The Nonesuch

By the time Tiffany had eaten her breakfast, put on her hat to her satisfaction, and found such unaccountably mislaid articles as her gloves, and her riding-whip, the hour was considerably advanced, and Courtenay in a fret of impatience, saying that Lizzie must be supposing by now that they had forgotten all about her. However, when they reached Colby Place they found the family just getting up from the breakfast-table, and Lizzie by no means ready to set out. There was thus a further delay while Lizzieran upstairs to complete her toilet, accompanied by her two younger sisters, who were presently heard demanding of some apparently remote person what she had done with Miss Lizzie’s boots.

During this period Lindeth and Tiffany enjoyed a quiet flirtation, Sir Ralph gave the Nonesuch a long and involved account of his triumph over someone who had tried to get the better of him in a bargain, Courtenay fidgeted about the room, and Lady Colebatch prosed to Miss Trent with all the placidity of one to whom time meant nothing.

“Only two hours later than was planned,” remarked Sir Waldo, when the cavalcade at last set forth. “Very good!”

Miss Trent, who had been regretting for nearly as long that she had ever expressed a wish to see the Dripping Well, replied: “I suppose it might have been expected!”

“Yes, and I did expect it,” he said cheerfully.

“I wonder then that you should have lent yourself to this expedition.”

“One becomes inured to the unpunctuality of your sex, ma’am,” he responded.

Incensed by this unjust animadversion, she said tartly: “Let me inform you, sir, that I kept no one waiting!”

“But you are a very exceptional female,” he pointed out.

“I assure you, I am nothing of the sort.”

“I shall not allow you to be a judge of that. Oh, no, don’t look at me so crossly! What can I possibly have said to vex you?”

“I beg your pardon! Nothing, of course: merely, I’m not in the mood for nonsense, Sir Waldo!”

“That’s no reason for scowling at me!” he objected. “I haven’t been boring you to death for the past half-hour! Of course, I may bore you before the day is out, but it won’t be with vapid commonplaces, I promise you.”

“Take care!” she warned him, glancing significantly towards Miss Colebatch, who was riding ahead of them, with Courtenay.

“Neither of them is paying the least heed to us. Do you always ride that straight-shouldered cocktail?”

“Yes—Mrs Underhill having bought him for my use. He does very well for me.”

“I wish I had the mounting of you. Do you hunt?”

“No. When Tiffany goes out with the hounds she is her cousin’s responsibility, not mine.”

“Thank God for that! You would certainly come to grief if you attempted to hunt that animal. I only hope you may not be saddle-sick before ever we reach Knaresborough.”

“Indeed, so do I! I don’t know why you should think me such a poor creature!”

“I don’t: I think your horse a poor creature, and a most uncomfortable ride.”

“Oh, no, I assure you—” She broke off, checked by a lifted eyebrow. “Well, perhaps he is not very—very easy-paced! In any event, I don’t mean to argue with you about him, for I am persuaded it would be very stupid in me to do so.”

“It would,” he agreed. “I collect it didn’t occur to your amiable charge to lend you her other hack? By the bye, what made your resolution fail the other day?”

She did not pretend to misunderstand him, but answered frankly: “I couldn’t allow her to expose herself!”

He smiled. “Couldn’t you? Never mind! I fancy she contrived to charm Lindeth out of his disapproval, but the image became just a trifle smudged, nevertheless. I added my mite later in the day—which is why I am being treated with a little reserve.”

“Are you? Oh, dear, how horrid it is, and how very difficult to know what my duty is! Odious to be scheming against the child!”

“Is that what you are doing? I had no notion of it, and thought the scheming was all on my side.”

“Not precisely scheming, but—but conniving,by allowing you to bamboozle her!”

“My dear girl, how do you imagine you could stop me?”

Miss Trent toyed with the idea of objecting to this mode of address, and then decided that it would be wiser to ignore it.

“I don’t know, but—”

“Nor anyone else. Don’t tease yourself to no purpose! You are really quite helpless in the matter, you know.”

She turned her head, gravely regarding him. “Don’t you feel some compunction, Sir Waldo?”

“None at all. I should feel much more than compunction if I did not do my utmost to prevent Lindeth’s falling a victim to as vain and heartless a minx as I have yet had the ill-fortune to encounter. Do I seem to you a villain? I promise you I am not!”

“No, no! But you do make her show her worst side!”