Then came Hetta's note, so stiff, so cold, so true,--so like the letter of an Englishwoman, as Mrs. Hurtle said to herself. Mrs. Hurtle smiled as she read the letter. "I make this proposition not thinking that anything you can say to me can change my mind." Of course the girl's mind would be changed. The girl's mind, indeed, required no change. Mrs. Hurtle could see well enough that the girl's heart was set upon the man. Nevertheless she did not doubt but that she could tell the story after such a fashion as to make it impossible that the girl should marry him,--if she chose to do so.

Then came Hetta's note, so stiff, so cold, so true - so like the letter of an Englishwoman, thought Mrs. Hurtle, smiling as she read it. She could see well enough that the girl's heart was still set upon the man. Nevertheless she did not doubt that she could tell the story so as to make it impossible for the girl to marry him - if she chose to do so.
