'Alas, it is no Banbury story! Charlie has run off with that wretched girl Desford persuaded me to house for him! I shall never forgive him, never! Heaven knows it was much against my will that I consented to take her, for I didn't like her. There was always something about her that seemed to me to show a want of conduct. Those inching manners, you know, were beyond the line of being pleasing. You must recall my saying so to you, several times!'
'No, I don't recall that,' said Henrietta dryly. 'It doesn't signify, however. What does signify is this nonsensical notion that Charlie has run off with Cherry Steane. It is too absurd, Mama! Cherry doesn't like him any better than she likes any young man!'
'That was just her artfulness! Exactly what one might have expected of Wilfred Steane's daughter! I see now that she was all the time determined to get a husband. There can be no doubt that she first set her cap at Desford, only he, being up to snuff (more shame to him!), no sooner saw what her game was than he got rid of her – at my expense! Hetta, when you refused to marry Desford you had a fortunate escape! I own, I was disappointed at the time, however little you may have guessed it, but I have lived to be thankful that you are not today the wife of such an unprincipled rake! You would have been miserable, dearest! And if ever I reproached you for refusing his offer I tell you now that nothing would prevail upon me to consent to your union with him!'
'As the question doesn't arise,' said Henrietta calmly, 'must we waste time in discussing Desford's morals?'
'Certainly not!' said Lady Silverdale. 'I have no wish to discuss them! I don't wish ever to see him again, or even to waste a thought on him! In fact, if he has the effrontery to show his face here, Grimshaw will have instructions to refuse him admittance! Foisting that wretched girl on to me – throwing her in poor Charlie's way – coaxing you into believing his glib tale – !'
Knowing that no purpose would be served by entering into argument with her fuming parent, Henrietta sat in unresponsive silence until Lady Silverdale had talked herself out of breath She then said: 'What makes you suppose, ma'am, that Charlie has eloped with Cherry?'
'He did it in a tantrum, of course!'
Henrietta looked amused. 'I shouldn't have thought that even such a skip-brain as Charlie would elope because he was in a tantrum – and with a girl for whom he has never shown a sign of partiality, too!'
'He's not a skip-brain!' said Lady Silverdale, firing up. 'And as for not showing partiality, with my own eyes I saw him, not an hour after you had left the house, Hetta, hugging and kissing her !'
'Hugging her? Pray, how did he contrive to do that, with one arm in a sling, and two broken ribs?' asked Henrietta sceptically.
'He had his left arm round her, of course, and he did kiss her, for I came into the room just as he was doing it! And, what is more, Hetta, she made no effort to push him away from her!'
'You should be grateful to her for that, ma'am! Considering it was only yesterday that Dr Foston was shaking his head, and warning us that Charlie must take the greatest care, because though one of the broken ribs is mending the other is causing him to feel anxious, I think Cherry showed remarkable restraint not to struggle with him! I don't doubt that she was terrified of what might be the result of pushing him away.'
'How can you be so blind, Henrietta, as to let yourself be taken-in in this foolish way?' demanded Lady Silverdale. 'I noticed many days ago that she was a flirt – indeed, I felt obliged to warn her not to encourage gentlemen to make up to her! – and Cardle tells me – '
'I wish to hear nothing of what Cardle tells you, ma'am!' Henrietta said, rather hotly. 'It is of no consequence whatsoever! She resented Cherry from the start, and hasn't ceased to try to set you against the poor child!'
'Cardle is devoted to me,' said Lady Silverdale. 'She at least has my interests at heart!'
Henrietta started to speak, checked herself, and, after a momentary pause, said: 'What happened when you surprised Charlie kissing Cherry?'
'He released her immediately, and if ever guilt was plain to be seen in anyone's face it was in Cherry's! She was in too much confusion to be able to speak. She stammered something, turning as red as fire, and ran out of the room. And you are not to suppose, Hetta, that I didn't give Charlie a scold! I scolded him extremely severely, for whatever you may say, I do not ignore his faults. Not that I think it was his fault, but he should not have allowed himself to be led into impropriety.'
