“Tom, you are the most shocking boy!” said the Duke severely. “If you have any other devilish engine in your pocket, give it to me at once!”
“No, upon my honour, I have not, sir!” Tom assured him. “But wasn’t it famous when the pug jumped, and ran off yelping?”
“Yes, a splendid shot. If only you will behave with propriety I will take you to Cheyney one day, and give you a day’s real shooting.”
A glowing face was turned towards him. “Oh, sir, will you indeed? I think you are the most bang-up, out-and-out person in the world! Where is Cheyney? What sort of a place is it?”
“Cheyney?” said the Duke absently. “Oh, it’s one of my—It is a house which belongs to me, near a village called Upton Cheyney, some seven miles from Bath, towards Bristol.”
“Is that where we are going?” asked Tom, surprised. “You never said so, sir!”
“No,” said the Duke. “No, we’re not going there,”
“Why not?” demanded Tom. “If there is shooting to be had, it would be much jollier than a stuffy inn in Bath! Do let us, sir!”
The Duke shook his head. He had a very lively idea of what would be the feelings of the devoted retainers in charge of Cheyney were he to arrive there in disgracefully travel-stained clothes, unheralded, unescorted, carrying a cheap valise, and leading Belinda by the hand. He supposed he would shortly be obliged to disclose his identity to Tom, but since he had no desire to be known at the quiet inn he had mentally selected in Bath, and placed little dependence on Tom’s discretion, he decided to postpone the inevitable confession. He said instead that his house was too far removed from Bath for convenience.
His knowledge of Bath’s hotels was naturally confined to such fashionable establishments as York House and the Christopher, in neither of which did he propose to set foot, but he remembered being led, as a boy, by the conscientious Mr. Romsey to gaze reverently upon the facade of the Pelican in Walcot Street, which had once housed the great Dr. Johnson. This respectable inn was no longer patronized by modish people, and had the added advantage of being situated not far from Laura Place, where the Dowager Lady Ampleforth resided.