‘But who is he?’

Then Mrs Stanbury told all that she knew, She had seen from his card that he was an Honourable Mr Glascock.  She had collected from what he had said that he was an old friend of the two ladies.  Her conviction was strong in Mr Glascock’s favour thinking, as she expressed herself, that everything was right and proper but she could hardly explain why she thought so.

‘I do wish that they had never come,’ said Priscilla, who could not rid herself of an idea that there must be danger in having to do with women who had men running after them.

‘Of course I’ll see him,’ said Nora to her sister.  ’I have not refused to see him.  Why do you scold me?’

’I have not scolded you, Nora; but I do want you to how immensely important this is.’

‘Of course it is important.’

’And so much the more so because of my misfortunes!  Think how good he must be, how strong must be his attachment, when he comes down here after you in this way.’

‘But I have to think of my own feelings.’

’You know you like him.  You have told me so.  And only fancy what mamma will feel!  Such a position!  And the man so excellent!  Everybody says that he hasn’t a fault in any way.’

‘I hate people without faults.’

’Oh, Nora, Nora, that is foolish!  There, there; you must go down.  Pray pray do not let any absurd fancy stand in your way, and destroy everything.  It will never come again, Nora.  And, only think; it is all now your own if you will only whisper one word.’

‘Ah! one word and that a falsehood!’

’No no.  Say you will try to love him, and that will enough.  And you do love him?’

‘Do I?’

’Yes, you do.  It is only the opposition of your nature that makes you fight against him.  Will you go now?’

‘Let me be for two minutes by myself,’ said Nora, ’and then I’ll come down.  Tell him that I’m coming.’  Mrs Trevelyan stooped over her, kissed her, and then left her.

Nora, as soon as she was alone, stood upright in the middle of the room and held her hands up to her forehead.  She had been far from thinking, when she was considering the matter easily among the hillocks, that the necessity for an absolute decision would come upon her so instantaneously.  She had told herself only this morning that it would be wise to accept the man, if he should ever ask a second time and he had come already.  He had been waiting for her in the village while she had been thinking whether he would ever come across her path again.  She thought that it would have been easier for her now to have gone down with a ‘yes’ in her mouth, if her sister had not pressed her so hard to say that ‘yes,’ The very pressure from her sister seemed to imply that such pressure ought to be resisted.  Why should there have been pressure, unless there were reasons against her marrying him?  And yet, if she chose to take him, who would