Page:Bleak House.djvu/187

 " It's about," said Ada, in a whisper. " It's about—my cousin Richard!"

"Well, my own!" said I, kissing her bright hair, which was all I could see. " And what about him ? "

" O, Esther, you would never guess ! "

It was so pretty to have her clinging to me in that way, hiding her face ; and to know that she was not crying in sorrow, but in a little glow of joy, and pride, and hope ; that I would not help her just yet.

" He says—I know it's very foolish, we are both so young—but he says," with a burst of tears, " that he loves me dearly, Esther."

" Does he indeed ? " said I. " I never heard of such a thing ! Why, my pet of pets, I could have told you that, weeks and weeks ago ! "

To see Ada lift up her flushed face in joyful surprise, and hold me round the neck, and laugh, and cry, and blush, and laugh, was so pleasant !

" Why, my darling ! " said I, " what a goose you must take me for ! Your cousin Richard has been loving you as plainly as he could, for I don't know how long ! "

" And yet you never said a word about it ! " cried Ada, kissing me.

" No, my love," said I. " I waited to be told."

" But now I have told you, you don't think it wrong of me ; do you ? " returned Ada. She might have coaxed me to say No, if I had been the hardest-hearted Duenna in the world. Not being that yet, I said No, very freely.

" And now," said I, " I know the worst of it."

" O, that's not quite the worst of it, Esther dear ! " cried Ada, holding me tighter, and laying down her face again upon my breast.

" No ? " said I. " Not even that ? "

" No, not even that ! " said Ada, shaking her head.

" Why, you never mean to say—! " I was beginning in joke.

But Ada, looking up, and smiling through her tears, cried, " Yes, I do ! You know, you know I do ! " and then sobbed out, " With all my heart I do ! With all my whole heart, Esther ! "

I told her, laughing, why I had known that, too, just as well as I had known the other ! And we sat before the fire, and I had all the talking to myself for a little while (though there was not much of it) ; and Ada was soon quiet and happy.

" Do you think my cousin John knows, dear Dame Durden ? " she asked.

" Unless my cousin John is blind, my pet," said I, "I should think my cousin John knows pretty well as much as we know."

" We want to speak to him before Richard goes," said Ada, timidly, " and we wanted you to advise us, and to tell him so. Perhaps you wouldn't mind Richard's coming in, Dame Durden? "

" O! Richard is outside, is he, my dear ? " said I.

" I am not quite certain," returned Ada, with a bashful simplicity that would have won my heart, if she had not won it long before ; " but I think he's waiting at the door."

There he was, of course. They brought a chair on either side of me,