I was thankful that he no longer suggested that Will should marry her... I'd have promised anything! Though why he should make himself a ruler and a judge...
"You will have to provide for her," he said, "at least as generously as if she were marrying your son. She will have no chance of participating in his prosperity and success as he rises from triumph to triumph in his career."
I thought I detected a sneer in his voice. If I had been sure, I would have suggested that he ceased insulting my son until we were both free of the obligation to treat a guest with courtesy. The face was curiously expressionless; I couldn't be certain.
"You must not judge every one by your own standard of wealth," I pointed out. "We are very far from rich."
"You would settle, say, five thousand a year on her?," he proposed. "The cost of living has reduced that to little more than three thousand by the standard of prices before the war."
"Sir Appleton," I said as patiently as I could, "if we had five thousand a year to throw about, we should not be inviting your generous assistance in finding a position for Will."
It was more than time to dismiss this girl and get to business...
"Five hundred, then," he suggested.
"A year? For all her life?," I asked, hardly believing my ears. If he could have had any conception what Arthur allows me to dress on...
"Your son's costly regard will affect the whole of her life," said Sir Appleton.