“No need of that, madam. Your husband did me a very great service, and I am merely arranging this as a pleasant surprise for him, and also because of the intense admiration your eldest daughter exhibits for me.”
The girl tossed her head.
“He’s a humbug, mother; don’t believe him. There’s something bogus in all this. I’ll warrant you those notes are counterfeit. He wants to get us out of the house, and then steal the furniture. I read about a person like him in the papers. He got seven years.”
Lord Stranleigh laughed.
“Why, how sharp you are, unbelieving creature. You’ve guessed it the first time. Is the furniture in this villa worth three hundred pounds?”
“No, it isn’t,” said the girl promptly.
“Very well. Take those notes to the bank, and get golden sovereigns for them, leaving your mother on guard till you return. They’ll probably ask you where you got them, and you will answer thus: ‘They are the proceeds of a draft for three hundred pounds which Lord Stranleigh of Wychwood cashed at the London and County to-day, at half-past eleven.’ If they still wish to know how you came by them, say that Lord Stranleigh is the owner of several steamships, and that your father is captain of the largest of them. Say nothing of the Rajah, because he is now chief of a steamer twice her size. I took notes because they were lighter to carry, but when you get the gold I hope you will do what I ask of you, and leave this house promptly, so that I can steal its furniture without molestation.”
“Are you Lord Stranleigh?” gasped the mother.
“Yes, madam, and there’s one other favor I beg of you, and of these three charming girls. Mention to nobody that your father has returned. Neither he nor I wish this known for a while yet, and I am quite sure four women can keep the secret, even if one man can’t.”
“There’s nothing wrong, is there?” asked the anxious woman.