CHAPTER 25.
"I was never so upset in my life!" said Lady Caroline.
She had been saying the same thing and many other things for thepast five minutes. Until the departure of the last guest she hadkept an icy command of herself and shown an unruffled front to theworld. She had even contrived to smile. But now, with the finalautomobile whirring homewards, she had thrown off the mask. Thevery furniture of Lord Marshmoreton's study seemed to shrink, searedby the flame of her wrath. As for Lord Marshmoreton himself, helooked quite shrivelled.
It had not been an easy matter to bring her erring brother to bay.The hunt had been in progress full ten minutes before she and LordBelpher finally cornered the poor wretch. His plea, through thekeyhole of the locked door, that he was working on the familyhistory and could not be disturbed, was ignored; and now he wasface to face with the avengers.
"I cannot understand it," continued Lady Caroline. "You know thatfor months we have all been straining every nerve to break off thishorrible entanglement, and, just as we had begun to hope thatsomething might be done, you announce the engagement in the mostpublic manner. I think you must be out of your mind. I can hardlybelieve even now that this appalling thing has happened. I amhoping that I shall wake up and find it is all a nightmare. How youcan have done such a thing, I cannot understand."
"Quite!" said Lord Belpher.
If Lady Caroline was upset, there are no words in the language thatwill adequately describe the emotions of Percy.
From the very start of this lamentable episode in high life, Percyhad been in the forefront of the battle. It was Percy who had hadhis best hat smitten from his head in the full view of allPiccadilly. It was Percy who had suffered arrest and imprisonmentin the cause. It was Percy who had been crippled for days owing tohis zeal in tracking Maud across country. And now all hissufferings were in vain. He had been betrayed by his own father.
There was, so the historians of the Middle West tell us, a man ofChicago named Young, who once, when his nerves were unstrung, puthis mother (unseen) in the chopping-machine, and canned her andlabelled her "Tongue". It is enough to say that the glance ofdisapproval which Percy cast upon his father at this juncture wouldhave been unduly severe if cast by the Young offspring upon theirparent at the moment of confession.
Lord Marshmoreton had rallied from his initial panic. The spirit ofrevolt began to burn again in his bosom. Once the die is cast forrevolution, there can be no looking back. One must defy, notapologize. Perhaps the inherited tendencies of a line of ancestorswho, whatever their shortcomings, had at least known how to treattheir women folk, came to his aid. Possibly there stood by his sidein this crisis ghosts of dead and buried Marshmoretons, whisperingspectral encouragement in his ear--the ghosts, let us suppose, ofthat earl who, in the days of the seventh Henry, had stabbed hiswife with a dagger to cure her tendency to lecture him at night; orof that other earl who, at a previous date in the annals of thefamily, had caused two aunts and a sister to be poisoned apparentlyfrom a mere whim. At any rate, Lord Marshmoreton produced fromsome source sufficient courage to talk back.
"Silly nonsense!" he grunted. "Don't see what you're making allthis fuss about. Maud loves the fellow. I like the fellow.Perfectly decent fellow. Nothing to make a fuss about. Whyshouldn't I announce the engagement?"
"You must be mad!" cried Lady Caroline. "Your only daughter and aman nobody knows anything about!"
"Quite!" said Percy.
Lord Marshmoreton seized his advantage with the skill of an adroitdebater.
"That's where you're wrong. I know all about him. He's a very richman. You heard the way all those people at dinner behaved when theyheard his name. Very celebrated man! Makes thousands of pounds ayear. Perfectly suitable match in every way."
"It is not a suitable match," said Lady Caroline vehemently. "Idon't care whether this Mr. Bevan makes thousands of pounds a yearor twopence-ha'penny. The match is not suitable. Money is noteverything."
She broke off. A knock had come on the door. The door opened, andBillie Dore came in. A kind-hearted girl, she had foreseen thatLord Marshmoreton might be glad of a change of subject at aboutthis time.
"Would you like me to help you tonight?" she asked brightly. "Ithought I would ask if there was anything you wanted me to do."
Lady Caroline snatched hurriedly at her aristocratic calm. Sheresented the interruption acutely, but her manner, when she spoke,was bland.
"Lord Marshmoreton will not require your help tonight," she said."He will not be working."
"Good night," said Billie.
"Good night," said Lady Caroline.
Percy scowled a valediction.
"Money," resumed Lady Caroline, "is immaterial. Maud is in noposition to be obliged to marry a rich man. What makes the thingimpossible is that Mr. Bevan is nobody. He comes from nowhere. Hehas no social standing whatsoever."
"Don't see it," said Lord Marshmoreton. "The fellow's a thoroughlydecent fellow. That's all that matters."
"How can you be so pig-headed! You are talking like an imbecile.Your secretary, Miss Dore, is a nice girl. But how would you feelif Percy were to come to you and say that he was engaged to bemarried to her?"
"Exactly!" said Percy. "Quite!"
Lord Marshmoreton rose and moved to the door. He did it with acertain dignity, but there was a strange hunted expression in hiseyes.
"That would be impossible," he said.
"Precisely," said his sister. "I am glad that you admit it."
Lord Marshmoreton had reached the door, and was standing holdingthe handle. He seemed to gather strength from its support.
"I've been meaning to tell you about that," he said.
"About what?"
"About Miss Dore. I married her myself last Wednesday," said LordMarshmoreton, and disappeared like a diving duck.