"Oh, the ayah allows her to go her own way now; she can't control her," confessed her cousin.
"No, nor anyone else," muttered Shafto. "Look here," he added suddenly, "I'll tell you something, Phil. That child is going to be a beauty."
"Nonsense—not she. You are mad about beauty," rejoined his friend contemptuously.
"Yes, she is, and something out of the ordinary, too, if I am any judge. This, I imagine, will complicate matters. Oh, my poor old boy, I wouldn't be in your shoes for a thousand pounds!"
CHAPTER XII
ANGEL IMPARTS A SECRET
It was the evening before Angel's departure for England. Her luggage was carefully labelled, her roll of wraps was strapped, all arrangements were complete. She was to travel under the neatly trimmed wing of Mrs. Dawson, leaving Ramghur at dawn. Gascoigne had intended accompanying his charge to Bombay, but duty could not spare him—no, not even to escort her to the railway station; he had just received an urgent telegram which called him away that night, and had walked over to take leave of Angel, followed by the three. They were all pacing up and down Colonel Wilkinson's desolate verandah, the man and child side by side, the dogs in close attendance. It was a cool evening in the rains, and the sun had recently set in a blaze of dramatic magnificence.
"Now, Angel," said the young man after a short silence, "you are going to be a credit to me, I know."
"Yes, I am," she answered with superb self-confidence; "I'll do anything you like, only tell me what I am to do."
"Think three times before you speak," he suggested.