"Ah, great gray eyes, that, in my true love's face,
Tell of the pure and noble soul within;
One look in your calm depths I fain would trace,
I fain would win."
and threw it down with a contemptuous "pshaw!" He looked through the window for a moment before he spoke again; then with a great show of cheerfulness he said, "Now, my dear, let us be serious, which of them would you like to see yourself?"
"Which of them!" she answered impatiently. "None of them--ever! I hate them! That is, I mean that I don't want to marry them."
"I shall not let you give that answer without thought. It seems to me that you must have encouraged one or the other of them. You must take a fortnight to think it over."
"I won't have a minute!" she cried angrily.
"A clear fortnight," he repeated with some sternness. "If you are then resolved, I shall be the last to force you to marry against your will. I have, indeed, no legal power over you. I am not your father."
"No, you are not," she replied sullenly.