Isabel was almost frightened at herself as she coined these base falsehoods; but she felt that the truth must be concealed from him for the next two days at all hazards. If she could only bridge them over until the fatal vows were spoken, and she was once mistress of Vallingham Hall, all would be well.
“I never would have believed her to be guilty of such indiscretions if you had not told me,” Sir Charles said, not yet wholly convinced, but greatly disturbed by the account.
“No, you would not, nor any one else, she is so demure and ladylike,” Isabel hastened to say, with every appearance of fairness. “But she never met Mr. Dredmond, to my knowledge, more than three or four times in her life; and, to my mind, it does not look just right for her to run away to be married to him upon so short an acquaintance.”
“That is so. It does not seem just the thing, I must confess. And I am surprised at Adrian, too. I thought him a man of more depth,” Sir Charles assented, gravely. Then, with a fond glance into the face of his betrothed, he asked: “But what did you wish of me? Can I do anything for you?”
“Yes, indeed; but you nearly made me forget, with all your catechising,” she laughed, and then went on: “I find that my dress is altogether too loose, and I must have a seamstress to fix it immediately; then I find I neglected to get a pair of pearl-colored gloves to match my traveling suit. Would you mind riding over to the village to attend to it?”
She did not need either, but she must get rid of him.
“No, indeed; but will it not do as well a couple of hours hence? Our callers in yonder might think me ungracious to go away while they are here.”
Isabel’s heart sank; she must get him away at once if possible; she knew that Adrian Dredmond would allow no part of their meanness to be concealed, and there would probably be a hot battle before they were through. But she thought if she could only get her lover away from it all, maybe they could come to some terms with Lady Randal to conceal the affair from him; for she knew she was as anxious as any one for the marriage to come off. But it would not do to let him mistrust how anxious she was, so she replied, hesitatingly:
“It might do if it were not for the dress—that must be attended to at once; and then if you do not succeed in matching my dress in gloves, I shall have to send up to town for them, and you know we have no time to spare.”
“Would it not do to send a piece of the dress and let Brown do the errand? I really do not like to seem uncourteous, notwithstanding their treatment of us the other evening,” he replied.