“Oh, I am sure you never would!” she said, smiling. “You know Sir Horace did not teach me how to box and how unfair it would be! Besides, why should you care a button what I do? I am not one of your sisters!”
“Thank God for it!”
“Yes, indeed, for you are the horridest brother, you know! Do stop making a cake of yourself! Sir Vincent is a sad case, but he would never do me any harm, I assure you. That would be quite against his code, for he knew me when I ‘ was a little girl, and he is a friend of Sir Horace’s. I must say, he is the oddest creature! Sancia, it is perfectly plain, he does not hold to be in the least sacred.” Her brow creased. “I am much afraid of what he may do in that direction. I wonder if I ought to say I will marry him after all?”
“What?” exclaimed Mr. Rivenhall. “Marry that fellow? Not while you are under this roof!”
“Yes, but I cannot help thinking that perhaps I owe it to Sir Horace,” she explained. “I own, it would be a sacrifice, but I am sure he trusts me to take care of Sancia while he is away, and I don’t at all perceive how I am to prevent Vincent from stealing her affections, unless I marry him self. He has so much address, you know!”
“You appear to me,” said Mr. Rivenhall scathingly, have taken leave of your senses! You will scarcely expect to believe that you would entertain the thought of m with that man!”
“But, Charles, I find you most unreasonable!” she pointed out. “Not a week ago you said that the sooner I was ma: and out of this house the better pleased you would but when I said perhaps I might marry Charlbury you flew into a passion, and now you will not hear of poor Sir Vincent; either!”
Mr. Rivenhall made no attempt to answer this. He merely cast a darkling glance at his cousin, and said, “Only one thing could surprise me, and that would be to learn that Talgarth had offered for you!”
“Well, you must be surprised,” said Sophy placidly, “because he has done so a score of times. It is become a habit with him, I think. But I know what you mean, and you are right; he would be very much disconcerted if I took him at his word. I might, of course, become engaged to him, and cry off when Sir Horace returns, but it seems rather a shabby thing to do, don’t you think?”
“Extremely so!”