Why not ask Mrs Montgomery yourself?" she said. "Perhaps I will," said the Doctor. Doctor Sloper was more amused than annoyed by the idea of Mr Townsend courting his daughter. He was quite willing to believe the best of the young man. And if he was a sincere, honest man, it did not matter if he was poor, since Catherine had no need of a rich husband. "The next time he comes," he told Mrs Penniman, you must invite him to dinner.'