“And you have consented?”
“Not exactly. I thought I would ask you first. I hardly know what to do.”
“He is brave, and strong, and kind. And then it was so good of him to come and rescue me from that horrid place. I really think he loves me, yet he is not just the sort of man I have fancied in my mind. But somehow I am afraid this ideal man of mine will never come along; perhaps he would not have me if he did come. And then Alec loves me, and he is very nice when he likes—and I don’t know what to do or what to say!”
“You have not mentioned another of his advantages, Bertha. I hear that since he won the Cup he is quite a wealthy man.”
“Now you want to scold me. You think I like him for his money. But I am sure a man is no worse because he has means of his own. Why, the Squatter was ten times as rich as Alec, and I never even looked at him. It is not fair to expect every one to be poor like you, Pro, and I am sure it is better for those to have it who will enjoy it than rusty old misers who hoard it up.”
“And about the horse-racing, Bertha. I thought you hated all connected with it?”
“Oh, Alec has promised to give up betting altogether. He says the consultation, or sweep as they call it, pays better. There is no risk, and he means to go in for that.”
“And you find this Mr. Booth a man after your own mind—not the ideal, as you said, but an every-day representative you will be willing to live with till death do you part?”
“I have thought it over, Pro. Of course Alec is not clever. He has read next to nothing, and can talk of very little outside his business, but all the same he might be pleasanter to have about a house than some one who was very clever. I fancy these clever people are not very nice to live with, particularly if you are not so clever as they are.”