“That remains to be seen, Mr. Stranger. Anyhow, I’ll see you at the same place to-morrow night again.”
“Well, don’t forget to be careful. Those scoundrels may have lost some of their animosity by to-morrow. Still, I have had an awkward scrape or two myself, and have no patience with thin-skinned fools, who have no business to play unless they can notch a point or two.”
“But that wouldn’t suit us.”
“Perhaps not. Still, a certain gudgeon who is putting up at Gibraltar just now would be just in our line. I’ll tell you all about him to-morrow. How far do you go in this direction?”
They were just opposite Mrs. Dollman’s establishment as he spoke. But Mr. Bootle did not wish to appear too familiar with the ways of Mr. Staines at present. So he duly expressed his surprise on hearing that Mr. Staines was already at home. Then he bade him good-bye for the nonce, went round to the garden, and soon reached the room allotted to Miss Una Stratton, where he received a warm, but silent welcome from Briny, who had kept faithful vigil.
CHAPTER XVIII.
A WILY SYREN.
When Una Stratton made her appearance next morning at breakfast she bore no evidence of having been up half the night, and her brilliant hair, radiant complexion, and entire get-up provoked the admiration of all who saw her. Nor did they dream that the lady ever presented herself in any other guise, or that she had recourse to art in order to enhance and transform her naturally charming appearance. Contrary to his usual custom, Gregory Staines was also present at breakfast, and Miss Stratton’s eyes gleamed so triumphantly when she observed his amazed admiration of herself that she deemed it advisable to veil their brightness by looking down at Briny, who, as was his usual custom when permitted to do so, was sitting beside his mistress in his dual capacity of guardian and beloved protégé. She had had considerable fear lest Gregory Staines should see something about her appearance that would lead him to couple her with either Miss Annie Cory or the pseudo governess. But as she caught his badly-veiled glances of approval her heart glowed with satisfaction.
“If one of my plans fails,” she thought, “the other must succeed. I came here with the deliberate intention of personating a modified Delilah, and I seem to have hit upon the type of feminine attractiveness most pleasing in his eyes. I feel sure now that I can fascinate him. But I am not quite so sure that I can veil my natural repulsion to him successfully. It will be just dreadful to feign the captive syren with a man who possesses my deadly hatred. But I would do even more than that for Harley.”
As she concluded this reflection Miss Stratton raised her eyes, as if furtively, to Mr. Staines’s face, and then glanced down again, apparently in sudden confusion. Her embarrassment was so well feigned that Mr. Staines experienced a sudden thrill of satisfaction and flattered vanity.