They 'll go lovering around the house , and we shall have to dodge . Meg will be absorbed and no good to me any more . Brooke will scratch up a fortune somehow , carry her off , and make a hole in the family , and I shall break my heart , and everything will be abominably uncomfortable . Oh , dear me ! Why were n't we all boys , then there would n't be any bother . '' Jo leaned her chin on her knees in a disconsolate attitude and shook her fist at the reprehensible John . Mrs. March sighed , and Jo looked up with an air of relief . `` You do n't like it , Mother ? I 'm glad of it . Let 's send him about his business , and not tell Meg a word of it , but all be happy together as we always have been . '' `` I did wrong to sigh , Jo . It is natural and right you should all go to homes of your own in time , but I do want to keep my girls as long as I can , and I am sorry that this happened so soon , for Meg is only seventeen and it will be some years before John can make a home for her . Your father and I have agreed that she shall not bind herself in any way , nor be married , before twenty . If she and John love one another , they can wait , and test the love by doing so . She is conscientious , and I have no fear of her treating him unkindly . My pretty , tender hearted girl ! I hope things will go happily with her . '' `` Had n't you rather have her marry a rich man ? '' asked Jo , as her mother 's voice faltered a little over the last words . `` Money is a good and useful thing , Jo , and I hope my girls will never feel the need of it too bitterly , nor be tempted by too much .
I should like to know that John was firmly established in some good business , which gave him an income large enough to keep free from debt and make XXXXX comfortable .
Brooke Jo John Meg Mother attitude chin family fist right