CHAPTER XIII
Nasmith did not answer. The proposal was too unexpected to fit into any compartment of his mind. Room had first to be made for it, room provided with hesitation and an agitated heart. Nasmith did not deny that Nancy had occupied much of his thought, more than he openly allowed. He could not shake out of his memory the sight of the girl, poised tiptoe for flight, as she stood between the doors of the temple. He had been haunted by the picture, haunted by a crying sense of wrong in restoring the girl to a dangerous, tragic future. But Herrick's offer was too real. It was stern stuff to be built upon such vague foundations.
"Don't imagine I wanted to bring up this subject," said Herrick. "I don't wish to see Nancy married to you or to anyone else. I would hide her from every last one of you if I had the choice. You haven't got her, I tell you; you haven't got her yet. I may hide her despite you. Ah, if I only had the choice! This stupid heart of mine has taken the choice out of my hands."
"There is no need to be angry with me for weighing your own proposal," Nasmith said. "Your suggestion is no less a shock to me than it seems to be to yourself. But before going into my side of the matter, I think we must consider Nancy's side. Whatever my own inclinations may be—and I must confess they are not very definite—I would not consider your offer for a moment if I thought the arrangement would be distasteful to your daughter. What do you think she would say at being disposed of in this summary manner to a man who is practically a stranger?"
"It's not at all so dreadful as you imagine. Nancy's training all her life has led her to expect no other method of betrothal. Your haphazard Western fashion would seem scandalous to her. A father is more competent to choose a husband for his daughter than the girl herself; he knows the world, she doesn't. No doubt she has her fancies, but if she is betrothed to a man who is not utterly impossible it will not be hard to attach her fancies to the husband chosen for her."
"That may be so; I am not prepared to deny it, though it seems to me, in the main, a heartless business. But what about my share in the contract? I have not been educated to think your Chinese way is normal. Can I attach my fancies to a girl I have hardly known?"
"Is this merely a theoretical question or have you some practical plan in mind? I certainly feel no need to advertise the merits of my daughter. You have seen her and, if you are the man I take you for, you have understood her. Remember this: it was not by throwing dice or tossing a coin that I chose you instead of Beresford. He, I think, would have jumped at my offer—I should suspect anyone who jumped at so unusual an offer as mine."
"No, I am not putting a theoretical question; I have a most practical plan," said Nasmith.
"I know your plan; you want Nancy to live with your sister."
"Yes, and I want more than that. I want her sent to school with my nieces."