‘Yes. Will you marry me, and let us take our chance?’
Her heart throbbed violently.
‘You don’t mean at once, Jasper? You would wait until I know what father’s fate is to be?’
‘Well, now, there’s the point. You feel yourself indispensable to your father at present?’
‘Not indispensable, but—wouldn’t it seem very unkind? I should be so afraid of the effect upon his health, Jasper. So much depends, we are told, upon his general state of mind and body. It would be dreadful if I were the cause of—’
She paused, and looked up at him touchingly.
‘I understand that. But let us face our position. Suppose the operation is successful; your father will certainly not be able to use his eyes much for a long time, if ever; and perhaps he would miss you as much then as now. Suppose he does not regain his sight; could you then leave him?’
‘Dear, I can’t feel it would be my duty to renounce you because my father had become blind. And if he can see pretty well, I don’t think I need remain with him.’
‘Has one thing occurred to you? Will he consent to receive an allowance from a person whose name is Mrs Milvain?’
‘I can’t be sure,’ she replied, much troubled.