“And why no, Caroline?”
“Because it will set all the neighbourhood against you more than ever.”
“That is no reason why I should not do my duty, and defend my property. This fellow is a great scoundrel, and ought to be incapacitated from perpetrating further mischief.”
“But his accomplices will take revenge on you. You do not know how the people of this country bear malice: it is the boast of some of them that they can keep a stone in their pocket seven years, turn it at the end of that time, keep it seven years longer, and hurl it, and hit their mark ‘at last.’ ”
Moore laughed.
“A most pithy vaunt,” said he; “one that redounds vastly to the credit of your dear Yorkshire friends. But don’t fear for me, Lina: I am on my guard against these lamb-like compatriots of yours: don’t make yourself uneasy about me.”
“How can I help it? You are my cousin. If anything happened—” she stopped.
“Nothing will happen, Lina. To speak in your own language, there is a Providence above all—is there not?”
“Yes, dear Robert. May He guard you!”
“And if prayers have efficacy, yours will benefit me: you pray for me sometimes?”
“Not sometimes, Robert: you, and Louis, and Hortense are always remembered.”
“So I have often imagined: it has occurred to
