“Matters of which every gentleman, sir, would be profoundly ignorant as regards a lady of title.”
“But, papa dear, surely you are not serious?” said Claire, who had listened with horror painted in every feature.
“I was never more serious in my life, child. Lady Drelincourt is not young, but she is a most amiable woman, with no other weakness than a love for play.”
“And little beasts of dogs,” said Morton contemptuously.
“Of course, because there is a void in her womanly heart. That void, my son, you must try and fill.”
“Oh, nonsense, father!”
“Nonsense! Morton, are you mad? Are you going to throw away a fortune, and a great position in society? Of course, I do not say that such an event will follow, but it is time you began to assert your position. You did well the other day on the pier.”
“Yes,” said Morton with a sneer. “I fished out a dog. Now Dick Linnell did something worth—”
“Silence, sir! Do not mention his name in my presence, I beg,” said the old man sternly; and he left the house.
“Well, I tell you what it is, Sis,” said Morton, speaking from the window, where he had gone to see his father mince by, “the old dad hasn’t been right since that night. I think he’s going off his head.”