"But I dare take your hand in mine and say to him, as one honorable man should say to another: 'I love this girl, and some day she shall become my wife.'"
"Your wife!"
"I did not know till now the sweetness that lies in a single word. Yes, Ruth, when a Hurst speaks of love he speaks also of marriage."
"No, no, that can never be—Sir Noel, Lady Rose, my father—you forget them all!"
"No, I forget nothing. Sir Noel is generous, and he loves me. You have always been a favorite with Lady Rose. As for your father—"
"He would die rather than drag down the old family like that. My father, in his way, is proud as Sir Noel. Besides—besides—"
"Well, what besides?"
"He has promised. He and John Storms arranged it long ago."
"Arranged what, Ruth?"
"That—that I should some day be mistress of the farm."