"And when do you think, you will have this tournament?"
"In about a fortnight,—or three weeks. First of all, I must go round, and look up my friends; and as soon as I have put the house in order, and reported myself to my people in the village, and had the Rectory people up to dinner, you and I will sally forth, and pay a round of calls."
Nancy had been given a delightful bedroom; it faced due south, her windows commanded the park, the shining river, a far-away distant blur of hills, immediately below lay the velvet lawns, and wide grassy walks, under rose-shaded pergolas. The whole place, seemed to be enveloped in an atmosphere of peace and good-will. "Only for one thing," she said to herself, "how very very happy I should be here!"
The afternoon when Nancy and her friend set forth in a new motor to pay a round of visits, the old lady said, "My first, must be to Richard Mayne; my old friend met with an accident a couple of months ago, and has been laid up ever since. I believe he is a shocking patient, impossible to keep indoors."
As they sped noiselessly along, she continued to talk about him. "He has been a widower for fifteen years,—his wife was always a delicate creature. She had a good deal of money,—which as they have no family, goes back to her relations. The Maynes,—the real name was Delamaine, but a Puritan ancestor chopped it up—the Maynes, have always been spendthrifts, and compelled to marry money! The property, has dwindled down to about a thousand acres, thanks to Mayne's ancestors' rage for gambling. It is said, that when they could find no other method, they used to race worms upon a deal table! The table is still exhibited at Maynesfort, and I have an idea, that the old gentleman is quite proud of it. If it were my property,—it would have been burnt long ago."
Maynesfort was ten miles from Newenham,—a distance soon covered by Mrs. De Wolfe's new "Rolls-Royce." As they turned into the gates, she said to Nancy, "You see it is a fine old place, and well kept up. It's a sort of estate, which having a great deal of wood, and vast gardens, and no fat farms, more or less eats its head off! Derek Mayne is bound to marry money, and I must say this,—that whoever he does marry, will be a lucky girl!"
Old Mr. Mayne, supported by a nurse, received the two ladies in the library: he was able to rise and hobble towards them, leaning upon a stick,—and offered his friend a most affectionate welcome.
"Well Elizabeth!" he said, "I'm delighted to see you, it's a good sight for old eyes," shaking her by the hand. "This time, I hope, you have come home to stay."
"Oh, I make no rash promises," she answered with a laugh. "Now, Richard, please sit down—and don't do company manners for us. This is my young friend, Miss Travers," she added, presenting Nancy.
"Oh yes, Miss Travers,—I have heard of you before. Was it not to you, that my old friend Fletcher left his property?"