h could not be tempted to go home
for your sake?" he then asked.

"Oh, mother, yes; but father--I don't know about father."

"I shall try my powers of persuasion," said Mr. Shubrick lightly.

Dolly made no answer and was evidently in so much troubled confusion of
thought that she was not ready, even if he were, to take up again the
consideration of plans and prospects, or to enter into any other more
indifferent subject of conversation. After a trial or two, seeing this,
Mr. Shubrick proposed to get a book and read to her; which he had once
or twice done to their great mutual pleasure. And as Dolly eagerly
welcomed the proposal, he left her there on the bank and went down to
the cottage, which was not very far off, to fetch the book. As soon as
he was out of sight, Dolly laid her face in her hands.

It was all rushing upon her now, what she had scarce looked at before
in the pre-occupation and happiness of the last days. It was a
confusion of difficult questions. Would her father leave the companions
and habits to which he had grown so fast, and go back to America for
her sake--that is, for the sake of seeing her promptly married? Dolly
doubted it much. It was quite possible that her father would regard
that consideration as the reverse of an inducement. It was quite
possible that no unselfish inducement would have any power at all with
him. Then he would stay in England. And so long as he was in England,
in the clutches of the temptation that had got so much power, Dolly
could not leave him; and if she could leave him, it would be impossible
to forsake her mother, whose only stay and comfort on earth she was. In
that case, what was she to say to Mr. Shubrick? How could he
understand, that for Dolly to leave father and mother was any way
different or more difficult than Christina's or any other girl's doing
the same thing? He could not understand, unless she told him all; and
how was it possible for her to do that? How could she tell her lover
her father's shame? And if she simply refused to marry him and refused
to give any reason, what was he to think then? Shame and fear and
longing took such possession of Dolly that she was thrown into great
perturbation. She left her seat on the bank and walked up and down
under the great trees. A good burst of tears was near, but she would
not give way to that; Sandie would see it. He would be back presently.
And he would be putting his question again; and whatever in the world