“Well, that’s one bad-tempered young man gone,” said Lady Hester severely. She could understand people being thieves and liars, but to fail in pleasantness and geniality was frankly unintelligible to her.
“Why does he behave like that, my dear?” she continued. “He hadn’t a word to chuck at me like a bone to a dog, when I wished him good morning. What makes him like that? He ain’t got a belly-ache, has he?”
Colin, as he swam in the sunshine this morning, had devoted some amount of smiling reflection as to his policy with regard to Raymond. Raymond had rejected his amazing proposal with a derisive laugh; he did not think that an alliance with his brother was worth that price, and he must take the consequences of his refusal.
Violet entered at this moment; that was convenient, for she, too, could hear about the quarrel last night at one telling.
“Oh, we had a row last night,” he said. “It was pitched a little higher than usual, and I suppose Raymond’s suffering from after-effects. He was perfectly furious with me for having mimicked him, and wasn’t the least soothed by my saying he might mimic me as often as he pleased. Then I was told I was a cad and a liar for that nonsense I talked about the tobacconist’s. After I had stood as much as I could manage, I left him to his whisky, and I don’t imagine there’ll be much left of it. Oh, I say, Violet, did you shut the door when you came in? I believe it’s open; I’ll do it.”
Colin got up, went to the door which was indeed ajar, and looked out into the long gallery. Raymond, it so happened, was sitting in the nearest window-seat lighting his pipe.
Colin nodded to him. “Just shutting the door,” he said, and drew back into the dining-room, rattling and pushing the door to make sure that the latch had gone home. He felt sure that what he had just said to Raymond (that very innocent piece of information!) would go home, too.
“He was just outside,” said Colin softly, returning to the breakfast-table. “Wasn’t it lucky I thought of shutting the door?”
“Go on; what else?” asked Violet.
“Nothing more. Of course, it was very awkward his having overheard what we all said at our bridge. That had riled him. It was best to be sure that there wouldn’t be a repetition of it this morning. But if people will sit behind a newspaper and a vase of flowers, it’s difficult to be aware of their presence. People ought to betray their presence in the usual manner by coughing or sneezing. I shall have a thorough search of the room first before I say anything about anybody. If I want to say you are an old darling, Aunt Hester, I shall look behind the coal-scuttle first.”