ut he knows better than that. He won't make himself such a fool."

This was not comfortable to Clara; but she knew her father, and
allowed him to go on with his grumbling. He would come round by
degrees, and he would appreciate, if he could not be induced to
acknowledge, the wisdom of the step she was about to take.

"When is it to be?" he asked.

"Nothing of that kind has ever been mentioned, papa."

"It had better be soon, if I am to have anything to do with it." Now
it was certainly the case that the old man was very ill. He had not
been out of the house since Clara had returned home; and, though he
was always grumbling about his food, he could hardly be induced to
eat anything when the morsels for which he expressed a wish were got
for him.

"Of course you will be consulted, papa, before anything is settled."

"I don't want to be in anybody's way, my dear."

"And may I tell Frederic that you have given your consent?"

"What's the use of my consenting or not consenting? If you had been
anxious to oblige me you would have taken your cousin Will."

"Oh, papa, how could I accept a man I didn't love?"

"You seemed to me to be very fond of him at first; and I must say, I
thought he was ill-treated."

"Papa, papa; do not say such things as that to me!"

"What am I to do? You tell me, and I can't altogether hold my
tongue." Then there was a pause. "Well, my dear, as for my consent,
of course you may have it,--if it's worth anything. I don't know that
I ever heard anything bad about Captain Aylmer."

He had heard nothing bad about Captain Aylmer! Clara, as she left her
father, felt that this was very grievous. Whatever cause she might
have had for discontent with her lover, she could not but be aware
that he was a man whom any father might be proud to welcome as a
suitor for his daughter. He was a man as to whom no ill tales had
ever been told;--who had never been known to do anything wrong or
imprudent; who had always been more than respectable, and as to whose
worldly position no exception could be taken. She had been entitled
to expect her father's warmest congratulations, and her tidings had
been received as though she had proposed to give her hand to one
whose character and position only just made it not imperative on the
father to withhold his consent! All this was hard, and feeling it
to be so, she went up-stairs, all alone, and cried bitterly as she
thought of it.

On the next day she went down to th