"I think," said I, "that you really have some little cause to hope."
"You speak in the same tone again. Malcolm, you do not understand her. She might love me to the extent that I sometimes hope; but her father and mine would never consent to our union, and she, I fear, could not be induced to marry me under those conditions. Do not put the hope into my heart."
"You only now said she should be yours some day," I answered.
"So she shall," returned John, "so she shall."
"But Lady Madge is to be with her to-morrow," said I, my own heart beating with an ardent wish and a new-born hope, "and you may be unable, after all, to see Mistress Dorothy."
"That is true," replied John. "I do not know how she will arrange matters, but I have faith in her ingenuity."
Well might he have faith, for Dorothy was possessed of that sort of a will which usually finds a way.
"If you wish me to go with you to Derby-town, I will do so. Perhaps I may be able to entertain Lady Madge while you have a word with Dorothy. What think you of the plan?" I asked.
"If you will go with me, Malcolm, I shall thank you with all my heart."
And so it was agreed between us that we should both go to Derby-town for the purpose of inquiring about Lady Crawford's health, though for me the expedition was full of hazard.