"And Mrs. Valpy?"
"The same. They think Sir Rupert is an old brute,"
"So he is," muttered Mrs. Belswin, angrily.
"Well, Mr. Maxwell," she said aloud, "I also am on your side. It's a shame that your lives should be spoilt for a caprice. But remember one thing, Sir Rupert will cut his daughter off with a shilling."
"Let him. Kaituna and I can face poverty together."
"Poor innocents," said Mrs. Belswin, with a jeering laugh, "you don't know what poverty is."
"You needn't speak so unkindly," replied Archie, rather hurt at her tone, "I thought you wished me to marry Kaituna."
"So I do, but I don't want you to starve."
"We shall not starve. I can always make a good income."
"My dear sir," said Mrs. Belswin, candidly, "your income may be enough for one but it certainly is not enough for two, particularly when the other is a girl brought up as Kaituna has been. If you marry Kaituna without her father's consent, you drag her down to poverty."