'So then he flew into one of his stupid rages, and was probably very rude to you,' nodded Henrietta.
'Yes, he was!' said Lady Silverdale, with feeling. 'He actually told me – shouted at me! – to "stubble it!" And when I asked him if he wanted to break my heart, he walked out of the room, and slammed the door in a way he must know is exces sively bad for my nerves!'
'Well, I think that was more improper than to have kissed Cherry,' said Henrietta, her mouth suitably grave, but an irre pressible twinkle in her eyes. 'I expect he will be sorry now, and be ready to beg your pardon, so don't be distressed about it, Mama!'
'He has gone !' said Lady Silverdale tragically.
'Nonsense! I daresay he flung himself out of the house in a miff, but he will be back as soon as he has recovered his temper, depend upon it!'
'Alas, you do not know all! Cherry has gone too!' disclosed Lady Silverdale, recruiting her forces with the vinaigrette. 'And if you imagine, Hetta, that I said anything to drive her out of the house in that highty-tighty fashion, you are much mistaken! Naturally I was obliged to read her a lecture, exactly as I should to you, if you ever conducted yourself with such a want of delicacy, which, thank God, you never would do!'
'And what did she say, ma'am, in answer to this gentle scold?'
'Oh, she said it hadn't been her fault, and that Charlie had taken her by surprise, and a great deal more to that wheedling tune! So I told her – perfectly kindly – that no gentleman kisses a girl unless he has received encouragement to do so; and I warned her of what might well befall her if she didn't learn to behave with more propriety. Then I said (because she began to cry) that I wasn't angry with her, and should do my best to forget the incident, and I told her to go up to her bedchamber until she was more composed.'
'Unfortunate girl!' ejaculated Henrietta. 'How could you, Mama? When she has been so grateful to you, and so good to you! Telling her such a – such a plumper, too! And she's such a goose that I expect she believed no gentleman kisses a girl unless she encourages him, and has run off to cry her eyes out! Now I shall have to go in search of her!'
Lady Silverdale was so much incensed that she bounced up from her moribund position, and sat bolt upright. 'You are as unnatural as your brother!' she declared, in a trembling voice. 'Is it nothing to you that your mother should have spent the day in an agony of anxiety? Oh, no! All you care for is that miserable little wretch you've made into a bosom-piece! As for going in search of her, she has already been searched for, and neither she nor Charlie is on the premises! And, what is more, Cardle saw her running down the backstairs not twenty minutes after I sent her to her room, and she was wearing her bonnet and shawl, and the nankeen boots I procured for her! And you call that gratitude!'
Henrietta was frowning slightly. 'She must have gone for a walk beyond our grounds, then. Foolish of her, but if she was as upset as I collect she was, she was probably bent on finding a retreat where she wouldn't be looked for. Or perhaps of seeking relief from her feelings in exercise: it's what I should do in like circumstances!'
'Wait!' commanded Lady Silverdale. 'A little later, a closed vehicle was seen to be drawn up a few yards beyond the farm gate, and one of the undergardeners saw Charlie come out into the lane, with his hat pulled down over his eyes, so that he shouldn't be recognized, of course, but James did recognize him, because he was wearing that olive-green coat, which I cannot like, and it is perfectly true, Hetta: he was wearing it today! And he looked round to be sure no one was following him, and then climbed up into the carriage. So James was in a puzzle to know what to do, be
cause all the servants know that Dr Foston has expressly forbidden Charlie to ride, or to drive, for at least another week, and he was afraid Charlie would do himself an injury. So he made up his mind to come up to the house, and try whether he could get a word in Pyworthy's ear – not that that would have been of any use, because Charlie has Pyworthy in a string! I'm sure I am glad to think Charlie's valet is so devoted to him, but there's reason in all things, and when it comes to pretending to me that he doesn't know where Charlie is, or what he's doing, as he does, over and over again – well, I think it the outside of enough!'
