“Lady Jane! I don’t know what you mean.”
“Well,” said Lady Jane with composure, “there is no accounting for the opaqueness of girls in some circumstances. You probably did not remark either, Katherine, the infatuation of that unfortunate Rector, which you should have done, my dear, and stopped him before he came the length of a proposal, which is always humiliating to a man. But I was speaking of the doctor. He takes a great interest in poor Stella; he would always stand up for her in any circumstances, and you may find him of great use with your father at any—any crisis—which let us hope, however, will not occur for many a long year.”
Lady Jane’s prayer was not, perhaps, very sincere. That old Tredgold should continue to cumber the ground for many years, and keep poor Stella out of her money, was the very reverse of her desire; but the old man was a very tough old man, and she was afraid it was very likely that it would be so.
“I think,” said Katherine with a little heat, “that it would be well that neither Dr. Burnet nor any other stranger should interfere.”
“I did not say interfere,” said Lady Jane; “everything of that kind should be done with delicacy. I only say that it will be a great thing for you to have a good kind man within reach in case of any emergency. Your father is, we all know, an old man, and one can never tell what may happen—though I think, for my part, that he is good for many years. Probably you will yourself be married long before that, which I will rejoice to see for my part. You have no relations to stand by you, no uncle, or anything of that sort? I thought not; then, my dear, I can only hope that you will find a good man——”
“Thank you for the good wish,” said Katherine with a laugh. “I find it is a good man to look after Stella’s interests rather than anything that will please me that my friends wish.”
“My dear,” said Lady Jane with a little severity, “I should not have expected such a speech from you. I have always thought a good quiet man of high principles would be far more suitable for you than anything like Charlie Somers, for example. Charlie Somers is my own relation, but I’m bound to say that if I proposed to him to secure to his sister-in-law half of his wife’s fortune I shouldn’t expect a very gracious answer. These sort of men are always so hungry for money—they have such quantities of things to do with it. A plain man with fewer needs and more consideration for others—— Katherine, don’t think me interested for Stella only. You know I like her, as well as feeling partly responsible; but you also know, my dear, that of the two I always preferred you.”
“You are very kind,” said Katherine; but she was not grateful—there was no effusion in her manner. Many girls would have thrown themselves upon Lady Jane’s neck with an enthusiasm of response. But this did not occur to Katherine, nor did she feel the gratitude which she did not express.
“And I should like, I confess, to see you happily married, my dear,” said Lady Jane impressively. “I don’t think I know any girl whom I should be more glad to see settled; but don’t turn away from an honest, plain man. That is the sort of man that suits a girl like you best. You are not a butterfly, and your husband shouldn’t be of the butterfly kind. A butterfly man is a dreadful creature, Katherine, when he outgrows his season and gets old. There’s Algy Scott, for example, my own cousin, who admired you very much—you would tire of him in a week, my dear, or any of his kind; they would bore you to death in ten days.”
“I have no desire, Lady Jane, to try how long it would take to be bored to death by——”