“I don’t want to elope! I want to marry Orestes.”

“Hasty again,” said Menelaus. “You should elope first. Your mother says you should, though she fears you won’t.”

“My mother wants me to elope?” said Hermione. “Why?”

“I believe the idea is that sooner or later one elopes, and your mother, having tried it later, thinks it had better be sooner. Enough of that. Would you like to see Pyrrhus for a few days?”

“Who’s Pyrrhus?”

“You know—Achilles’ son.”

“Why should I want to see him for a few days?”

“It would be good for you—for your acquaintance with the world at large. Pyrrhus is the cure for your sheltered life. If our high opinion of you is justified, you would fall in love with him.”

“I’m already in love with Orestes, father!”

“Then you might elope with Pyrrhus, discover your mistake, and marry Orestes afterwards.”

“I don’t think this is funny,” said Hermione. “I’m rather hurt. May I go?”

“No, daughter, you mayn’t. Come back here and sit down again. Help me to collect my wits. I’ve been talking with your mother about you and Orestes, and I’m rather worried. She fears he isn’t the right one for you, after all, and I dare say we ought to think the matter over. Your mother’s ideas she’ll probably lay before you herself; I’ve merely sketched them in outline. For myself, I approve of Orestes, and you and I understand each other well enough to discuss him without reserve, and I hope, without excitement. Tell me what sort of a man he’s grown to be.”

“He’s rather tall—really very good-looking,” said Hermione, “and he has a winning personality. I don’t think it’s my partiality—I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“Of course,” said Menelaus. “Leave his charms and come to his virtues. What sort of temperament has he—character, and all that?”

“He’s very thoughtful,” said Hermione, “if anything, a bit too serious, but it’s what you’d call a good fault. He’s much more introspective than you’d expect a young man to be, and he has a profound sense of duty. I feel quite frivolous when I’m with him. He’s much too good for me.”

“I doubt that last statement,” said Menelaus. “See here, Hermione, that account of him is all very well for me, but don’t give it to your mother. You’d better describe his wilder side when you talk to her—his faults. What are some of his worst?”

“He hasn’t—well, I won’t say he hasn’t any, since every human being has some, but he’s so kind and considerate to me, so devoted to his parents, so careful to guard my reputation and his own, that I don’t see where you could find a bad fault in him.”

“He’s clearly a remarkable youth,” said Menelaus, “but I can tell you now, your mother will never approve of him. You must choose eventually between your mother and Orestes.”

“I choose Orestes now,” said Hermione.

“I’ll stand by you,” said Menelaus, “but I’m not sure your mother won’t have her way. Did I understand that he’s devoted to his parents?”