26
THE FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES OF MOLL FLANDERS
'tis plain, and pretty rough too.' 'Well, but', says the mother, 'you talk of conditions that you cannot grant; what does she want—a settlement? Her jointure ought to be according to her portion; what does she bring?' 'Nay, as to fortune', says Robin, 'she is rich enough; I am satisfied in that point; but 'tis I that am not able to come up to her terms, and she is positive she will not have me without.'
Here the sisters put in. 'Madam', says the second sister, ''tis impossible to be serious with him; he will never give a direct answer to anything; you had better let him alone, and talk no more of it; you know how to dispose of her out of his way.' Robin was a little warmed with his sister's rudeness, but he was even with her presently. 'There are two sorts of people, madam', says he, turning to his mother, 'that there is no contending with; that is, a wise body and a fool; 'tis a little hard I should engage with both of them together.'
The younger sister then put in. 'We must be fools indeed', says she, 'in my brother's opinion, that he should make us believe he has seriously asked Mrs Betty to marry him, and she has refused him.'
'Answer, and answer not, says Solomon' replied her brother. 'When your brother had said that he had asked her no less than five times, and that she positively denied him, methinks a younger sister need not question the truth of it, when her mother did not.' 'My mother, you see, did not understand it' says the second sister. 'There's some difference', says Robin, 'between desiring me to explain it, and telling me she did not believe it.'
'Well, but, son', says the old lady, 'if you are disposed to let us into the mystery of it, what were those hard conditions?' 'Yes, madam', says Robin, 'I had done it before now, if the teasers here had not worried me by way of interruption. The conditions are, that I bring my father and you to consent to it, and without that she protests she will never see me more upon that head; and the conditions, as I said, I suppose I shall never be able to grant. I hope my warm sisters will be answered now, and blush a little.'
This answer was surprising to them all, though less to the mother, because of what I had said to her. As to the daughters, they stood mute a great while; but the mother said, with some passion, 'Well, I heard this before, but I could not believe it; but if it is so, then we have all done Betty wrong, and she has behaved better than I expected.' 'Nay', says the eldest sister, 'if it is so, she has acted handsomely indeed.' 'I confess', says the mother, 'it was none of her fault, if he was enough fool to take a fancy to her; but to give such an answer to him, shows more respect to us than I can tell how to express; I shall value the girl the better for it, as long as I know her.' 'But I shall not', says Robin, 'unless you will give your consent.' 'I'll consider of that awhile' says the mother; 'I assure you, if there were not some other objections, this conduct of hers would go a great way to bring me to consent.' 'I wish it would go quite through with it', says Robin; 'if you had as much thought about making me easy as you have about making me rich, you would soon consent to it.'
'Why, Robin', says the mother again, 'are you really in earnest? Would you fain have her?' 'Really, madam', says Robin, 'I think 'tis hard you should question me again upon that head. I won't say that I will have her. How can I resolve that point, when you see I cannot have her without
