Lord Lionel had been about to scarify him soundly, but this utterance gave him pause. He frowned over it for a moment or two, and at last said grudgingly: “Well, there is something in what you say, but I cannot like it! And there is another thing, Gilly! I do not understand why you have engaged a new steward, without a word to anyone. You will naturally be enlarging your staff, but it will be better to leave such matters in Scriven’s hands. He is far more able to judge of what will suit you than you can possibly be. Not but what,” he added fairly, “this man of yours seem to know his work very well, and to be just the sort of fellow you should have about you. I have nothing to say against him but in future I advise you to let Scriven attend to the hiring of your servants.” He perceived that his son was struggling not to laugh, and directed one of his quelling glances at him. “Now, what do you find to amuse you in that, pray?”
“Nothing, sir!” gasped Captain Ware, wiping his eyes.
Lord Lionel found that his nephew was similarly affected. “Well, well, you are a couple of silly boys!” he said indulgently. “So you wish to remain in Bath, do you, Gilly? You will be squiring Harriet to the balls at the Assembly Rooms, I daresay, and certainly it would not do for you to be driving out to Cheyney late at night. But you would be more comfortable in a set of lodgings, my dear boy, than in an hotel! There are some very tolerable ones to be had, and you may have your own servants to wait on you, and be sure of the beds!”
“Thank you, sir, I shall do very well at the Christopher. It would not be worth the trouble of finding lodgings, for I only stay until Harriet goes to Ampleforth, you know. Shall you join me there, perhaps?”
“No, no, you know very well that I detest hotels! I may as well stay at Cheyney for a few days. It is some time since I was there, and it will do no harm for me to see how things have been going on. Besides, it is quite improper for that fellow, Mamble, to be there without either of us in residence!”
The Duke felt a twinge of remorse. He said contritely: “It is too bad of me! I’m afraid you will dislike it excessively, sir!”
“I daresay,” said Lord Lionel dryly, “that I shall not dislike it as much as you would. I have not lived in the world for fifty-five years without learning how to deal with fellows of that stamp, I assure you. But how came you to fall, in with him, and what is all this nonsense about aiding his son to escape from him?”
By this time, the waiter had come in, and began, under Nettlebed’s severe surveillance, to lay the cover for dinner. It was tacitly assumed that Lord Lionel would partake of this meal, which he did, even going so far as to say that the mutton was not so ill-cooked, and the burgundy—of its kind—quite potable. Nettlebed, who despised all the servants at the Pelican, would not permit the waiter to attend upon his master, but received the various dishes from him in the doorway, so that the Duke was able to regale his uncle uninterrupted with the story of his dealings with Tom. It was not to be expected that his lordship would approve of such unconventional conduct, and he had no hesitation at all in prescribing the proper treatment for boys who played such pranks, but he listened appreciatively to the Duke’s part in them, putting several shrewd questions, and nodding at the answers as though he were well satisfied. Indeed it was felt by both cousins that he had expressed a high measure of approbation when he said: “Well, Gilly, you are not such a fool as I had thought.”
Encouraged by this encomium, the Duke said in his meekest voice: “There is one other little matter which perhaps I should tell you, sir. I daresay you will be paying your respects to Lady Ampleforth?”
“Certainly,” said his lordship.