have no objection--none whatever," he went on,speaking quickly, "to the children coming with me, if you think it can'thurt them."
"I should so like to go. I haven't been so far as Silverthorns for--ages," said Charlotte eagerly still.
Her father glanced at her with a half-question in his eyes.
"It is not a particularly pretty road," he said; "besides it is darkalready; one road is as pleasant as another in the dark."
"The house at Silverthorns must look lovely in the moonlight," Charlottereplied.
"And there will be a moon to-night," added Jerry.
"If it isn't overclouded," said Mr Waldron. "Ah, well, if mamma saysyou may, it will be all right, I suppose."
"You will not be kept there long?" asked Mrs Waldron.
"A quarter of an hour at most," her husband replied. "It is nothing ofany importance--merely some little difficulty with one of the leases,which Lady Mildred Osbert wants to speak to me about. Had it beenanything of consequence she would have telegraphed for the London men--Ihave never anything to do with the important business there, you know,"he added, with an almost imperceptible shade of bitterness.
"Then I think it very inconsiderate to expect you to go all that waylate on a Saturday evening," said Mrs Waldron. The colour rose in hercheeks as she spoke, and Jerry thought to himself how pretty mammalooked when she was a very little angry.
"That was my own doing. Lady Mildred gave me my choice of to-day orMonday morning. She is going away on Monday afternoon for a few days.I preferred this evening. Monday will be a very busy day."
He rose from the table as he spoke.
"Get ready, children," he said. "I give you ten minutes, not more. Andwrap up well."
CHAPTER TWO.
IN THE MOONLIGHT.
It was almost quite dark when Mr Waldron's dog-cart with its threeoccupants started on the four miles' drive.
"I don't know about your moon, Jerry," said his father. "I'm afraid weshall not see much of her to-night. It is still so cloudy."
"But they seem to be little flying clouds, not heavy rain bags," saidCharlotte. "And there _is_ the moon, papa."
"It's almost full," added Jerry. "I believe it's going to be abeautiful night. Look, Charlotte, isn't it interesting to watch herfighting her way through the clouds?"
She had fought to some purpose by the time they reached Gretham, thevillage on the other side of which lay Lady Mildred Osbert's house. Forwhen they entered the Silverthorns avenue the cold radiance, brokenthough not dimmed by the feathery shadows of the restless, rushingcloudlets, lighted up the trees on each side and the wide gravel drivebefore them, giving to all the strange unreal look which the mostcommonplace objects seem to assume in bright moonlight. Mr Waldrondrove slowly, and at a turn which brought them somewhat suddenly intofull view of the house itself he all but pulled up.
"There, children," he said, "you have your wish. There is Silverthornsin full moonlight."
His voice softened a little as he spoke, and something in it made anunexpected suggestion to Gervais.
"Papa," he said, "you speak as if you were thinking of long ago. Didyou ever see Silverthorns like that before--in the moonlight, just as itis now?"
"Yes," his father replied. "I had almost forgotten it, I think. Iremember standing here one night, when I was quite a little fellow, withmy grandmother, and seeing it just like this."
"How curious!" said Charlotte. "But I don't wonder it has come back toyour mind now. It is so beautiful."
She gave a deep breath of satisfaction. She was right. The old houselooked wonderfully fine. It was of the quaintly irregular architectureof some so-called "Elizabethan" mansions, though in point of fact somepart of it was nearly two hundred years older than the rest, and thelater additions were, to say the least, incongruous. But the lastowner's predecessor had been a man of taste and intelligence, and bysome apparently small alterations--a window here, a porchway there--haddone much to weld the different parts into a very pleasing if notstrictly correct whole. Ivy, too, grew thickly over one end of thebuilding, veiling with its kindly green shadow what had once been anunsightly disproportion of wall; the windows were all latticed, and abroad terrace walk ran round three sides of the house, while here andthere on the smooth, close-cut lawn just below stood out, dark andstiff, grotesquely-cut shrubs which had each had its own specialdesignation handed down from one generation to another.
