CHAPTER XX
A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY
Someone was whistling in the stable-yard with elaborate turns and trillsto the accompaniment of a horse's hoofs that danced upon the stones.
It was Christmas Day, and from the church half-way down the hill therecame the gay peal of bells. The stable-doors were all closed, and theyard was in perfect order. There was no one about besides the solitarywhistler on horseback; and he, it seemed, had no intention of prolonginghis solitude, for he was heading his horse straight for the spotlesswhite gate that led to Jake Bolton's dwelling.
He was a young man, with a swarthy face of undeniable ugliness that yetpossessed a monkeyish fascination that was all its own. His eyeslaughed out of it with a merry wickedness--odd eyes, one black, onegrey, that gave a most fantastic expression to his whole countenance.They were not trustworthy eyes, but they were full of humour. He had acomedian's trick of working the brows above them so that his featureswere scarcely ever in repose.
He sat in the saddle as one completely at home there; but there was nograce about him. His limbs seemed to be fastened on with wires, likethe limbs of a marionette.
Reaching the closed white gate, he stooped from the saddle, and with theend of his riding-switch lifted the catch. On the little finger of thehand he thus extended he wore a slender gold ring in which was set asingle sapphire surrounded by diamonds.
He walked his horse up the footpath to the door, and on this he beat arousing tattoo, still without dismounting.
During the pause that ensued he whistled a few more elaborate bars ofhis melody, and then, coming to a break, bent and knocked again.
The door opened in haste as if agitated by the second summons, and Mrs.Lovelace, red-faced from her kitchen fire, appeared curtseying in theentrance.
"So sorry to keep you waiting, my lord! The girl's gone to church. Andwill your lordship be pleased to walk in? We'd only heard this morningof your lordship's return, and we'd not hardly expected to see yourlordship up so soon."
"A merry Christmas to you, Lovelace!" said his lordship, with that mostengaging grin of his; he leaned towards her confidentially. "Take thisfor love of me, in honour of the occasion!"
He slipped a coin into Mrs. Lovelace's hand that caused her to curtseyagain ecstatically and wish him every blessing she could call to mind onthe spur of the moment. But he laughed easily and cut her short.
"Hear, hear! But I can't stop to listen. Where's Jake Bolton? Is hein?"
"Well, no, my lord. I'm sorry to say Mr. Bolton's gone to church."
"Sorry! Oh, come, Mother Lovelace, spare my morals! I always thoughtgoing to church was an innocent amusement. Don't disabuse me of mychildish fancies! But what's the good of my walking in if the boss isout and you are cooking the turkey? Unless you're wanting someone tocome and turn the spit!"
Mrs. Lovelace raised hands of horrified protest. "How your lordship docarry on, to be sure! No, no, my lord! I was only thinking that you'dmaybe fancy a glass of my cherry brandy with the wind in the east as itis. I'm sure as Mr. Bolton would be wishful for me to make thesuggestion."
"I should prefer the cherry brandy by itself," said Lord Saltash, with amischievous chuckle. "But I won't stay now, thanks all the same. Isuppose he'll be back some time? I've never known Jake go to churchbefore. Is he courting or what?"
Mrs. Lovelace opened her small round eyes to their widest extent. "Why,can it be as your lordship hasn't heard?"
"Heard! Heard what? Tell me quickly!" urged his lordship. "Thissuspense is too horrible!"
"About Mr. Bolton's marriage, sir," explained Mrs. Lovelace, lookingsuddenly prim.
"What!" ejaculated her listener. "You don't say Bolton's been caught?"
"The marriage took place last Sunday, my lord," said Mrs. Lovelace,still looking prim but plainly enjoying her _role_ of informant.
Lord Saltash slapped his thigh with a yell of laughter. "Poor old Jake!And who is the bride?"
"Mrs. Bolton, my lord, is the step-daughter of Mr. Sheppard of theAnchor Hotel," said Mrs. Lovelace.
"Is she though? What's she like? Pretty?"
Mrs. Lovelace pursed her lips. "She is a lady, my lord,--own daughterto a baronet."
