This was not his wish, however.

In a tone which thrilled through her, even in her own despite, he said,-- 'Do yo' think that can ever happen again, Sylvia ?' She was quite silent; almost trembling.

He repeated the question as if to force her to answer.

Driven to bay, she equivocated.
'What happen again?
Let me go, I dunno what yo're talking about, and I'm a'most numbed wi' cold.' For the frosty air came sharp in through the open lattice window, and the ice was already forming on the milk.

Kinraid would have found a ready way of keeping his cousins, or indeed most young women, warm; but he paused before he dared put his arm round Sylvia; she had something so shy and wild in her look and manner; and her very innocence of what her words, spoken by another girl, might lead to, inspired him with respect, and kept him in check.