CHAPTER XIV
The afternoon following the race the Castle guests returned to town, Lord Standon amongst them, and as that light-hearted gentleman departed without making any formal proposal for the hand of his young ward, Lord Barminster was greatly puzzled.
All that day he had watched Lady Constance with an unceasing vigilance, of which, fortunately, she was unaware; but he could detect no traces of affection in her intercourse with Lord Standon, nor could he find any reason for his son's despair. Like a wise man, however, he made no reference whatever to the conversation of the preceding night, for which Adrien was exceedingly grateful, as he felt ashamed of having exposed his real feelings, even to his father.
Instead, therefore, Lord Barminster endeavoured to find out the true state of the case from his sister Penelope.
That lady, disturbed from her afternoon slumber, was inclined to be testy. As far as she was concerned, she was very much against the idea of Constance marrying any one, for the girl's presence saved her a great deal of trouble in many ways; the consultations with the housekeeper, the choosing of books, the writing of invitations, these and a hundred other trifles which in the event of Constance's marriage would be shifted back on to her own shoulders.
Naturally, therefore, she considered the suitor who would be less likely to inconvenience her; and he, of course, was Adrien. For if he married Constance, there would be, at least, some time during the year in which she would be at Barminster, and leave Miss Penelope free to resume the novel reading of which she was so inordinately fond. She scoffed, therefore, at any likelihood of Lord Standon's suit, and flatly refused to believe a word of it.
Meanwhile, Adrien was in a state of restless excitement, for which he himself could scarcely account, and accordingly he determined to return to London next day.
That night they were a family party of four, and Lady Constance noticed that her guardian's manner was considerably more cheerful than was its wont, and that during dinner he glanced with even more affection than usual at the handsome face of his only son. Afterwards, when the old man had returned to his own apartments, Adrien found his cousin in the silver drawing-room, with Miss Penelope. The latter had taken up her latest novel, and was devouring it with rapt attention.
Lady Constance, with a smile, beckoned to her cousin and made room for him beside her on the Chesterfield. He sank down with a sigh of content.
"You leave us to-morrow then?" she began, in a tone of calm inquiry.
He was filled with an insane longing to seize her in his arms, and cover her face with kisses; but he restrained himself, though he bent nearer to her as he said in a low voice:
"Yes, I am going back to try and put my affairs in better order. My father has been pulling me up--quite rightly, of course. I ought to have seen to these things before. I am afraid I have not been a good son to him."
"You do not see him very often, do you?" said Lady Constance, who knew to a day how often Adrien had visited the Castle during the last twelve months, during which she herself had sighed for his absence.
"No," he admitted. "I always seem to have so many engagements; but now I am going to try a new mode of life--thanks to your words."
"My words?" echoed Lady Constance, in genuine surprise. "I thought you said uncle had been speaking to you."
"Yes," he agreed. "But it was what you said to me during our ride that decided me really--about the tenants, and all that."
"You must not listen to all my complaints," she said, smilingly. "I am proud of the Barminster estates, naturally; and I cannot bear that they should be inferior to those of our neighbour----"
"Who is that?" he inquired quickly.
"Why, Lord Standon, of course," was the calm reply.
He started at the sound of the name of one he deemed his rival. The jealous blood rushed to his face and his heart beat fast.
"Naturally," he said, in tones as quiet as he could make them, "you would compare all estates with his--now!"
With womanly intuition she saw his meaning, but did not choose to dispel his suspicions just then. Not that she was a coquette or flirt, for she loved this man with all the strength of her being; but, on the other hand, she knew, or thought she knew, his disposition only too well, and she feared to yield to her natural inclinations, which were to allow him to see that he had only to speak, and she was ready and willing to listen. Instead, therefore, she merely said lightly:
"Yes, he makes a good landlord, for all he declares to the contrary. Then, too, he has a capable agent."
"Like Jasper," put in her companion, trying to keep his eyes away from her pretty, vivacious face.
Lady Constance was silent. However much she might dislike and distrust Vermont, she never expressed her opinion of him to Adrien. She therefore turned the subject quickly by inquiring after the next race.
"'The Brigades'--in two months' time," he replied.
"The 'King' will run, I suppose?" she asked.
"Yes, and I shall ride him," said Adrien quietly. "After an accident such as has occurred, none shall ride him save myself; then if anything should happen----"
"Ah! no! no!" cried Lady Constance, her face paling, and her blue eyes full of alarm; "you mustn't!--you shan't!" She stopped short. "I mean," she went on, speaking more quietly, "you must think what it would be--to your father--and auntie----"
"And you," he said eagerly, catching at her hands. "Would you care, too?"
She gently drew her fingers from his grasp.
"Of course I should," she replied, in her usual quiet tones. "Am I not a sort of cousin?"
