"You loved her?"
"I saw she cared for him alone, and, when Roger fell, though I had my pistol loaded and levelled, I had no heart to fire. But I was never brave enough to tell you I had let him escape and, having waited too long—oh! well there it is—I waited and could not bear to resume my old life. And indeed, George, I think I have been a happy man. You have conjured up the ghost of Belladine to-night and Belladine was and is and will be miserable to the end of his days, but pray dismiss him, vex not his ghost, and take snuff with Horace Ripple of the Great House, Curtain Wells. We are both too old, George, to do anything now. We must depend on young Charles."
"And if he should fail?"
"We are both old men. We should, therefore, both be able to suffer another disillusion."
"I suppose that is true," said Sir George rather sadly. "William——"
"Horace," corrected Mr. Ripple.
"William," persisted the other, "did I ever mention Thistlegrove Cottage to you?"
"Not that I can remember."
"'Tis a fine night, full of stars," said Mrs. Tabrum, entering the room with a tray full of brightly burning candles, "and what time would your honours like to be waked up in the morning?"
"I will ring my bell," said Mr. Ripple.