'Yes, papa.' He was sitting on a sofa and shrank back a little
from her as she made this free avowal. 'In that case I could
have judged for myself. I suppose every girl would like to do
that.'

'But should you have accepted him?'

'I think I should have consulted you before I did that. But I
should have wished to accept him. Papa, I do love him. I have
never said that before to anyone. I would not say so to you now,
if he had not--spoken to you as he has done.'

'Emily, it must not be.'

'Why not, papa? If you say it shall not be so, it shall not, I
will do as you bid me.' Then he put out his hand and caressed
her, stroking down her hair. 'But I think you ought to tell me
why it must not be,--as I do love him.'

'He is a foreigner.'

'But is he? And why should not a foreigner be as good as an
Englishman? His name is foreign, but he talks English and lives
as an Englishman.'

'He has no relatives, no family, no belongings. He is what we
call an adventurer. Marriage, my dear, is a most serious thing.'

'Yes, papa, I know that.'