At the time when Bella informed Lucia of her engagement, her newly-accepted lover was having a long conversation with her brother-in-law and guardian.

There was no reason why the marriage once arranged should be delayed; on the contrary, everybody was happily agreed in the opinion that it might take place almost immediately.

The conference of the two gentlemen, therefore, passed readily into the region of business, and chiefly concerned dollars and cents.
Mr.Latour, the father of Mrs.Bellairs and Bella, had died rich; all his property in hind, houses, and money was carefully divided between the sisters; and as he had been dead less than two years, very slight changes had taken place during Mr.Bellairs' guardianship.

Bella spoke reasonably enough when she said her fortune would be acceptable to Doctor Morton.

He made no secret of the fact that it would be very acceptable, and Mr.Bellairs--though, for his own part, he would have married his charming Elise with exactly the same eagerness if she had been penniless--was too sensible to be at all displeased with his future brother-in-law's clear and straightforward manner of treating so important a subject.