"Oh!" said Gwen in alarm, whereat every one laughed.
"Don't be frightened, Miss Evans," said Vane, with a smile on his lean face. "I am quite sure that Owain yonder is now strong enough to punch my head if I take Aunt Emma's advice. Well, old chap, how goes it? You look much better and are quite a different man."
"I am, Jim. Hench has vanished for ever. Only Owain Evans remains."
"Well, I hope he'll be as good a chap as Hench was."
"Much better!" said Gwen resentfully. "I've improved him. He is no longer to be a wanderer, but intends to settle down with me as the Squire of the parish."
"After a year's travelling!" said Mrs. Perage sharply, and detailed her scheme to her nephew, who quite approved.
"Better be off with the old life, Owain, before you take on with the new," he said judicially. "Travel will heal all the old soreness, and will place a barrier between the disagreeable past and the pleasant future. Aunt Emma is a sensible woman."
"I always am!" said Aunt Emma. "Now, Jim, say what you have to say about this trouble, and let us bury the same for ever."
"There isn't much to say," said Vane carelessly. "The newspapers have dropped the matter, and everybody is forgetting the sensation. You won't be bothered with reporters or photographers when you come abroad, Owain. All the same, it is just as well that you are going away."
"What does the Inspector say about Bottles' share in the business?"