This was a view of the case which had never struck Lawrence before, and although it was not very flattering to him, it was very comforting.  He felt that it was extremely likely that this young woman had been able to truthfully divine, in a case in which he had failed, the motives of another young woman.  Here was a further reason for congratulating himself that he had not written to Miss March.

“And as to the last part of the letter,” said Annie, “you are not going under any cherry tree, or sycamore either, to be refused by her.  What she said to you was quite enough for a final answer, without any signing or sealing under trees, or anywhere else.  I think the best thing that can be done with this precious epistle is to tear it up.”

Lawrence was amused by the piquant earnestness of this decision.  “But what am I to do,” he asked, “I can’t let the matter rest in this unfinished and unsatisfactory condition.”

“You might write to her,” said Annie, “and tell her that you have accepted what she said to you on Pine Top Hill as a conclusive answer, and that you now take back everything you ever said on the subject you talked of that day.  And do you think it would be well to put in anything about your being otherwise engaged?”

At this Lawrence laughed.  “I think that expression would hardly answer,” he said, “but I will write another note, and we shall see how you like it.”

“That will be very well,” said the happy Annie, “and if I were you I’d make it as gentle as I could.  It’s of no use to hurt her feelings.”

“Oh, I don’t want to do that,” said Lawrence, “and now that we have the opportunity, let us consider the question of informing your aunt of our engagement.”

“Oh dear, dear, dear!” said Annie, “that is a great deal worse than informing Miss March that you don’t want to be engaged to her.”

“That is true,” said Lawrence.  “It is not by any means an easy piece of business.  But we might as well look it square in the face, and determine what is to be done about it.”

“It is simple enough, just as we look at it,” said Annie.  “All we have to do, is to say that, knowing that Aunt Keswick had written to my father that she was determined to make a match between cousin Junius and me, I was afraid to come down here without putting up some insurmountable obstacle between me and a man that I had not seen since I was a little girl.  Of course I would say, very decidedly, that I wouldn’t have married him if I hadn’t wanted to; but then, considering Aunt Keswick’s very open way of carrying out her plans, it would have been very unpleasant, and indeed impossible for me to be in the house with him unless she saw that there was no hope of a marriage between us; and for this reason I took the name of Mrs Null, or Mrs Nothing; and came down here, secure under the protection of a husband who never existed.  And then, we could say that you and I were a good deal together, and that, although you had supposed, when you came here, that you were in love with Miss March, you had discovered that this was a mistake, and that afterwards we fell in love with each other, and are now engaged.  That would be a straightforward statement of everything, just as it happened; but the great trouble is:  How are we going to tell it to Aunt Keswick?”