“I! How? What do you mean?”
“You can go to the Asprays, of course.”
“But who are the Asprays?”
“You little goose! don’t you know?”
“No. Please, do tell me.”
“Well, I will, for it is only fair that you should know. Have you never heard that there are other people who would take care of you, and pet you, and adopt you, and bring you up as one of the family besides my poor, darling aunt Jessie?”
“Yes, I have heard of it. Mr. Pryor spoke of some people, but he said they did not live in England.”
“But they do; they live close here. Their name is Aspray. They are Virginians, and have just settled in London. They live within a stone’s-throw of here.”
“And are you certain I could go to them?”
“Certain? Of course I am certain. You can really go any day, but you have a right to go when a few months are up—six or eight months, or something like that. You have a right to go and stay with them, and to make your own choice as to whether you will be Mrs. Richmond’s child or Mr. Aspray’s child in the future; it rests with you altogether.”