"Can you tell me where I shall find his lordship?" enquired he.
"No, indeed; you must just have the goodness to search till you find him—from the turret to the cellar; from the library to the stable; including the dog-kennel—it is impossible to say where he may be."
"I obey your gracious commands with the precipitation naturally your due," cried he, bowing again, but not moving; in fact, he was too much delighted to speak to the young lady at all, to be in any hurry to conclude the interview.
"Don't put yourself out of breath in the chace," said Sir William. "I am sure Miss Osborne will not require that of you. Take your time, and look carefully, for I suspect much he is artfully hidden from sight."
He tried once more to secure further orders from Miss Osborne; but she would not look round again, and he was forced to console himself by wandering over the reception rooms, and enquiring of every acquaintance if they could tell him where "Osborne" was, as he was sent by Miss Osborne to find him.
"How I detest that chattering magpie of a man," cried Miss Osborne as soon as he was out of hearing, "I hope he is no friend of yours, Miss Watson?" appealing to Emma, "I have been told that some women admire him prodigiously."
"I do not," replied Emma.
"I am glad of that; he is just the sort of person I thoroughly despise. He has not an opinion of his own, and is as mischievous as he is idle and vain."
"Upon my word, Miss Osborne," cried Sir William, "if you express such very strong opinions, you will frighten me out of your company. If you treat Tom Musgrove with such severity, I wonder what character you would give to me?"
"You! Sir William, I make no scruple in telling you how vain, disagreeable, and idle you are. What else can you expect me to say? Do not you waste your days in fox hunting and coursing; your nights in drinking or flirting? are you not well known as the worst master, the worst landlord, the worst magistrate, the worst member in the county? Your misdeeds are notorious; do you not pull down schools, and destroy churches? did I not hear of a fire on your estate where much damage was done—were you not supposed to be deeply concerned in that?"