of hope, however. If Jack did commit such acrowning folly, he would be far too honourable not to acquaint MissBurton with his circumstances. Hugh was fairly convinced that the younglady knew how to take care of herself. And, even if she did fall inlove with Jack, as he had done with her, and be inclined to make a foolof herself, there was the objectionable brother to be reckoned with. Hewould certainly not allow his sister to engage herself to a man, exceptwith the consent of that man's family.
All the same, it was as well to avoid any embarrassing entanglements, ifpossible. It is easy to retrace your steps when you have only juststarted.
With this object in view, Murchison sought his friend on the Sundaypreceding the day on which they were to present themselves at Rosemount.
"Jack, old man, I have been thinking--" he began.
Mr Pomfret lifted a warning finger. "My dear friend and mentor, don'tindulge in such violent processes. It's very bad for you."
"Don't be an ass, Jack. You are not really funny when you say that sortof thing. I've been thinking over this business to-morrow, and,frankly, I don't relish the prospect. We had better cut it out."
Pomfret's face took on an obstinate expression. "You are speaking foryourself, of course. For my part, I don't intend to break myappointment. In my opinion, it would be an awfully low-down thing todo. If you didn't want to go, you shouldn't have accepted."
It was evident the young man was not in a very reasonable frame of mind,equally evident he would require very careful handling.
"Now, Jack, don't get off the handles. You know you are an awfullyimpetuous chap, and that I have much the cooler head of the two. I havebeen thinking it all out the last day or two, and I don't like the lookof it."
"You informed me just now that you had been thinking," replied MrPomfret in the same sarcastic strain. "There is no need to dwell uponthe fact. It is obvious."
But the elder man was not to be ruffled. If anything unpleasant came ofthis sudden acquaintance he would lay the blame on himself for havingmentioned that little incident of the tea-shop, and inspired themercurial Jack's love of the daring and adventurous.
"I don't know that I did accept, as a matter of fact, except byimplication. I was about to return an evasive answer, leave it in theair, so to speak, when you cut in and jumped at the invitation forboth."
This was true, and Mr Pomfret's air lost a little of its jauntyconfidence. "Well, if you think I lugged you in, get out of ityourself. Of course you will have to tell some beastly lie that theywill see through at once. Anyway I am going, and that's flat."
"If you go, I shall go," said Hugh firmly. "But I would like you tolisten to me for a few moments, and put things before you as theypresent themselves to me."
"Fire away, then," was Pomfret's answer, but it was delivered in a veryungracious tone.
"Of course we are both agreed about the brother," began Hugh mildly.
The other interrupted impatiently: "The brother be hanged. We are notgoing to the house for the brother's sake, but because of the sister.What's the use of blinking the fact? If you had met him in the tea-shopinstead of her, I don't suppose you would have wasted a word on him, nomore should I. But I don't see why that pretty girl should beostracised because of him."
"I don't quite see, under the circumstances, how you can separate them,"pursued the obstinate Hugh. "I should like to turn off, just for amoment to the sister, and consider her."
"Go ahead," said Mr Pomfret in a somewhat sullen tone. He was keepinghis impulsive and fiery nature under control, out of his great respectfor his friend. But it was very doubtful if he would stand muchcriticism even from one so respected.
"I have not a word to say against her appearance or her manners. I willgo further, and say there is not a girl in Blankfield, or for the matterof that in the `county' itself, who gives the impression of a thoroughgentlewoman more convincingly than she does." Pomfret's face brightenedat these words. "Oh, then you admit that, and you have knocked aboutthe world a few years longer than I have. I am of the same opinion, butif you say it, it must be so."
"I do say it unhesitatingly, but mind you, I am only judging fromoutside appearances. Now, how comes it that such a refined and ladylikegirl as that should have such a bounder of a brother? There is amystery there."
Jack Pomfret prepared to argue. "I don't quite agree that he is abounder, he is not quite boisterous enough for that. Let us agree on acommon definition--namely, that he is bad form. That fits him, Ithink."
"And the sister is very good form. You can't deny that there is amystery."
But the young subaltern developed a quite surprising ingenuity inargument.
"She just simply calls him her brother," sharply, "but she has told youhe is her half-brother by a first marriage--father a gentleman, mother acommon person, hence the bad form. A second time, the father married awoman of his own class, hence Norah Burton. Norah knows him for a goodsort, if a bit rough, and sticks to him. That's a reasonable theory,anyway."
"More ingenious than reasonable perhaps," commented Murchison with anamused smile.
Pomfret went on, warming to his subject. "And, hang it all, if we speakof bounders--and mind you, I won't admit he is a bounder in the strictsense of the term--is there a family in England without them?"
"Quite the same sort, do you think?" was Hugh's question.
"Look here, I'm not going to be impertinent, and ask if you can point toany amongst your own connections, but I know something of my own family.I've got a cousin, good blood on both sides. He's been a bounder fromthe time he learned to talk, sets your teeth on edge; as some fellowsaid, every time he opens his mouth he puts his foot into it. By Gad,this fellow Burton is a polished gentleman to him. If George showed hisnose in this regiment they would send him to Coventry in five minutes."
"As they did that chap last year," remarked Hugh, alluding to anoffensive young man who had been compelled to send in his papers, owingto the fact that his general demeanour had not come up to the somewhatexalted standard of the gallant Twenty-fifth.
"Precisely," assented Pomfret. "But you were going to give me someviews about the girl. Again I say, fire away."
"Well, to go back to that meeting in the tea-shop. It was, to say theleast, a little unconventional for a young girl to invite an utterstranger to call upon her."
"You were not an utter stranger," retorted Jack doggedly. "She hadheard who you were, perhaps from the tradespeople. She knew you were agentleman, she knew your name, Captain Murchison. Hang it all, if youhad met her in one of these dull Blankfield houses, and she had beenintroduced by a hostess about whom you both knew precious little, andasked you to call, being the mistress of her brother's house, you wouldhave thought it quite the correct and proper thing. So would every manin the barracks. Don't people strike up acquaintances in hotels, andsometimes trains?"
"They generally find out something about each other before they pursuethe acquaintance," suggested Murchison. "Look here, old man, you knowas well as I do, you are arguing all round the point. It would beprecious easy for the Burtons to say who and what they were, and furnishsome proper credentials. If they did that, I daresay all Blankfieldwould call upon them, and swallow the brother for the sake of the verycharming sister."
"Well, I'll pump her to-night, and get out all you want to know,"retorted Mr Pomfret confidently. "I don't go so far as to say theywill be able to refer us to Burke or Debrett. Decent middle-classpeople, I expect."
It was useless to argue with such an optimist. "You've accounted forthe brother, I remember, by your ingenious theory. Well, you've made upyour mind to go then?"
"Most certainly I have. You do as you like, but while we are on thesubject of good form, it is not a pretty thing to accept an invitation,and then excuse yourself at the eleventh hour by an obvious lie."
"Under ordinary circumstances, you would be quite right. It has notoccurred to you that we were rather rushed into this dinner, then--thatwe were, so to
speak, jumped at?"
"It might look like it at first blush," admitted Mr Pomfretreluctantly. "But here are two poor devils, marooned, as it were, inthis snobbish town, and they naturally jump at the first people who showthem the slightest civility. They must simply be aching to exchange aword with their fellow-creatures. Well, I am going to exchange severalwith them, I promise you."
Hugh felt it was useless. When Pomfret got in these moods, it was wasteof time to reason with him. He felt uneasy, however. He had promisedhis family to look after him, and he felt a