‘If you had a legion of brothers it would have
been the same,’ he said, turning sharp upon
her.
They walked on together, but without a word till the
house was in sight. Then she looked round on
him, and stopped him on the path as she caught his
eye.’ Silverbridge!’ she said.
’Call me Mabel. At any rate call me Mabel.
If I have said anything to offend you—I
beg your pardon.’
‘I am not offended—but unhappy.’
’If you are unhappy, what must I be? What
have I to look forward to? Give me your hand,
and say that we are friends.’
‘Certainly we are friends,’ he said, and
gave her his hand.
‘Who can tell what may come to pass?’
To this he would make no answer, as it seemed to
imply that some division between himself and Isabel
Boncassen might possibly come to pass. ’You
will not tell anyone that I love you.’
‘I tell such a thing as that!’
’But never forget it yourself. No one can
tell what may come to pass.’
Lady Mabel at once went up to her room. She had
played her scene, but was well aware that she had
played it altogether unsuccessfully.
Lord Gerald in Further Trouble
When Silverbridge got back to the house he was by
no means well pleased with himself. In the first
place he was unhappy to think that Mabel was unhappy,
and that he had made he so. And then she had
told him that he would not have dared to have acted
as he had done, but that her father and brother were
careless to defend her. He had replied fiercely
that a legion of brothers ready to act on her behalf
would not have altered his conduct; but not the less
did he feel that he had behaved badly to her.
It could not now be altered. He could not now
be untrue to Isabel. But certainly he had said
a word or two to Mabel which he could not remember
without regret. He had not thought that a word
from him could have been so powerful. Now, when
that word was recalled to his memory by the girl to
whom it had been spoken he could not acquit himself.
And Mabel had declared to him that she would at once
appeal to his father. There was an absurdity
in this at which he could not but smile,—that
the girl should complain to his father because he
would not marry her! But even in doing this she
might cause him great vexation. He could not
bring himself to ask her not to tell her story to
the Duke. He must take all that as it might come.
While he was thinking of all this in his own room
a servant brought him two letters. From the first
which he opened he perceived that it contained an
account of more troubles. It was from his brother
Gerald, and was written from Auld Reikie, the name
of a house in Scotland belonging to Lord Nidderdale’s
people.
