Page:Wildwildheart00reesiala.pdf/252

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

XIV

Vera

1.

Waring had been away for nearly a fortnight when Ann received a letter from him.

“It depends on you whether I return to Wairiri or not,” he wrote. “I’m quite aware that you’ve already refused me on three different occasions. I’m trying once more—the fourth and last time. Don’t answer for a day or two. Please think it over. As my wife you can choose whether you would live in New Zealand or in England. You can travel or do anything else you please. Money isn’t to be despised. It oils the wheels of life considerably, believe me. And I’m not a bad sort of chap, as men go, and not difficult to live with. I'm neither unreasonable, nor fussy, nor bad-tempered. These may be minor virtues, but I imagine that they are not without value in a husband. This isn’t a love letter. It’s a business offer. You’re a business woman. Think it over. If you decide that you want to live at Kopu—which you’ve never seen, but which, if you like the country, you’d find one of the most attractive spots on the coast—I will reserve the homestead and part of the place. If you don’t want to live there the Government can take over the

246

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.