Lydia Trent by Abigail Blanchart

Oh
Alfred, I don't know what to say”

    “ Say
yes, my sweetest girl, and make me the happiest man on Earth. I know
- “ thinking of that dear departed gentleman, “I know we cannot
be married very soon, but in a few months, surely we can
become man and wife without upsetting any proprieties, and then you
both can come home.” and so saying he put out his hands and drew
both girls to him. Lydia merely placed a hand on his shoulder, saying

    “ I
could not wish for a kinder brother.”

    Adeline
somehow ended up with her face hidden on his breast, unable to give
him any answer but to caress and kiss his hand, which she now held
captive between both of hers.

    “ I
had better speak to your mother. I shall be back soon, dear, and then
we can settle how it is all to be.”

    The
settling had to wait some time longer, however, as Mrs Trent merely
referred Alfred to her brother-in-law.

    “ Adeline
is my daughter, but I am not her legal guardian, it seems. Of course
you seem a good kind of young man, and I have no objection to her
marrying you, in due course, if her guardian does not object. Of
course she has no expectations beyond the two-and-a-half thousand
pounds settled on her by her stepfather.”

    “ That
surprises, but does not deter me, Madam. I have an income – not
great, but sufficient to maintain a wife.”

    “ I
do not see why you should be surprised. My husband wished no
difference made between the girls, and I do not wish the world to say
I favoured one above the other. Of course, should I predecease her,
she may inherit a very pretty fortune, but that is not to be counted
on. For instance, I am not yet fifty, older women than I have married
again, and in that case my money would belong to my husband.”

    Alfred
was filled with disgust at the way this woman, so recently widowed,
spoke of marrying again, coupled with the coldly casual way she spoke
of her daughter.

    “ I
do not believe the woman has an ounce of natural feeling in her.”
he said to himself. However, he merely begged the use of paper and
pen, and to be furnished with the direction of Mr John Trent.

    That
good uncle did not leave the young people long in suspense.

    'My
dearest Niece,' he wrote

    'I
have received this day a letter from Mr Alfred Denham, who begs your
hand in marriage.

    Far
be it from me to stand in the way of your happiness, my dear, and I
give my full and hearty consent to your marrying whomsoever makes you
happiest, on the day you come of age. Yes my dear, I counsel you to
wait until you are twenty-one. I understand that the acquaintance
between yourself and Mr Denham has been of long standing, and that
although not positively wealthy he has sufficient income to maintain
a wife in comfort. I give him credit for disinterestedness, for he
tells me he is full aware that you would bring nothing to the
marriage but that small fortune settled on you by my brother, which
he intends to secure entirely to you, and that you have no
expectations in the future (an arrant lie, by the way my love, for
how two girls with a wealthy bachelor uncle, who is affectionately
aware of their merits, and has no other soul on Earth to leave his
money to, can be said to have no expectations, I do not know)

    In
any case, fortune or the lack thereof on either side is no objection.
Your ages, however, give me some concern. Mr Denham seems to me to
have powers of intellect that require some vent for him to be truly
settled and happy. I advise waiting, not only so that you can be
quite sure this is the right step to ensure your future happiness -
for matrimony is a great step, Adeline, and nineteen very young to
fully comprehend your own feelings – but also to enable the young
man to take steps to establish himself in some profession that will
contribute greatly to the happiness, as well as the comfort, of both.

    Fourteen
months is not so great a time to wait for a lifetime's joy, my dear –
in any event you would have to wait 6 months or so