Part 18 (1/2)
”Come in, Miles, and never listen to Miss Betty! She is a tyrant and denies hed in answer to Miss Betty's quizzical sripped my lord's thin hand and frowned down at hiht! Could ye find nought better to do than to sht?”
”Oh, pshaw! Did you find Jim?”
O'Hara looked round and saw that Miss Betty had discreetly vanished He sat gingerly down on the edge of the bed
”Ay I took the ave nised hiet much satisfaction from Jim!” said my lord ”Did he look very foolish?”
”To tell ye the truth, I thought theato tell hie along this evening By the way, John, I told hi unloaded He said 'twas his fault, and ye never saw aught to touch his face! Put out was not the word for it”
”I suppose so Look here, Miles, this is a damned funny affair!”
”What happened to you exactly?”
”'Tis what I am about to tell you After I had left you, I rode on quite quietly for about an hour, and then cauards ere trying to drag her to another coach belonging to the gentleman who conducted the affair So, of course, I dismounted, and went to see as to be done”
”You would be after poking your nose into what didn't concern ye Four men, and ye had the audacity to tackle them all? 'Tis mad ye are entirely!”
”Of course, if you had been in my place you would have ridden off in another direction or aided the scoundrels?” was the scathing reply
O'Hara chuckled
”Well, go on, Jack I' I don't wish I had been with ye”
”'Twould have been superb I suppose Miss Beauleigh has told youthat she could not have told you, for she did not know it: the ht as Belmanoir”
”Thunder and turf! Not the Duke?”
”Yes Tracy”
”Zounds! Did he know ye?”
”I cannot be certain I was ht he did 'Twas at that moment he fired his pistol at me”
”The dirty scoundrel!”
”M'myes 'Tis that which makes me think he did not knowlike that!”
”Would he not? If ye ask h for any kind of devilry”
”But, my dear fellow, that is too black! He could not try to kill in cold blood a man he had hunted with, and fenced withandandno man could!”
O'Hara looked extremely sceptical
”Because ye could not yourself, is not to say that a miserable spalpeen like Belmanoir could not”
”I don't believe it of him We were always quite friendlyif it had been Robert now- But I a to these people, O'Hara, because they do not know Devil I gather from what Miss Betty says, that he calls hiirlDianaat Bath; you know his way She'd none of him: hence the abduction”
”Heavens, but 'tis a foul ot!”
”Where women are concerned, yes Otherwise'tis not such a bad fellow, Miles”
”I've no use for that kind of dirt myself, Jack”
”Oh, I don't know I daresay we are none of us exactly saints” He changed the subject abruptly ”How is Jenny?”
”Rather off her feed;you, I expect I left her with yoursoon, I should think I don't fancy he'll waste much time”
”Neither do I Poor fellow, he must have worried terribly over his worthless master”
”Sure, his face was as white as your ohen I told him ye ounded!”
Carstares turned his head quickly
”What's this about my face? Just be so kind as to hand hed and obeyed, watching my lord's close scrutiny of his countenance with so pallor, lad that Jim is on his way” He met O'Hara's eyes as he looked up, and his lips quivered irrepressibly
”You think me very vain, Miles?”
”Is it a pose of yours, John? Is it Sir Anthony Ferndale, Bart?”
”No I believe it is myself You see, when one has but one's self to live for and think forone makes the most of one's self! Hence ht of my countenance offends me!”
”Sure, ye are free with your orders, lass down on the table ”And, while I think of itwhat ue on andMiles!”
”Well?”
”Coain! My dear boy, ye'll be sick of the sight of me soon! I shall be here every day”