“I can’t tell that, sir, for I never did it before,” John replied, laughter in his eyes.
“Good God, boy, are you telling me you were never in love before?”
“Oh, no! I have thought myself in love, but I never before met a woman whom I knew to be the one above all others I wanted to call my wife.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine, sir.”
“Well, you ought to know your own mind—and you look as though you did, in all conscience!”
“I do.”
“Then you had better know that she has not a penny to her name!” said Sir Peter harshly.
“I am not a wealthy man, sir, but my father left me in the possession of a small estate. I believe I can convince you that I am sufficiently beforehand with the world to be able to support a wife.”
“When I die, Captain Staple, I shall leave behind me my name, my title, and my estates. My estates are encumbered; my title will embellish the snirp who is my grandson. A skirter like his father before him, and a damned loose-screw! I shall be dead before he drags my name through whatever mire he’s wading in, but he’ll do it, as sure as check! I would remind you that it is also Nell’s name!”