LADY GERALDINE'S COURTSHIP.
235
And she answered, answered gently—"Nay, my lord, the old tradition
Of your Normans, by some worthier hand than mine is, should be won."
"Ah, that white hand!" he said quickly,—and in his he either drew it,
Or attempted—for with gravity and instance she replied—
"Nay, indeed, my lord, this talk is vain, and we had best eschew it,
And pass on, like friends, to other points, less easy to decide."
What he said again, I know not. It is likely that his trouble
Worked his pride up to the surface, for she answered in slow scorn—
"And your lordship judges rightly. Whom I marry, shall be noble,
Ay, and wealthy. I shall never blush to think how he was born."
