A girl should know her own mind
before she tells a man she loves him--just as a man should before he
speaks."
"San Miniato certainly knows his own mind," retorted Beatrice viciously.
"No one can accuse him of not being ready and anxious to marry me--and
my fortune."
"How you talk, my angel! Of course if you had no fortune, or much less
than you have, he could not think of marrying you. That is clear. I
never pretended the contrary. But that does not contradict the fact that
he loves you to distraction, if that is what you want."
"To distraction!" repeated Beatrice with scorn.
"Why not, dearest child? Do you think a man cannot love because he is
poor?"
"That is not the question, mamma!" cried Beatrice impatiently. "You know
it is not. But no woman can be deceived twice by the same comedy, and
few would be deceived once. You know as well as I that it was all a play
the other night, that he was trying to find words, as he was trying to
find sentiments, and that when the words would not be found he thought
it would be efficacious to seize my hand and kiss it. I daresay he
thought I believed him--of course he did.
Pages:
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246