“Miss Muir laughed, such a scornful laugh, and said, in that peculiar tone of hers, ‘I cannot fancy anyone being afraid of your elder brother.’
“‘I am, very often, and so would you be, if you ever saw him angry,’ And Bella looked as if I’d beaten her.
“‘Does he ever wake up enough to be angry?’ asked that girl, with an air of surprise. Here Ned broke into a fit of laughter, and they are at it now, I fancy, by the sound.”
“Their foolish gossip is not worth getting excited about, but I certainly would send Ned away. It’s no use trying to get rid of ‘that girl,’ as you say, for my aunt is as deluded about her as Ned and Bella, and she really does get the child along splendidly. Dispatch Ned, and then she can do no harm,” said Lucia, watching Coventry’s altered face as he stood in the moonlight, just outside the window where she sat.
“Have you no fears for me?” he asked smiling, as if ashamed of his momentary petulance.
“No, have you for yourself?” And a shade of anxiety passed over her face.
“I defy the Scotch witch to enchant me, except with her music,” he added, moving down the terrace again, for Jean was singing like a nightingale.
As the song ended, he put aside the curtain, and said, abruptly, “Has anyone any commands for London? I am going there tomorrow.”
“A pleasant trip to you,” said Ned carelessly, though usually his brother’s movements interested him extremely.
“I want quantities of things, but I must ask Mamma first.” And Bella began to make a list.