Half Loaves by Margaret Culkin Banning

But it seemed rather unimportant, except to three rather frowzy, struggling persons, what was happening to Fliss. The important thing was what was happening to Cecily -- what did happen during those next three marvelous months of her life. However much Dick might have been willing to drift along through a prolonged love-making and slow courtship, however much Cecily's parents might have wished for such developments, it was soon obvious that they were impossible. The young freshness, the rarity, of Cecily attracted other men. There was one, one desperately in earnest older man, who even spoke to Cecily of marriage and drove her, white and trembling, to her mother. After that, a new diffidence, a new hesitation in her manner towards Dick puzzled him and stimulated him.

"I see nothing to do except let Dick Harrison try," said Mrs. Warner rather sadly to her husband. "I don't want any of the rest of them to take the bloom off Cecily with a lot of coarse, commonplace love-making. She's too young, but she's also too attractive. And it will come to Dick sooner or later, if she cares anything at all about him. I feel curiously helpless."