Harum Scarum's Fortune

  *CHAPTER XVI.*

  *UNEXPECTED NEWS.*

  "Oh, Toney, what did you give them?" asked Mrs. Faber, when they allreturned to Toney's sitting-room. "Wasn't it a pity to----"

  "Now Chum is against me. It was only five pounds each, as they had topay the journeys--Mr. Waycott, you are the only one who understands."

  "I'm delighted you say so, but--in what way do I show my superiorwisdom?" said Lewis smiling.

  "You don't think that money is a little china god that has to be handledcarefully."

  "I suppose we all have crooked ideas of money," he said, conscious thathe didn't care much about these wayfaring beggars; certainly not at allas Toney did.

  "They shouldn't have been so impatient," said Plantagenet Russell,turning over his big book. "I had only reached the letter H, but I'llsend a card at once to all the rest, or we shall have dailyprocessions."

  "Well, I'm very glad they came, for now you see with your own eye, Mr.Russell, that my poor clergy, doctors, sailors, and relations of theabove, do exist!" They all laughed.

  "Of course they exist, Miss Whitburn, but if they had been properlycareful and hard-working they wouldn't now be out of elbows. And MissSmith was so ridiculous about her age!"

  "She was a bit jibby about it, wasn't she? but I expect she had a loversomewhere, and she doesn't like to let it out."

  "Oh, Toney, you are too romantic--you always were," said Mrs. Faber.

  "Anyhow, you can't complain of deaf Captain Grant. He looked socheerful, and did not want to hide his age."

  Plantagenet turned over to the letter G in his book.

  "Here he is; Grant, Charles, Captain. Lost hearing and work. Verysmall income, age sixty, only poor relations, references."

  "Of course they sound uninteresting as tabulated folk. I'm sure St.Francis never tabulated people! There's a lovely story of one of thebrothers, who was nursing a leper, being told to go fifteen miles off,and not liking to leave his patient, took him up on his back from dawnto sunrise all the way, and no one could believe he could have done itin the time, so everybody was awfully astonished."

  "I'm thankful there are no lepers in England now, Miss Whitburn," saidMr. Russell in his drawling voice; "I'm rather afraid you might wish meto carry one of them fifteen miles if you sent me on a message.Couldn't do it, I assure you!"

  The idea made them all laugh.

  "I must go back now," said Lewis, "and, short of lepers, what can I doto help you?"

  "I really think we must all help to answer the letters if you will cometo-morrow morning; Mr. Russell has composed a short note asking for allparticulars."

  "Age and pedigree! Well, Russell, I'll turn up and help to-morrow,"said Lewis, nodding towards the secretary.

  "There's the bell," exclaimed Mrs. Faber. "I expect Lady Dove will wanther novel. Henry says I must come home to-morrow. I do hope MissGrossman will be well enough to come down."

  "I'll find time, if she is not, Chum, dear. You are such an angel! Youare just like Santa Clara; isn't she, Mr. Russell?"

  "I'm not acquainted with Santa Clara," he answered, "but I shall bequite willing to do anything I can for Lady Dove, Mrs. Faber, when mylabours are lessened."

  Toney went off with Lewis, she felt she must have a stretch after heranxieties.

  "I'm so happy about that land," she exclaimed, as the two crossed thepark in the twilight, "that I can't feel upset even! I shall write tomy architect to-night. You do seem to make everything straight."

  "Do I?" said Lewis in a low voice. Was it ever going to dawn on Toneywhy he tried to make everything straight? At present he feared shecredited him with pure love of humanity. If only he dared speak; but,no, that money stood in the way. How he hated fifty thousand a year!

  "Yes, you do; and that's why, when I have any plan, I always think firstof you. Dear Chum is so afraid of doing wrong, and Uncle Evas is sojust--straight-ahead-going, that a secret is really no use at all withhim! He blurts it out at the most inconvenient moment! He is a dearold duck all the same! He sits up all night, or did, to write mybusiness letters because Aunt Dove couldn't bear to see him do it.Well, but that's not what I wanted to ask you about."

