It had grown dark when she rose and, entering the house, went up to Mabel’s room. The girl looked at her sharply as she came in.
“So you have got rid of him,” she said. “I think you’re very silly.”
“How did you know?” Evelyn asked with a start.
“I heard him walking up and down the terrace, and I heard you go out. You can’t walk over raked gravel without making a noise. He went along to join you, and it was a good while before you came back at different times. I’ve been waiting for this the last day or two.”
Evelyn sat down with a strained smile. “Well,” she said, “I have sent him away.”
Mabel regarded her indignantly. “Then you’ll never get another chance like this one. If you had only taken him I could have worn decent frocks. Nobody could call the last one that.”
This was a favourite grievance and Evelyn ignored it; but Mabel had more to say. “I suppose,” she went on, “you don’t know that Wallace has been getting Gerald out of trouble?”
“Are you sure of that?” Evelyn asked sharply.
“Yes,” said Mabel; “I’ll tell you what I know. Wallace saw Gerald in London—he told us that—and we all know that Gerald couldn’t pay his debts a little while since. You remember he came down to Kendal and went on and stayed the next night with the Claytons. It isn’t astonishing that he didn’t come here after the row there was on the last occasion.”
“Go on,” said Evelyn. “What has his visit to the Claytons to do with it?”