Page:Hornung - Irralies Bushranger.djvu/87

 Meantime, Irralie under the moon with the new owner was a very different person from Irralie in the ball-room with Mrs. Browne of Quandong. She was much quieter, and, it is possible, a little less like herself. That unspeakable mistake of hers still rankled in her bosom whenever she found herself in Fullarton's company. She had tried to make amends to him since the accident; but she was not at all sure that she had succeeded; and gradually the wish had grown upon her to speak to him candidly about the whole matter. Rightly or wrongly, her soul was still burdened, and she wished to unburden it; a few words—the fewest possible—and she would breathe more freely in his presence. There are natures that must cry peccavi after every realized offence; and Irralie's was one.

So at last she said, "Mr. Fullarton, I have something on my mind, and you know what it is as well as I do. I am ashamed of myself!" For it was characteristic of Irralie that, however long she might be in making