“But you do not know my father!”
“On the contrary. I made his acquaintance last week, and spent two most agreeable nights at Heythram,” he said.
“But—Did Lady Bridlington tell you?”
“No, not Lady Bridlington. Your brother let slip the name of his home once, and I have an excellent memory. I am sorry, by the way, that Bertram should have been having such an uncomfortable time during my absence from town. That was quite my fault: I should have sought him out, and settled his difficulties before I left for Yorkshire. I did write to him, but he had unfortunately departed from the Red Lion before the delivery of my letter. However, you won’t find that the experience has harmed him, so I must hope to be forgiven.”
Her cheeks were now very much flushed. “You know it all then! Oh, what must you think of me? I asked you to marry me because—because I wanted you to give me seven hundred pounds to save poor Bertram from a debtor’s prison!”
“I know you did,” said Mr. Beaumaris cordially. “I don’t know how I contrived to keep my countenance. When did it occur to you, my ridiculous little love, that to demand a large sum of money from your bridegroom as soon as the ring was on your finger might be a trifle awkward?”
“Just now—in your chaise!” she confessed, covering her face with her hands. “I couldn’t do it! I have behaved very, very badly, but when I realized what I was about—oh, indeed, I knew I could never do it!”
“We have both behaved very badly,” he agreed. “I encouraged Fleetwood to spread the news that you were a great heiress: I even allowed him to suppose that I knew all about your family. I thought it would be amusing to see whether I could make you the rage of London—and I blush to confess it, my darling: it was amusing! Nor do I really regret it in the least, for if I had not set out on this most reprehensible course we might never have come much in one another’s way again, after our first meeting, and I might never have discovered that I had found the very girl I had been looking for for so long.”
“No, no, how can you say so?” she exclaimed, large tears standing on the ends of her lashes. “ I came to London in the hope of—of contracting an eligible marriage, and I asked you to, marry me because you are so very rich! You could not wish to marry such an odious creature!”
“No, perhaps I couldn’t,” he replied. “But although you may have forgotten that when I first addressed myself to you, you declined my offer, I have not If wealth was all your object, I can’t conceive what should have induced you to do so! It seemed to me that you were not entirely indifferent to me. All things considered, I decided that my proper course was to present myself to your parents without further loss of time. And I am very glad I did so, for not only did I spend a very pleasant time at the Vicarage, but I also enjoyed a long talk with your mother—By the way, do you know how much you resemble her? more, I think, than any of your brothers and sisters, though they are all remarkably handsome. But, as I say, I enjoyed a long talk with her, and was encouraged to hope, from what she told me, that I had not been mistaken in thinking you were not indifferent to me.”