f them in England."
"Troublesome people, aren't they? What do you do with them?"
"Let them go. How do we rule India and hold so much of Africa? How did we
open up Canada for you?"
He nodded.
"That's right. It doesn't matter that in respect to Canada the sons of
Highland peasants did their share; the Hudson Bay people and the
Laurentian Frenchmen showed us the way. We found out what kind of men
they were when we went in after them."
There was silence for a few moments and he glanced at her with
admiration. The honorable pride of caste she had shown strongly appealed
to him. She stood for all that was fine in the old regime, and once more
he wondered how such a woman could have borne such a son.
"I'm returning because business calls," he explained. "My means won't
keep me in idleness, and that fact has a bearing on the question as to
whether I'll ever come back again. It's a very momentous one to me."
She waited, noticing with some surprise the sudden tenseness of his
expression, until he spoke again, hesitatingly.
"You are the only person I can come to for advice. I'd be grateful for
your opinion."
"I'll try to give it carefully," she promised.
"Well," he said, "the life you people lead here has its attractions; they
must be strong to you. It would be hard to break with all its
associations, to face one that was new and different; I mean for a woman
to do so?"
"Ah!" she exclaimed, seeing the drift of his remarks at last. "You had
better tell me whom you are thinking of."
"Millicent."
She started. This was a painful surprise, though she now wondered why she
had never suspected it. He had met the girl frequently before his
accident, and she had since gone over to Nasmyth's to talk with him now
and then; yet, for some not very obvious reason, nobody seemed to have
contemplated the possibility of his falling in love with her. Mrs.
Gladwyne had undoubtedly not done so, and she was filled with alarm. It
was most desirable that Millicent should marry Clarence.
"How long have you had this in your mind?" she asked.
"That is more than I can tell you," he answered thoughtfully. "I admired
her greatly the first time I saw her; I admired her more when we made
friends, but I don't think I went much farther for a while. In Tact, I
believe it was only when I knew I must go back soon that I realized how
strong a hold she had on me, and then I fought against yielding. The
difficulties to be got over looke
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