"Constance," he broke in passionately, "I have no right to speak to you, I know; but tell me just this, if--if----"
Alas! for Adrien. Alas! for poor Lady Constance. The book in Miss Penelope's hand had slid quickly from her grasp, as she sat dozing near the fire-place. At this, the most critical moment, it came with a sudden crash to the floor, and Miss Penelope opened her eyes, and sat up briskly.
Nothing more could be said under the circumstances, and Adrien was perforce obliged to spend the evening as best he might, turning over the pages of his cousin's music, and watching her with longing, ardent eyes; while Miss Penelope sat near by, tactlessly wide awake.
Presently she glanced up.
"Adrien, did you ask your father about the ball?" she asked.
Her nephew looked abashed. Truth to tell, he had completely forgotten it.
"No," he admitted candidly, "I did not. But forgive me, this time; I will ask him to-night."
A little later the ladies rose to retire.
"Good-night, my dear boy," said Miss Penelope, gathering up her precious book and chocolates. "You go to town to-morrow? Oh, then, I shall not see you again. Good-bye; and don't forget about the ball."
Adrien held the door open for her, and she passed out; then he closed it again.
"Good-night, Constance," he said, gazing longingly into his cousin's face.
"Good-night," she said, giving him her hand. "Good-night, and a pleasant journey."
"Will you not wish me a speedy return?"
"That might be an ill wish," she answered lightly--"if you did not care to come."
"You know I do," he whispered, and he raised her fingers to his lips.
With a vivid blush, Lady Constance withdrew her hand from his grasp, and left the room. Going straight up to her own apartment, she flung herself on her knees. The kiss he had impressed on her fingers seemed to burn them; the sound of his voice rang in her ears; yet, with a strength of mind extraordinary in a girl so young, she put away the sweetness of his half-formed declaration, hoping that his journey to town meant the cutting free of all entanglements, and the settling of his affairs.
Early the following morning, the sound of a motor, and the barking of dogs, brought Lady Constance to her window; below her was Adrien, followed by a servant with the travelling case, which was placed beside the chauffeur.
Adrien had already entered the car, and was about to have it set in motion, when a sudden idea seemed to strike him, and he glanced up at Lady Constance's window. Seeing this, she opened the casement and stood framed by the surrounding greenery.
Adrien waved his hand to her; then, hastily scribbling something in a note-book, he tore the page out, and evidently despatched it by one of the waiting servants.
She watched every movement, with eyes shining with eagerness, and could have cried bitterly at the thought of his absence. She knew, too, that she was playing a dangerous game, when she allowed him to return to town, his passion still undeclared; yet she felt that this was the only means of holding his affections; for she was a firm believer in the adage--"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." She sighed deeply, however, as with a parting wave of his hand, and bareheaded, Adrien was rapidly driven away.
A few minutes later the servant brought her the hastily written note. It was only a scrap of paper, and unfolding it, she read the two lines:
"My father grants us the ball. We will make it an eventful one.--ADRIEN."
Her face glowed. "We will, indeed," she murmured. "It is a high stake I play for; but it is worth the struggle. Heaven grant me his whole heart! I ask nothing else."
Carefully locking the scrap of paper away, she descended into the morning-room, where Lord Barminster was already seated at the breakfast-table. His grim face softened at the entry of the girl he had always looked upon as a daughter, and loved even more intensely--if that were possible--now that he meant to win her for his son's bride.
"So Adrien has left us again?" he began, as she poured out his coffee.
She flushed slightly at his significant tones.
"Yes," she replied. "Uncle, thank you so much for letting us have the ball----"
"Nonsense, my dear" he returned. "Adrien told me you wanted it, and that was sufficient. Why didn't you ask me yourself? Have I been such a cruel guardian?"
"No, no," she cried, and coming round to him impulsively, she pressed her lips to his forehead. "You've been the dearest uncle in the world. Indeed, no father could have been better."
He smiled at her earnestness.
"I've done my best, my dear, though I admit I'd like you for my very own daughter-in-law."
Lady Constance blushed scarlet. This was carrying the war into the enemy's camp with a vengeance.
"'Nobody axed me, sir, she said,'" she sang gaily.
"Ah, but whose fault is that?" asked Lord Barminster, pleased that she had not refused to discuss the question.
"Please, Uncle Philip," she said, with a sudden quiver in her voice, "I'd rather not talk about it--if you don't mind."
"Quite right, my dear," replied Lord Barminster, patting her hand reassuringly.
For a few minutes there was silence. His lordship drank his coffee, while his companion stared dreamily through the window at the magnificent view of park and woods. The old man was the first to speak.
"We shall miss Lord Standon," he said, with a meaning glance at her.