'Mama,' said Henrietta, with determined patience, 'Simon Carrington is waiting for me, with an urgent message, in the Green saloon, so do, pray, tell me – '
'I am telling you, but if you keep interrupting me I may as well hold my peace,' replied Lady Silverdale, in an offended voice. 'And as for Simon Carrington, I forbid you to invite him to dine here, Hetta! I don't accuse him of aiding and abetting Desford, though it wouldn't surprise me if he is, but I don't wish to set eyes on any Carrington!'
'Very well, ma'am. Did James tell Pyworthy that Cherry was in that carriage?'
'He didn't see Pyworthy,' said Lady Silverdale stiffly. 'He saw Grimshaw!'
'And told him that?'
'No, but he knew there was someone in the carriage, for the door was opened from inside it, and he saw Charlie laughing, and saying something, and who else could it have been than – '
'And on this you, and Cardle, and Grimshaw have fabricated the most fantastic Canterbury tale I ever heard! The romances you are so fond of reading, ma'am, are nothing to it!'
'But, Hetta, it is not a Canterbury tale! Where could Charlie have been going to, in that secret way, except to – '
'For heaven's sake, Mama, don't say Gretna Green!' begged Henrietta, torn between exasperation and amusement. 'Without as much as one cloak-bag between the pair of them! My guess is that Charlie has gone off on some expedition he knows you'd disapprove of; and if he does himself an injury he will be wellserved! What is more important is to discover what has become of Cherry! For how long has she been missing?'
'Hours! Both of them!' asserted her ladyship. And how you can be so heartless as to say that Cherry is more important than your only brother – '
'I don't believe he'll come to any harm,' said Henrietta impatiently. 'Dr Foston only said that because he knows him too well to think that he would be prudent unless he were frightened into it! But I do fear that Cherry may have met with some accident, and I am going to send out a searchparty, to look for her!'
She rose quickly, but was startled by a little scream from her mother. 'Charlie!' uttered Lady Silverdale, and sank back against the sofa cushions with one plump hand pressed to her heart.
Sir Charles came impetuously into the room. It was evident from his expression, and from his stammering utterance, that so far from having recovered his temper he was in a towering rage. 'I sh-should like to know, m-ma'am, what the dev – deuce – you mean by s-setting the servants to spy on me? By God, I think it beats the Dutch! Don't you frown at me, Hetta! I'll say what I dashed well choose! It's coming to something when a man can't move two steps out of his house without being followed, and spied on by his own servants, and being scolded by his butler for daring to go out without informing the whole household why he was going out, and where he was going, and when he would come back! There's no bearing it, and so I warn you, ma'am!'
'Unhappy boy!' said his mother dramatically. 'Where is Cherry?'
'How the deuce should I know? And if you mean to give me any more jobations, I'm off ! All that grand fussation just because I snatched a kiss! Anyone would think I'd tried to rape the girl!'
'Charles! If you have no respect for my sensibility, have you none for your sister's?'
'Well, I'm sorry,' he said sulkily. 'But it's enough to make a man go off on the ear when such a riot is kicked up over a mere trifle!'
'I know well that you were not to blame,' said Lady Silverdale, dabbing at her eyes. 'You shouldn't have done it, for you are old enough to know better, but I've no doubt you never would have done it had she not invited you to! So we shall say no more about it!'
He flushed darkly. 'Oh, yes, we shall say more about it!' he said furiously. 'She did not invite me to kiss her! As a matter of fact, she threatened to box my ears if I didn't let her go, silly little wet-goose! So don't you ring a peal over her, ma'am, because I won't have her blamed for what she couldn't help!'
'Charlie,' interposed Henrietta quietly, 'between them, Cardle and Grimshaw put it into my mother's head that you had eloped with Cherry, so you cannot be surprised to find her in a great deal of agitation! So do try to moderate your language!'
'Eloped with her?' he gasped. 'Next you'll say you thought I was on my way to the Border! In a hired hack, and with a girl I don't even like above half ! If you mean to tell me you thought anything so addle-brained, you must have rats in the garret, Hetta, and that's all there is to it!'
