“No, I do not,” said his lordship bluntly. “They have all of them behaved damnably to her, and it is my intention to have nothing more to do with them, after we are married, than we must. I might do something for the younger girls, if Phoebe liked,” he added magniloquently.
“Famous! I was beginning to fear that I had served you an ill turn by casting you into Phoebe’s arms. But this is excellent!”
“Yes, but the thing is, Deb, that the Laxtons are not likely to consider my offer beside Filey’s. I could not, if I would, do what he might for the family. It means nothing to him: he has almost as much money as Max!”
“That may be, but if Phoebe refuses to marry Filey her parents will be only too glad to discover that she has another, and very eligible suitor at hand.”
Lord Mablethorpe looked rather sceptical, and took another turn about the room. After a pause, he said with some hesitation: “There is another thing, Deb. I did not tell you, but my mother has always had a notion that I might marry my cousin Arabella one day. She is a great heiress, you know. She won’t like it at all if she learns that I mean instead to marry Phoebe Laxton. Phoebe has no more than three or four thousand pounds coming to her, I dare say: not that that would signify to my mother once she has put the idea of my marrying Arabella out of her head: but she don’t like Lady Laxton, and I am very much afraid that she will not like the match at all. I don’t mean that she won’t come round when she knows Phoebe, but—well, it may take a little time, because once she takes a notion into her head. Well, I daresay you know what I mean! When I am of age, I can do as I please, but until then I don’t see how I am to offer for Phoebe, in the proper way, when my mother will very likely oppose the match. I was thinking of Max, too.”
“Pray, what has he to say to it?” demanded Miss Grantham.
“He is not my guardian, but he is one of my trustees, and the thing is that my mother usually attends to him, and although he is the best fellow in the world, I do feel that he will not at all approve of this, on account of the Laxtons being so done-up, you know. He will be afraid that I shall be bled by them, and it will be of no avail for me to assure him that I don’t mean to be, because he thinks I am just a boy, and can be imposed upon.”
Miss Grantham was silent for a moment. Privately, she thought that Lady Mablethorpe and Mr Ravenscar would be too relieved to hear that Adrian no longer meant to marry herself to raise any very serious objection to his proposed alliance with a young lady of good birth and unexceptionable manners; but she was by no means anxious that Mr Ravenscar should learn of Adrian’s escape from her toils before she had recovered her aunt’s bills, or adequately punished him for his odious conduct. She said, therefore: “You mean that the matter must be kept secret until you come of age?”
“I think it would be less disagreeable for Phoebe,” he said. “I might talk my mother over, but I dread the thought of what Phoebe might be made to undergo at Lady Laxton’s hands if I did not. I mean to offer for her with all the propriety in the world, but if I am refused permission to address her I shall marry her out of hand, even if it means running all the way to Gretna Green to do it!”
She smiled. “Bravo! Meanwhile, what is to be done? Am I to keep her with me, or do we send her to stay with her aunt?”