I think she would shrink back, for she can know nothing worth mentioning of him.
As to the boy, how do you know that a tour may not be a very fine thing for him?
It must be better than moping at Melcombe under petticoat government; and even if Joe married Laura to-morrow, we could not prevent Mrs.Melcombe from taking him on the Continent whenever she chose." Emily was silent.
"And what made you talk of a runaway match ?" continued John.
"Because she told Giles that the last time she saw Joseph he proposed to her to sneak away, get married before a magistrate, and go off without saying a word to anybody." "Fools," exclaimed John, "both of them! No, we cannot afford to have any runaway matches--and of such a sort too! I should certainly interfere if I thought there was any danger of that." "I hope you would.

He wanted her to propose some scheme.

I think scorn of all scheming.

If she had really meant to marry him, his part should have been to see that she did it in a way that would not make it worse for her afterwards.

He should have told Mrs.Melcombe fairly that she could not prevent it, and he should have taken her to church and married her like a man before plenty of witnesses in the place where she is known.