Sedley was brought.
Mr. Sedley was neutral. "Let Jos marry whom he likes," he said;
"it's no affair of mine. This girl has no fortune; no more had Mrs.
Sedley. She seems good-humoured and clever, and will keep him in
order, perhaps. Better she, my dear, than a black Mrs. Sedley, and
a dozen of mahogany grandchildren."
So that everything seemed to smile upon Rebecca's fortunes. She
took Jos's arm, as a matter of course, on going to dinner; she had
sate by him on the box of his open carriage (a most tremendous
"buck" he was, as he sat there, serene, in state, driving his
greys), and though nobody said a word on the subject of the
marriage, everybody seemed to understand it. All she wanted was the
proposal, and ah! how Rebecca now felt the want of a mother!--a
dear, tender mother, who would have managed the business in ten
minutes, and, in the course of a little delicate confidential
conversation, would have extracted the interesting avowal from the
bashful lips of the young man!
Such was the state of affairs as the carriage crossed Westminster
bridge.
The party was landed at the Royal Gardens in due time. As the
majestic Jos stepped out of the creaking vehicle the crowd gave a
cheer for the fat gentleman, who blushed and looked very big and
mighty, as he walked away with Rebecca under his arm. George, of
course, took charge of Amelia.
Pages:
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92