_I_
did not ask you to marry me."
Very valiantly then William summoned his wits and tried to act his part.
He told himself, too, that it would not be a hard one; that he loved
Billy dearly, and that he would try to make her happy. He winced a
little at this thought, for he remembered suddenly how old he was--as if
he, at his age, were a fit match for a girl of twenty-one!
And then he looked at Billy. The girl was plainly nervous. There was a
deep flush on her cheeks and a brilliant sparkle in her eyes. She
was talking rapidly--almost incoherently at times--and her voice was
tremulous. Frequent little embarrassed laughs punctuated her sentences,
and her fingers toyed with everything that came within reach. Some time
before she had sprung to her feet and had turned on the electric lights;
and when she came back she had not taken her old position at William's
side, but had seated herself in a chair near by. All of which, according
to William's eyes, meant the maidenly shyness of a girl who has just
said "yes" to the man she loves.
William went home that night in a daze. To himself he said that he had
gone out in search of a daughter, and had come back with a wife.
CHAPTER XXXVII
"WILLIAM'S BROTHER"
It was decided that for the present, the engagement should not be
known outside the family.
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