'Oh, no, I didn't!' she assured him. 'But if you don't know where she may be I must send the grooms and the gardeners out to search for her immediately.'
'If she was not in that carriage, who was?' suddenly demanded Lady Silverdale. 'Do not ask me to believe that it was one of your friends, for I should hope none of them would visit you in that sly fashion! There is some mystery about this, and I am feeling very uneasy. I can feel my palpitations coming on already. Charlie, do not be afraid to confide in me! Have you got into a scrape?'
He drew an audible breath, and said, as one goaded beyond endurance: 'Much chance I've had of getting into a scrape since I've been tied by the heels here! If you must know, it was Py worthy in the hack, and I went off with him to watch a mill! And if you want me to tell you why I sent him to hire a hack, and bring it round to the farm-gate, it was because I knew dashed well what kind of a bobbery there would be if you got wind of it, ma'am!'
Henrietta gave a low chuckle. 'I guessed as much!' she said, picking up her hat, and going to the door. 'I'll leave you to make your peace with Mama.'
'Yes, but if you mean to set the men scouring the countryside, I wish you won't!' he said uneasily. 'Dash it, she can't have come to any harm, and we don't want to set people talking!'
'Unfortunately, finding Cherry is a matter of considerable urgency,' she replied sweetly. 'I have good reason to believe that her father is coming here to claim her, and is likely to arrive at any moment. Perhaps you would like to relieve me of the task of telling him that she can't be found?'
'No, I dashed well shouldn't!' he said fervently. 'Hetta, are you bamming me? How do you know he's coming here? Good God, I thought he was dead!'
'Well, he isn't. And I know he is coming here, because Simon Carrington rode out from London to warn me of it!'
Lady Silverdale, recovering from the stupefaction which had caused her jaw to drop and her eyes to start alarmingly, shrieked after her daughter's retreating form: 'Don't dare to bring him in here, Hetta! I can't and I won't meet him. Cherry is your responsibility, not mine!'
'Don't fall into a twitter, Mama!' Henrietta said. 'I haven't the smallest intention of bringing him in here!'
Fourteen
Henrietta found that Grimshaw was hovering in the wide corridor which led from the hall to the drawing-room, and at once gave him the necessary directions for an organized search for Miss Steane. He received these in a manner which showed her that the cumulative effects of having received a rating from herself and of being rattled off, probably in a most intemperate language, by his raging young master, had been so salutary as to render him, temporarily at least, all eagerness to oblige. He tried to detain her by excusing his own share in the day's evil happenings, but as he very meanly cast all the blame on to Cardle she had little compunction in cutting short his protestations. She then went quickly to the Green saloon, where she found Simon pacing round the room in a fret of impatience.
'Good God, Hetta, I thought you was never coming!' he exclaimed. 'I've
been feeling like a cat on a hot bakestone!'
'You look like one!' she told him. 'I came as soon as I could, but my mother was in such a taking – '
'What, has Charlie indeed eloped with Miss Steane?' he demanded incredulously. 'What a hare-brained thing to do!'
'No, of course he hasn't! He came in a few minutes ago. He went off to watch a prize-fight, and stole out of the house so that my mother should know nothing about it. That's no matter! But what is more serious is that Cherry has been missing for several hours, and since my mother, egged on by her woman, and by Grimshaw, had it firmly fixed in her head that she had run off with Charlie no one has made the least push to find her. I've told Grimshaw to send the men out immediately to search for her, and can only trust that they do find her before her father arrives.'
He blinked at her. 'Yes, but – Did she steal out of the house too? What I mean is, queer sort of thing to do, isn't it? Not telling anyone she was going out. Come to think of it, it ain't the thing for a girl of her age to jaunter off without leave! I know Griselda never did so – in fact, I'm pretty sure my mother never allowed her to go out walking beyond the grounds without someone to bear her company, even if it was only her abigail.'