“Where is the use? If you love a man, you will not see his faults, and love will cover all defects.”
“I do not agree with you. I think I would see my husband’s faults sooner than I would those of a stranger, from the very fact that I should so greatly fear others seeing them, that my love would magnify them; so I shall learn, as near as possible, what his faults are, and if my love will warrant it, I shall make up my mind to bear what I cannot correct.”
“But cannot you marry the man and try to correct his faults after marriage?”
“I might, providing they were not too numerous. I am not faultless myself, and have little faith in my own ability, so I would not dare to undertake too great a task, and besides, my subject might prove obstinate, and I would then repent at leisure. I think there are too many matches made merely from a fancy, and that is one cause of so many unhappy marriages and so many divorces. When I marry, it will be to give my love and attention to one man, and I shall expect all his love in return.”
“Are you not a little selfish?”
“In that respect, yes; though I should never exact of a man that which he did not freely bestow. I wish the man I marry to fully understand himself, and know whether he is willing to give me all his love or only a portion of it.”
“Ah, well, it is according to the ways of society, my dear Miss Wilmer. Now, by way of illustration, there is your brother’s wife. Why, really she receives more attention from Mr. Brunswick than she does from your brother—that is, in society, but of course it is only innocent flirtation. She is very much admired by all society men. I am more than half in love with her myself.”
“So you see that the woman who marries you will receive less than a moiety,” June said quickly.
Mr. Linton had forgotten to whom he was speaking, and his true ideas shot forth before he was aware of it.