'I mean he shall!'
Esther sat silent and pondered. There were other things she wished to speak about; was not this a good occasion? But she hesitated long how to be gin. The colonel was not very deep in his book, she could see; he was too much annoyed.
'Papa,' she said slowly after a while, 'are our circumstances any better than they were?'
'Circumstances? what do you mean?'
'Money, papa; have we any more money than we had when we talked about it last fall?'
'Where is it to come from?' said the colonel in the same short, dry fashion. It was the fashion in which he was wont to treat unwelcome subjects, and always drove Esther away from a theme, unless it were too pressing to be avoided.
'Papa, you know I do not know where any of our money comes from, except the interest on the price of the sale at Seaforth.'
'I do not know where any more is to come from.'
'Then, papa, don't you think it would be good to let my schooling stop here?'
'No.'