"Why not?"
"I must obey mamma—oh!" she added, while the tears flooded her eyes, "I wish I had never been born!"
"That is a foolish wish."
"No. You have never known what it is to struggle between inclination and duty," said Lena.
"That will do. I am satisfied with that answer!" cried Alfred Van Hoosen. "Be true to yourself, sis, and trust to my inventive faculties to make you happy."
He kissed his sister affectionately, and she sought the privacy of her own chamber.
In a little while she grew tired of being alone, and threw aside a book which she had endeavored to read.
Ringing her bell, she summoned her maid whom she had brought from Paris with her; this was a bright little brunette named Fifine.
"Did ma'm'selle ring?" she asked.
"Yes, tell me what to do with myself. I am distraite."