"Ellis wants to marry Barbara."
She bit her lower lip, but did not register the astonishment that Joe had anticipated. He nodded; probably she'd already known.
"It isn't unexpected," she said.
"What do you think about it?"
Emma hesitated. "Barbara hasn't accepted him."
"How do you know?"
Emma said, "She'd have told me."
Joe pondered. "He seems like a good enough young man, but we don't know a blasted thing about him. I wouldn't want Barbara to get in a mess."
"What did you tell him, Joe?"
"That I am Barbara's father, not her master. I can't tell her who to marry." He scowled, wondering if he'd done right. Emma laid a comforting hand on his arm.