Once more Miss Grantham’s tiresome conscience intervened. “No!” she said, revolted. “I won’t win by such a horrid trick! Besides, he thinks I am an odious woman who would do any vile thing, and I am not! We must think of something else.”
Mr Kennet cast her a sidelong, appraising glance. “Ah, well,” he said diplomatically, “you’d best leave the manner of it to me. I shall contrive somehow, I daresay.”
“And what am I to do about this wicked letter?” asked Miss Grantham, her eyes kindling as they alighted on it. “I should like to write to him, and tell him that he may go to the devil, but I suppose that would spoil everything. I must fob him off until Wednesday. Only I don’t know what to say!”
“Give me a pen!” said Kennet. “It will be better if I reply to it for you. You must play for time, me dear.”
“Why should you reply to it?” asked Deborah suspiciously. “If you mean any mischief, Lucius—”
“Devil a bit!” he said, cheerfully lying. “You shall look over me shoulder while I write it, and seal it yourself. “Twill be better for the gentleman to see that you think too little of him to answer with your own hand. Besides, you must plead with him a trifle, me dear, and that you’ll never bring yourself to do. I’ll write it for you in the third person.”
“What do you mean to say?” asked Miss Grantham, a little doubtful still, but bringing him some notepaper, and a pen.
He drew the paper towards him, and dipped the pen in the standish. “How will this answer?” he said, and began to write in flowing characters, slowly reading the words aloud as he did so. “Miss Grantham is obliged to Mr Ravenscar for his letter, and begs to inform him that she is astonished that any gentleman— We’ll underline that word, Deb!— could address a defenceless female in such terms.”
“I am not defenceless!” objected Miss Grantham.
“Whisht, now! She is persuaded that Mr Ravenscar cannot mean to put his barbarous threat into execution, since Lady Bellingham has done nothing to incur his enmity. Miss Grantham cannot but believe that a Compromise might yet be reached, and begs the favour of a reply to this suggestion at Mr Ravenscar’s earliest convenience. And we’ll underline that too, to make him think it’s frightened you are.