“By Jove, I never thought of it! But it would be a good action to save the poor little woman from a tête-à-tête with such a cub.”
In his delight at tormenting his fiery-tempered brother, George had gone a little too far. As he lounged against the doorway, a sudden blow had sent him reeling back into the gallery, the door was slammed, and his brother was at the other end of the corridor before he could say a word. Harry met his sister in the corridor.
“Where’s Miss Lane?”
“Why? What do you want with Miss Lane?”
“Never mind. Where is she?”
But his sister was in a teasing mood. She had more than George’s cruelty in her disposition, and, being a girl, she could give it freer rein. She delighted in watching the excited working of Harry’s face as she evaded his questions.
“My dear boy, I am not Miss Lane’s guardian-angel. You should ask ‘the child’ where she is.”
“For Heaven’s sake, don’t torment me so! You met her outside the picture-gallery a few minutes ago, and took her away with you.”
“Oh, so I did! But you see I’ve dropped her somewhere.”
Harry seized her arm and shook it roughly. But the action only roused the girl’s spirit from idle teasing to hot defiance.