She trembled a little as she nestled against him. "And--and--your
father, Sir Stephen Orme?" she said. "What will he say?"
Stafford laughed slowly and confidently.
"Oh, my father? He will be delighted. He's the best of fathers, a
perfect model for parents. Ever since I can remember he has been good
to me, a precious sight better, more liberal and generous, than I
deserved; but lately, since I've known him--Ah, well, I can only say,
dearest, that he will be delighted to hear that I have chosen a wife;
and when he sees you--"
He stopped and held her at arm's length for a moment and looked down
into the lovely face upturned to his with its sweet, girlish gravity.
--"Why, he will fall in love with you right out of hand! I think you
will like my father, Ida. He--well, he's a taking sort of fellow;
everybody likes him who knows him--really knows him--and speaks well of
him. Yes, I'm proud of him, and I feel as safe as if he were here to
say, in his hearty, earnest way: 'I wish you good luck, Stafford! And
may God bless you, my dear!'"
He flushed and laughed as if a little ashamed of his emotional way of
putting it.
"He's full of--of the milk of human kindness, is my father," he said,
with a touch of simplicity which was one of the thousand and fifteen
reasons why Ida loved him.
She gazed up at him thoughtfully and sighed.
"I hope he will like me," she said, all the pride which usually
characterized her melted by her love. "I am sure that I shall like
him--for loving you."
"You will see," said Stafford, confidently. "He will be as proud as a
duke about you. You won't mind if he shows it a little plainly and
makes a little fuss, Ida? He's--well, he's used to making the most of a
good thing when he has it--it's the life he has led which has rather
got him into the way of blowing a trumpet, you know--and he'll want a
whole orchestra to announce you. But about your father, dearest? Shall
I come to-morrow and ask for his consent?"
She looked up at him with doubt and a faint trouble in her beautiful
eyes, and he heard her sigh regretfully.
"I am afraid," she said, in a low voice.
"Afraid?" He looked at her with a smile of surprise. "If anyone were to
tell me that it was possible for you to be afraid, I shouldn't believe
them," he said. "Fear and you haven't made acquaintance yet, Ida!"