Sheldon, he shall not come," said Valentine.
"If I could only go ever so far away from him, and feel that there was
the sea, or something of that kind, between us!"
"We will take you away--across the British Channel, or further still, if
you like. Diana and M. Lenoble are to be married soon; and directly
Lotta is strong enough for the journey we are to go over to Normandy, to
their chateau."
"Chateau, indeed!" Mrs. Sheldon exclaimed peevishly. "The idea of Diana
Paget, without a sixpence, and with a regular scamp of a father, marrying
a man with a chateau, while my poor Charlotte--! I don't wish to wound
your feelings, Mr. Hawkehurst, but it really does seem hard."
"It is hard that Lotta should not have married a prince--all the
grandeurs of a prince in a fairy tale would only be her due; but it
happens fortunately, you see, dear Mrs. Sheldon, that our sweet girl has
simple tastes, and does not languish for jewels or palaces. If she should
ever become rich--"
"Ah," sighed, Georgy despondently, "I don't expect that. I can't
understand anything about this idea of a fine fortune that Mr. Sheldon
had got into his head. I know that my husband's mother was a Miss
Meynell, the daughter of a carpet-warehouseman in the city, and I can't
see how any grand fortune is to come to Charlotte through her. And as for
the Hallidays--Hyley and Newhall farms were all the property they ever
owned within the memory of man.
Pages:
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511