Her father glanced at her with a half-question in his eyes.
“It is not a particularly pretty road,” he said; “besides it is dark already; one road is as pleasant as another in the dark.”
“The house at Silverthorns must look lovely in the moonlight,” Charlotte replied.
“And there will be a moon to-night,” added Jerry.
“If it isn’t overclouded,” said Mr Waldron. “Ah, well, if mamma says you may, it will be all right, I suppose.”
“You will not be kept there long?” asked Mrs Waldron.
“A quarter of an hour at most,” her husband replied. “It is nothing of any importance—merely some little difficulty with one of the leases, which Lady Mildred Osbert wants to speak to me about. Had it been anything of consequence she would have telegraphed for the London men—I have never anything to do with the important business there, you know,” he added, with an almost imperceptible shade of bitterness.
“Then I think it very inconsiderate to expect you to go all that way late on a Saturday evening,” said Mrs Waldron. The colour rose in her cheeks as she spoke, and Jerry thought to himself how pretty mamma looked when she was a very little angry.
“That was my own doing. Lady Mildred gave me my choice of to-day or Monday morning. She is going away on Monday afternoon for a few days. I preferred this evening. Monday will be a very busy day.”
He rose from the table as he spoke.