THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
175
"Relations? They are hardly relations. That is the strange part of it; he has seen me but three or four times."
"Why did you tell your uncle rather than me?" Mrs. Touchett inquired, dryly, but dispassionately.
Again Isabel hesitated.
"Because he knows Lord Warburton better."
"Yes, but I know you better."
"I am not sure of that," said Isabel, smiling.
"Neither am I, after all; especially when you smile that way. One would think you had carried off a prize! I suppose that when you refuse an offer like Lord Warburton's it's because you expect to do something better."
"Ah, my uncle didn't say that!" cried Isabel, smiling still.