"Oh, I say!" protested Lord Saltash. "You're cramming me!"
Mrs. Lovelace looked shocked but at the same time flattered by theaccusation. "Indeed, my lord, it's the truth!" she protested. "And herbrother Sir Bernard Brian is in the house at the present moment. He,poor young gentleman, has the misfortune to be afflicted with ahumpback."
"What? What? What? My good woman, do you know what you're talkingabout?" Saltash's mobile brows came suddenly low over his eyes in aheavy scowl that added years to his appearance. He leaned nearer toher. "What?" he said again.
Mrs. Lovelace paused, debating which of her statements he desired her torepeat. But ere she could make up her mind, Lord Saltash dropped with athud to the ground. He threw his horse's bridle over the gate-post, andturned to enter.
"Just ring up one of the stable-lads, and tell him to walk Moscow up anddown till I come!" he ordered, his voice no longer bland, but curt andimperious. "I should like to see this brother-in-law of Bolton's, soshow me in!"
Mrs. Lovelace turned before him and scurried down the passage like astartled hen.
Lord Saltash strode after--a figure of medium height, sudden ofmovement, unimposing of carriage, yet withal possessing that namelesssomething that denotes high breeding. It was said that there was astrain of royal blood in the Burchester family, and this member of ithad long been dubbed "the merry monarch" by his intimates. There wasabout him an inherent arrogance that no one dreamed of resenting, soessentially was it a part of himself.
He entered Jake's sunny parlour with absolute assurance, though thefrown still drew his forehead.
"Lord Saltash!" announced Mrs. Lovelace.
And "Hullo, Bunny!" came from Lord Saltash in the same moment as hestrode forward to Bunny's sofa with the confidence of one entering thepresence of an old friend.
Bunny's quick cry of "Charlie!" fully justified this attitude, and Mrs.Lovelace withdrew with a very greatly enhanced opinion of the importanceof the Brian family.
"He might have been greeting his own brother," she said to herself, asshe trotted back to her kitchen.
There was certainly no cordiality lacking in Bunny's reception of thevisitor. He clung to Lord Saltash's hand with shining eyes upraised.
"I say, what a bounder you are to have stayed away all this time! Ithought you'd have come back long ago. Maud's married. I suppose youknow?"
"Married to Jake Bolton?" There was a peculiar intonation in thequestion. Lord Saltash was smiling as he uttered it, smiling with drawnbrows.
"Yes; and he's the best of good fellows. But I wanted her to wait foryou all the same," said Bunny, with the candour of the confidant. "Itwas no good talking though. She couldn't wait."
"How long has she been married?" Lord Saltash's tone was settling intostudied indifference.
"Only a few days," Bunny told him. "Only since Sunday."
"Was it so urgent as that then? She isn't generally in such a desperatehurry."
Bunny looked uncomfortable. "You see, it was that brute of a Sheppardat 'The Anchor.' The mater married him, you know. Thought she wasgoing to do a good thing for us all. I think it has turned out allright so far as she is concerned. But he was a perfect beast to Maudand me."
Lord Saltash nodded comprehension. "I never did think your mother wasover-endowed with wisdom," he commented. "And how did you come to knowBolton? Is he a friend of Sheppard's?"
"They're in the same lot, though I don't think Jake likes him. Jake's agood sort, isn't he?" said Bunny almost pleadingly. "He's been jollydecent to us."
Lord Saltash was gazing before him through eyelids that were slightlycontracted. "I believe he is quite a good sort," he said after a momentwithout enthusiasm.
"And Maud? Is she in love with him?"
"Good gracious, no!" said Bunny.
Lord Saltash turned towards him sharply. "You're very emphatic. Why?"
"Well, she isn't," Bunny asserted. "Jake knows she isn't."
"Oh! And what may Jake's sentiments be?"
"He's gone on her of course," said Bunny. "But he isn't nearly so pallywith her as he is with me. Why, he even smacks my head sometimes!" Hespoke with genuine pride.
