"You will do no such thing!" said the widow, sternly, and she sat up
again. "You forget I am going to marry her father, and I shall look upon
her as my daughter and protect her from wolves--do you hear? And what is
more, she is too good and true to go with you. She has a backbone if
you haven't; and she'll see it her duty to stick to that lump of
middle-class meat she is bound to--and she'll do her best, if she
suffers to heart-break. It is she, the poor, little white dove, that you
and I have wounded between us, that I pity, not you--great, strong man!"
Mrs. McBride's eyes flashed.
"Oh, you are all the same, you Englishmen. Beasts to kill and women to
subjugate--the only aims in life!"
"Don't!" said Hector. "I am not the animal you think me. I worship
Theodora, and I would devote my life and its best aims to secure her
happiness and do her honor; but don't you see you have drawn a picture
that would drive any man mad--"
"I said you had to face the worst, and I calculate the worst for you
would be to see her with some little Browns along. My! How it makes you
wince! Well, face it then and be a man."
He sat for a moment, his head buried in his hands--then-"I will," he said, "I will do what I can; but oh, when you have the
chance you will be good to her, won't you, dear friend?"
"There, there!" said the widow, and she patted his hand. "I had to
scold you, because I see you have got the attack very badly and only
strong measures are any good; but you know I am sorry for you both, and
feel dreadfully, because I helped you to it without enough thought as to
consequences."
There was silence for a few minutes, and she continued to stroke his
hand.
"Dominic has run down to Dieppe to see those daughters of his," she
said, presently, "and won't be back to-night. I meant to be all alone
and meditate and go to bed early; but you can dine with me, if you wish,
up here, and we will talk everything over. Our plans for the future, I
mean, and what will be best to do; I kind of feel like your
mother-in-law, you know." Which sentence comforted him.
This woman was his friend, and so kind of heart, if sometimes a little
plain-spoken.