"Oh, you would have been worse in my place," returned Elizabeth. "It was so sudden; how could I tell what he had seen?"
"But you are yourself now. You will not give way again?"
"I must not," said Elizabeth drearily. "I must bear up now."
"Don't talk in that dreadful voice," shivered Elsie; "it sounds as if you were dying. I thought you had more courage. Don't be afraid of me; if he held a bowl of poison to my lips I wouldn't tell."
"Oh, Elsie, what would death be compared to the agony of discovery?"
"Do stop!" pleaded Elsie, pressing both rosy little palms to her ears, with a piteous, shrinking movement. "We mustn't talk. I won't talk, I tell you! I can put everything out of my head if you will only let me; but if you look and talk like that I shall give way. Why can't you try and forget it? I will. Be sure of that!"
Elizabeth rose from her seat; a wan, hopeless look came over her face.
"You are right; let us be silent. But, oh, if I only could forget--but I can't, Elsie--I can't! The thought is with me day and night. The dread--the fear!"
"Be still!" shrieked Elsie, breaking into a passion of which no one would have believed her capable, and stamping her foot upon the carpet. "You'll drive me mad. I shall go into spasms, and then who knows what may happen! I won't promise not to speak if you drive me crazy."
All the youthful brilliancy was frightened out of her face, her lips turned blue, her whole frame shook so violently that Elizabeth saw absolute danger unless the girl were soothed back to calmness.
"I won't torment you any more, Elsie," she said. "I'll bear it alone--I'll bear it alone."
"One can always forget if one is determined," said Elsie; "but you won't--you will brood over things----"
"I shall be more myself, now," interrupted Elizabeth. "It was from seeing Grantley so unexpectedly, just when I was waiting for----"
"Be still!" interrupted Elsie, sharply. "I won't hear that--I won't hear anything; you shall not force unpleasant things upon me."
The sister and the sister-in-law stood opposite each other, oppressed by the same secret, but bearing it so differently. Elsie's share seemed to be only a burdensome knowledge of some mystery; no evil seemed to threaten her in its discovery, but deep sympathy appeared to have broken through her careless nature, moulding it into something grand. She was the first to recover from the cold, shivering distress which had come over both; the volatile, impressible creature could not dwell long enough upon one subject, however painful it might be, to produce the effect which even slight trouble had upon a character like Elizabeth's.