“But sure that would be to admit his guilt?”
“True, but a tacit admission of guilt don’t do you much good when the guilty person remains so discreetly at a distance that you can’t lay hands on him.”
“The sun is getting precious low, General,” ventured the watchful Brian, riding up level with Sir Harry.
“That’s true, and we seem to have collected the escort without the loss of a man. Ma’am, I owe you an apology for trespassing on your patience with these public affairs, thinking less of your entertainment than of relieving my own mind. My comfort is that you’ll forget ’em speedily.”
“True, Sir Harry. I’ll not remember anything but that you complimented me by talking about them.”
“Delany,” said Sir Harry solemnly to Brian, “were there any fragments of the Blarney Stone left behind when your sister quitted Ireland, or was the whole of it concealed in her baggage?”
“Blarney Stone, indeed!” said Brian enthusiastically, when he looked in on the Ambroses late that evening. “’Tis a harp y’ought be having, Evie—like David with Saul,—and I’ll not say but the staff will be getting up a subscription to present you with one. Think of the convenience of being able to call you in to lay the dust as soon as the old lad begins to kick it up!”
“Is it a harp, indeed! Much good that would be!” said Eveleen scornfully. “Why, I’d never be able to resist trying it on Ambrose, whom nothing on earth will move, and the General would soon find out what a useless sort of thing it was.” She stopped suddenly, catching on her husband’s face the uneasy look which showed that he could not decide whether she was in earnest or not, and a disagreeable thought struck her. Richard had said she was like the General. She had felt embarrassed this evening when the General put into words his deepest thoughts. Could it be that Richard also was embarrassed when she spoke out her thoughts without considering whether they were likely to be acceptable or not? She brushed the question aside quickly. “But I assure you Sir Harry considers it right and proper to lose his temper when the occasion calls for it,” she said.
“I believe you!” agreed Brian dolefully. “Ain’t it a pity, though, that we can’t pull a string and make him lose it when we think the occasion calls for it? With the Khans, now! If they once saw him in one of his rages, sure they’d be tumbling over one another to try and appease him.”
“Ah, then, old Gul Ali will never dare to stand out against him when he has once heard him talk seriously,” said Eveleen. “You don’t really think they’ll fight, Ambrose?”