“My dear Kitty!” he said, surprise and disapproval blended in his voice.
“Thank goodness you have come at last!” she returned. “Now, Dolph, don’t be so foolish! It is only Hugh!”
The Rector now perceived that his somewhat feeble-minded cousin was peeping at him from under the tablecloth. His astonishment grew. “Dolphinton! You here? I hope you mean to explain to me what this means, Kitty!”
“Well, of course I do!” she replied. “Only first, do, pray, persuade Dolph to come out!”
“Come, Foster!” said Hugh, with grave authority. “You must not sit under the table, you know. You are not a child.”
His lordship crawled out of cover, and rose sheepishly to his feet. “Had a fright,” he explained. “Frightened of my mother. She’ll bring Foulstone after me. I know she will. Shut me up.”
Miss Plymstock took his hand, and patted it. “No, she will not, Foster. Now, didn’t you tell me you would be safe with your cousin? Besides, she believes you to be at Arnside, and very well pleased she is. You tell him, sir, that he’s safe here!”
The Rector, who had been looking at Miss Plymstock with a good deal of surprise and no very marked degree of approbation, said rather frigidly: “Foster knows that he has nothing to be afraid of under rny roof, ma’am. Come, Foster, sit down in this chair, and straighten your neckcloth! This will not do at all, my dear fellow! Such foolish conduct is not suited to your position, you know.”
“I wish I wasn’t an Earl,” said his lordship wistfully. “I could do a lot of things if I wasn’t. I could breed horses. Sit under the table, if I wanted to. But I don’t want to sit under the table. I don’t want to hide in the cupboard either.”
“Certainly not!” said his cousin.