Page:Gissing - The Nether World, vol. II, 1889.djvu/314

 “He has been,—just now an’ then.”

“Have you told him?”

“Why— yes, dear,—I felt I had to.”

“There’s no harm. You couldn’t keep it a secret. But he mustn’t come whilst I’m here; you understand that, father? "

“No, no, he shan’t. He shall never come, if you don’t wish it.”

“Only whilst I’m here.”

“But—Clara—you’ll always be here.”

“Oh no! Do you think I’m going to burden you all the rest of my life? I shall find some way of earning a living, and then I shall go and get a room for myself”

“Now don’t— now don’t talk like that!” exclaimed her father, putting his hand on her. “You shall do what else you like, my girl, but don’t talk about goin’ away from me. That’s the one thing as I couldn’t bear. I ain’t so young as I was, and I’ve had things as was hard to go through,—I mean when the mother died and—and other things at that time. Let you an’ me stay by each other whilst we may, my girl. You know it was