He showed the letter to his sweetheart and asked her advice. Afterwards, he used to wonder how he could ever have doubted for a moment what her answer would be. “Go home?” she exclaimed. “Why, Bram darling, you must be mad to think of such a thing. What’s a thousand a year compared with your self-respect?” “I thought your father might take a more reasonable view of our marriage, if I could be doing something more solid than acting in the provinces.” “Has _he_ ever done anything more solid himself? Never in his life. Well, listen to me, Bram, if you go back home and crawl to that brother of yours, I swear I’ll break off our engagement. Now there it is straight.” “You know there’s only one reason would make me go home.” “Well, you’ll have to marry a squib, my dear, for you’ll certainly never marry your Nancy if you do.” “There doesn’t seem much chance of my ever marrying you as things are now,” Bram sighed. “Will you elope? Now listen to me, I’m serious. I’m after thinking that an elopement is the only solution for us. What is it Touchstone sings to Audrey: Come, sweet Audrey: We must be married, or we must live in bawdry! At least he doesn’t sing it in our version, because dear old Ma Hart is so damned genteel she wouldn’t have such a sentiment uttered by a member of her pure company. But it’s in Shakespeare, for I read it when I was studying the part.” “But your father, you lunatic?” “Och, my father! He can’t drink any more than he’s drinking now, and it would give him a gentlemanly excuse for getting drunk if he was to celebrate his daughter’s wedding. Listen. You’ve enough money to buy the ring and the license?” “Oh, I’ve saved twelve pounds this tour already.” “Next week’s Leamington and Coventry, and the week after’s Leicester. Let’s be married in Leicester on Saturday week. That’s the only way to deal with father, and indeed it’s a kindness to the man, for he’s getting tired of playing the ill-used father, and a little bit of geniality for a change will do him all the good in the world.” Bram caught her to him. “You won’t regret it, Nancy?” “Why should I regret it?” “You shan’t, you shan’t, dear Nancy. Listen, I haven’t said anything about this before, because I didn’t want to give you the idea that I was trying to make a bargain over you. But I don’t believe in mixed marriages, and I think I’d like to be a Catholic. My grandmother’s a Catholic, you know, and she’s the only creature in the world I really care for, except you, my sweetheart.” “Ah, now, don’t think it’s so easy to become a Catholic. You’ll have to have the devil’s own amount of instruction first. You can be married without knowing a thing at all about it. But the priest won’t baptise you so easy as he’ll marry you. Conversion can wait till we have a little more time to ourselves.”