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Page 30
"You dog, of course you have. Your maternal grandfather was noted for
his wine cellar, and he bought his Havanas by the thousand from Fribourg
and Treyer. That I should prefer cheroots is rank degeneracy. But I must
be off, or I shall get no sleep. I won't ask you to come down to the
dock in the morning--"
"But I insist upon coming, sir."
"Then breakfast with me at Morley's--nine o'clock sharp."
Uncle and nephew parted on the best of terms, but Sir Lucius was not
altogether easy in mind as he walked down Regent street, tapping the
now deserted pavement with his stick.
"I hope the boy is trustworthy," he thought. "He has some excuse for
recklessness and extravagance, but none for dishonor. I told him the
name of Chesney was unsullied--I forgot for a moment. It is strange that
Mary should be so much in my mind lately. Poor girl! Perhaps I was too
harsh with her. I wonder if she is still alive--if she has a son. But if
she came to me this moment, I could not forgive her. Nearly thirty years
have not softened me."
He sighed heavily as he entered Trafalgar Square, and to a wretched
woman with an infant in her arms, crouching under the shadow of the
Nelson Column, he tossed a silver piece.
CHAPTER X.
A LONDON SENSATION.
It had rained most of the afternoon, and then cleared off beautifully
just before twilight. Strand-on-the-Green, ever changeful of mood, was
this evening as fresh and sweet-smelling as a bit of the upper
Thames--as picturesque as any waterside village a hundred miles from
London.
By the grassy margin of the river, between Maynard's boat-house and the
elm trees, Jack Vernon strolled impatiently up and down. He was in low
spirits, and the beauty of the evening was wasted on him. He had been
here for fifteen minutes, and he told himself that he had been a fool to
come at all, at such an hour. He waited a little longer, and then, as he
was on the point of leaving, he heard light footsteps approaching, and
recognized them with a lover's keen perception. He hurried to meet the
slim, girlish figure, with a light cloak fluttering from her shoulders,
and Madge's little cry of pleasure was stifled on her lips as he kissed
them again and again.
"My darling!" he whispered eagerly. "I scarcely dared to hope that you
would come to-night, but I could not stay away. Do you know that you
have treated me cruelly? I have not seen you for two days--since
Wednesday afternoon. And I have been here twice."
"I am sorry, Jack, but I could not help it. I missed you ever so much."
"Where is your father?"
"He is not at home--that is why I came. He is dining in town with an
old friend, and won't be back until the last train, at the very
earliest."
"I am indebted to him. I was hungry for a sight of you, dearest."
"And I longed to see you, Jack. But I am afraid we shall not be able to
meet as often as before."
"Madge, what do you mean? Has anything gone wrong?"
The girl linked her arm in his, and drew him to a darker and lonelier
spot by the water. In a few words, tremulously spoken, she told him what
he had already surmised--that her father had discovered her secret, and
had taxed her with it when he came home on the previous evening.
"By Jove, it was my fault," Jack said, contritely. "I should not have
tempted you to go on that unlucky trip last Tuesday. So you were seen
near Richmond station by some meddlesome individual--probably when you
got out of the trap! But it may turn out for the best; your father could
not have been kept in ignorance much longer. Was he angry?"
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