“It’s sort of like that. He’s not dangerous, but he dresses up in Charles the First costume (that’s why I thought he’d do for you) an’ he thinks it is Charles the First time an’ so you’ve got to talk to him as if it was Charles the First time jus’ to keep him quiet. He’ll get mad if you don’t. He’ll be drawed all right ’cause he likes bein’ drawed but the minute he sees any girls he always wants to start to rescuin’ them an’ takin’ them up to their aunts in Scotland.”
“Why Scotland?” said the artist mildly.
“’Cause that’s part of his madness,” explained William.
“Well, there’s only one girl on the premises,” said the artist, “and that’s my daughter ... been in quarantine for mumps ... just out of it to-day ... and I don’t suppose he’ll see her ... so that’s all right.”
“You’ll give me the money, won’t you?” said William. “’Cause—’cause I keep his money for him.... See?”
“We’ll talk about that later,” said the man, “if he comes and when he comes. Are you his keeper, by the way?”
“Well,” said William guardedly, “I sort of am and I’m sort of not.”
But just then he heard the sound of the opening of the front gate and discreetly retired again through the open window.
******
Robert walked up the garden path, his face stern and set with resolve. Robert was a voracious reader of romantic fiction and had often longed for something like this to happen to him. It’s only drawback in his eye was that he hadn’t enough money to take the heroine of the drama to Scotland, but he could not imagine the hero of a story being baffled by a little thing like that. They always seemed to have enough money to take the heroine anywhere. But the first thing to do was to rescue her. Then he’d pawn something or other, pawn his Charles the First costume perhaps ... but then he’d have nothing to go to Scotland in ... though in any case one couldn’t travel to Scotland wearing a Charles the First costume. It was all very baffling ... but the first thing to do was to rescue her. She might have some jewels or heirlooms that they could pawn. Heroines in books always had jewels and heirlooms....