Daisy In The Field - Page 106/231

"They would not agree with you; your views would not harmonise

with theirs."

"And therefore I trust to your honour to keep silence

respecting mine."

"I am bound," he answered gloomily; and we walked a few

minutes in silence.

"You will change your manner of thinking, Miss Randolph," he

began again. "Yours is the vision of inexperienced eyes and of

impulsive generosity. It will not remain what it is."

"Inexperienced eyes see the clearest," I answered. "The habit

of wrong is no help towards judging of the right."

"You will think differently by and by."

"Not while I am a servant of God and He commands me to break

every yoke, to do as I would be done by, to look not on my own

things, but also on the things of others. We owe our poor

people not liberty only, but education, and every advantage

for restored civilisation; - a great long debt."

"And is this the reason why you will not look favourably on my

suit?" he said after another interval.

"It is a reason why you will not wish to prosecute it, Mr. De

Saussure."

"You are very severe!" he said. "Do you really think that?"

"You know it is true. I do not wish to be severe."

"Have you then no kindness for me?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You are so dreadfully calm and cool!" he said. "One has no

chance with you. If this matter were not in the way, would you

have any kindness for me, Daisy? Is this all that separates

us?"

"It is quite enough, Mr. De Saussure. It is as powerful with

you as with me."

"I am too late, I suppose!" he said, as it seemed to me,

rather spitefully. As he was too late, it was no use to tell

him he could never have been early enough. I was silent; and

we walked on unenjoyingly. Vexation was working in his

countenance, and a trace of that same spite; I was glad when

we came to the end of our way and the other members of our

party closed up and joined us.

As I cared nothing for the house they had come to see, I

excused myself from going any nearer, and sat down upon the

bank at a little distance while they gratified their

curiosity. The view of the lake and lake shores here was very

lovely; enough to satisfy any one for a long while; but now,

my thoughts only rested there for a minute, to make a spring

clear across the Atlantic. Mr. Thorold was very close to me,

and I was very far from him; that was the burden of my heart.

So close to me he had been, that I had never dreamed any one

could think of taking his place. I saw I had been a simpleton.

Up to that day I had no suspicion that Mr. De Saussure liked

me more than would be convenient; and indeed I had no fear now

of his heart being broken; but I saw that his unlucky suit

made a complication in my affairs that they certainly did not

need. - Mamma approved it; yes, I had no doubt of that. I knew

of a plantation of his, Briery Bank, only a few miles distant

from Magnolia and reputed to be very rich in its incomings.

And, no doubt Mr. De Saussure would have liked the

neighbourhood of Magnolia, and to add its harvest to his own.

And all the while I belonged to Mr. Thorold, and nobody else

could have me. My thoughts came back to that refrain with a

strong sense of pain and gladness. However, the gladness was

the strongest. How lovely the lake was, with its sunlit hills!