Sam remained a few minutes behind; it was only to ask Annie if she still thought marriages as foolish as she had always declared them to be.
"Twenty times worse," said she, "they are not only foolish but sad, and I shall consider myself particularly fortunate when this miserable day is fairly over."
"What do you consider the worst part of the affair," enquired he, still lingering.
"Oh the leave takings," said Annie hastily, "if Elizabeth had never married you would all have stayed on here waiting for it, and we have been so happy for this last week. Now you are going, and you must take Emma too!"
"And will you give me leave to flatter myself that you are sorry at my going."
"I dare say you would not wait for my leave; men always take it for granted that women sit down and cry when they leave them," said she saucily.
"I should certainly entertain no such expectation Miss Millar; I am aware my profession renders me too unpleasant in your eyes for you to do otherwise than rejoice at my departure."
"Upon my word you make me out to be a very rational young woman," replied she; "when did I ever find fault with your profession, or express a wish that you were other than what you are? Because I should never have chosen the surgical profession myself is that any reason that I should detest a man who did—or so long as you do not exercise your skill on me, or in my presence, do you imagine I object to your exhibiting it elsewhere?"
"I had much rather you should detest my profession than consider it with indifference, Miss Millar."
She only looked down and blushed, then holding out her hand, said in a hurried manner,
"Good bye, I must go!" and left him, to his great disappointment.
If Sam felt discouraged by this sudden termination to his interview, the feeling lasted no longer than till the receipt of Annie's first letter to his sister after they were settled at Chichester; for there the allusions and reminiscences were of a most flattering kind, and the frequent mention of his name, and the manner in which it was introduced gave him very great pleasure.
Emma became reconciled to Penelope's marriage when she saw how well she was suited to her situation in life, and though she did not greatly admire her brother-in-law, he was so very superior to Tom Musgrove, that she thought her sister quite fortunate in comparison with Margaret. To forget everything that had passed of an unpleasant nature previous to her marriage was the wisest source which her friends could adopt; and it is so exceedingly common that there should be something which requires forgetting, that if the relatives of all married couples acted in the same way, there would be a great deal more of unity in the world than at present.