“Grace led Phil away, and tried to tell him how she had not supposed he would care; that she had imagined he would prefer to serve the young lady with whom he had been talking; how she had never known him to put such store by trivialities before; how ‘at least we,’ Phil told me, bitterly quoting her words, ’at least we ought to be sure of each other’s hearts,’ and did everything to pacify him.  But he would listen to nothing, and, coming to me, asked me to walk home with Grace, as he was going away immediately.  I imagined the trouble, and got him to admit that he and Grace had said unkind words to each other.  But he would say nothing more about the matter till I found him in my room after it was all over, when he raved about Grace until near morning, and cursed the fate that had turned the bread of her kind affection for him into a stone.  ’How can I ever hope to win her love when she thinks that way of me?’ he would ask sorrowfully, after telling of some pure and loving freedom she had taken.  I was full of pity for the miserable fellow, but I felt as if I ought to do all I could to discourage him.  I was sure he was right; he never could hope to, and I thought the sooner he learned this, and to submit to it, the better it would be for him.

“I persuaded him not to leave the party in the height of his resentment, though, and he was so quiet before the dancing that I began to hope he would beg Grace’s pardon and take her home repentantly and in peace.  But he insisted on my going and offering to dance with her the first set in his place.  She had already promised, she said, to dance it with Mr. Herbert, and it was in vain that I told her she must look upon me as acting for Phil, and advised her for his sake to excuse herself to Herbert and dance with either Phil or myself.  ’If Phil should come and ask me himself on his knees I would not do it,’ she declared, with superb grandeur, ’He has acted wrong, and imputed to me the worst motives for trivial things which I did unthinkingly even, and, heaven knows, without deliberate calculation.’

“I saw it was no use to talk with her, and that in her present mood even entreaty, to which she was usually so yielding, would be of no avail.  I felt very helpless and miserable about it, but I could do nothing.  I saw that Phil had made a grave mistake by accusing her of partiality for Herbert, and that her acquaintance with him might possibly be forced into a closer relation by Phil’s jealousy.  I kept away from him for a while, and almost made Miss Scrawney think I had fallen in love with her, in order to keep Phil from getting a word with me.  At last, however, just as the music began, he pulled my sleeve and asked in a whisper if I wasn’t going to take Grace out and dance with her.

“‘She was already engaged,’ I answered.