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 "But Robert is my cousin, Matthew."

"Which does not lessen our responsibility in Ruth's case. Should she marry out of meeting or against our wishes, what will the elders say of me, of us, as guides in our household? She is yet a child and must obey as a child, and what she may have said to John Bishop is not binding upon her." And Matthew walked to and fro across the kitchen floor, with his hands clasped behind his back.

"She may hold her words binding, Matthew, and I believe she will."

"Have I, then, no authority in my own household?" asked Matthew of his wife, standing near and looking intently at her.

Anne Watson knew when silence was golden, and made no reply.