CHAPTER XI.
AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. BANKS.
Mabin had only just time to recognize the face of the man who had got into “The Towers” at night as Mr. Banks, her father’s tenant, when he turned abruptly and hurried away toward the house.
Mabin’s first thought was to get over the wall, a proceeding to which, it must be admitted, she was not unaccustomed, and pursue him, as she had done upon a recent and well-remembered occasion. But she felt a certain natural shyness about such a bold course, and decided that she would proceed in more orthodox fashion by going round to the front door and asking for him.
It was not without fears that she would be unsuccessful that she made her way, slowly and with the slight limp which still remained from her bicycle accident, along the lane to the front of the house. This was the first time she had been inside her father’s gates since the morning the family went away, and it struck her with a sense of strangeness that she had lived a great deal faster than ever before since that memorable day. Mrs. Dale’s mysterious story; the visit of the old lady with the cruel tongue; the midnight intrusion of Mr. Banks; last, and chief of all, Rudolph’s confession of love—these things had opened a wide abyss between the child Mabin and the woman. She felt that she was not the shy girl who had had a nervous dread of leaving home mingling with the thoughts of coming pleasure. And she told herself that when the family came back they would find, not the angular girl they had left, but a woman, a full-fledged woman.
Perhaps she congratulated herself prematurely upon the enormous advance she had made; at any rate, when she rang the bell, she found her heart beating very fast, and a curious feeling rising in her throat which threatened to affect the steadiness of her voice.
It was Langford who opened the door. The old servant had not seen Mabin since the day she had left the house, and her face broke out into smiles as she greeted her.
“Bless me, Miss Mabin, I never thought of its being you! But I am glad to see you. And how have you been getting on? And have you heard from Mrs. Rose lately?”
“I’m getting on splendidly, and I heard from mamma two days ago. Ethel’s got the mumps, but the rest are all right. I’ll talk to you another time. Come round and see me some evening. Can’t you get away? I’m in a hurry now; I want to see Mr. Banks.”
Langford shook her head emphatically.
“It’s no use wanting that, Miss Mabin. Mr. Banks never sees anybody, not even his lawyer if he can help it. He’s a character, he is. Is it a message you’ve got for him from Mr. Rose?”