"Well, you owe it to me, Virginia," he cried with enthusiasm, "for mine isn"t worth a bra.s.s farthing at this moment. I knew before I had been at Grey Tor twenty-four hours that it was going to be knocked into smithereens, but I hadn"t the pluck to take it or myself out of harm"s way. Now we are both done for!"
"Which do you prefer?" I asked,"your old motor or me?"
"You, with a new one," he answered unblushingly. "We"ll take our wedding journey in it, shall we? Early this autumn would be a good time."
"And mamma and Cecilia and Mrs. MacGill can follow behind with Greytoria."
"I don"t mind their trying to follow," Archibald responded genially, as he lighted his pipe, "so long as they never catch up; and they never will--not with that little brute!"