Ah, Lesbia, you don't know what a heart it is which you so nearly
broke.'
'Girls in our rank of life can't afford to marry noble hearts,' said
Lesbia, scornfully. 'Do you mean to tell me that Lady Maulevrier
consented to the engagement?'
'She cut up rather rough at first; but Molly held her own like a young
lioness--and the grandmother gave way. You see she has a fixed idea that
Molly is a very second-rate sort of person compared with you, and that a
husband who was not nearly good enough for you might pass muster for
Molly; and so she gave way, and there isn't a happier young woman in
the three kingdoms than Mary Haselden.'
'What are they to live upon?' asked Lesbia, with an incredulous air.
'Mary will have her five hundred a year. And Hammond is a very clever
fellow. You may be sure he will make his mark in the world.'
'And how are they to live while he is making his mark? Five hundred a
year won't do more than pay for Mary's frocks, if she goes into
society.'
'Perhaps they will live without society.'
'In some horrid little hovel in one of those narrow streets off
Ecclestone Square,' suggested Lesbia, shudderingly.
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