Given below are six sentences taken from a paragraph. The first and the last sentences are numbered S1 and S2 and are placed in the first and last positions respectively and are fixed in their positions. The other four sentences between the first and last sentences are jumbled up and are numbered A, B, C, and D. Rearrange the jumbled sentences in a logical sequence keeping the unity and coherence of the paragraph intact. Choose the correct alternative that best describes the sequence.
S1. Miss Janet Dalrymple, daughter of the first Lord Stair and Dame Margaret Ross, had engaged herself without the knowledge of her parents to the Lord Rutherford, who was not acceptable to them either on account of his political principles or his want of fortune.
A. The young lady refused the proposal and being pressed on the subject, confessed her secret engagement.
B. Shortly after, a suitor who was favoured by Lord Stair, and still more so by his lady, paid his addresses to Miss Dalrymple.
C. Lady Stair, a woman accustomed to universal submission (for even her husband did not dare to contradict her), treated this objection as a trifle and insisted upon her daughter yielding her consent to marry the new suitor, David Dunbar, son and heir to David Dunbar of Baldoon, in Wigtownshire.
D. The young couple broke a piece of gold together and pledged their troth in the most solemn manner, and it is said the young lady imprecated dreadful evils on herself should she break her plighted faith.
S2. The first lover, a man of very high spirit, then interfered by letter and insisted on the right he had acquired by his troth plighted with the young lady.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
DBAC is the logical sequence of sentences.
S1 (Fixed): Introduces Miss Janet Dalrymple and her secret engagement to Lord Rutherford, whom her parents dislike.
Sentence D: This logically follows S1. It describes the "young couple" (Janet and Rutherford) pledging their faith to each other in secret, which matches the context of the engagement mentioned in S1.
Sentence B: Introduces a new development—a suitor favored by her parents pays his addresses to Janet shortly after.
Sentence A: Janet's reaction to this new proposal. She refuses it and, under pressure, confesses her secret engagement (to Rutherford).
Sentence C: The reaction of Janet's mother, Lady Stair. She dismisses the secret engagement as a "trifle" and insists Janet marry the new suitor (David Dunbar).
S2 (Fixed): Concludes the sequence with the "first lover" (Rutherford) intervening by letter to claim his right based on their previous pledge.