Lord Saltash laughed. "Oh, Jake's a great disciplinarian," he said, "orhe wouldn't be where he is. But look here, does he know that I am--soto speak--a friend of the family?"
"Yes, I told him," said Bunny.
"What did you tell him?"
"Told him that you and Maud were chums, and that if she married anyoneshe ought to marry you." Bunny's tone was blunt, his face somewhat red.
Lord Saltash laughed again. The drawn look had wholly gone from hiseyes. He worked his brows up and down with astonishing agility. "Thatpleased him, I'll bet," he remarked flippantly. "And so he decided toget married the next day, did he, and damn the consequences?"
"Oh no, it didn't come off then. We had a big row with the Sheppardbeast first; and it was after that Maud went off and fixed it up withJake on her own. It was a pity you weren't there, Charlie. She'd havemarried almost anyone to get away."
"Any scoundrel?" laughed Lord Saltash. "Well, old chap, do you know,between me and you, I'm not sure that she hasn't done better for herselfthan if she had waited for me to come along? Marriage has such a nastyway of taking the gilt off the gingerbread, and I must admit I alwaysliked the gilt the best. Now, Jake,--good soul--prefers the stuffitself; in fact, I'm not sure that he isn't a bit of a beast in someways. He looks it. But possibly Maud likes beasts."
"Indeed she doesn't!" said Bunny, with quick warmth. "And as forJake--he's a brick. I see a good deal of him, for he's taken me on atnight now; so I ought to know."
Lord Saltash got up and strolled to the window. "Yes, he must be rathera brick," he said, after a moment. "Doesn't Maud think so?"
"No, Maud's furious because Jake won't let her lift me any more. Iexpect she is jealous," said Bunny, with some complacence. "And shedoesn't like being bossed."
"You don't object apparently?" Lord Saltash sounded indifferent, evenslightly bored.
"Oh, I'd sooner be bossed by a man than a woman any day," said Bunny."Besides, Jake's a sport. I like him."
"He's a gentleman," said Saltash unexpectedly.
"Not exactly," protested Bunny. "He doesn't profess to be that."
"My dear chap, a gentleman is born not made. Jake's sound. It's morethan most of us can say. I wouldn't part with him for a thousandpounds."
Lord Saltash turned from the window with a pleasant smile on his uglyface, and broke into a careless whistle.
Bunny watched him fidgeting to and fro with a slightly puzzled frown.He had expected something more dramatic than this easy acquiescence tothe ruling of Fate. He was sure in his own mind that the Lord Saltashof to-day loved his sister as much as had the Charlie Burchester ofother days, and he could not understand the serenity of his attitude.
"I suppose you'll wait and see Maud," he said presently.
"I suppose I shall," said Saltash, with a baffling grimace. "Are yougoing to eat your Christmas dinner without visitors?"
"Yes. The mater was coming, but that Sheppard bounder turned awkward atthe last minute, and as we none of us wanted to go there, it fellthrough. They've got some show on at 'The Anchor.' We're well out ofthat."
"And you consider this a change for the better?" questioned LordSaltash.
"Rather! I wouldn't go back for fifty pounds. Neither would Maud.It's much nicer up here than down by the sea, too," said Bunny, withenthusiasm.
"I suppose you haven't been to the Castle," said Lord Saltash, comingback to the fire to stand before it.
"No. Jake said something about taking us some day. But it's not muchgood my going. I'm such a log." The old bitterness suddenly sounded inBunny's voice.
Lord Saltash lightly poked him with the end of his riding-switch. "I'lltake you round myself some day, you and Maud. I'm off for a ride nowwhen I've had a look round the stables. I shall be back in an hour orso, in time to see the virtuous Jake when he comes back from church."
He turned to the door therewith, and fell to whistling softly the tuneto which he had entered the stable-yard a short time before. Opening ithe glanced back to wave a careless adieu, then passed whistling out.
"Well, I'm jiggered!" said Bunny. "Anyone would think he didn't care ajot!"
Which was precisely the impression that Lord Saltash had intended toconvey.