“Well, then, I won’t come this evening, eh!  Susan?”

“No, don’t, that is a good soul.”

“Les femmes sont impitoyables pour ceux qu’elles n’aiment pas.”  This is a harsh saying, and of course not pure truth; but there is a deal of truth in it.

William was proud, and the consciousness of his own love for her made him less able to persist, for he knew she might be so ungenerous as to retort if he angered her too far.  So he altered the direction of his battery.  He planted himself at the gate of Grassmere Farm, and as Meadows got off his horse requested a few words with him.  Meadows ran him over with one lightning glance, and then the whole man was on the defensive.  William bluntly opened the affair.

“You heard me promise to look on Susan as my sister, and keep her as she is for my brother that is far away.”

“I heard you, Mr. William,” said Meadows with a smile that provoked William as the artful one intended it should.

“You come here too often, sir.”

“Too often for who?”

“Too often for me, too often for George, too often for the girl herself.  I won’t have George’s sweetheart talked about.”

“You are the first to talk about her; if there’s scandal it is of your making.”

“I won’t have it—­at a word.”

Meadows called out, “Miss Merton, will you step here.”

William was astonished at his audacity; he did not know his man.

Susan opened the parlor window.

“What is it, Mr. Meadows?”

“Will you step here, if you please?” Susan came.  ’Here is a young man tells me I must not call on your father or you.”

“I say you must not do it often enough to make her talked of.”

“Who dares to talk of me?” cried Susan, scarlet.

“Nobody, Miss Merton.  Nobody but the young man himself; and so I told him.  Is your father within?  Then I’ll step in and speak with him anyway.”  And the sly Meadows vanished to give Susan an opportunity of quarreling with William while she was hot.

“I don’t know how you came to take such liberties with me,” began Susan, quite pale now with anger.

“It is for George’s sake,” said William doggedly.

“Did George bid you insult my friends and me?  I would not put up with it from George himself, much less from you.  I shall write to George and ask him whether he wishes me to be your slave.”

“Don’t ye do so.  Don’t set my brother against me,” remonstrated William ruefully.

“The best thing you can do is to go home and mind your farm, and get a sweetheart for yourself, and then you won’t trouble your head about me more than you have any business to do.”

This last cut wounded William to the quick.

“Good-evening, Susan.”

“Good-evening.”

“Won’t you shake hands?”

“It would serve you right if I said no!  But I won’t make you of so much importance as you want to be.  There!  And come again as soon as ever you can treat my friends with respect.”