“I thought so. Well, Alick, I am sorry; but you must try to get rooms as near us as possible. I don’t think the Blank House is full yet. It is too far up town for strangers. But hark ye! it will be full in an hour from this time. ‘Make hay while the sun shines.’ Run, now; jump into a cab and drive for life to the Blank, and engage your rooms before this crowd gets there and tills the house.”
Again, what could Alexander do? He saw at a glance that he must ostensively live at Washington—that he must have rooms at some hotel, though he might never, or very seldom, occupy them. And he was only too glad that he was not obliged to have rooms in the same house with his uncle, and so be always under the old gentleman’s eye.
He thanked General Lyon for his advice, and said that he should avail himself of it.
And he went out and jumped into the first cab that offered, and drove to the Blank House, where he happened to be in time to engage the only bedroom at the disposal of the proprietor.
He took the key of his room, which he meant only to occupy on his occasional visits to the city, and then he drove to the “establishment” of a fashionable tailor and gentleman’s outfitter, and he suited himself with a full evening dress, including linen, gloves, perfumery, et cetera. These he ordered to be sent to his room at the Blank House.
“I am booked for his Excellency’s reception this evening, and so it will be considerably after midnight before I can hope to get back to Cedarwood. Poor little Drusa! I hope she won’t be anxious, and sit up and lose her rest,” he said, as he hurried back to his hotel to make his toilet for the evening.
While waiting for his parcel from the tailor’s he lounged into the reading room, and took up one of the evening papers; but its columns could scarcely engage his attention, which was wholly engrossed by his embarrassments.
“It is now near sunset,” so ran his thoughts, “and poor little soul! she has been watching for me for hours, is watching for me at this moment, and will watch for me for hours longer, until long after midnight, tormented by nobody knows how many fears and fancies concerning me. Plague take the old man! what brought him bothering to Washington just at this time?” very irreverently muttered Mr. Lyon to himself, as his eyes ran over the news items of the paper without taking cognizance of their meaning.
His ostensible reading and his real reverie was rudely interrupted by the clap of a hand upon his shoulder, and the ring of a laugh in his ear.
He turned sharply around and recognized Captain Reding and Lieutenant Harpe, two young officers of the army, who had been among the visitors to his box on the evening when he had taken Drusilla to the German Opera.