something even in her wasted
antiquity that bade one stand at one's distance, I felt an irresistible
desire to hold in my own for a moment the hand that Jeffrey Aspern had
pressed.

For a minute she made no answer, and I saw that my proposal failed to
meet with her approbation. She indulged in no movement of withdrawal,
which I half-expected; she only said coldly, "I belong to a time when
that was not the custom."

I felt rather snubbed but I exclaimed good humoredly to Miss Tita, "Oh,
you will do as well!" I shook hands with her while she replied, with a
small flutter, "Yes, yes, to show it's all arranged!"

"Shall you bring the money in gold?" Miss Bordereau demanded, as I was
turning to the door.

I looked at her for a moment. "Aren't you a little afraid, after all, of
keeping such a sum as that in the house?" It was not that I was annoyed
at her avidity but I was really struck with the disparity between such a
treasure and such scanty means of guarding it.

"Whom should I be afraid of if I am not afraid of you?" she asked with
her shrunken grimness.

"Ah well," said I, laughing, "I shall be in point of fact a protector
and I will bring gold if you prefer."

"Thank you," the old woman returned with dignity and with an inclination
of her head which evidently signified that I might depart. I passed out
of the room, reflecting that it would not be easy to circumvent her. As
I stood in the sala again I saw that Miss Tita had followed me, and I
supposed that as her aunt had neglected to suggest that I should take a
look at my quarters it was her purpose to repair the omission. But she
made no such suggestion; she only stood there with a dim, though not a
languid smile, and with an effect of irresponsible, incompetent youth
which was almost comically at variance with the faded facts of her
person. She was not infirm, like her aunt, but she struck me as still
more helpless, because her inefficiency was spiritual, which was not the
case with Miss Bordereau's. I waited to see if she would offer to
show me the rest of the house, but I did not precipitate the question,
inasmuch as my plan was from this moment to spend as much of my time as
possible in her society. I only observed at the end of a minute:

"I have had better fortune than I hoped. It was very kind of her to see
me. Perhaps you said a good word for me."

"It was the idea of the money," said Miss Tita.

"And did you suggest that?"

"I told her that you