"
Up rose Mistress Betty, her slender form trembling with indignation, her
eyes flashing, and her cheeks scarlet.--
"I would to God," she cried passionately, "that my father could hear you
insult his child, his country, and his cause. There is no need for you
to ask his consent to my marriage with Captain Yorke, for here, this
moment, I promptly decline any alliance which possesses the advantages
you so feelingly describe."
"Betty, Betty "--Gulian saw his mistake, but it was too late; on rushed
the torrent of her indignation.
"I wish you--and him--to understand that Betty Wolcott is heart and soul
with her 'misguided relatives' in rebellion against British rule; that
nothing--no, nothing, would induce her to wed an enemy to her country."
"Nothing, Betty?" said a manly voice behind her, as Yorke himself
crossed the threshold, where for the last few seconds he had been an
angry listener to Gulian's blunders. "Surely you will grant me a moment
to plead on my own behalf?"
"And wherefore?" cried Betty. "You sent your message by him," with a
scornful wave of her hand toward Gulian's retreating figure; "through
him, then, receive my reply.
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