"See," said Mr Waldron, pointing to these with his whip, as he walkedold Dolly slowly on towards the front entrance, "there are the peacocks,one on each side, and the man-of-war at the corner, and--I forget whatthey are all supposed to represent. They look rather eerie, don'tthey?--so black and fierce; the moonlight exaggerates their queershapes. But it is lovely up there on the windows--each little pane islike a separate jewel."
"Yes," repeated the children, "it is lovely."
"We always say," Charlotte added, "that Silverthorns is like an oldfairy castle. It must be one of the most beautiful houses in theworld!--don't you think so yourself, papa? What would it be to live ina house like that! Just fancy it, Jerry!"
But by this time Mr Waldron had got down, and throwing the reins toJerry, was ringing. He was not kept long waiting; the door flew open,and a flood of light--lamplight and firelight mingled, for there was avision of blazing logs on an open hearth in the hall!--poured out,looking cheery enough certainly, though coarse and matter-of-fact incomparison with the delicate radiance outside.
"Her ladyship? Yes, sir--Mr Waldron, I believe? Yes, her ladyship isexpecting you," said a very irreproachable sort of person in black, whocame forward as soon as the footman had opened. He was busy washing hishands with invisible soap while he spoke, and as he caught sight of thedog-cart and its occupants, he made some further observation whichCharlotte and Jerry did not distinctly catch. But their father's cleardecided tones rang back sharply in answer:
"No, no--no need to put up. My son will wait for me. It is all right."
Apparently, however, the butler, or major-domo, or whoever he was, hadsome twinges on the score of hospitality, for the door, already closed,was re-opened, and the footman looked out.
"Mr Bright says, sir," he said, addressing Jerry in the first place,then stammering somewhat as he caught sight of Charlotte; "I beg yourpardon, Miss, he says as I'm to leave the door a little open, and if youfind it too cold, I'll be here in the 'all, and 'appy to call some one,sir, to 'old the 'orse."
"Thank you, it's all right," said Jerry, well knowing that neither henor Charlotte would have ventured to enter without their father'spermission and protection, even if the proverbial cats and dogs hadsuddenly begun to fall from the sky.
"Who's Mr Bright, do you think, Jerry?" Charlotte whispered.
"That fellow in black--the butler, I suppose," Jerry replied.
"Don't you wonder papa ventured to speak so sharply to him?" Charlottewent on. "Oh, Jerry! it must be awfully grand in there. I do wish theyhad left the door a little more ajar. We might perhaps have caughtsight of _her_--she might have happened to be crossing the hall, thesort of way one always reads of in storybooks, you know."
"Her?--who?" said Jerry, in bewilderment. "Lady Mildred, do you mean?"
"Lady Mildred," Charlotte repeated. "Of course not. You can't haveforgotten--the girl I mean, the girl who has come to live with LadyMildred, and who's coming to Miss Lloyd's."
"Oh," said Jerry, "I had forgotten all about her."
"How could you?" Charlotte exclaimed. "I have been thinking about herall the time. It was so queer that just after hearing about her, andspeaking about her, it should happen for us to come out here, where wehadn't been for so long. I began thinking of it at dinner, immediatelypapa said he was going to Silverthorns."
"I wonder you didn't tell mamma about her," said Jerry.
"I shall afterwards, but I was thinking over what you said. I want toget my mind straight about her, and then I'll tell mamma. But do youknow, Jerry, I think I feel worse
about her since coming here. It doesnot seem fair that one person should have everything. Just think whatit must be to live here, and have all those grand servants waiting onher, and--"
"I shouldn't much care about that part of it," interrupted Jerry, "and Idon't think you would either, Charlotte. You'd be frightened of them.You said just now you wondered papa dared speak so sharply to thatundertaker-looking fellow."
"Ah, yes, but then he's not _his_ servant. One