fathers and sons are less given to confidences of this sort than mothers
and daughters. But that Walter is deeply and earnestly attached to your
daughter is unquestionable, and, indeed, it would be singular were it
otherwise. I have stood passive in the matter, simply because I saw that
you took no steps to keep them apart; and you could not but have seen, at
an early period of their acquaintance, in what direction matters were
tending."

"Frankly," Mrs. Conyers said, "I gave the matter no thought, during your
first stay with us. I had regarded Claire as a child, and it did not, at
first, occur to me that there could be any danger of her falling
seriously in love, for years to come. When my eyes were opened to the
true state of things, and I found my little girl had lost her heart, I
could have wished it otherwise.

"I do not mean as to worldly matters," she went on hastily, seeing that
Captain Davenant was about to speak. "That weighed absolutely nothing
with me. Indeed, they may be considered to be well matched in that
respect. If the war is decided in favour of King William, Claire will be
a rich heiress. If, on the other hand, your cause triumph, you will
regain your confiscated estates, while we shall lose ours. So that there
is, I consider, no inequality whatever in their position. The difficulty,
of course, to which I allude is their religion. This is naturally a grave
obstacle, and I fear that my husband will regard it as such, even more
strongly than I do. He is, however, extremely attached to Claire, and
will, I feel sure, when he sees that her happiness is at stake, come
round to my views of the matter.

"There are," she said with a smile, "Catholics and Catholics, just as
there are Protestants and Protestants. I would rather see Claire in her