The Argosy — page 187: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

172 The White Witch. “Mrs. Mayne didn’t want to,” replied she, looking up with a smile, ‘‘Tt was rather unlucky for me that I insisted, was it not?” She spoke timidly, but with archness, not as if offended, but as if begging him not to be offended with her. “Oh, indeed, I—you are quite mistaken if you think “That you are rather hard upon me? I don’t know about that. I —lI could not help overhearing something you said just now ; though perhaps I ought not to refer to it, as it was not intended for me to hear. Yet if I may, if you will let me, may I ask you this: Was it entirely my fault that I had to make friends with idiots, when the people who are sane would not make friends with me?” But, really, Miss Dixon, I assure you, you entirely misunder- stood ——” “Did I?” she broke in, very quietly and sadly. ‘Very well. Then I beg your pardon.” She was turning to go, when he stepped quickly forward. If he had not heard that sweet low voice in a very different sort of speech that afternoon, he would have been altogether melted by it ; as it was, inspite of himself, he was touched. ‘* One minute, Miss Dixon, please. I hope you do not think—I wish you would believe that it is not my fault we are not better friends. A man cannot force himself upon a lady who gives him—who appears to give him every reason to believe that the less she sees of him the better she is pleased, and who only varies that treatment by a direct snub now and then, like the one you gave me to-day about driving you home.” ‘* Have we only been playing at cross-purposes, then? I thought you avoided me because you didn’t like me, and I naturally resented it in the weak little way we poor women can use: while you thought I disliked you, and shut yourself up in a cold avoidance, which hurt me, a rather lonely stranger, very much.” ‘‘ Believe me, { never meant to do that.” ‘‘ And will you on your side believe that—that I should never have tried to snub you, as you call it, if I had not perhaps felt a little pique at what I have mistaken for a marked avoidance of me? I own I did feel annoyed sometimes. Only this afternoon I was calling you names to my mother, because I thought you did not want me to go to the match to-day.” Godfrey started. This was frank of her; and he had very good reasons for knowing that it was true. He had never felt so awkward in a woman’s presence before ; he did not know what to say. “JT was only afraid for you. Mrs. Mayne said you could not stand fatigue, and I knew your lovely dress would get crushed and spoilt in the waggonette ; and—and I am very much obliged to you for bringing my coffee,” concluded he, with elaborate civility. ‘That was a pretext,” said she, rather hesitatingly, but smiling, and evidently resolved not to be offended. ‘I will tell you how it was. I want to draw a design for crewel-work: wild-roses and ? GOMmicbooks (E(0)