If she had wanted to play hard to get, she would have said some tactful words to show her attitude. If so, he could still plead with her and say some kind words to smooth things over. But her direct refusal made Old Mr. Collins at a loss for words.
After a pause, he said, "Gloria, can you give it some more thought? After all, this is your first marriage, and you had been married for three years. You must still have feelings for him, right?"
Old Mr. Collins did his best to convince her because he hoped they could remarry very much.