The designs of other women had been patent to him, and he had been invincible to all attack; but here was a girl who, with her friendly little fortune and her beauty, could marry with no difficulty; who, he had heard, could pick and choose, and had so far rejected all comers; and who, if she had shown preference at all, had shown it for a poor man like Ian Stafford.

She had courage and simplicity and a downright mind; that was clear.

And she was capable.

She had a love for big things, for the things that mattered.

Every word she had ever said to him had understanding, not of the world alone, and of life, but of himself, Rudyard Byng.