“I mean—that and other things. How should I know what he has done? Some of his father’s fads. But in every way we’d better go: everybody is going, and I’m dead-tired of the place. There is not a single thing to do. We shot every bird on the hill to-day, and more—and after this burst there won’t be a soul in the house for months. Probably they have themselves visits to pay. I tell you we’d better go to-morrow, Rose.”
“They say nothing about visits to pay,” said Rosamond, bewildered. “Mrs. Rowland said to-day she hoped we would stay as long as we pleased: and father is of opinion that if we can hang on for another month—well, he says so. It saves so much expense when the house is shut up.”
“But I tell you I am not going to do it,” said Eddy, “whatever the governor chooses to say. You can if you please, but I shan’t. You may stay altogether if you please. Marry Archie, it would not perhaps be such a bad spec.; and become the daughter of the house.” He laughed, but there was not much mirth in his laugh.
“You need not be insulting at least,” said his sister. “And as for the daughter of the house—the less there is said on that subject the better, if you are going away.”
“Why! do you think she would mind?” he asked. “Mind you, she is not so simple as you think. I don’t believe she cares. If she did, that might be a sort of a way: but mind what I say, Rose—that girl will not marry anybody till she’s been at court and seen the world. She might like me a little perhaps—but if she saw her way to anything better—as Heaven knows she might do easily enough. Oh, I don’t make myself any illusions on that subject! She would drop me like a shot.”
“As you would her,” said Rosamond, with an air of scorn.
“Precisely so; but unless I’m very far mistaken, we meet—that little Glasgow girl and I, that am the fine flower of civilisation—on equal ground.”
“So much the better for her if it is so,” said Rosamond.
“Am I saying anything different? only I don’t think there’s the least occasion to be nervous about little May.”
There was a pause here, and for a moment or two nothing was said. A little hot colour had come on Rosamond’s face. Was she perhaps asking herself whether Archie was as easily to be let down as his sister, and likely to emancipate himself as lightly? But on this subject, at least, she never said a word. She broke silence at last by saying, with a sigh—