"The Delham family is nothing to me," said Eva proudly; "look after the honour of the family yourself, Lady Ipsen. As to this talk about Mrs. Hill, I don't believe it."
"Ask her yourself, then."
"I shall do so, and even, if what you say is true, which I don't believe, I shall still marry Allen."
"Eva," the old lady dropped into her seat, "don't be hard on me. I am old. I wish you well. It is true what I say about Mrs. Hill. You can't marry her son."
"But I can, and I intend to."
"Oh, this marriage--this disgraceful marriage!" cried the old woman in despair, "how can I manage to stop it. This Miss Lorry will be married to Saltars soon, if I can't put an end to his infatuation."
Eva shrugged her shoulders. "I can give you no help."
"You might plead with Saltars."
"No. I can't do that. It is his business, not mine. Why don't you offer Miss Lorry a sum of money to decline the match?"
"Because she's bent upon being Lady Saltars, and will stop at nothing to achieve her end. I would give five hundred--a thousand pounds to stop the marriage. But Miss Lorry can't be bribed."