Not
once should he miss a button from a shirt or find a sock
insufficiently darned! But even this conscience of service did
not make her happy. Duty itself could not, where faith was
wanting, where the heart was not at one with those to whom the
hands were servants. She would cry herself to sleep, and rise
early to be sad. She resolved at last, and seemed to gain
strength and some peace from the resolve, to do all in her power
to avoid Tom; and certainly not once did she try to meet him. Not
with him, she could resist him.
Thus it went on. Her aunt saw that something was amiss, and
watched her, without attempt at concealment, which added greatly
to Letty's discomfort. But the only thing her keenness discovered
was, that the girl was forwardly eager to please Godfrey, and the
conviction began to grow that she was indulging the impudent
presumption of being in love with her peerless cousin. Then
maternal indignation misled her into the folly of dropping hints
that should put Godfrey on his guard: men were so easily taken in
by designing girls! She did not say much; but she said a good
deal too much for her own ends, when she caused her fancy to
present itself to the mind of Godfrey.
He had not failed, no one could have failed, to observe the
dejection that had for some time ruled every feature and
expression of the girl's countenance. Again and again he had
asked himself whether she might not be fancying him displeased
with her; for he knew well that, becoming more and more aware of
what he counted his danger, he had kept of late stricter guard
than ever over his behavior; but, watching her now with the
misleading light of his mother's lantern, nor quite unwilling, I
am bound to confess, that the thing might be as she implied, he
became by degrees convinced that she was right.
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