The Tyndals are difficult people to resist, because if you try to make excuses they pin you down in one way or another, so that you must either do what they want or hurt their feelings; and though Sir Lionel is supposed to have been so strict in Bengal, he is quite soft-hearted in England. I think he hates going about in motors that aren"t his, because he enjoys being the man at the helm, which is perhaps characteristic of him; however, the Tyndals swept all of us, except Mrs. Norton, away to Delabole to see the slate quarries, and to have the adventure of sliding down a fearfully steep incline in a tiny trolley-car--if that"s the right word for it. I half expected Charon to meet me with his ferry-boat at the bottom. It wouldn"t have seemed much stranger than other things in Cornwall.
All that happened yesterday. To-day we have been to Trebarwith Strand and Port Isaac, and have walked to the loneliest church I ever saw, with the gravestones in the burying ground propped by b.u.t.tresses, that the wind mayn"t throw them down. It is Tintagel church, though it"s a good long way from the village, and the vicarage is of the fourteenth century.
Oh, and I heard a splendid legend about the ruined castle from the vicar, who is its warden! It seems, when it was built by the old princes of West Wales--very beautiful as well as strong, with walls "painted of many colours," it was placed under a powerful spell by Merlin, that it might become invisible twice in every year. How I should like to be at Tintagel at the right time, and see if the ruins would disappear from before my eyes. I believe they would; and the enchantment would take the form of a sea mist.
To-morrow we are to leave Cornwall for Bideford.
I had got as far as that, when Mrs. Senter knocked at my door, and asked if she might come in for a few minutes; so I had to say yes, and "smile full well in counterfeited glee." But I hated to be interrupted, as there was just time before dressing for dinner to finish my letter to you. Now it is after dinner, and before I go to bed, I"ll tell you what has happened.
How conceited I was to suppose it possible that Sir Lionel thought me an important person! I am sure the glove episode must have been a mere accident. Serves me right!
Mrs. Senter came to tell me that they"d all been talking about the way to Bideford, and Sir Lionel said the road was so hilly, he wished we hadn"t quite as many pa.s.sengers in the car. Then the Tyndals asked if they might take me, because they"d made up their minds to go to Bideford too, and Sir Lionel answered that it would be a splendid way out of the difficulty if I were willing. The only trouble was, he didn"t like to propose such a thing for fear of hurting my feelings; and the conversation ended, according to Mrs. Senter, by the Tyndals planning to suggest the idea to me as if it were their own, then letting the matter rest on my decision.
Mrs. Senter went on to explain that Sir Lionel didn"t know she was repeating to me what had pa.s.sed, but that she thought I would prefer to know. "I"m sure _I_ should if I were in your place," she purred sweetly.
"When the Tyndals invite you, of course you must do exactly as you please; but don"t you think for Mrs. Norton"s sake, as she"s such a coward, it would be best to keep the car as light as possible, since Sir Lionel fears the roads are really bad?"
"Oh, certainly," said I, trying so hard not to blush that I must have been purple. "I shall be delighted to go with Mr. and Mrs. Tyndal, in their lovely car, and it"s very nice of them to ask me."
"You _won"t_ tell Sir Lionel I interfered, will you?" she begged. "I should be quite afraid of him if he were angry."
"You needn"t worry. He shan"t hear anything from me," said I.
"And you do think I was right to let you know?" she implored.
"Of course," I a.s.sured her. But I was feeling hurt all the way up to my topmost hair and down to my tipmost toe. Not that I mind going with the Tyndals, but that Sir Lionel should pick _me_ out as the bit of superfluous ballast to cast to the winds! That was what made me feel cold and old, and alone in the world. I conscientiously told myself that I was the youngest of the party, and the right one to sacrifice; but nothing was much comfort until the thought jumped into my head that maybe Mrs. Senter had fibbed. I went to dinner buoyed up by that hope, but it died young; for the Tyndals _did_ invite me, in Sir Lionel"s hearing; and when I said that I should be charmed--he smiled calmly. So far from making objections, I thought he looked quite pleased.
Poor me! I fancied in the castle ruins that he actually liked my society. But I forgot that I"d invited him to go with me. _I shan"t forget again._ And _hang_ the glove!
Your poor, foolish, conceited, humiliated
Audrie.
XX
TELEGRAM FROM d.i.c.k BURDEN TO HIS AUNT
_Glen Lachlan, August 13th_, _8 o"clock A.M._
Senter, King Arthur"s Castle, Tintagel, Cornwall:
Returning to-day. Hope find you still at Tintagel. Try and make Pendragon stay if he plans to leave. Find some excuse.
d.i.c.k.
XXI
TELEGRAM FROM MRS. SENTER TO HER NEPHEW
_Tintagel, August 13th_, _9.20 A.M._
R. Burden, Glen Lachlan, N. B.
Just starting for Bideford. Can make no excuse to delay, but have done better. If you arrive Tintagel to-night will find member of party most important to you still there. Better hurry. Will leave letter explaining all.
Senter.
XXII
LETTER LEFT BY MRS. SENTER AT KING ARTHUR"S CASTLE HOTEL, FOR HER NEPHEW d.i.c.k BURDEN
_August 13th_
Dear d.i.c.k: Your wire has just come as we are starting. I"ve telegraphed, and will leave a few words for you in pencil. Lucky you have a resourceful relative, and that Mrs. Norton"s washing didn"t come till late this morning! My resourcefulness enables me to change my plans for your benefit, or rather, to make them work together for your good, in the time most women take to change their minds; while the lateness of Mrs. N."s washing and her mild obstinacy in determining to wait for it, against her brother"s wishes, provide us with a few extra minutes.
