第66章

“Doyouknowifitismydaughter？”askedMelbury。

Thewaiterdidnot。

“Doyouknowthelady’sname？”

Ofthis，too，thehouseholdwasignorant，thehotelhavingbeentakenbybrand-newpeoplefromadistance。Theyknewthegentlemanverywellbysight，andhadnotthoughtitnecessarytoaskhimtoenterhisname。

“Oh，thegentlemanappearsagainnow。”saidMelburytohimself。

“Well，Iwanttoseethelady。”hedeclared。

Amessagewastakenup，andaftersomedelaytheshapeofGraceappeareddescendingroundthebendofthestair-case，lookingasifshelivedthere，butinotherrespectsratherguiltyandfrightened。

“Why——whatthename——“beganherfather。“Ithoughtyouwentouttogetparsley！”

“Oh，yes——Idid——butitisallright。”saidGrace，inaflurriedwhisper。“Iamnotalonehere。IamherewithEdgar。Itisentirelyowingtoanaccident，father。”

“Edgar！Anaccident！Howdoeshecomehere？Ithoughthewastwohundredmileoff。”

“Yes，soheis——Imeanhehasgotabeautifulpracticetwohundredmilesoff；hehasboughtitwithhisownmoney，somethatcametohim。Buthetravelledhere，andIwasnearlycaughtinaman-

trap，andthat’showitisIamhere。Wewerejustthinkingofsendingamessengertoletyouknow。”

Melburydidnotseemtobeparticularlyenlightenedbythisexplanation。

“Youwerecaughtinaman-trap？”

“Yes；mydresswas。That’showitarose。Edgarisup-stairsinhisownsitting-room。”shewenton。“Hewouldnotmindseeingyou，Iamsure。”

“Oh，faith，Idon’twanttoseehim！Ihaveseenhimtoooftena’ready。I’llseehimanothertime，perhaps，if’tistooblige’ee。”

“Hecametoseeme；hewantedtoconsultmeaboutthislargepartnershipIspeakof，asitisverypromising。”

“Oh，Iamgladtohearit。”saidMelbury，dryly。

Apauseensued，duringwhichtheinquiringfacesandwhity-brownclothesofMelbury’scompanionsappearedinthedoor-way。

“Thenbain’tyoucominghomewithus？”heasked。

“I——Ithinknot。”saidGrace，blushing。

“H’m——verywell——youareyourownmistress。”hereturned，intoneswhichseemedtoassertotherwise。“Good-night；“andMelburyretreatedtowardsthedoor。

“Don’tbeangry，father。”shesaid，followinghimafewsteps。“I

havedoneitforthebest。”

“Iamnotangry，thoughitistrueIhavebeenalittlemisledinthis。However，good-night。Imustgethomealong。”

Heleftthehotel，notwithoutrelief，fortobeundertheeyesofstrangerswhileheconversedwithhislostchildhadembarrassedhimmuch。Hissearch-party，too，hadlookedawkwardthere，havingrushedtothetaskofinvestigation——someintheirshirtsleeves，othersintheirleatheraprons，andallmuchstained——justastheyhadcomefromtheirworkofbarking，andnotintheirShertonmarketingattire；whileCreedle，withhisropesandgrapnelsandairofimpendingtragedy，hadaddedmelancholytogawkiness。

“Now，neighbors。”saidMelbury，onjoiningthem，“asitisgettinglate，we’lllegithomeagainasfastaswecan。Ioughttotellyouthattherehasbeensomemistake——somearrangemententeredintobetweenMr。andMrs。FitzpierswhichIdidn’tquiteunderstand——animportantpracticeintheMidlandcountieshascometohim，whichmadeitnecessaryforhertojoinhimto-night——soshesays。That’sallitwas——andI’msorryIdraggedyouout。”

“Well。”saidthehollow-turner，“herebewesixmilefromhome，andnight-time，andnotahossorfour-footedcreepingthingtoourname。Isay，we’llhaveamosselandadropo’summattostrengthenournervesaforewevampallthewaybackagain？Mythroat’sasdryasakex。Whatd’yesayso’s？”

Theyallconcurredintheneedforthiscourse，andproceededtotheantiqueandlamplessbackstreet，inwhichtheredcurtainoftheThreeTunswastheonlyradiantobject。AssoonastheyhadstumbleddownintotheroomMelburyorderedthemtobeserved，whentheymadethemsel