Lady Constance looked up with a start; then, as she realised the significance of this simple statement, she smiled. She knew she could trust her uncle not to betray her woman's secret; and, though she had no scruple in using Lord Standon as a means to spur on Adrien, she would not allow the old man to be worried unnecessarily by doubts of her fidelity to his beloved son.
"Yes," she answered, quietly. "But he only came down for the race; and I daresay he was anxious to rejoin his fiancée."
It was her uncle's turn to start, and his intense surprise told Lady Constance only too well that her speculations were correct. Adrien had believed her in love with Lord Standon, and his father had undertaken to find out the truth. She was not afraid of Adrien's being undeceived now; for, even if Lord Barminster wrote--which was very unlikely--the spur would have done its work.
"I did not know he was engaged," the old man exclaimed.
"No, the news has not been made public; but he told me in confidence," Lady Constance returned calmly, as she rose from the breakfast-table. Then, having seen her companion installed with his newspaper, she passed out to the terrace.
To the astonishment of every one in Barminster Castle, some few hours later, Mr. Vermont reappeared.
In his turn he seemed quite as surprised when he learned that Leroy had already returned to London.
"Gone," he echoed, "just a few hours ago? Dear! dear! I must have missed him by telling my chauffeur to take the road across the moor."
He entered the Castle while he was speaking, and the servants hastened to learn his commands; for, next to the sun, there is nothing better than the moon--next to the Hon. Adrien came his friend and agent, Mr. Jasper Vermont. But Jasper waved them amiably aside, as he entered the dining-room.
"You would like some luncheon, sir?" inquired the butler, coming forward respectfully.
Jasper nodded.
"Just a snack, Judson. Don't put yourselves out for me, I'm off again directly."
While the estimable Judson went off to get this snack--which resolved itself into an exquisitely-laid lunch--Mr. Vermont dropped into a chair, and surveyed the scene through the open window. Strange to say, his thoughts seemed to run similarly to those of Lady Constance, earlier in the day; for he exclaimed under his breath:
"It's a large stake, worth playing for. Awkward my missing him." He smoothed out a pile of deeds and documents and replaced them in his leather bag. "He would have signed these without a word here; at his chambers, he'll amuse himself by reading them, confound it!"
A rustle of silken skirts attracted his attention; the scowl vanished, and he readjusted his smiling mask as the door opened and Lady Constance entered the room.
She had been informed of his sudden arrival; and, though heartily disliking him, she was yet bound to play the part of hostess while her aunt was resting.
Mr. Vermont bowed low over her extended hand, as over that of an empress.
"I hope your ladyship is well?" he asked.
"Quite, thank you, Mr. Vermont," she said with cold indifference. "I suppose you have come down to see Adrien? He started for London before breakfast this very morning."
"So I have just heard," he returned sweetly.
"I am not greatly surprised, as Lady Merivale was asking after him last night. I expect she summoned him."
The girl's face paled ever so slightly, though she strove to give no sign that his shaft had hit home. Adrien had received a letter that morning, as she knew, one having been brought up to her by mistake.
"Very likely," she said imperturbably. "I daresay he had to attend to some business too."
"Adrien is very changeable," Vermont said reflectively, "one can never count on his movements; following him is like wild duck shooting, down the river on Monday, and up the Fens on Tuesday. I'm sorry I missed him, though, for I have several papers which he must see."
Lady Constance tried to appear sympathetic.
"It is a pity you weren't earlier," she said with a smile. "Still, I daresay you know where to find him."
"Oh, yes," returned Mr. Vermont, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, as he aimed his second shaft. "He will be either with Miss Lester or her ladyship; he fluctuates between these two points of happiness as a rule."
Lady Constance did not appear perturbed in any way by this news.
"Lady Merivale is a charming woman," she said briefly. "But who is Miss Lester?"
"She is also a charming woman," was the smooth reply; "but with the difference that she is unattached--save to the theatre."
"Oh! an actress!" exclaimed his companion with patrician contempt. "That reminds me," she continued. "What is your last success at the Casket?"
"My success," echoed Mr. Vermont, with an air of pained astonishment.
"Yes, are you not the manager of that building?" she asked simply.
He bowed and smiled.
"No, Lady Constance," he said. "I fear the world gives me too much credit. I have nothing to do with this whim of Adrien's save to pay out the salaries for the company. The management is his--or rather, perhaps, I should say, Miss Lester's; and I am not answerable for its failure or its successes. I believe, too, he is about to give the whole place to Miss Lester."
Lady Constance started almost unconsciously, and Jasper knew that his words had hit home at last.
"I am sure you do your best to help him," she said, after a moment's pause.
"You are most kind," he returned with a bow and an ironic smile. "I trust you will let me prove my friendship both to Adrien and yourself."