"
She had to bear worse pain before Denzil had ridden far upon his journey;
for her father came to the garden to seek her, eager to know the result of
his _protege's_ wooing.
"Well, sweetheart," he began, taking her to his bosom and kissing her. "Do
I salute the future Lady Warner?"
"No, sir; I am too well content with the name I inherit to desire any
other."
"That is gracefully said, cherie; but I want to see my ewe lamb happily
wedded. Has thy sweetheart stolen away without finding courage to ask the
question that has been on the tip of his tongue for the last six weeks?"
"He has been both importunate and impertinent, sir, and he has had his
answer. I hope I may never see him again."
"What! you have refused him? You must be mad!"
"No, sir; sober and sane enough to know when I am happy. I told you before
this gentleman came here that I did not mean to marry. Surely I am not so
unloving a daughter that I must be driven to take a husband, because my
father will not have me."
"Angela, it is for your own safety and welfare I would see you married.
What have you to succeed to when I am gone? An impoverished estate, in a
country that has seen such rough changes within a score of years that one
dare scarcely calculate upon a prolonged time of safety, even in this
sequestered valley.
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