attached to you. You do not deny it. Let me know on what terms you
stand.'

Without looking up, she murmured, 'If you would not force it from me at
such a time.'

'Laura, it is for your own good. You are wretched now, my poor child;
why not relieve yourself by telling all? If you have not acted openly,
can you have any comfort till you have confessed? It may be a painful
effort, but relief will come afterwards.'

'I have nothing to confess,' said Laura. 'There is no such thing as you
think.'

'No engagement?'

'No.'

'Then what am I to understand by your exclamations?'

'It is no engagement,' repeated Laura. 'He would never have asked that
without papa's consent. We are only bound by our own hearts.'

'And you have a secret understanding with him?'

'We have never written to each other; we have never dreamed of any
intercourse that could be called clandestine. He would scorn it. He
waited only for his promotion to declare it to papa.'

'And how long has it been declared to you?'

'Ever since the first summer Guy was here.'

'Three years!' exclaimed her mother. 'You have kept this from me three
years! O Laura!'

'It was of no use to speak!' said Laura, faintly.

If she had looked up, she would have seen those words, 'no use,' cut her
mother more deeply than all; but there was only coldness in the tone
of the answer, 'No use to inform your parents, before you pledged your
affections!'

'Indeed, mamma,' said Laura, 'I was sure that you knew his worth.'

'Worth! when he was teaching you to live in a course of insincerity?
Your father will be deeply hurt.'

'Papa! Oh, you must not tell him! Now, I have betrayed him, indeed! Oh,
my weakness!' and another paroxysm of tears came on.

'Laura, you seem to think you owe nothing to any one but Philip. You
forget you are a daughter! that you have been keeping up a system of
disobedience and concealment, of which I could not have believed a child
of mine could be capable. O Laura, how you have abused our confidence!'

Laura was touched by the sorrow of her tone; and, throwing her arms
round her neck, sobbed out, 'You will forgive me, only forgive him!'

Mrs. Edmonstone was softened in a moment. 'Forgive you, my poor child!
You have been very unhappy!' and she kissed her, with many tears.

'Must you tell papa?' whispered Laura.

'Judge for yourself, Laura. Could I know such a thing, and hide it from
him?'

Laura ceased, seeing her determined, and yielded