“Well, ’tis unfortunate, as I said before, but it must be endured. Where is Dick?”

“I know not. You will stay to dinner, Tracy?”

“Thank you. I shall be charmed.”

“Yes, yes⁠—oh, how prodigiously pleasant it is to see you again! Soon I shall come to Andover. Will you let me stay a few days?”

“The question is, will Richard allow you to stay so long in my contaminating presence?”

“Richard would never keep me away, Tracy!” she replied proudly. “He could not. Oh, why is it that I don’t love him more? Why do I not care for him as much as I care for you even?”

“My dear Lavinia, like all Belmanoirs, you care first for yourself and secondly for the man who masters you. That, alas! Richard has not yet succeeded in doing.”