“I—I happen to know,” he answered. “Fifty thousand would clear him.”
“It is a large sum of money,” she said; and she murmured, “Poor papa!”
“It is,” he assented. “It’s a big sum, look at it as you will; but I’m ready——”
“You will give it to me—give it to me unconditionally,” she interrupted in a low, clear voice.
“Yes, I’ll give it to you the day we are married, and unconditionally. You can do what you like with it. Fling it in the gutter or—or—hand it over to the squire. It’s a large sum of money,”—slowly, reluctantly—“but it’s nothing to me. You don’t know—nobody knows—how rich I am. I’ve made money by the hatful; I’m making it now. You shall have everything you want; every wish, however extravagant, shall be gratified. I’ll make a settlement on you in addition to that——”
She shook her head.
“I want that sum, and no other,” she said, slowly. “I want that money to do what I like with.”
“You shall have it!” he responded, eagerly.
“And you are content?” she asked, her eyes resting on his face with a calm wonder that was more terrible than contempt. “You are satisfied with your bargain, content to buy me——”
“Oh, Miss Olivia!” he cried, deprecatingly.