You've had your turn of him; it
is time he should come and be a man again.'
Mr. Audley was dizzy with consternation. Fernando was no child. He
was full sixteen, and he was so far recovered that his health formed
no reason for detaining him. If he chose to go with his uncle, he
_must_. If not--what then? He looked at Fernando, who sat uneasily.
'You hear what your uncle says?' he asked.
'I told him,' said Fernando, 'I must wait for a fortnight.' He spoke
with eyes cast down, but not irresolutely.
His uncle broke out--He knew what that meant; it was only that he
might be flattered by the Bishop and all the ladies, and made a
greater fool of than ever. No, no, he must be out again by May, and
he should just have time to take Fernan to one of the gay boarding-
houses at Saratoga, and leave him there to enjoy himself.
'I have letters from my father,' said Fernando, looking up to Mr.
Audley, 'before he went to Oregon. He said nothing.'
'Do you wish to stay?' said Mr. Audley, feeling that all depended on
that, and trying to hide the whirl of anxiety and disappointment he
felt.
The answer was not what he expected. Fernando sat upright in his
chair, looked up to him and then at his uncle, and said low but
resolutely, 'I will stay.
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