"'Father wants me to like him; father wants me to accept his attentions, and I detest him. I abhor his very presence in the house.'
"'But——'
"'I know he has only been here but twice; but that is enough, Emma; he shall not come here again with any idea that he will receive the least welcome from me.'
"'Is he a person known to father? Is he——'
"'Rich? Oh, yes; he is rich. That is why father thinks him an eligible son-in-law. His thousands would raise the threatened discovery into a fact.'
"'I see. I pity you, Hermione. It is hard to disappoint a father in his dearest hopes.'
"I stared at her in sudden fury.
"'Is that what you are thinking of?' I demanded, with reckless impetuosity. 'After all the cruel disappointment he has inflicted upon me——'
"But Emma had slipped from the room. She had no words now with which to meet my gusts of temper.
"A visit from my father came next. Though strong in my resolve not to be shaken, I secretly quaked at the cold, cruel determination in his face. A man after all is so much more unrelenting than a woman.