"
"No, I'm not. So you see whither affairs are tending?"
"Oh, cousin! Am I a bat?"
"I hope you are not averse."
"No, Cousin Sophy, I would do anything, and suffer much, to make papa
happy. You know how I love Mara, though we disagree on many points; and if
she and papa would be happier--Oh! why can't I be happy, too?" and she
gave way to a tempest of sobs.
"We all wish you to be happy, Ella," said Mrs. Bodine, soothingly.
"Yes, in your own way," she replied, brokenly. "What happened before I was
born must be considered first. If love is sweet to papa at his age think
what it is to me?"
"You must not imagine, Ella dear, that we don't feel with you and for you.
I am proud of you as I watch your brave fight in which you will conquer."
"Why should I conquer when my heart tells me that the one I love is worthy
of my love? It hurts me, it wounds my very soul, that he and I should be
spoken to as if we had committed a crime. How could my love be so sacred
and heavenly if it were wrong? Oh, how I hate, hate! There is nothing so
hateful as hate."
"But, Ella, you don't consider all--"
"There is no need of considering all, Cousin Sophy. There are some things
which stand out so clearly that all else is insignificant. Mr. Houghton
hates papa and me. Does papa love him or his son? You know me, faulty,
foolish little girl that I am; but think of that man raging at his son
because he dared to love me! If George had committed a crime his father
would have spent a fortune in defending him.
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