“Laura has a right to do as she pleases,” said John; “no one can prevent it.”

“She has the right, but not the power.  WE can do as we please, or we can let Mrs. Melcombe do as SHE pleases.”

“You mean that we can tell my gardener’s son that my cousin (whom he no longer cares for) is in love with him, and, by our assistance and persuasion, we can, if we choose, bring on as foolish a marriage as ever was contemplated, and one as disadvantageous to ourselves.  Now for the alternative.  What can it be?”

“Mrs. Melcombe can take Laura on the Continent again, and she proposed to do it forthwith.”

“And leave her boy at school?  A very good thing for him.”

“No, she means to take him also, and not come back till Joseph is at the other end of the world.”

“Two months will see him there.”

“Well, John, now you have stated the case, it does seem a strange fancy of mine to wish to interfere, and if to interfere could possibly be to our advantage——­”

“You would not have thought of it!  No, I am sure of that.  Now my advice is, that we let them alone all round.  I don’t believe, in the first place, that Joe Swan, now he has change, freedom, and a rise in life before him, would willingly marry Laura if he might.  I am not at all sure that, if it came to the point, she would willingly marry him at such short notice, and leave every friend she has in the world.  I think she would shrink back, for she can know nothing worth mentioning of him.  As to the boy, how do you know that a tour may not be a very fine thing for him?  It must be better than moping at Melcombe under petticoat government; and even if Joe married Laura to-morrow, we could not prevent Mrs. Melcombe from taking him on the Continent whenever she chose.”

Emily was silent.

“And what made you talk of a runaway match?” continued John.

“Because she told Giles that the last time she saw Joseph he proposed to her to sneak away, get married before a magistrate, and go off without saying a word to anybody.”

“Fools,” exclaimed John, “both of them!  No, we cannot afford to have any runaway matches—­and of such a sort too!  I should certainly interfere if I thought there was any danger of that.”

“I hope you would.  He wanted her to propose some scheme.  I think scorn of all scheming.  If she had really meant to marry him, his part should have been to see that she did it in a way that would not make it worse for her afterwards.  He should have told Mrs. Melcombe fairly that she could not prevent it, and he should have taken her to church and married her like a man before plenty of witnesses in the place where she is known.  If he had not shown such a craven spirit, I almost think I would have taken his part.  Now, John, I know what you think; but I should have felt just the same if Valentine had not made himself ridiculous, and if I was quite sure that this would not end in a runaway match after all, and the True Blue be full of it.”