Marian gave a little sigh. ‘I shall be very glad if he gets it in one way,’ she said, ‘because then, of course, Edward and I will be able to marry immediately; and papa’s so very much opposed to a long engagement.’ ‘Besides which,’ Nora put in frankly, ‘you’d naturally yourself, too, be glad to get married as soon as possible.’ ‘But then, on the other hand,’ Marian went on, smiling quietly, ‘it would be a dreadful thing going so far away from all one’s friends and relations and so forth. Though, of course, with Edward to take care of me, I wouldn’t be afraid to go anywhere.’ ‘Of course not,’ said Nora confidently. ‘And I shall be there, too, Marian; and we shall have such lovely times together. People have no end of fun in the West Indies, you know. Everybody says it’s the most delightful place in the world in the cool season. The floors are kept polished all the year round, without any carpets, just like the continent, and so you can have a dance at any moment, whenever people enough happen to drop in together accidentally of an evening. Mamma used to say there was no end of gaiety; and that she never could endure the stiffness and unsociability of English society, after the hospitable habits of dear old Trinidad.’ ‘I hope we shall like it,’ Marian said, ‘if Edward really succeeds in getting this appointment. It’ll be a great alleviation to the pain of parting with one’s friends here, if you’re going to be there too, Nora.’ ‘Yes, my dear, you must get married at once, and we must arrange somehow to go out to Trinidad together in the same steamer. I mean to have no end of fun going out. And when you get there, of course papa’ll be able to introduce you and Mr Hawthorn to all the society in the island. I call it just delightful.’ At that moment, the servant entered and announced Mr Hawthorn. Marian rose from her seat and went forward to meet him. Edward had a long official envelope in his hands, with a large broken seal in red sealing-wax on the back, and the important words, ‘On Her Majesty’s Service,’ printed in very big letters at the lower left-hand corner. Marian trembled a little with excitement, not unmixed with fear, as soon as she saw it. ‘Well, my darling,’ cried Edward joyously, in spite of Nora’s presence, ‘it’s all right; I’ve got the judgeship. And now, Marian, we shall be able to get married immediately.’ A woman always succeeds in doing the most incomprehensible and unexpected thing under all circumstances; and Marian, hearing now for the first time that their hearts’ desire was at last in a fair way to be accomplished, did not exhibit those emotions Edward might have imagined she would do, but fell back upon the sofa, half faint, and burst out suddenly crying. Edward looked at her tenderly with a mingled look of surprise and sorrow. ‘Why, Marian,’ he said, a little reproachfully, ‘I thought you would be so delighted and rejoiced to hear the news, that I almost ran the whole way to tell you.’