"I have not had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Geoffrey to-day."
Ravenspur groaned. He turned his face away ashamed that a woman should see him in a moment of weakness. Out of the corner of her eye she regarded him. There was not a drop of pity in her heart for him.
"I hope you don't anticipate anything wrong," she said. "Mr. Geoffrey is not a boy that he cannot——"
"Oh, you do not understand! It is not that at all. In ordinary circumstances I could trust Geoffrey to the end of the world. He is a good fellow, and capable of taking care of himself and upholding the family honor. But others as strong and more cunning have fallen before the dreaded foe, until all confidence has left us. I fear much that harm has come to Geoffrey."
"But surely in the broad daylight——"
"Daylight or darkness, it is the same. You know nothing of the boy?"
"Nothing, save that he was going fishing to-day."
Ravenspur started.
"Oh," he cried. "Then I shall soon know the worst. I am sorry to have troubled you; I will go down to the beach. The others are searching in all directions. Nobody will return to the house until we know the lad's fate."
Ravenspur bowed and was gone. Mrs. May smiled after him. So the castle was going to be left for the time being.