  "Any more stray sheep, Toney? They're pretty thick on the ground as itis!"

  "I hope they are all in the fold to-night, but I want to talk aboutJeanie and Maud Hamilton. I know you would like them to have somethingnice and so you can best help me."

  "My dear Toney, they wouldn't like being tabulated," said Lewislaughing.

  "No, of course not. I wish Mr. Russell had not that craze; however,Pups used to say, 'every man knows what crutch suits him best.' I neverquite knew what he meant, but I do now: Mr. Russell finds that big bookhis crutch."

  "But what about the Hamiltons? You know Aunt Honoria and I are alwaysdelighted to have them with us. My Uncle Hamilton was an easy-goingspendthrift, and never thought what would happen when he died, so whenhe departed this life, they said he had quietly eaten more than half hiscapital."

  "I daresay he helped other people, so that's just the reason why otherpeople should take care of his children. Jeanie loves music and wantsto go to Vienna, I heard her say so, and Maud--Maud is nice, isn't she?"

  "Yes, she is vastly improved."

  "Yes, and she is what Aunt Dove calls a 'real lady.' Of course shelooked hard at me when she said it! She meant I wasn't, and I'm not, Iknow I wasn't born that way---- Well, I want somehow to give Maud agood time and Jeanie too at Vienna. I want to pay all their masters andexpenses, and how is it to be managed without letting them know it?"

  "Toney, you really mustn't---- Besides, there's no way of doing it."

  "Yes, there must be some uncle in Australia or Africa, or Klondike, thatwould send them three hundred pounds."

  "I don't know of any such individual. Yes, by the way, there is an oldcousin in the Argentine, from whom they expect a legacy. I believe heis a penniless rascal, but they paint him with a coat of gilding andcall him, 'dear Cousin Seaton.'" They laughed together like two goodcomrades.

  "He'll do! Mr. Staines, who is very understanding, will get someone tosend it from the Argentine, and that will be true. 'Three hundredpounds from a friend in the Argentine for musical training in Germany,'and they'll jump to conclusions!"

  "And you want me to abet you in the falsehood?"

  "Of course. You will have to belong to the 'poor little disciples,' asSt. Francis liked his brothers to be called, and they had to do allsorts of queer commissions."

  "Did the 'poor little disciples' have to swallow bare-faced deceptions?"

  "I think so, for they couldn't have liked all they had to do and yetthey said they did! It is a farce, isn't it? Oh, good-bye, there'sUncle Evas coming, and I'll just walk back with him. He's a little downto-day. Guess he's had to make head against a breeze. He's quite readyfor a 'poor little disciple.'"

  Lewis could not help laughing. Something in Toney carried all beforeher, because she never let self get into her plans. Sir Evas brightenedup as he met his niece.

  "Hulloa! where are you two going? I've had a day among the farms.There's a lot of repairs to be done and they think I must see them allmyself."

  "So you should, uncle! Tell you what, we'll just titivate them all upand you'll have no more trouble for years."

  "My dear Toney! It's much better done by degrees, doesn't drain theproperty so much."

  "We'll do it now, uncle, and all at once. You always say, 'make haywhile the sun shines,' and that's what I am doing."

  "Toney has been making hay with a vengeance to-day, Sir Evas," and Lewistold the history of the _avant garde_.

  "My dear girl, the house will be besieged! You see, Lewis, what amistake the General made," said Sir Evas laughing, "did your aunt----Ehem--bear it well?"

  Toney shook her head.

  "It shan't happen again, uncle. We'll tabulate hard to-morrow. It allcomes of tabulating! Now prete
nd you know nothing about it. Whereignorance is bliss. Good-bye, Mr. Waycott, and thank you awfully much.Now, Uncle Evas, we must quick trot home, it's Chum's last evening.Remember to be very nice and grateful to her. She's done a lot of hardwork you know."

  "So have we all, Toney! However, I'll compose a speech on the way home.Good night, Waycott, hope you don't want speeches."

