“Well, yes—that would be bad,” he said, nodding his head. “There, sit down then, and draw your chair to the fender. Your face is burning, but your hands are cold. That’s better,” he continued, as he took up the poker again, and sat forward, gazing at the fire, and once more tapping the pieces of coal into the glowing caverns. “You see, he has been to me three times.”
“And I did not know!” cried Kate.
“No, you did not know, my dear, because I did not want to upset you. What do you think he says?”
“That I fled to you, and placed myself under your protection?”
“Wrong,” said Garstang, looking round and smiling in the beautiful face across the hearth, as he played the part of an amiable fatherly individual to perfection. “Shall I say guess again?”
“No, no, pray don’t trifle with me, guardian.”
“Trifle with you?” he cried, growing stern of aspect. “No. There, it must come out. He did not say that, and he did not accuse me of fetching you away, for he and Master Claud are upon a wrong scent.”
“Yes—yes,” said Kate, eagerly.
“They say that Harry Dasent made an excuse of his friendship with Claud to go down to Northwood with another object in view.”
“Yes—what?” she said, looking at him wonderingly.