May I see
her?"
Mrs. Chichester, rose crossed over to the bell and rang it. She
wanted to prepare the solicitor for the possibility of a match
between her son and her niece. She would do it NOW and do it
tactfully.
"There is one thing you must know, Mr. Hawkes. My son is in love
with her," she said, as though in a burst of confidence.
Hawkes rose, visibly perturbed.
"What? Your son?"
"Yes," she sighed. "Of course she is hardly a suitable match for
Alaric--as YET. But by the time she is of age--"
"Of age?"
"By that time, much may be done."
Jarvis came in noiselessly and was despatched by Mrs. Chichester to
bring her niece to her.
Hawkes was moving restlessly about the room. He stopped in front of
Mrs. Chichester as Jarvis disappeared.
"I am afraid, madam, that such a marriage would be out of the
question."
"What do you mean?" demanded the old lady. "As one of the executors
of the late Mr. Kingsnorth's will, in my opinion, it would be
defeating the object of the dead man's legacy."
Mrs. Chichester retorted, heatedly: "He desires her to be TRAINED.
What training is better than MARRIAGE?"
"Almost any," replied Mr. Hawkes. "Marriage should be the union of
two formed characters. Marriage between the young is one of my pet
objections.
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