Blanche: A Story for Girls

felt as if he were dreaming, and yet--there could be nodoubt that all he had heard was true. The facts spoke for themselves.Here the Derwents were, installed in the back rooms of the Blissmoremilliner's house.

  And yet how nice it was! The sunny afternoon and the old garden;nothing to jar even upon the ultra refinement with which he was oftentaxed. Was it that Blanche Derwent, by the perfect sweetness anddignity of her presence, shed harmony and beauty about her wherever shemight happen to be? He almost thought that herein was to be found thesecret of it all.

  "Why are we all standing?" said Stasy, with her rather incisive, girlishabruptness. Her voice recalled the young man to matters of fact. Hehastily turned to draw forward some of the seats that were standingabout.

  "I daresay mamma won't come down for a minute or two," Stasy continued."She told me just now that she had two or three letters that she mustfinish for the post."

  Mr Dunstan looked rather guilty.

  "I do hope she will not hurry on my account," he said. "I am in nohurry, but I do want to see Mrs Derwent. I have a"--and hehesitated--"a message for her from an old friend. At least I promisedto give her news of him the first time I saw her."

  "Indeed," said Blanche, who, if she felt curious as to who the oldfriend might be, for her own reasons repressed her curiosity.

  But Stasy was less self-contained.

  "An old friend," she repeated eagerly. "How interesting! I wonder whoit was. Do tell us, Mr Dunstan."

  Archie was by no means reluctant to do so. Anything to get out of thestilted commonplace-isms which had begun the conversation.

  "It is no one you know personally," he said, turning rather pointedly toStasy; "though you have probably heard of him, as he was yourgrandfathers greatest friend--I mean old Sir Adam Nigel."

  Stasy almost clapped her hands.

  "Oh, how glad I am," she exclaimed, "and how delighted mamma will be!She has been longing to hear of him again. Is he in England? He was tohave come in the spring."

  "No," Mr Dunstan replied, "I came across him at Cannes. I ran downthere for a week last month to see an old relation of mine. Sir Adamhas not been in England for two years, but he hopes to come over beforevery long, and he is sure to stay at Alderwood with my aunt, if he doesso, as Mrs Lilford has suggested it. He asked me if I had met MrsDerwent when I was staying there, and he was so pleased to hear aboutyou all. I am staying at Alderwood again just now, you know, for a dayor two by myself."

  Blanche suddenly raised her eyes and looked at him.

  "Does," she said--"did Sir Adam know, when you saw him, of--of what hadhappened to us? That we had lost all our money?"

  "No," said Archie. He could not hesitate or feel awkward, when the girlwas so straightforward. "No, he certainly had heard nothing about it.I doubt if he has heard it even now."

  "I am glad of that," said Blanche, "for he has not written."

  "I did not know myself--I had not the slightest idea of it--till twodays ago, when I came down here," said the young man; "and I cannot tellyou how dreadfully sorry I was, for I suppose it is all quite true?"

  "Quite true," replied Blanche. "Thank you for being sorry about it. Iam rather surprised at your not having heard of it before. Not, ofcourse, that our affairs are of general interest. But have you not seenLady Hebe lately? I wrote to tell her about it, because it affected thework I had undertaken to do for her."

  "And has she not written to you direct?" inquired Mr Dunstan quickly.

  Blanche shook her head slightly.

  Archies face darkened.

  "I don't understand her," he said, as if speaking to himself.--"No," hewent on aloud, "I have not seen her for some time; she has been away forseveral weeks at Coblenz, of all places in the world at this time ofyear. She is back in London now, but I didn't call before coming down,"he finished, rather abruptly.

  "I thought you were such very great friends," said Stasy, looking himfull in the face. "Have you had a quarrel?"

  "_Stasy_!" said Blanche, her colour rising as she spoke.

  But before she had time to say more, the rustle of a skirt across thegrass made her start up. Their mother had just come out to join them.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

  HERTY'S CONFIDENCES.

