She nestled closer to her lover, and he answered for her:
“No, dear, you cannot; and you have nowhere else on earth to go but to the one who loves you best, Brownie,” he continued, with tender authority, “you are mine—you have freely given yourself to me, and now I am not willing that you should go back to face those wolves until I have an indisputable right to go with you to demand proper respect for you, and the restitution of your property, without the possibility of a repetition of the insult and suffering to which you have heretofore been subjected. I know all the objections you would raise,” he went on. “I have thought them all over carefully. Lady Ruxley’s anxiety upon your account; the misconstruction which will be put upon your mysterious absence; the notoriety of a clandestine marriage, etc. But I think it will do them all good to suffer a little upon your account, without it is Lady Ruxley. And as to the other reasons, I do not care a straw for them. In fact, our marriage will not be so very secret, since I announced the fact of our engagement to the whole company assembled in the drawing-room last evening, and told Sir Charles I should marry you just as soon as possible.”
“Adrian! did you do that?” demanded Brownie, looking up astonished.
“Certainly I did. You do not suppose I could sit tamely by and listen to all their remarks and surmises without making an effort to silence them, do you?”
“But it was very brave and noble in you—few would have braved public opinion like that,” and she lifted her red lips to give him a voluntary kiss of gratitude.
“What had I to brave, my darling? I shall be proud to call you by that dearest name in the world—wife; and since they all know now that I mean to make you such, they cannot say that you have run away with me. We will go to London to-day. I will get a special license, and you shall be my wife to-morrow.”
“But—but——” she began, with a troubled face.
“No, dear,” he interrupted smiling, as he read her thought, “you shall not go alone with me. My old nurse and her daughter shall go with us to make everything proper. Nurse Clum will do anything in the world for me, and keep any secret I intrust to her. Milly, her daughter, has long been trying to get a situation as lady’s maid, and we will make one for her at once, thus doing a charitable deed, as well as make ourselves happy. In a week’s time, less if you desire, we will return to Vallingham Hall, claim our property, and right that other wrong; while with me by your side, you will be freed from the possibility of insult from any one. Will you go with me, dear?”
“But you have relatives, I fear——”
“I am my own master, my darling, and no one can say me nay upon this most vital point,” he replied, gravely, yet with decision.