  Lewis surreptitiously watched them going off. It seemed like the lastray of evening sunshine disappearing in the woods. Why should he botherabout the money? Why? Then he shook his head. Everyone would say hehad married Toney's fifty thousand. His pride rebelled and even aperfectly clear conscience could not conquer it.

  "There's a lovely moon so we shan't be benighted," said Toney, takingher uncle's arm.

  "I say, Toney, we mustn't be late for dinner," he said walking quicker.He was trying to brace himself to hear the story of the _avant garde_,and this time he knew it would not be accompanied with laughter.

  "Isn't dinner a bother? Meals in general too. Brother Juniper, that'sthe one who didn't speak for six months and played see-saw with thechildren--well, he once was left alone and he was told to see he cookedsome food when the others returned, and he agreed, but when they weregone he thought it was a lot of trouble so much food cooking, so he wentbegging for food and made a big fire, and borrowed big pots and put allthe food he got into it. Fowls with their feathers on, and eggs withtheir shells, and the fire was so big that he had to tie a plank on hisbody to get near the pots. Then at last he rang the bell and all thebrothers came, expecting great things, and he said, 'Eat well, for Ihave cooked enough for a fortnight, and then we can all go to prayer andthink no more about food.'"

  "I hope they enjoyed it!" said Sir Evas absently. He was thinking of hiswife.

  "It says so quaintly that, 'there is not a pig in all the land of Romeso famished as to have eaten it!' But he got a wigging from theGeneral!"

  This chimed in with Sir Evas' thoughts.

  "I daresay he deserved it! Fowls with their feathers on can't be verydigestible."

  "Anyhow he was right about the time we waste over our meals! Do youknow, uncle, you are rather like Brother Amazialbene."

  "Good heavens, what a name! Didn't your Brother shorten it ever?"

  "No, you see they had time then. Anyhow, he possessed the virtues ofpatience and obedience, for if he were beaten for the whole day long, hewould never murmur nor complain with a single word!"

  "I don't think I should take the beating so easily! But I want to say,Toney, that you are giving away your money right and left rather toofreely. There's moderation in all things, my dear child."

  "Dear old ducky. It's just perfect to hear you! I'm only afraid of notbeing able to get rid of it all, but I mean to try."

  "You must remember--Ehem--if you were to marry, of course your husbandwould help you to get rid of a good lot!"

  Toney turned the conversation and the two who so well understood eachother appeared in the Aldersfield drawing-room just as Lady Dove wastelling Mrs. Faber to leave off as it was time to dress.

  "Oh, there you are! Well, I do think, Evas, that you might havereturned to tea. Has Antonia told you of the terrible inroad we havehad? If----"

  "Yes, yes, it was a mistake--but they didn't do any harm, did they?"

  "Lewis Waycott and Edward Lang were here happily, and were verygood-natured. By the way, I have had Mrs. Kenward here, and I haveheard some news about him, which of course I have been expecting."

  "Indeed, what's that?" said Sir Evas, pleasantly relieved that the stormwas blowing over, whilst Toney leant against the door and listened.

  "Lewis is going to marry his cousin Maud. It is private as yet, butquite understood."

  "Good gracious! Strange we have not heard it!"

  "Oh, you men have no eyes. At the party I saw them constantly smilingat each other, and Mrs. Hamilton said very pointedly something aboutyoung people fancying no one saw their inclinations. I guessed hermeaning. Well, she has been working that way for some years, she meansto feather her nest well, but of course it's a pity!"

  Without knowing what he was doing, Sir Evas turned towards Toney, and tohis surprise he found her gone.

  "Well," he said, "I always thought he liked Toney! But it's no usemeddling with such things."

  Upstairs Toney was sitting on her window-sill with Trick in her arms.She had locked her door, and for the first time in her life there was nosmile on her lips at the thought of Lewis Waycott.

  "Oh, I am glad, I must be glad that he will be happy," she said toherself, "but I wish he had told me himself, though she is a nice girland will sort of do all he wishes." Then she laid her head againstTrick's face and whispered, "Trick, Trick, you'll not leave yourmistress, will you, dear? You're all I've got of my very own."