‘I must be gone!’ said Lord Clonbrony,
pulling out his watch. ’It is time to go
to my club; and poor Terry will wonder what has become
of me.’
Lord Colambre instantly offered to accompany his father;
much to Lord Clonbrony’s, and more to Miss Nugent’s
surprise.
‘What!’ said she to herself, ’after
so long an absence, leave me!—Leave his
mother, with whom he always used to stay—on
purpose to avoid me! What can I have done to
displease him? It is clear it was not about Miss
Broadhurst’s marriage he was offended; for he
looked pleased, and like himself, whilst I was talking
of that; but the moment afterwards, what a constrained,
unintelligible expression of countenance and leaves
me to go to a club which he detests!’
As the gentlemen shut the door on leaving the room,
Lady Clonbrony wakened, and, starting up, exclaimed—
‘What’s the matter? Are they gone?
Is Colambre gone?’
‘Yes, ma’am, with my uncle.’
’Very odd! very odd of him to go and leave me!
he always used to stay with me—what did
he say about me?’
‘Nothing, ma’am.’
’Well, then, I have nothing to say about him,
or about anything, indeed, for I’m excessively
tired and stupid—alone in London’s
as bad as anywhere else. Ring the bell, and we’ll
go to bed directly—if you have no objection,
Grace.’
Grace made no objection; Lady Clonbrony went to bed
and to sleep in ten minutes, Miss Nugent went to bed;
but she lay awake, considering what could be the cause
of her cousin Colambre’s hard unkindness, and
of ’his altered eye.’ She was openness
itself and she determined that, the first moment she
could speak to him alone, she would at once ask for
an explanation. With this resolution, she rose
in the morning, and went down to the breakfast-room,
in hopes of meeting him, as it had formerly been his
custom to be early; and she expected to find him reading
in his usual place.
No—Lord Colambre was not in his accustomed
place, reading in the breakfast-room: nor did
he make his appearance till both his father and mother
had been some time at breakfast.
‘Good morning to you, my Lord Colambre,’
said his mother, in a reproachful tone, the moment
he entered; ’I am much obliged to you for your
company last night.’
‘Good morning to you, Colambre,’ said
his father, in a more jocose tone of reproach; ‘I
am obliged to you for your good company last night.’
‘Good morning to you, Lord Colambre,’
said Miss Nugent; and though she endeavoured to throw
all reproach from her looks, and to let none be heard
in her voice, yet there was a slight tremulous motion
in that voice which struck our hero to the heart.
‘I thank you, ma’am, for missing me,’
said he, addressing himself to his mother; ’I
stayed away but half an hour; I accompanied my father
to St. James’s Street, and when I returned I
found that every one had retired to rest.’
