Felix Carbury was standing leaning against a wall, and she was seated on a chair close to him. 'I love you better than anyone in the world,' he said, speaking plainly enough for her to hear, perhaps indifferent as to the hearing of others.
'Oh, Sir Felix, pray do not talk like that.'
'You knew that before. Now I want you to say whether you will be my wife.'
'How can I answer that myself? Papa settles everything.'
'May I go to papa?'
'You may if you like,' she replied in a very low whisper. It was thus that the greatest heiress of the day, the greatest heiress of any day if people spoke truly, gave herself away to a man without a penny.