endure it i am an old man and now i want to enjoy myself in my own way and my desire is to get through the last years of my life with you you can do what you please ask here you please give me a few hours of your time when i am particularly busy with my and above all let us be alone sometimes spring days after dinner so that we can turn our chairs round to the fire and talk at our ease � your affectionate uncle mount so he won t pay for a secretary and wants me to do the work that s about the meaning of that letter frank re read the letter sentence for sentence and as he read new and new expressions of scorn rose in his brain in tremulous there was scarcely a plan for the of his uncle that he did not for some fleeting moment entertain and one most letter he committed to paper but would not hear of its being sent and he was surprised and glad to see that she was not depressed or at the turn affairs had taken i can do what i like with father sally can t but i can you leave it to me what s the good of that you can t get round mount never mind we don t want to get married yet awhile we ll be engaged it is nearly the same thing we shall be able to go anywhere together � up to town if we only come back the same day write a nice letter to your uncle saying you ll do nothing without his consent that it is true your affections are very much engaged but that your first thought is of him � oh but my darling i want to make you mine so you shall � we shall be engaged father won t consent to our being married but he can t prevent us being engaged you ll see i ll get round father sooner or later he ll give in but you won t get round mount if he would only come here and see you spring days he won t do that but one of these days he ll be in london i suppose he goes to the park sometimes we ll go too you ll introduce me � a little and i ll see if i cannot get him to like me flow clever you are i understand father still it required all s to even partially reconcile mr to lord mount s letter she accepted without argument that marriage in the present circumstances was out of the question she even went so far as to cordially assent that a man would be a fool to give his daughter to a man who could not settle a substantial sum of money upon her and she only ventured to suggest that it be foolish not to give lord mount the opportunity of changing his mind she spoke of his immense fortune and exaggerated it until she made even seem a paltry creature in the old man s eyes surely he would not by any act ruin her chances and throwing her arms about him she wept and telling him a set of she involved sally in serious and averted attention from herself so the life of engagement began walking alone in of all but each other looks and gestures abundant laughter the passes beneath the foliage � the young man tall and fair his driving coat his gloves the elegance of the whip and the charming sense of intimacy with which he draws up the apron in the ball room � the colour of the flowers the beauty of the women s necks dark and bright her frank tall and insolent waiting for her by a doorway i spring days in london � victoria station the of passengers coming through the gates frank so impatient and at last catching sight of the dark eyes in the crowd � in public places in street morning performances � the six o clock express the rush and beauty of the train through fields and splendid light the woods of the south lands and in the long delicate and exquisite pressure of hands � now the green seemed to be theirs the girls coming with to see frank frank going to them swinging his sally s sympathy had been secured frank was anxious to her he returned from london with presents for her and he always spoke to her looking at her he showed much anxiety and he was worried that she must find it dull at his when they came to tea or else to an lunch he was assailed by regrets if she would only say yes he would ask him to meet her when would return sally tossed her head � she had had enough of her manner left no doubt as to her sincerity but and happening to meet a few days after in the train frank slipped easily into asking him to come and see him and in the gracious atmosphere of the the soon into intimacy and aft er a preliminary of restored her old sweetheart to all the rights and wrongs of modern henceforth life went well amid incessant secrets and tea parties grace had with them and had promised not to say a word about nor was it spring days ever ascertained whether in the of the night she had betrayed this trust or whether some jealous enemy had spoken or written to mr on the subject but certain it is that one joyful day when sally and were eating and frank was twisting the into a bottle of there came an ominous ringing at the door i wonder who that can be shut up perhaps it is father he is in london i m not so sure about that no matter � we don t want 