"Only a woman, Sir; but by no means bad. Sir Gervais always takes M.
Honore with him on board the yacht; but you"ll see, Sir, that she knows how to roast, and we have a sweet saddle of Welsh mutton to-day, if it"s not over-done."
"That"s what I"m afraid of, Rickards," said the lawyer; and if a sigh ever denoted sorrow, his did as he spoke. "Is the mutton small?"
"Very small, Sir. Mountain mutton."
"And of course it will be done to rags! She serves it with currant-jelly, I snppose?"
"No, Sir, with guava. Sir Gervais prefers it."
"And what else was there on your bill of fare for to-day?"
"A very simple dinner, Sir. Partridges on toast, a salad of white truffles, and a roast hare."
"Quite enough, quite enough. Do you bring your wine down with you!"
"Only the Madeira, Sir. Sir Gervais gets some claret oyer from an Irish house called Sneyd"s, which he calls very drinkable."
"So do I, too; very drinkable, indeed; and your Madeira, you say, you bring with you. I say, Rickards, I think a gla.s.s of it and a biscuit wouldn"t be amiss, if I"m to wait much longer."
"I was just thinking the same, Sir; and if you"ll step into the dining-room and take a morsel of game-pie, I"ll fetch the Madeira out of the sun. It"s fine and mellow by this time."
"Is this your woman cook"s performance?" said Mr. M"Kinky, as he helped himself for the second time to the pie.
"Yes, Sir; and she"d do better, too, if it wasn"t that the ladies don"t like so much jelly. Here"s a fine whole truffle, Sir!"
"She"s a valuable woman--a very valuable woman. Tell her, Rickards, that I drank her health in a b.u.mper. Yes, up to the brim with it. She shall have all the honours."
"Something sweet, Sir? A little cherry tart?"
"Well, a little cherry tart I" ll not object to. No, no, Rickards, don"t open champagne for me."
"It"s in the ice, Sir, and quite ready."
"Let it stay there. I"m very simple about both eating and drinking. I"d not have made a bad hermit, if I hadn"t been a lawyer."
"No, indeed, Sir! I never saw a gentleman so easily pleased. You"re not like Mr. Grenfell, Sir, that has the bill of fare brought up every morning to his dressing-room; ay, and M. Honore himself, too, summoned, just as if it was before a magistrate, to explain what"s the meaning of this, and why he doesn"t do the other."
"Your master permits this?"
"He likes it, Sir; he laughs heartily at it."
"And the ladies, do they like it?"
"Oh, Mr. Grenfell only comes over to Beau Park when the ladies is away, Sir, up in town, or at the sea-side."
"He"s no favourite of theirs, then?"
"I don"t believe they ever saw him, Sir. At all events, he was never down with us when we were all at home."
"I suspect I know why," said M"Kinlay, knowingly.
"Yes, Sir," replied Rickards, as knowingly, while he took up a jar of pickled onions from the sideboard, and held it ostentatiously forward.
"You"re right, Rickards, you"ve hit it correctly. One gla.s.s more of that admirable wine. What"s that great ringing at the gate? Is that your mistress?"
"No, Sir. The lodge people have orders never to keep her waiting; they always have a look-out when she"s coming. There it is again. If you"ll excuse me a moment, Sir, I"d better step out and see what it means!"
The permission was graciously accorded, and Mr. M"Kinlay emptied the last of the Madeira into his gla.s.s, discussing with himself whether the world had anything really more enjoyable to offer than a simple cottage life, with a good cook, and a capital cellar! Little heed did he give to the absence of Rickards, nor was he in the least aware that the bland butler had been above a quarter of an hour away, when he entered flushed and excited.
"It"s the same as a burglary, Sir, there"s no difference; and it"s by good luck you are here to declare the law of it!"
"What"s the matter--what has happened, Rickards?"
"They"re in the drawing-room, Sir; they walked in by the open windows; there was no keeping them out."
"Who are in the drawing-room?"
"The tourists, Sir," exclaimed Rickards. "The tourists! The people that would force their way into Windsor Castle and go through it, if the King was at his dinner there!"
Strong in a high purpose, and bold with the stout courage of that glorious Madeira, Mr. M"Kinlay arose. "This is an unparalleled outrage," cried he; "follow me, Rickards;" and he took his way to the drawing-room. Though the noise and tumult bespoke the presence of several people, there were not above half a dozen in the room. One, however, a pale, sickly-looking young man, with long hair, which required everlasting tossing of his head to keep out of his eyes, sat at the piano, playing the most vigorous chords, while over his shoulder leaned a blue-eyed, fair, ringletted lady, whose years--past the forties--rather damaged the evident determination she evinced to be youthful and volatile.
"Do, Manny, do dearest, there"s a love," said she, with the faintest imaginable lisp, "do compothe something. A Fanthasia, on visiting Dinaslryn. A dhream----"
"Pray be quiet, Celestina!" said he, with a wave of his hand. "You derange me!"
"Have they got a "catalog" of the gimcracks?" exclaimed a nasal voice that there was no mistaking. "I a"n"t posted in bra.s.s idols and boxwood saints, but I"d like to have "em booked and ticketed."
"Are you aware, gentlemen and ladies," said Mr. M"Kinlay, with a voice meant to awaken the very dullest sense of decorum--"are you aware that you are in the house of a private gentleman, without any permission or sanction on his part?"
"Oh, don"t, don"t disturb him, Sir," broke in the ringletted lady.
"You"ll never forgive yourself if you spoil it;" and she pointed to the artist, who had now let all his hair fall forward, after the fashion of a Skye terrier, and sat with his head drooped over the piano, and his hands suspended above the keys.
"Say what for the whole bilen," cried the Yankee. "It ain"t much of a show; but I"ll take it over to New York, and charge only twenty-five cents for the reserved seats!"
"I repeat, Sir," exclaimed M"Kinlay, "your presence here, and that of all your companions, is a most unreasonable intrusion--a breach of all propriety--one of those violations of decency, which, however practised, popular, and approved of in a certain country, neither distinguished for the civilisation of its inhabitants, nor for their sense of refinement----"
"Is it Ireland you mane, Sir--is it Ireland?" said a short, carbuncled-nosed little man, with a pair of fiery red eyes. "Say the word if it is."
"It is not Ireland, Sir. I respect the Irish. I esteem them."
"Could you get them to be quiet, Celestina?" said the artist, faintly; "could you persuade the creatures to be still?"
"Hush, hush!" said she, motioning with both her hands.
A tremendous crash now resounded through the room. It was Mr. Herodotus M. Dodge, who, in experimenting with his umbrella on a Sevres jar, to detect if it were cracked, had smashed it to atoms, covering the whole floor with the fragments.
"Send for the police! Tell the porter to lock the gate, and fetch the police!" shouted M"Kinlay. "I trust to show you, Sir, that you"re not in Fifteenth-street, or Forty-sixth Avenue. I hope to prove to you that you"re in a land of law and order."