"
Peg laughed heartily. Her good humour was coming back to her.
"Sure, ye'll get over it, Alaric," she said encouragingly.
"That's just it," he protested anxiously. "I'm afraid I WON'T get
over it. Do you know, I'm quite ACHE-Y NOW. Indeed I am"
"Ache-y?" repeated Peg, growing more and more amused.
Alaric touched his heart tenderly:
"Yes, really. All round HERE!"
"Perhaps it's because I disturbed yer night's rest, Alaric?"
"You've disturbed ALL my rest. If you GO I'll never have ANY rest."
Once again he spurred on his flagging spirits and threw all his
ardour into the appeal. "I've really begun to care for you very
much. Oh, very, very much. It all came to me in a flash--down in the
room." And--for the moment--he really meant it. He began to see
qualities in his little cousin which he had never noticed before.
And the fact that she was not apparently a willing victim, added
zest to the attack.
Peg looked at him with unfeigned interest:
"Sure, that does ye a great dale of credit. I've been thinkin' all
the time I've known ye that ye only cared for YERSELF--like all
Englishmen."
"Oh, no," protested Alaric. "Oh, DEAR, no. We care a great deal at
times--oh, a GREAT deal--and never say a word about it--not a single
word.
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