"You make him out a precious idiot."
"Never mind what I make him out. I want to marry him, that 's all. And I appeal to you solemnly. You can save me, as you can lose me. If you lose me, you 'll be a coward. And if you say a word against me, I shall be lost."
"Go and dress for dinner, that 's your salvation," Littlemore answered, separating from her at the head of the stairs.
IX.
It was very well for him to take that tone; but he felt as he walked home that he should scarcely know what to say to people who were determined, as Mrs. Headway put it, to catch him. She had worked a certain spell; she had succeeded in making him feel responsible. The sight of her success, however, rather hardened his heart; he was irritated by her ascending movement. He dined alone that evening, while his sister and her husband, who had engagements every day for a month, partook of their repast at the expense of some friends. Mrs. Dolphin, however, came home rather early, and immediately sought admittance to the small apartment at the foot of the staircase, which was already spoken of as Littlemore's den. Reginald had gone to a "squash" somewhere, and she had returned without delay, having something particular to say to her brother. She was too impatient even to wait till the next morning. She
