“'Excellently thought,' he says, grinning.”
“Hum! And you yourself, mistress, what inference did you draw?”
“Inference, sir?”
“Aye, inference, ma'am. Did you not gather that this was not only a runaway match, but a clandestine one? My lord can depend upon the discretion of his servant, no doubt; for other witness he would prefer some passer-by, some stranger who will go his ways to-morrow, and not be like to be heard of again.”
“Lard, sir!” cried the landlady, her eyes wide with astonishment.
Mr. Caryll smiled enigmatically. “'Tis so, I assure ye, ma'am. My Lord Rotherby is of a family singularly cautious in the unions it contracts. In entering matrimony he prefers, no doubt, to leave a back door open for quiet retreat should he repent him later.”
“Your honor has his lordship's acquaintance, then?” quoth the landlady.
“It is a misfortune from which Heaven has hitherto preserved me, but which the devil, it seems, now thrusts upon me. It will, nevertheless, interest me to see him at close quarters. Come, ma'am.”
As they were going out, Mr. Caryll checked suddenly. “Why, what's o'clock?” said he.
She stared, so abruptly came the question. “Past four, sir,” she answered.