"What"s that?"
"Make friends with him, and ask him to wait till you die."
"No, no, no!" said Sir Simon, irritably. "He must keep away from me for a time. After all, he is the son of his father, and, bad as Walter was, I loved him for his mother"s sake. As for the Italian woman--"
"Mrs. Gore! She is dead."
"I know she is. But her brother Guiseppe is alive, and a scoundrel he is. The other day he came to the Hall and tried to force his way into the house. A gambler, a rogue, Durham--that"s what Guiseppe is."
"What is his other name?"
"Tolomeo! He comes from Siena."
"I understood Mrs. Gore--your son"s wife--came from Florence."
"So she said. She declared she was the member of a decayed Florentine family. But afterwards I learned from Guiseppe that the Tolomeo n.o.bles are Sienese--and a bad lot they are. He is a musician, I believe--a plausible scamp. I hope he has not got hold of Bernard."
"Bernard is his nephew."
"I know that," snapped the old man. "All the same, the uncle is sadly in want of money, and would exercise an undue influence over Bernard."
"I don"t think Gore is the man to be controlled," said Durham, sagely.
"You don"t know. He is young after all. But you know, by the will, I have put it out of Bernard"s power to a.s.sist Tolomeo. If he gives him as much as a shilling the money is lost to him and goes to Lucy."
"That is rather a hard provision," said Durham, after a pause.
"I do it for the boy"s good," replied Gore, rising; "but I must get home now. By the way, about that lease," and the two began to talk of matters connected with the estate.
Sir Simon after this refused to discuss his erring grandson, but Durham, who was friendly to Bernard, insisted on recurring to the forbidden subject. However it was just when the old man was going that he reverted to the bone of contention, "I wish you would let me tell Bernard that you are well disposed toward him."
"Ah! you plead for the scamp," said Sir Simon, angrily.
"Well, I was at Eton with him, you know, and we are great friends. If he is an Imperial Yeoman there will be no difficulty in seeing him."
"Leave matters as they are. I have ascertained that he won"t go to the war for six weeks. Julius found that out for me, so wait till he is on the eve of sailing. Then we"ll see. If nothing else will keep him at home, I"ll make it up. But I think a little hardship will do him good.
He behaved very badly."
"Bernard is naturally hot tempered."
"So am I. Therefore, let us keep apart for a time. Who knows what would happen did we meet. No, Durham, let Bernard think that I am still angry.
If Lucy sets a lamp in the Red Window that"s a different thing. I shan"t interfere with her romance."
"The Red Window. What"s that?"
"A silly legend of the Gore family of which you know nothing. I have no time to repeat rubbish. I"ll come and see you again about that lease, Durham. Meanwhile, should Bernard be hard up, help him out of your own pocket. I"ll make it up to you."
"He wouldn"t accept alms. Besides, he has enough to go on with. I have two hundred of his money in hand."
"Then I have nothing more to say. I"m sorry the fellow isn"t starving.
His conduct to me was shameful." And Sir Simon went grumbling home.
"All the same, I"ll see Bernard," thought Durham, returning to his office.
CHAPTER IV
A STRANGE ADVENTURE
Conniston and Bernard Gore were as much as possible in one another"s company during the stay of the former in town. Thinking he would go out to the Cape sooner than he did, Bernard had impulsively got rid of his civilian clothes, and therefore had to keep constantly to his uniform.
But in those days everyone was in khaki, as the war fever was in the air, so amongst the throng he pa.s.sed comparatively unnoticed. At all events he managed to keep away from the fashionable world, and therefore saw neither Sir Simon nor Lucy. Beyond the fact that his grandfather was in town Bernard knew nothing, and was ignorant that the old man had taken up his abode in Crimea Square. So he told Durham when the lawyer questioned him.
The three old schoolfellows came together at Durham"s house, which was situated on Camden Hill. Faithful to his intention to see Gore, the lawyer had sent a note asking Conniston where Bernard was to be found.
Already Conniston had told Durham of his chance meeting in the Park, so when he received Durham"s letter he insisted on taking Gore to dinner at the lawyer"s house. Bernard was only too glad, and the three had a long talk over old times. The dinner was excellent, the wine was good, and although the young man"s housekeeper was rather surprised that her precise master should dine with a couple of soldiers, she did her best to make them comfortable. When the meal was ended Durham carried off his guests to the library, where they sat around a sea-wood fire sipping coffee and smoking the excellent cigars of their host. Durham alone was in evening dress, as Gore kept to khaki, and Conniston, for the sake of company, retained his lancer uniform. Their host laughed as he contemplated the two.
"I feel inclined to go to the front myself," said he, handing Gore a gla.s.s of k.u.mmel, "but the business would suffer."
"Leave it in charge of a clerk," said Conniston, in his hair-brained way. "You have no ties to keep you here. Your parents are dead--you aren"t married, and--"
"I may be engaged for all you know."
"Bosh! There"s a look about an engaged man you can"t mistake. Look at Bernard there. He is--"
"_Pax! Pax!_" cried Gore, laughing. "Leave me alone, Conniston. But are you really engaged, Mark?"
"No," said Mark, rubbing his knees rather dismally. "I should like to be. A home-loving man like myself needs a wife to smile at him across the hearth."
"And just now you talked of going to the front," put in the young lord.
"You don"t know your own mind. But, I say, this is jolly. Back I go to barracks to-morrow and shall remember this comfortable room and this glimpse of civilized life."
"You were stupid to enlist," said Durham, sharply. "Had you come to me, we could have arranged matters better. You knew I"d see you through, Conniston. I have ample means."
"I don"t want to be seen through," said Conniston, wilfully. "Besides, it"s fun, this war. I"m crazy to go, and now that Bernard"s coming along it will be like a picnic."
"Not much, I fear," said Bernard, "if all the tales we hear are true."
"Right," said Durham. "This won"t be the military promenade the generality of people suppose it will be. The Boers are obstinate."
"So are we," argued Conniston; "but don"t let us talk shop. We"ll get heaps of that at the Cape. Mark, you wanted to see Bernard about some business. Shall I leave the room?"
"No, no!" said Gore, hastily. "Mark can say what he likes about my business before you, Conniston. I have nothing to conceal."
"Nothing?" asked Durham, looking meaningly at his friend.
Gore allowed an expression of surprise to flit across his expressive face. "What are you driving at, Mark?"