"
"Miss Clara Day! no more of that, I beseech you! It is folly,
perversity, frenzy! But, thanks to the wisdom of legislators, the
law very properly invests the guardian with great latitude of
discretionary power of the person and property of his ward--to be
used, of course, for that ward's best interest. And thus, my dear
Clara, it is my duty, while holding this power over you, to exercise
it for preventing the possibility of your ever--either now or at any
future time, throwing yourself away upon a mere adventurer. To do
this, I must provide you with a suitable husband. My son, Mr. Craven
Le Noir, has long loved and wooed her. He is a young man of good
reputation and fair prospects. I entirely approve his suit, and as
your guardian I command you to receive him for your destined
husband."
"Colonel Le Noir, this is no time 'for bated breath and whispered
humbleness.' I am but a simple girl of seventeen, but I understand
your purpose and that of your son just as well as though I were an
old man of the world. You are the fortune hunters and maneuverers!
It is the fortune of the wealthy heiress and friendless orphan that
you are in pursuit of! But that fortune, like my hand and heart, is
already promised to one I love; and, to speak very plainly to you, I
would die ere I would disappoint him or wed your son," said Clara,
with invincible firmness.
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