“Aye, but suppose the girl should refuse me?”
“Then, of course, that would be the end.”
“And you would put up with it, would you?”
“What do you mean, Matthew, by that?”
“You would allow the girl to have her own way? You would not make an effort to influence her?”
“To influence her to what?”
“To accept your grandson for a husband.”
The old man started and a perceptible shudder shook his strong frame. He looked again into the dark face before him, and thought of the precious darling who looked to him for care and protection.
“Did you understand me?” Lord Oakleigh asked, with a show of temper, as his grandfather continued to gaze upon him in silence.
“Yes, Matthew, I understood you but too well. I am surprised that you should put such a question to me.”