Sir James had expected to be annoyed frequently by the sight and sound of the Twins on the bank of the stream. To his pleased surprise he neither saw nor heard them. For the most part they fished in the early morning and brought their catch home to tempt their mother’s appetite at breakfast. But if they did fish in the evening, one or the other acted as scout, watching Sir James’ movements; and they kept out of his sight. They had gained their end; and their natural delicacy assured them that the sight of them could not be pleasant to Sir James. As the Terror phrased it:
“He must be pretty sick at getting a lesson; and there’s no point in rubbing it in.”
Then one evening (by no fault of theirs) he came upon them. Erebus was playing a big trout; and she had no thought of abandoning it to spare Sir James’ feelings. Besides, if she had had such a thought, it was impracticable, since Mrs. Dangerfield had come with them.
He watched Erebus play her fish for two or three minutes; then it snapped the gut and was gone.
“Evidently you’re no so good at fishing as blackmailing,” said Sir James in a nasty carping tone, for the fact that they had worsted him still rankled in his heart.
“I catch more fish than you do, anyhow!” said Erebus with some heat; and she cast an uneasy glance over his shoulder.
Sir James turned to see what she had glanced at and found himself looking into the deep brown eyes of a very pretty woman.
Sir James turned and found himself looking into the deep brown eyes of a very pretty woman.