"Let that go. But in the question of this ball? Do you mean to obey me?"
"Grandfather, please consider! How can I mix with gay scenes while the fate of my husband is still an awful mystery?"
"You must conquer your feelings, and go, or—take the consequences!"
"Even if I could forget the tragedy of my wedding day, and mix with the gay world again, what would people say?"
"What would people say, indeed? What would they dare to say of my granddaughter?"
"But, sir, it would be contrary to all the laws of etiquette and conventionality."
"My granddaughter, madam, should give the law to fashion and society, not receive it from them!" said the Iron King, throwing himself back in his arm chair as if it had been his throne.
Cora smiled faintly at this egotism, but made no reply in words.
"To come to the point!" he suddenly exclaimed—"Will you obey me and attend this ball, or will you take the other alternative?"
Cora's heart swelled; her eyes flashed; she longed to defy the despot, but she thought of her meek, patient, long-suffering grandmother, and answered coldly: