Lord Ormsby shot a curious glance at his son.
"O, did you extend your tour to Brittany, then?" he observed: after which he refrained from further remarks, becoming silent and thoughtful, as if his mind had been stirred by some troubling reminiscence.
"Does it still contain the bones of the saint?" asked Godfrey, jocularly.
"It contains souvenirs of my continental tour—nothing more," replied Ivar with a dark glance, as if inviting the surgeon to mind his own business.
And then, apparently impatient of further questions, he cut the matter short by motioning the man to take up the chest again, and he himself led the way up the grand staircase to his own bedroom, where, after seeing the precious reliquary locked within a wardrobe, he seemed to be more at ease.
The irritation betrayed by Ivar over this incident puzzled Beatrice, and left a somewhat disagreeable impression upon her mind.
"Master Ivar," she whispered to her brother, "was trying to smuggle that chest into Ravenhall. Why should he desire to conceal the fact that he is bringing home a reliquary? Depend upon it, the chest contains something that he does not wish his father to see. What can it be?"
During the course of the dinner that followed, Ivar was the principal speaker, rattling off various incidents of his continental tour.
There was nothing particularly edifying or brilliant in these reminiscences, but Lord Ormsby evidently thought otherwise: for, from time to time he would turn to his guests with an air of pride, as if inviting them to take note of his son's remarks.
"That is one good trait in the earl's character," thought Beatrice. "He has great affection for his son. I doubt very much whether the son deserves it."