Now it suddenly appears that Young Nick hasn"t enough petrol to get on as far as--anywhere. That will give us more minutes. Brown Buddha, as your adored one calls him, has crawled humbly but swiftly off to obtain a new supply. Sir Lionel, already in a vile temper for reasons which I may have time to explain, is bursting with rage to which he is too proud to give a natural outlet. He looks ready to explode, not with bombs, but with dambs. I have never heard him say a single one, during the whole of our acquaintance, but his eyes are sending out a fiery cataract of them this minute. A good thing for me he doesn"t know what I know, or the fire would be turned upon me, and I should wither like "She" in her second bath.
Quickly I"ll tell you what I"ve done, and why Sir Lionel is wild; also how I"ve rearranged everything and everybody at the last minute, in order to satisfy you. What a precious darling aunt you have got, to be sure, and what a lot you do owe her!
For motives of my own, I planned to transplant your sweet Ellaline from our motor-car to the motor-car of others for the day. The "others" are George and Sallie Tyndal, about whose sudden, apropos appearance I wrote your mother only yesterday; but, of course, as you"re leaving to-day you"ll miss the news in that letter. I thought your anxiety for your parent"s health would hardly be poignant enough to keep you in Scotland long, but I didn"t suppose you"d be able to tear yourself away _quite_ so soon.
I don"t doubt you wonder how it can be possible for me to have too much of dear E."s society, but strange as that may seem, it can; and worse than that, I dislike Sir Lionel getting too much of it. I don"t think it is good for him; and he"s had enough of the commodity since we"ve been in Tintagel to produce, according to my point of view and yours, disastrous effects. I decided that drastic measures were necessary for both our sakes, and with me to decide is to act--when anything really important is at stake.
First I persuaded the Tyndals that it would be kindly to invite Miss Lethbridge to travel in their motor to Bideford, whither they also are bound. I said that Sir Lionel feared we would be rather a crowd for his car, as the roads are supposed to be bad. This flattered them, for their motor, which is somewhat more powerful than ours, is the one object for which they live at present. Besides, they were delighted at the chance of getting the girl to themselves, as they think they met her years ago in Italy, where it is alleged she has never been. Some school girl escapade, perhaps. You had better do a little catechising, later on.
Meanwhile, the Tyndals yearn for the opportunity of pumping. Sir Lionel has quite fiercely prevented them from doing so, up to date. He looked ready to challenge poor George to a duel the other evening for merely suggesting that they might have met Miss Lethbridge in Venice.
To Sir L. I hinted that Ellaline was bored, now that you were gone, and that she would enjoy the change of travelling for a day with new people; that she had taken a fancy to the Tyndal boy; and I added that she had asked me privately whether I thought that Sir Lionel would object to her accepting, provided the Tyndals wanted her to go to Bideford. Naturally, when the invitation came, he did _not_ object. You"d have laughed if you could have seen her face when he smiled with apparent benevolent delight upon the suggestion. The sight would have repaid you for many a snub, my poor love-sick swain!
That was where matters stood till your telegram came, a few minutes ago.
All I hoped for was, to get rid of the dear child for one long, happy day, and to estrange her a little (partly for your sake) from her solicitous guardian. But your wire set another bee humming in my motor-bonnet. I determined to do you a good turn if I could; so I flew up, before answering you, to have a talk with the Tyndals. They were starting a few minutes after us, by my advice, and hadn"t come downstairs yet. Ellaline, too, was still in her room, sulking, no doubt, and hadn"t said good-bye to Sir Lionel or any of us. I know that, because my room at this hotel has been close to hers--and to his, too; so whenever a word is murmured on a doorstep I hear. No word has been murmured this morning; and E. has had her breakfast sent into her bedroom.
To the Tyndals I said that word had arrived from you, and that in confidence I would tell them that you and Miss Lethbridge are as good as engaged. At least, that you had a private understanding which would be an engagement if Sir Lionel weren"t a dog in the manger. He didn"t want the girl himself, I explained, yet he didn"t want to give her to anyone else--short of a millionaire. You, I went on to say, had wired that you would be back this evening, and Ellaline was dying to stay and see you.
Sir Lionel didn"t know you were coming, I confessed, and would be angry if he did; but if they--the Tyndals--could somehow misunderstand the arrangements made overnight, and in the confusion of their minds leave Miss Lethbridge behind, it would be a great favour to everyone concerned--except Sir Lionel.
The Tyndals, who think a lot of themselves because they have more money than brains, are annoyed with Sir L. because he snapped at them about Venice; so they were rather pleased at the idea of doing him a bad turn and at the same time advancing Love"s Young Dream. When I a.s.sured them it would be easy to say that they understood Ellaline had changed her mind and was going with Sir Lionel, they agreed to slip off without her about half an hour after the flight of Apollo. That is the plan, as it stands, up to date. Sir Lionel and Mrs. Norton won"t know till this evening at Bideford that E. isn"t with the Tyndals; and then of course I shall get George and Sallie out of his bad graces as well as I can.
Meanwhile you will find her at Tintagel, and can bring her on by rail.