“But I want to go away,” she declared. “I want to leave Thorpe for a time. I should like to go to London. Couldn’t I get a situation as lady’s help or companion or something of that sort? I shouldn’t want any money.”
He was silent for a moment.
“Does your mother know of this, Letty?” he asked.
“She wouldn’t object,” the girl answered eagerly. “She lets me do what I like.”
“Hadn’t you better tell me—the rest?” Macheson asked quietly.
The girl looked away uneasily.
“There is no rest,” she protested weakly.
Macheson shook his head.
“Letty,” he said, “if you have formed any ideas of a definite future for yourself, different from any you see before you here, tell me what they are, and I will do my best to help you. But if you simply want to go away because you are dissatisfied with the life here, because you fancy yourself superior to it, well, I’m sorry, but I’d sooner prevent your going than help you.”