"With all my heart, sir, if Rose is willing!"
"Go and ask her then. But first, of course, after this, you remain with us for some time?"
"I can stay a week or two; after that, business will compel me to leave."
"Well, business must be attended to. Go, speak to Rose, and success to you!"
Jules found Rose in the drawing-room, and alone. His face told how eminently satisfactory his interview had been. He sat down beside her, and related what had passed, ending with her father's proposal.
"Do say yes, Rose," pleaded Jules. "June is as long as I can wait, and I should like a double wedding of all things."
Rose's face turned scarlet, and she averted her head. The familiar announcement of Reginald's marriage to her sister, as a matter of certainty, stung her to the heart.
"You don't object, Rose?" he said uneasily. "You will be married the same day?"
"Settle it as you like," answered Rose petulantly. "If I must be married, it doesn't much matter when."
That day, when the ladies were leaving the dinner-table, Captain Danton arose.