“I will not! No, I will not! The flannel suit is good enough for any man.”
“Yes, if it were clean and sweet, and had no fish scales on it, and no fish smell in it. And even here––at the very end of the world––thy friend, the good Bishop, wears black broadcloth and all gentlemen copy him. If Thora was thy sweetheart, instead of thy own dear daughter, she would not dance with thee in anything but thy best suit.”
“It seems to me, my own dear daughter, that very common people wear kirk toggery. When I go to the hotels in Edinburgh, or Aberdeen, or Inverness, I find all the men who wait on other men are in kirk clothes; and if I go to a theatre, the men who wait on the crowd there wear kirk clothes, and–––”
“Thy Bishop also wears black broadcloth.”
“That will be because of his piety and humility. 23 I am not as pious and humble as I might be. No, indeed! Not in everything can I humour thee, and trouble myself; but this thing is what I will do––I have a new suit of fine blue flannel; last night I brought it home. At McVittie’s it was made, and well it fits me. For thy sake I will wear it. This is the end of our talk. No more will I do.”
“Thou dear father! It is enough! With a thousand kisses I thank thee.”
“Too many kisses! Too many kisses! Thou shalt give me five when we finish our dance; one for my curled hair, and one for my white, fresh linen, and one for my socks, and one for my buckled shoes, and the last for my new blue suit. And in that bargain thou wilt get the best of me, so one favour in return from thee I must have.”
“Dear Father, thy will is my will. What is thy wish?”
“I want thy promise not to dance with Wolf Baikie. Because of his sneer I am coaxed to dress as I do not want to dress. Well, then, I will take his place with thee, and every dance he asks from thee is to be given to me.”
Without a moment’s hesitation Thora replied: “That agreement does not trouble me. It will be 24 to my great satisfaction. So, then, thou art no nearer to getting the best of the bargain.”