“That,” responded his servitor, “is what I thought myself, sir, when I see this Individual first, but not at this hour it ain’t, that’s certain!”
“Oh, well, show him into the parlour! I’ll see him!” said Gideon, returning to the mirror, and wrestling with the exigencies of his cravat.’
He joined his visitor ten minutes later. Mr. Liversedge, who had travelled post from Baldock, at his brother’s expense, was a trifle startled by the formidable proportions of his host. He had been prepared to find that Captain Ware, holding a commission in the Lifeguards, was six foot tall, but his brief acquaintance with Captain Ware’s noble relative had not led him to expect to be confronted by a young giant, with shoulders to match his height, and a cast of countenance which even the greatest optimist would have recognized to be uncompromising in the extreme. He rose from his chair, and executed a profound bow.
Gideon’s hard gray eyes ran over him in one comprehensive glance. “What’s your business with me?” he asked. “I fancy I don’t know you.”
Mr. Liversedge’s experiences as a gentleman’s gentleman led him instantly to recognize and to appreciate the True Quality. He bowed to it again. “Sir,” he said, “I have sought you out on an affair of great moment.”
“Have you, by God?” said Gideon. “Well, be brief, for I am engaged to dine with a party of friends in half an hour!”
Mr. Liversedge cast a conspiratorial glance towards the door. “Am I assured of your private ear, sir?” he asked.
Gideon began to be amused. He walked over to the door leading into the little hall, and opened it, and looked out. He then closed it again, and said with becoming gravity: “No prying ears attend upon us, Mr. Liversedge. You may safely unburden your soul to me!”
“Captain Ware,” said Mr. Liversedge softly, “you have, I apprehend, a Noble Relative.”
Quite suddenly Gideon ceased to be amused. Some instinct for danger, however, prompted him to reply lightly: “I am nearly related to the Duke of Sale.”