A light shone in the dark eyes for a moment, then faded out again, and left the handsome face grave and moody.
“I think she will consent—in fact, I am sure she will.” He leaned forward on his elbow, and whispered the ensuing words insidiously: “She must be made to!”
“Made to?”
“Yes. Tut, tut, don’t look so black. Moral force, not physical, my dear Percy, is what I mean. Listen to me. I think you will admit that, up to now, my judgment has been pretty correct, and that I didn’t start you on a wild-goose chase that morning in Soho, when I offered to give you a beautiful wife, and make your fortune. Eh, my dear Percy? Well, I’ll finish what I began, and here is my little plan. Do you know Pescia?”
Percy Levant nodded.
“A charming little place, my dear Percy. So quiet and secluded, and so much healthier than Florence. Now, if I were a medical man I should say that Miss Doris wanted a change, and that no place, within even easy distance, could be more suitable than Pescia. Though I am not a doctor, I think I shall venture to suggest to Lady Despard that she and Doris go there for a few weeks.”
Percy Levant listened intently, his brilliant eyes covered by their long, dark lashes, so that Spenser Churchill could not see the expression that gleamed in them.
“Well, they go to Pescia, and you, of course, with them. You are there, say, a fortnight or three weeks, when I write to offer you an engagement at a large salary, in Australia.”
Percy Levant did not move a muscle.
“It is a most tempting offer, but, alas! poor as you are, you cannot bring yourself to leave your ladylove for years, perhaps forever, as the song says. And what so natural and reasonable as the suggestion that you should marry her, and take her out with you? At first, she will hesitate—oh! yes, certainly she will hesitate—but I think—” with a smile, “I think I do not over-estimate your powers of persuasion when I say that I am convinced you will overcome her reluctance to so hasty a marriage. There is a charming little English church in Pescia—most charming!—the very church for a quiet wedding. A quiet wedding, mark me, my dear Percy! You see! Come admit that I am as thoughtful on your behalf as even a parent could be!” and he laughed unctuously.