  Derwent greeted Mr Dunstan with quiet courtesy, scarcely, however,amounting to friendliness. He was instantly conscious of the slightchange in her manner, and at exerted himself to regain the ground hefound he had somehow lost. This, under usual conditions, would haverequired little effort on the young man's part, for he was gifted withthat charm of manner which springs from a really unaffected andunselfish character. "Spoilt" he might well have been, and to someextent, in fact, he was so. But the spoiling did not go far below thesurface. Yet it was second nature to him to feel himself more thanwelcome wherever he chose to go. Awkwardness of any kind was aperfectly novel sensation.

  What was the matter this afternoon? He felt embarrassed andself-conscious, as if treading on ground where he had no right to be.

  Mrs Derwent's attitude was that of tacit expectation, as if waiting tohear the reason of his visit, so Archie's preliminary remarks about theheat in London, and the refreshment of getting a day or two in thecountry, fell rather flat.

  So at last he plunged abruptly into the only tangible explanation of hisvisit he could lay hold on.

  "I have just been telling Miss Derwent," he began, "that I met a veryold friend of yours the other day at Cannes. He is an old friend ofsome of my people's too--Sir Adam Nigel--who used long ago to live atAlderwood, you know."

  Mrs Derwent's manner grew more cordial, and her face lighted up.

  "Oh," she exclaimed, "I am so glad to hear about him. He spoke of us--of me--then, to you?"

  "Oh dear, yes," said Archie, delighted at his success. "He asked me noend of questions about you, when he heard I had had the pleasure ofmeeting you. And he begged me to give you all kinds of messages, as Itold him I was sure to see you again before long. I'm always turning upin this neighbourhood," he went on, "though my own home is in anothercounty, for my uncle Dunstan was my guardian, and they've been atAlderwood for fifteen years or so now. Mrs Lilford has never reallysettled there."

  "Dear me," said Mrs Derwent, "that makes it seem still longer since itwas almost like home to me," and her face saddened again a little. "DidSir Adam say nothing about coming over this year?" she added. "I hadhoped to see him before this."

  "Mamma," said Blanche gently, "Mr Dunstan tells us that Sir Adam had noidea of what has happened, or that we had left Pinnerton Lodge."

  "No indeed," said Archie eagerly.

  Mrs Derwent's face cleared again.

  "I am not surprised," she said. "Indeed, I felt sure of it, from hisnot having written again."

  "He is pretty certain to be in this neighbourhood before the winter,"added Archie, "and then, of course." But he hesitated. It was not hisplace to assure Mrs Derwent that her old friend would look her up.

  "Yes; then, of course, I shall see him," she said, finishing thesentence for him. "But I think perhaps I will write, as, no doubt, MrDunstan, you can give me his present address."

  "Certainly I can," the young man replied. "That's to say, I can giveyou the Cannes address, and from there his letters are sure to beforwarded."

  Just then Herty reappeared, carefully carrying a plateful of butteredtoast.

  "There were no tea-cakes," he said apologetically; "so Aline and me havebeen making this."

  "Buttered toast in July!" exclaimed Stasy contemptuously. "And you lookas if you'd been toasting your face too, Herty; you're as red as aturkey-cock."

  Herty's beaming face clouded over.

  "I thought you'd like it so much," he said. "You generally do, Stasy."

  "Of course we like it," said Blanche, as she began to pour out the tea.

  "I think there's nothing better than buttered toast at any time of theyear," said Archie heartily, at once following Blanche's lead.

  He was begin
ning to feel quite himself again. More than that, indeed,when Blanche glanced at him with an approving smile such as she had notyet favoured him with. How lovely she looked! He had always thoughther lovely, but never, it seemed to him, had he seen her to suchadvantage as now; the afternoon sunshine adding a glow to her fair hair,and a touch of warmth to the delicate tints of her face, which hadstruck him as rather pale when he first saw her. Yet nothing could besimpler than the holland dress she was wearing. What made it sograceful in its folds? He had often condemned