"Mamma," she said, at last, "do you remember saying you thought Bella's might be a very happy marriage? I wonder if you think so still?"
"Why should not I? What is changed?"
"I don't know that anything is; but you know how tiresome she is. I cannot imagine how Doctor Morton bears it."
"Probably, he bears it because he thinks her tiresomeness will soon be over. When she is married and in her own house, she will have other things to think of besides teasing him."
"But, mamma, do you think she loves him?"
Mrs. Costello laughed. "Indeed, my dear, I can't tell. If she does not now, I suppose she intends to."
"But that can't be right. Mamma, I am certain you do not think that kind of marriage right."
"Not for all people, certainly. But for any one who is dear to me I would far rather have a marriage of 'that kind' than one founded on the hasty, utterly unreasonable fancy which girls often call love."
Lucia blushed crimson, but would not give up her point. "I am sure if I married a man I did not love, I should hate him in three months," she said.
"I do not think you and Bella are much alike," Mrs. Costello answered; "and as for her, perhaps it may comfort you to know that I have speculated a little on this subject, and I have some suspicion that there may be more sentiment in the affair then she allows."