The son gave a smiling assent, and Ariana thought of Andrew Dormer and his habit of finding fault with every thing that was placed before him.
It is not much the fashion at the present day for young men to consult their parents with regard to their love affairs, but Arthur Grayson walked closely in the footsteps of his father, and he was a gentleman of the old school. Were this mode more prevalent, there would not be so many unhappy mothers-in-law and such miserable wives.
The visiters from the city had spent two days at Castleton before Arthur could ask his mother’s advice about the subject which lay nearest his heart. The moment, however, that he found an opportunity of speaking to her alone, he said, eagerly, “What do you think of Ariana?”
“A question that I am not yet qualified to answer, my son,” was her reply, while she looked earnestly into his troubled face, as if seeking to discover how deeply he was interested in the inquiry, which he had just made.
“You do not like her, I see plainly,” he hastily remarked, in a tone of bitter disappointment.
“You are much mistaken in that supposition, my dear Arthur. On the contrary, her frankness and talents interest me exceedingly, and even her faults make me anxious for a more intimate acquaintance, for I think that I might be of service in aiding her to overcome them. I am not sure, however, that she would be a suitable companion for life for my darling son, if that is what you wish to know.”
“Then I must not stay here any longer,” he exclaimed, impetuously. “I have too much confidence in your judgment to believe that I could ever be happy with any one, of whose character you disapproved. I feared that it would be so.”
“You are too hasty, Arthur. Why does the opinion I have expressed make it necessary for you to leave home?”
“Because I have discovered that I love her too well to trust myself longer in her society,” he answered, with agitation.
“Then you are right in your resolution. Why do you not make your long promised visit to Carysford Lee? If I find on further acquaintance that Ariana is worthy of your affection, you shall not long remain in ignorance of the conclusion.”
“Thank you,” Arthur replied, and then sorrow of heart prevented him from adding more, but kissing affectionately his mother’s pale cheek, he hastily left the apartment.