In reply to all his arguments, she pleaded for her poor
brother, whose fate, she added, with tears, depended upon her instant
action.
Now, Mr. Gerzson was a gentleman--every inch of him. He was also
kind-hearted to a fault, and when he beheld the poor woman in despair,
he put an end to the difficulty by saying: "Very well, my lady, then I
will escort you to Pest myself."
At this Hatszegi fairly lost all patience. "Why, what can you be
thinking of?" cried he.
"Your pardon, Leonard, but I suppose you may regard me as old enough and
honourable enough to fill the place of a father to your wife on an
occasion like this! It appears to me that it will never enter anybody's
head to speak slightingly of a lady because she travelled alone with
me."
Good, worthy old man, he was quite proud that no woman could look at his
face without a shudder.
"And then I fancy that there's still quite enough of me left to defend a
woman against anybody, even though it were the devil himself. And I
should advise that worthy Fatia Negra not to show his mug to me, for my
stunted hand does not fire guns as our friend Makkabesku is in the habit
of doing, nor will my bullets be caught like flies, I warrant."
"You will be done out of the horse-racing, all through me," remarked
Henrietta sadly.
"Oh, it does not interest me much. I don't care much about it."
This was not true, but it was all the nicer of the old man to say so.
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