The Nonesuch

She had no particular desire to take the shine out of anyone, but the implication of these words conjured up a vision of the future so agreeable that it was with great difficulty that she wrenched her mind away from it. Rigidly confining it to the matter in hand, she said: “I hope you mean to explain to me, sir, how it comes about that you are so exactly informed of Tiffany’s whereabouts.I could only guess what must be her intention, for I have been away from Staples for the better part of the day, and she left no message for me.”

“What an abominable girl she is!” he remarked. “My information came, as I told you, from Laurie. He sent off one of the post-boys with a note for me, from the King’s Head. As far as I understand the matter—but he wrote in haste, and, to judge from the manner of it, in an extremely harassed state of mind!—Tiffany induced him to drive her to Leeds, by some fetch or wheedle, and only on arrival there divulged her intention of traveling to London. I can’t tell you why she should have suddenly taken this notion into her head. All I know is that Laurie has hoaxed her into believing that there is not a place to be had in any of the stage-coaches, and that the Mail doesn’t reach Leeds until four o’clock. I should have thought that rather too improbable an hour to have chosen, but Tiffany seems to have accepted it without question.”

“Of course it’s perfectly ridiculous! But Tiffany knows nothing about Mails or stages. Well! it’s some comfort to know that I was right. Mr Underhill would have it that she and your cousin had gone off in a post-chaise-and-four, but I couldn’t suppose that Mr Calver would be carrying a large enough sum of money on his person.”

“Very unlikely,” he agreed. “Still more unlikely that he would have disgorged a penny of it for Tiffany’s benefit. I’ll say this for Laurie: he had her measure from the outset.”

“Indeed? It would be interesting to know, then, why he has been so assiduous in his attentions to her!”

He smiled. “Oh, that was to detach her from Julian! He came after the fair, but it was quite a good notion.”

“Your own, in fact!” she said, somewhat tartly. “I find it very hard to believe that Mr Calver takes the smallest interest in Lord Lindeth’s happiness.”

“Oh, he doesn’t! He knows, however, that I do, and unless I’m much mistaken his scheme was to win my gratitude. Poor Laurie! It was some time before he realized that his labour was thrown away. Still, it kept him occupied, and did neither of them any harm.”

“I think it utterly unscrupulous!” said Miss Trent indignantly. “It would have done a great deal of harm if Tiffany had fallen in love with him!”

“On the contrary, it might have done a great deal of good. It’s high time that young woman suffered a shake-up. To own the truth, I rather hoped she might develop just enough tendre for him to enable her to bear more easily the shock of finding that Lindeth had offered for Miss Chartley. Not for her sake, but for yours. I can readily imagine what you will be made to suffer, my poor girl!”

She disregarded this, but asked eagerly: “Has he done so? Oh, I am so glad! I hope you don’t dislike it, Sir Waldo?”

“Not at all. An unexceptionable girl, and will make him an admirable wife, I daresay.”

“I think that too. She has as little worldly ambition as he, and quite as sweet a disposition. But his mother? Will she like it?”

“No, not immediately, but she’ll come round to it. She has all the worldly ambition Julian lacks, and has lately been doing her utmost to interest him in various diamonds of the first water. However, I fancy she has begun to realize that it’s useless to try to bring him into fashion. In any event, she is by far too fond a parent to cast the least rub in the way of his happiness. Julian informs me, moreover, that Mrs Chartley is related to one of my aunt’s oldest friends. His description of this lady—unknown to me, I’m thankful to say!—wouldn’t lead one to suppose that my aunt would regard the relationship as an advantage, but he seems to think it will. As far as I remember, he said she was a regular fusty mug—but I daresay he exaggerated!”

A ripple of laughter broke from her. “What a boy he is! Tell me, if you please: when did this event take place, sir?”

“This morning. I had the news from him barely half-an-hour before I received Laurie’s message.”

“Then I know why Tiffany ran away,” said Miss Trent, with a despairing sigh. “She was at the Rectory this morning, and they must have told her. You may say she’s abominable—and, of course, very often she is!—but one can’t but pity her, poor child! So spoiled as she has been all her life, so pretty, and so much petted and admired—! Can’t you understand what it must have meant to her, coming, as it did, after the ball last night?”

He glanced down at her. “The ball last night? What happened to overset her then?”