“Lady Elaine will not be coerced into anything, and it was a mistake to bring her here at all. Your suggestion of compelling her to suitably respond to the marriage lines must only be adopted as a last desperate resort. I do not even wish to hear you hint at the means to be employed at present, because, independently of what the marriage means to me, I honestly love the earl’s daughter.”
Lady Gaynor laughed doubtfully.
“Now,” continued Rivington, without deigning to notice the interruption, “for the present I shall assume active control of affairs, and Lady Elaine will be permitted to follow her own devices. I shall even advise her to hasten her departure, and constitute myself her guide and protector. Apparently you and I will be upon very bad terms. In this way I shall enlist her confidence, and also keep her in sight. If my plan fails, well, then we must have recourse to something which requires the nerve of a bad woman to formulate and successfully accomplish.”
“Thank you!” said Lady Gaynor.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE VISCOUNT’S SCHEME.
Rivington scribbled the following in his notebook, and for a minute reflected intently:
My Dear Lady Elaine—I have just reached here to learn that there has been some unpleasantness between you and Lady Gaynor. She evidently imagined that I should sanction any course she was pleased to take, but has been woefully disappointed. I quite agree with you that the Lodge cannot longer be your home, and my active advice, if required, is at your service. If you will see me for a few minutes I shall be happy to assist you to the utmost of my limited powers, without in the last interfering with your freedom of thought and action.
Very sincerely yours,
Henry Rivington.
He tore the leaf containing the message out of his notebook, and handed it to Lady Gaynor to read, remarking: