George had been proved by Fortune's touchstone, and
her Ladyship had chosen him for her smile. He had won the long odds.
What remains to be told is simply the denouement of my own affairs.
* * * * *
At the time of my transaction with Wentworth I said nothing to Bettina
about the sale of my title and estates, but when I heard that our friends
were safe and happy in France, I went down to the Old Swan, with more
fear than I should have thought possible, to broach a certain matter,
which was very near my heart, to Betty and her father.
I knew that in so far as Betty herself was concerned, I should find no
trouble, but I also knew that I might find difficulty in persuading her
to leave her father, for duty was a tremendous word in Betty's
vocabulary.
When I reached the Old Swan, policy and fear each told me that it
would be safer to attack Betty and her father separately. The odds of
two against one, in this case, I feared would be too great for me to
overcome. So I led Betty to her parlor,--rather she led me,--and after a
preliminary skirmish, I told her I had come to see her on a most
important piece of business.
"I'm glad to see you, whatever brings you, Baron Ned," she answered,
smoothing out her skirts in anticipation of an interesting budget of
news.
"But I'm no longer 'Baron Ned,' Betty," I informed her.
She asked a hundred questions with her eyes and eyebrows, and I hastily
answered them by telling of the sale to Wentworth.
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