“I am afraid I do, Belle.”
Miss Ravenscar swallowed. “It is a very lowering thought,” she said, in a small voice.
“It would be if there were not plenty of men to whom your fortune will not matter a jot.”
“Rich men?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Oh!” Miss Ravenscar sounded more hopeful. “But how shall I know, Max?”
“Well, there might be several ways of knowing, but I can give you one certain way. If you should meet any man who would like to persuade you to elope with him, you may depend upon it that he is after your money, and nothing else. An honest man will rather ask permission to call in Grosvenor Square.”
“But, Max, they are all afraid of you!” objected Arabella.
“Depend upon it, you will one day meet a man who is not in the least afraid of me.”
“Yes, but—it is all so respectable, Max, and not exciting, or romantic! Besides, they have not all wanted to elope with me!”