'He admires you immensely, Hester, but then Roland seems to me just the sort of fellow to advise and protect—to be good to a girl—strong and brave, kind and tender.'
'Oh, hush, papa,' said Hester, ready to sink with confusion and annoyance; 'here he comes,' she added, as Roland came lounging through an open French window into the dining-room.
'What about Skene of Dunnimarle, uncle—surely I heard his name?' he asked, adding to Hester's emotion of confusion, though he failed to notice it. 'May I finish my cigar here, Hester?'
'Oh, please do—I rather like it,' she replied hastily.
'I have asked Skene for the shooting next month at Earlshaugh—to knock over a few birds.'
'That will be pleasant for Hester; he is rather an admirer of hers,' said Sir Harry.
'I don't know that he is,' said Hester; 'and if you talk that way, I shall not go to Earlshaugh this summer at all, papa.'
'After your promise to me that you will do so?' asked Roland.
'Yes, even after my promise to you,' she replied, as she left the room.
'I'll tell you a strange story of Malcolm's father when we were together in Central India,' said Sir Harry, to change the subject. 'It happened at Jhansi—you never heard it, I suppose?'