to believe that?'

'Perhaps you didn't mean it yourself.'

'By George, I did. I was quite in earnest. There never was a fellow
more in earnest than I was. I've come down here on purpose to say it
again.'

'To say what?'

'Whether you'll accept me?'

'I don't know whether you love me well enough.' She longed to be told
by him that he loved her. He had no objection to tell her so, but,
without thinking much about it, felt it to be a bore. All that kind of
thing was trash and twaddle. He desired her to accept him; and he
would have wished, were it possible, that she should have gone to her
father for his consent. There was something in the big eyes and heavy
jaws of Mr Melmotte which he almost feared. 'Do you really love me
well enough?' she whispered.

'Of course I do. I'm bad at making pretty speeches, and all that, but
you know I love you.'

'Do you?'

'By George, yes. I always liked you from the first moment I saw you. I
did indeed.'

It was a poor declaration of love, but it sufficed. 'Then I will love
you,' she said. 'I will with all my heart.'

'There's a darling!'

'Shall I be your darling? Indeed I will. I may call you Felix now
mayn't I?'

'Rather.'

'Oh, Felix, I hope you will love me. I will so dote upon you. You know
a great many men have asked me to love them.'

'I suppose so.'

'But I have never, never cared for one of them in the least,--not in the
least.'

'You do care for me?'

'Oh yes.' She looked up into his beautiful face as she spoke, and he
saw that her eyes were swimming with tears. He thought at the moment
that she was very common to look at. As regarded appearance only he
would have preferred even Sophia Longestaffe. There was indeed a
certain brightness of truth which another man might have read in
Marie's mingled smiles and tears, but it was thrown away altogether
upon him. They were walking in some shrubbery quite apart from the
house, where they were unseen; so, as in duty bound, he put his arm
round her waist and kissed her. 'Oh, Felix,' she said, giving her face
up to him; 'no one ever did it before.' He did not in the least
believe her, nor was the matter one of the slightest importance to
him. 'Say that you will be good to me, Felix. I will be so good to
you.'

'Of course I will be good to you.'

'Men are not always good to their wives. Papa is often very cross to
mamma.'

'I suppose he can be cross?'

'Yes, he can. He does not often scold me. I don't know