"It isn't inevitable—and I'm only twenty-three."
"Only twenty-three,
And as good fish in the sea"
he responded, laughing. "Yes, but you've set the precedent for a courtship of four years and a bit, and what man could face it?"
"You did."
"Yes, but I wasn't advertised of the fact beforehand. Suppose I had seen the notice at the start: 'This mortgage cannot be raised inside of four years—and a bit!' There's a limit to human endurance."
"Why shouldn't I hold to the number, but alter the years to days?"
"You wouldn't dare. A woman must live up to her reputation."
"Indeed? What an ambition!"
"And a man to his manners."
"An unknown quantity."