Page:An Old Fashioned Girl.djvu/394

374 "Pretty tough work at first, I own. It was all so new and strange, I'm afraid I shouldn't have stood it if it had not been for Ned. He'd laugh and say 'Pooh!' if he heard me say it, but it's true nevertheless that he's a grand fellow and helped me through the first six months like a—well, a brother as he is. There was no reason why he should go out of his way to back up a shiftless party like me, yet he did, and made many things easy and safe that would have been confoundedly hard and dangerous if I'd been left to myself. The only way I can explain it is that it's a family trait, and as natural to the brother as it is to the sister."

"It's a Shaw trait to do the same. But tell me about Maria; is Ned really engaged to her?"

"Very much so; you'll get a letter full of raptures to-morrow; he hadn't time to send by me, I came off in such a hurry. Maria is a sensible, pretty girl, and Ned will be a happy old fellow."

"Why did you let us think it was you?"

"I only teased Fan a little; I did like Maria, for she reminded me of you sometimes, and was such a kind, cosy little woman I couldn't help enjoying her society after a hard day's work. But Ned got jealous, and then I knew that he was in earnest, so I left him a clear field, and promised not to breathe a word to any one till he had got a Yes or No from his Maria."

"I wish I'd known it," sighed Polly. "People in love always do such stupid things!"

"So they do; for neither you nor Fan gave us poor fellows the least hint about Syd, and there I've been having all sorts of scares about you."