprised.

"I beg your pardon: I have been so thoughtless. I had no right to assume
that you wished--that you wished for the--for the opportunity--"

"Of marrying Wenna?" said he with a great stare. "But what else have we
been speaking about? Or rather, I suppose we did assume it. Well, the
more I think over it, Mabyn, the more I am maddened by all these
obstacles, and by the notion of all the things that may happen. That's
the bad part of my going away. How can I tell what may happen? He might
come back and insist on her marrying him right off."

"Mr. Trelyon," said Mabyn, speaking very clearly, "there's one thing you
may be sure of. If you let me know where you are, nothing will happen to
Wenna that you don't hear of."

He took her hand and pressed it in mute thankfulness. He was not
insensible to the value of having so warm an advocate, so faithful an
ally, always at Wenna's side.

"How long do letters take in going to Jamaica?" Mabyn asked.

"I don't know."

"I could fetch him back for you directly," said she, "if you would like
that."

"How?"

"By writing and telling him that you and Wenna were going to get
married. Wouldn't that fetch him back pretty quickly?"

"I doubt it. He wouldn't believe it of Wenna. Then he is a sensible sort
of fellow, and would say to himself that if the news was true he would
have his journey for nothing. Besides, Barnes says that things are
looking well with him in Jamaica--better than anybody expected. He might
not be anxious to leave."

They had now got back to