They walked arm in arm down the broad staircase, and Lady Ethel whispered earnestly.
“Dearest, be yourself to John. Let him see what is in your heart and all will be right. I am much younger than you, but I think that I am wiser; for I have learned that there is only one thing in the world that matters—love,” she said softly.
“Do you care for Captain Drake?”
But Lady Ethel only smiled, yet there was a flush on her face when they entered the library.
“Where is Mr. Gaunt?” she asked quickly.
“He has gone into the City and won’t be back until dinner time,” Edward Drake answered.
“Won’t you come and play the promised game of billiards?” his brother asked eagerly.
“Yes, and Mr. Drake can mark for us. Come along, Mildred,” Lady Ethel cried peremptorily, and her sister followed obediently.
And the room rang with merry laughter, but Edward Drake was very quiet, only now and then exchanging a remark with Lady Mildred. He watched his brother and Lady Ethel, and it seemed to him that they might have been made for one another, with their good looks and high spirits. Yes, there was jealousy in his heart, but he had thrust it down with all his strength, and believed that he would rejoice in his brother’s happiness. Not for a moment did he imagine that this happy girl could so encourage Lindsay’s attentions if she did not care for him. Unworldly, it did not occur to him that lack of money might prove to be an unsurmountable obstacle to their marriage. Their family was as good as any in the land—sound stock, descending from the Francis Drake that had made the land ring with his fame in the days of the Armada.
And yet he loved Lady Ethel with all the strength and passion of the reserved man who conceals his feelings. A faint sigh escaped him, and Lady Mildred looked up; but she made no remark when she saw the expression in his eyes as they eagerly followed her sister.