“It was fortunate, sir. I was not at home this morning.” She raised her eyes momentarily from her work to find that he was regarding her with a look of so much sarcastic amusement that the unwelcome suspicion crossed her mind that he must have seen her drive out, and changed his own plans immediately.
“This morning!” ejaculated Mrs. Scattergood, with a strong shudder. “Pray do not be talking of it! Three hours—I am persuaded it was no less—at the Botanic Gardens, and I not having the least notion that you cared a rap for all those odiously rare plants!”
“The Botanic Gardens,” murmured the Earl. “Poor Miss Taverner!”
She was now sure that he must somewhere have seen her. She got up. “If you have finished your tea, sir, perhaps you would do me the kindness of coming into the other drawing-room. You will excuse us, ma’am, I know. I have something of a private nature to say to Lord Worth.”
“By all means, my love, though I can’t conceive what it should be,” said Mrs. Scattergood.
Miss Taverner did not enlighten her. She went out through the door his lordship was holding open for her into the back drawing-room, and took up a stand by the table in the middle of the room. The Earl shut the door, and surveyed her with his air of rather bored amusement. “Well, Miss Taverner?” he said.
“I desired you to visit me, sir, to explain, if you please, this letter which you wrote me,” said Judith, pulling the offending document out of her reticule.
He took it from her. “Do you know, I never thought that you would cherish my poor notes so carefully?” he said.
Miss Taverner ground her teeth, but made no reply. The Earl, having looked her over with what she could not but feel to be a challenge in his mocking eyes, picked up his eyeglass, and through it perused his own letter. When he had done this he lowered his glass and looked inquiringly at Miss Taverner. “What puzzles you, Clorinda? It seems to me quite lucid.”
“My name is not Clorinda!” snapped Miss Taverner. “I wonder that you should care to call up the recollections it must evoke! If they are not odious to you —”