This was
evident now as she waived her young son's affairs.
"It is not Dent that I have been thinking of this morning," she
repeated. "Why is it not you that come to tell me of your
engagement? Why have you not set Dent an example as to the kind of
woman he ought to marry? How many more years must he and I wait?"
They were seated opposite each other. He was ready for riding out
on the farm, his hat on his crossed knees, gloves and whip in hand.
Her heart yearned over him as he pulled at his gloves, his head
dropped forward so that his face was hidden.
"Now that the subject has come up in this unexpected way, I want to
tell you how long I have wished to see you married. I have never
spoken because my idea is that a mother should not advise unless
she believes it necessary. And in your case it has not been
necessary. I have known your choice, and long before it became
yours, it became mine. She is my ideal among them all. I know
women, Rowan, and I know she is worthy of you and I could not say
more. She is-high-minded and that quality is so rare in either
sex. Without it what is any wife worth to a high-minded man? And
I have watched her. With all her pride and modesty I have
discovered her secret--she loves you. Then why have you waited?
Why do you still wait?"
He did not answer and she continued with deeper feeling:
"Life is so uncertain to all of us and of course to me! I want to
see you wedded to her, see her brought here as mistress of this
house, and live to hear the laughter of your children.
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