Bertie bowed.
"My lord, I should have shamed her by any such allusion, and lost all hope of winning her heart. To you I may say that I am not poor in the eyes of many, though I may seem poor indeed to one of your lordship's position and wealth."
The earl winced inwardly, but showed nothing of it outwardly.
"I have an income of two thousand pounds a year, and I trust that I may be able before long to own with gratitude that it is doubled. It is not a large sum, my lord."
"I may conclude that the sum you mention is the whole—in fact, that you are not prepared to make any settlement?"
"All that I have shall be hers," said Bertie. "The richest man in England can do no more."
"No settlement!" said the earl, coldly. "Under the circumstances, you would not, therefore, expect a fortune with her?"
Bertie crimsoned.
"Your lordship forgets," he said, with quiet dignity, "that I came to ask for your daughter and not for your money."
The earl showed no displeasure at the stern retort, but took it simply as an assent, and nodded.