CHAPTER VIII
By bringing Peg Fraser to the flat the Beggar Man acknowledged his defeat.
If he had not been so sure of Faith's hatred he might have tried harder to overcome her prejudices, but he felt that hatred was an active force through which success was impossible.
He said as much to Mr. Shawyer.
"I've been a fool, I know! I suppose the whole thing was bound to be a failure from the start, but she seemed to like me...." He shrugged his shoulders. "What's the best thing to do?" he asked.
Mr. Shawyer hesitated. He was disappointed over this marriage himself. He admired Forrester intensely, and had looked to him to carry through successfully a thing which he was sure must have failed dismally in the hands of a weaker man.
"She'll change her mind," he said after a moment. "Women always do if you give them time. Her mother's death was a great shock to her, of course."
"I've made every allowance for that."