She was silent.
"Where are you to sleep?" repeated the captain. "The reply is
obvious--under my roof. Mrs. Wragge will be charmed to see you. Look
upon her as your aunt; pray look upon her as your aunt. The landlady is
a widow, the house is close by, there are no other lodgers, and there
is a bedroom to let. Can anything be more satisfactory, under all the
circumstances? Pray observe, I say nothing about to-morrow--I leave
to-morrow to you, and confine myself exclusively to the night. I may,
or may not, command theatrical facilities, which I am in a position to
offer you. Sympathy and admiration may, or may not, be strong within me,
when I contemplate the dash and independence of your character. Hosts
of examples of bright stars of the British drama, who have begun their
apprenticeship to the stage as you are beginning yours, may, or may not,
crowd on my memory. These are topics for the future. For the present,
I confine myself within my strict range of duty. We are within five
minutes' walk of my present address. Allow me to offer you my arm. No?
You hesitate? You distrust me? Good heavens! is it possible you can have
heard anything to my disadvantage?"
"Quite possible," said Magdalen, without a moment's flinching from the
answer.
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