“Good heavens!” said Mr. Goddard.
“She’s quite right,” said Lord Manton. “She is going in the direction in which she means to go. I rather respect her for it.”
Wilkins, walking sideways, and expostulating vehemently, appeared at the end of the corridor. Behind him, mistress of herself and the situation, strode Miss Blow. She caught sight of Lord Manton and Mr. Goddard at once. She pointed to them with a finger and fixed her eyes upon them with a terrible glare. They stood still, fascinated. The idea of escape by running and a leap through the library window occurred to Lord Manton. But with Miss Blow’s eyes on him he was incapable of the effort. Wilkins, faithful to the last, walked backwards along the corridor, in front of Miss Blow. He looked as if he meant to sacrifice himself in order to stand between his master and Amazonian violence. He was a good servant.
“So there you are,” said Miss Blow. “You——” Her finger, pointed at Mr. Goddard, trembled with indignant scorn. “And you, my lord.”
There was a fine note of contempt, bitter and furious contempt, in her voice, as she uttered the words “my lord.” There was something terrible in the association of a title reckoned honourable by the world with the baseness which she evidently attributed to Lord Manton.
“Yes,” said Lord Manton; “we’re both here. But why aren’t you in the big drawing-room with the other ladies? You oughtn’t to come down here, you know, especially without a chaperone.”
“You call yourselves gentlemen,” said Miss Blow.
“No,” said Lord Manton; “we don’t. I certainly don’t. And I should be surprised to hear that Mr. Goddard did. The word is quite out of fashion, I assure you. Nobody uses it nowadays. Don’t bring unjust charges against us, Miss Blow. There are lots of things we may be accused of with truth. We’re not the men we ought to be, especially Mr. Goddard. Charge us with the things we’ve done, and we’ll confess at once and apologize. But don’t be unjust. We never called ourselves gentlemen.”
“You ran away from me yesterday,” said Miss Blow, addressing Mr. Goddard, “after promising faithfully that you’d help me. You ran away again to-day. You would be running away now if I hadn’t caught you in the act.”
“He did and he would,” said Lord Manton. “I’ve just been speaking to him about it. I told him his conduct was disgraceful. I’m glad now that he’ll hear what you think of it from your own lips. It’ll do him good.”