‘Of course not. There’s my hand on it! But I don’t see how we are to get married in this poky little place without his consent. But there--don’t let us think of such a thing. He’ll give it fast enough. But we had better go home now and get the matter over at once.’ ‘You’ll give me one kiss before we go, Nora,’ pleaded Ilfracombe; ‘no one can see us here. Just one, to prove you love me!’ ‘Out in the open!’ cried the girl, with comical dismay. ‘Oh, Lord Ilfracombe, what are you thinking of? You don’t know what a horrid place this is for scandal! Why, if a boatman or beggar came by, it would be all over the town before the evening. Oh, no; you must wait till we are properly engaged before you ask for such a thing.’ ‘I’ll take my revenge on you, then,’ said the young man gaily; but he was disappointed, all the same, that Nora had not given in to him. Sir Richard Abinger was unaffectedly surprised when the earl asked for an interview, and made his wishes known. His daughters had walked about and talked with so many men before, without receiving a proposal. And that Lord Ilfracombe should have fixed on Nora seemed to him the greatest surprise of all. ‘Nora?’ he reiterated, ‘_Nora?_ Are you sure that you mean Nora? I should have thought that Mabel or Susie would have been more likely to take your fancy. People tell me that Susie is the beauty of the family--that she is so very much admired. We have always considered Nora to be the plainest of them all.’ ‘I do not consider her so, Sir Richard, I can assure you,’ replied the earl, ‘although, at the same time, I have chosen her much more for her mind than her looks. She is the most charmingly vivacious girl I have ever come across. She is as clever as they’re made.’ ‘Oh, yes, yes, very clever,’ said the old man; ‘but now we come to the most important matter--’ ‘The settlements? Oh, yes! I hope I shall be able to satisfy you thoroughly with respect to them.’ ‘No, Lord Ilfracombe, not the settlements, though, of course, they are necessary; but, in my eyes, quite a minor consideration. My daughter, Nora, is--well, to be frank with you, she is not my favourite daughter. Perhaps it is our own fault (for the poor child has been left a great deal to herself), but she is more heedless, less reliable--how shall I put it? Let me say, more headstrong and inclined to have her own way than her sisters. It will require a strong man, and a sensible man, to guide her through life; ay, more than these, a _good_ man. The position you offer her is a very brilliant one, and I should be proud to see her fill it; but, before I give my consent to her marrying you, I must be assured that the example you set her will be such as to raise instead of debase her.’ ‘I do not understand what you mean,’ replied the young man, with a puzzled air. ‘How can you possibly suspect me of setting my wife a bad example?’