“I will do so. By the bye, wouldn’t it be only kind to give your brother a hint? Captain Drake’s admiration is so very open—and Lady Ethel is so very young,” she added quickly.
If her intention was to wound, she succeeded only too well, for Drake’s face was grimly set. It was revealed to him with overwhelming force that he had given himself unreservedly to the beautiful girl who faced him. At the moment, a reply was impossible, and he struggled fiercely to give no sign of emotion, for he was conscious that Lady Mildred’s eyes were fixed keenly upon him; but she relented very quickly.
“Forgive me, Mr. Drake. I should not have said that. I really do not know what is the matter with me this afternoon,” she said nervously.
Still Drake did not speak, and he turned away his face from her eyes. It must be remembered that his life had been untouched by the influence of any woman save his mother, and when love comes to such a one, it is apt to sweep everything before it. And he understood that marriage with Lady Ethel was an impossibility. Even should she care for him—and his blood tingled at the mere idea—how could he offer himself to one who was accustomed to every luxury? His total income would be insufficient to provide her with the clothes that she wore so gracefully.
Yes, Lady Mildred was right, for it was impossible to mistake the look that was in his brother’s eyes—a look of simple adoration. Those who spend the greater part of their lives in savage countries, away from their kind, lose all sense of the conventionalities which bind those who stay at home. For twelve months Lindsay Drake had been surrounded by black faces and the mere sight of Lady Ethel’s fair beauty had sent him headlong to her feet. It was not his nature to conceal his feelings, and she knew that he was her slave, and that she could do with him as she willed. Every woman must take a delight in the knowledge that she is loved, and Lady Ethel was no exception, for she never imagined that there could be any harm in accepting his worship. But suddenly she chanced to look at Edward Drake, and all the color ebbed from her face, and she stopped in the middle of a sentence.
There ensued one of those strange silences, in which there is a touch of constraint, and the arrival of a lady and gentleman at the next table was a welcome interruption.
“Yes. I was at the meeting, and Gaunt’s speech was the most dramatic thing that I ever heard in my life,” the man was saying.
“What do you think he did it for—advertisement?” his companion asked.
“No. He is not that kind of man. I’ve met him once or twice and have found him a most attractive personality. In fact I am making him the model of one of the characters in my next book. Of course the man’s been a bit of a blackguard.”
Edward Drake half rose from his chair but Lady Mildred placed her hand on his arm.