Claude was silent.
“You and Christopher Lisle were a good deal thrown together.”
Claude’s cheek began to deepen in colour.
“You were boy and girl together, and if not brother and sister in your intimacy, at least like cousins.”
“Yes, papa.”
“Well, presuming upon that, Master Christopher must suddenly forget he was a boy, and came to me with the most impudent proposals.”
“Papa!”
“There, I am not going to say any more about him, only I have taken that as a preface to what will follow.”
Claude drew a deep, long sigh.
“Now, of course, that was all boyish folly, and I bitterly regret that we should have had such a scene here; but the natural course of events was, that I should think very seriously of your future settlement in life.”