It had hardly occurred to him as probable that his cousin would reject so eligible an offer, and had certainly never occurred to him that he would have to suffer anything from such rejection.

He had entertained none of that feeling of which lovers speak when they declare that they are staking their all upon the hazard of a die.

It had not seemed to him that he was staking anything, as he gently told his tale of languid love, lying on the turf by the ha-ha.

He had not regarded the possibility of disappointment, of sorrow, and of a deeply-vexed mind.

He would have felt but little triumph if accepted, and had not thought that he could be humiliated by any rejection.