“As to his looking wicked, I daresay he is wicked in a sort of interesting way. Of course, people say all sorts of things about him. When he was quite young, he was in love with a beautiful little royal Princess—or she was in love with him—and her husband either killed her or she died of a broken heart—I don’t know which.”
Mademoiselle Vallé had left them for a short time feeling that they were safe with their tea and cakes and would feel more at ease relieved of her presence. She was not long absent, but Eileen and Winifred, being avid of gossip and generally eliminated subjects, “got in their work” with quite fevered haste. They liked the idea of astonishing Robin.
Eileen bent forward and lowered her voice.
“They do say that once Captain Thorpe was fearfully jealous of him and people wonder that he wasn’t among the co-respondents.” The word “co-respondent” filled her with self-gratulation even though she only whispered it.
“Co-respondents?” said Robin.
They both began to whisper at once—quite shrilly in their haste. They knew Mademoiselle might return at any moment.
“The great divorce case, you know! The Thorpe divorce case the papers are so full of. We get the under housemaid to bring it to us after Mademoiselle has done with it. It’s so exciting! Haven’t you been reading it? Oh!”
“No, I haven’t,” answered Robin. “And I don’t know about co-respondents, but, if they are anything horrid, I daresay he was one of them.”
And at that instant Mademoiselle returned and Dowson brought in fresh cakes. The governess, who was to call for her charges, presented herself not long afterwards and the two enterprising little persons were taken away.
“I believe she’s jealous of Lord Coombe,” Eileen whispered to Winifred, after they reached home.