When I was stupid enough to tell you that story, years ago, I stated that I had no grounds for saying that it was he who played that trick upon my boat, and it would have been most unfair on my part to have brought that story up again." "Quite so, but there was the other story." "What other story ?" Frank asked in great surprise.
"The story that George Lechmere came and told me two days ago," she said, gravely.
"George Lechmere! You don't mean to say--" "I do mean to say so.

He behaved like a real friend, and came to tell me the story of Martha Bennett.
"He told me," she went on, as he was about to speak, "that you had made up your mind to tell mamma about it, directly you heard that I was engaged to Mr.Carthew.That would have been something, but would hardly have been fair to me.

If I had once been engaged to him, it would have been very hard to break it off, and naturally it would have been much greater pain to me then than it has been now." "I felt that.

But you see, Bertha, until you did accept him, I had no right to assume that you would do so.

At least so I understood it, and I did not feel that in my position I was called upon to interfere until I learned that you were really in danger of what I considered wrecking your life's happiness." "I understand that," she said, gently, "and I know that you acted for the best.