"I shall not allow you to fall a prey to any designing fortune-hunter."
"You need not fear, sir: I am in no danger."
"I am of a different opinion. I am quite aware that Richard Dewey has been seeking to ingratiate himself with you."
"Then," said his ward with dignity, "I have no hesitation in informing you that he has succeeded."
"Ha! I thought so. That is why you rejected my son."
"Excuse me, sir: you are quite mistaken. I should refuse your son if there were no other man in the world likely to marry me."
"And what is the matter with my son, Miss Douglas?" demanded her guardian, stiffly.
Florence might have answered that he was too much like his father, but she did not care to anger her guardian unnecessarily, and she simply answered, "It would be quite impossible for me to regard him as I wish to regard the man whom I hope to marry."
"But you could regard Richard Dewey in that way," sneered Campbell. "Well, Miss Douglas, I may as well tell you that he asked my permission yesterday to address you, and I ordered him out of my presence. Moreover, I have charged the servants not to admit him into the house."
"So you have insulted him, Mr. Campbell?" said his ward, her eyes flashing with resentment.