Ledward saw the knock was hard, but he knew her nerve was good, and he was moved to grim humor. Although Mrs. Haigh had lost the prize for which she planned, he thought she would not refuse the second best.
“But I don’t see——” said Mrs. Carson in a puzzled voice; and then her eyes sparkled. “Jasper has cheated you!” she exclaimed and Ledward did not know whether she addressed him or her hostess. “From the beginning he plotted——”
“I think your relation did plot,” Mrs. Haigh agreed, with an effort for calm. “Harry, however, has not yet told us very much.”
Ledward began to narrate his interview with Jasper. After a few moments Evelyn came in, but he did not stop. Evelyn ought to know, and he did not want to talk about the thing again. She rested her arm on the table and her color came and went. All were very quiet, and Ledward felt his voice jarred. When he stopped Mrs. Carson’s look got very hard.
“Kit has conquered!” she remarked. “He gets all, and he will soon be your employer.”
“Oh, well,” said Ledward, “I think Kit’s part was an unconscious part, and he’s not revengeful. Jasper promises that I shall keep my post.”
“He made a tool of you; he tricked us all——” said Mrs. Carson, and stopped, for she saw what her remarks implied. She frowned and got up. “Alan waits for me. We are going to Hadriansford.”
Mrs. Haigh went with her to the gate, and Evelyn gave Ledward an embarrassed glance. Jasper had used her and Harry, and she was humiliated because she thought Harry knew. All the same, Harry would not admit it. His part was obvious, and she expected he would play up.
She pictured Kit’s romantic charm; sometimes Kit had moved her strongly, but Harry did not. She had weighed Harry’s advantages, and her mother’s arguments had tipped the beam. For the most part, his advantages had vanished, but she could not call back Kit.
“I’m sorry,” said Ledward; “I expect your disappointment’s keen. Some of our plans for the future must go, but after all we really shall not be forced to be very economical.”