“Surely, you would be. It is most unfortunate. Don’t you think that after a time, perhaps a long time, you will be able to convince him that there is no obstacle between you?” suggested Miss Carrington. Anne turned and looked at her intently.
“Why, no, Miss Carrington,” she said after a brief pause.
“Dear child, I must be frank with you.” Miss Carrington spoke gently as if to soften her effect. “You fancy that you are fond of my boy; he is quite sure that he is fond of you. Doubtless you are both right—for the time being. But men do not die of love now any more than when Polonius went to that reversed supper. Kit will get over his fancy, sweet as you are, and so will you recover from yours, fine as the boy is. As to that, even my partiality cannot see that Kit surpasses Richard Latham! Though I sincerely admire you, I will never consent to your marriage with Kit! He is to make his name in the world, as I told you when I spoke of him to you several weeks ago. He has allowed the marriage that I meant him to make to slip through his fingers. You naughty, pretty child, I wonder what share you had in that? But there are plenty of opportunities for a personable man like Kit to marry advantageously. You have no money, no social position. Pardon me, Miss Dallas, but we must deal with facts. It is my duty to see that Kit gets one or both of these things in marrying. I applaud your sense in refusing to see Kit since your engagement to Mr. Latham was broken. Let me beg you to continue to refuse to see him! I am sure you are too noble a girl to spoil his life. Whatever nonsense Kit talks about love as a compensation for more solid, more enduring good, it is perfectly true that if you married him you would spoil his life. I should alter my plans for him, and he would have a pittance, whereas, if he pleases, he will have wealth.”
Miss Carrington paused for a reply, but Anne, who had made no move to interrupt her long discourse, still did not speak. She was paler than she had been when Miss Carrington arrived, and she was at once wishing that Joan would come to her rescue, and dreading that she might come and speak her mind to this formidable old lady.
As Anne remained silent, Miss Carrington spoke again:
“I met Mr. Latham’s friend, Mr. Wilberforce——”
“Oh, has he come!” Anne interrupted her with a glad cry.
“Yes,” Miss Carrington showed surprise. “And knowing that he is Mr. Latham’s close friend I said to him practically what I’ve said to you. I think he agreed with my estimate of the value of a family name, for he—somewhat irrelevantly—said that Wilberforce was a distinguished name.”
Unexpectedly Anne laughed, much as Wilberforce had laughed.
“Did you say all this to him? Yes, the Wilberforces are all reverent to their family,” she said, her eyes dancing.