ther,--with your father's--curse?"

"Oh, papa, do not say that. You would not curse me. You could not."

"If you do it at all, that will be the way."

"That will not be the way, papa. You could not treat me like that."

"And how are you proposing to treat me?"

"But, papa, in whatever way I do it, I must do it. I do not say
to-day or to-morrow; but it must be the intention and purpose of
my life, and I must declare that it is, everywhere. I have made
up my mind about it. I am engaged to him, and I shall always say
so,--unless he breaks it. I don't care a bit about fortune. I thought
I did once, but I have changed all that."

"Because this scoundrel has talked sedition to you."

"He is not a scoundrel, papa, and he has not talked sedition. I don't
know what sedition is. I thought it meant treason, and I'm sure he is
not a traitor. He has made me love him, and I shall be true to him."

Hereupon Sir Marmaduke began almost to weep. There came first a
half-smothered oath and then a sob, and he walked about the room, and
struck the table with his fist, and rubbed his bald head impatiently
with his hand. "Nora," he said, "I thought you were so different from
this! If I had believed this of you, you never should have come to
England with Emily."

"It is too late for that now, papa."

"Your mamma always told me that you had such excellent ideas about
marriage."

"So I have,--I think," said she, smiling.

"She always believed that you would make a match that would be a
credit to the family."

"I tried it, papa;--the sort of match that you mean. Indeed I was
mercenary enough in what I believed to be my views of life. I meant
to marry a rich man,--if I could, and did not think much whether I
should love him or not. But when the rich man came--"

"What rich man?"

"I suppose mamma has told you about Mr. Glascock."

"Who is Mr. Glascock? I have not heard a word about Mr. Glascock."
Then Nora was forced to tell her story,--was called upon to tell it
with all its aggravating details. By degrees Sir Marmaduke learned
that this Mr. Glascock, who had desired to be his son-in-law, was in
very truth the heir to the Peterborough title and estates,--would
have been such a son-in-law as almost to compensate, by the
brilliance of the connection, for that other unfortunate alliance. He
could hardly control his agony when he was made to understand that
this embryo peer had in truth been in earnest. "Do you mean that he
went d