“But are you certain of the truth of these accusations?”
“My lord!”
“Of course you believe them, or you would not repeat them, but it does not follow that they are fact.”
“They are matter of common report, my lord. What I have stated is in every one’s mouth.”
“But you have not yourself heard any of their sermons, or what do they call them?”
“No, my lord,” said Mr Cairns, holding up his white hands in repudiation of the idea; “it would scarcely accord with my position to act the spy.”
“So, to keep yourself immaculate, you take all against them for granted! I have no such scruples, however. I will go and see, or rather hear, what they are about: after that I shall be in a position to judge.”
“Your lordship’s presence will put them on their guard.”
“If the mere sight of me is a check,” returned the marquis, “extreme measures will hardly be necessary.”
He spoke definitively, and made a slight movement, which his visitor accepted as his dismissal. He laughed aloud when the door closed, for the spirit of what the Germans call Schadenfreude was never far from his elbow, and he rejoiced in the parson’s discomfiture. It was in virtue of his simplicity, precluding discomfiture, that Malcolm could hold his own with him so well. For him he now sent.