“Of course I will not,” answered Nan, quite shocked. “Dick would not ask me to do such a thing; he is far too honorable, and—and—no one would think of such a thing.”
“Very well; that is all I wanted to know;” and he released her, not over-gently: “the rest I can settle with Master Dick himself. Good-morning, Miss Nancy: under the circumstances I do not think I will wait to see your mother. I am not quite in the mood for ladies; perhaps, later on, I may have something to say to her.”
“Don’t you mean to shake hands with me, Mr. Mayne?” asked poor Nan, much distressed at the evil temper of Dick’s father; but there was no sign of softening.
“Yes; I will shake hands with you, and gladly, if you will promise to be sensible and send this boy of mine about his business. 229 Come now, Nan; own for my comfort that it is only a bit of boy-and-girl nonsense, that means nothing. I am not over-particular, and do not object to a bit of flirting with young folk.”
“You had better go with your father, Dick,” returned Nan, with much dignity, and quite ignoring this speech.
Dick seized the little hand that had been so rudely rejected, and kissed it under his father’s eyes.
“I will see you again somehow,” he whispered, and Nan was quite content with this promise. Dick would keep his word, she knew: he would not leave Hadleigh without seeing her.
A very unpleasant hour ensued for poor Dick. Mr. Mayne in one of his worst tempers; he had conducted himself to Nan in an ungentlemanly manner, and he knew it; as Dick said to himself,—
“It is very hard on a fellow when one’s father acts like a cad.”
Mr. Mayne had shown himself a cad. No gentleman by birth or breeding would have conducted himself in that offensive way. Bad temper had broken down the trammels of conventionality: never before in his life had Dick felt so utterly ashamed of his father. Mr. Mayne was conscious of his son’s criticism, and it made things worse.