“Never,” said Clive firmly. “All that, sir, is at an end.”
“And pray why?” cried the Major. “When that attachment sprang up we believed you to be a poor man. Do you suppose Dinah’s love for you came from the idea that you were well-to-do?”
“We will not argue that, sir. Your daughter wishes the engagement to be broken off.”
“Indeed! I’ll soon prove that to be false,” cried the Major, springing up.
“No, sir,” cried the Doctor; “there has been enough for one day.”
But he was too late, for the Major had flung open the door, called “Dinah,” loudly, and her foot was already upon the stairs.
“You want me, father?” she said as she entered, looking wan and thin, but perfectly quiet and self-contained.
“Yes, my child,” cried the Major, taking her hand. “Our patient is better, and wants to go away for a change.”
“Yes, father dear,” she said, without glancing at Clive, who kept his eyes averted; “it would be better as soon as he can bear a journey.”
“But he says that you wish the engagement to be at an end.”