Part 24 (1/2)
”Ye never told hihwayman?” he cried
”Yes, I did Why not?”
”Why not? Why not? God help us all! are ye daft, man? Do ye intend to tell every other person ye meet what ye are? Bedad, 'tis hed
”I was afraid you would not understand”
”'Twould take a wizard to understand ye! Another chivalrous impulse, I doubt not?”
”Chiv-! No It is just that I could not let hientleidly polite”
”Polite! I should hope so! The ould scarecrow, after ye'd saved his daughter on hihed
”He and myself You seehelectured meoh! quite kindlyon the error ofto s are with ye at present”
My lord opened his ain
”Anything to say?” inquired O'Hara with a threatening gleam in his eye
”No, sir,” replied Jack meekly
”Ye will co up joyfully
”Good lad! Lud! but I was afraid at one tio and look for that rascal of yours!” He hurried out of the roo foreseen the result of the contest, was already stowing the luggage away on the chaise
Half-an-hour later, his adieux , my lord rode out with O'Hara on his way to Thurze House
For some time there was silence between the two men, with only a perfunctory remark or two on the fineness of the day and the freshness of the mare to break it Carstares'
on all that he had left behind hi with Diana had been quite ordinary, she at leastbeyond a chance acquaintance; indeed, it had alhtly aloof, as if she had drawn a little into herself Her hand when he had kissed it had been lifeless and cold, her smile sweetly remote He knew that he had held the hand a fraction of a er than was strictly in accordance with the rules on good manners, and he feared that he had clasped it in ainst his lips He wondered whether she had re after he had ridden out of sight, she continued to feel that pressure If he could have seen her passionately kissing each finger separately for fear her lips ht pass over the exact spot his had touched, his heart hter
It was true that she had retired into her shell, a little hurt at what she termed his man's blind obstinacy She had laid her heart bare for him to read; she had offered herself to hieneral than in the pleasaunce; she had fought desperately for her happiness, thrusting aside all thought of maiden modesty, and when she afterwards had realised what she had done, and tried to iine what he must think of her, she had blushed dark, and mentally flayed herself for her lack of proper pride and ht think her immodest, overwhelmed with sudden shyness, she had been colder in her attitude towards him than she had intended, even in her anxiety not to appear forward But in spite of her coldness, how intensely had she hoped that he would sense her love and all that she wanted him to know!
Incomprehensible the ways of women!
Not endoith feminine perspicacity or intuition, how could John hope to understand her dual feelings? He only knew that he had hurt her, and that she had drawn back that she ht not lay herself open to more He could not hope to understand her when she did not fully understand herself
Reflecting on the swiftness hich love had coht fade, at least from Diana's memory He told hih to know that it was the last thing in the world he wanted The ht of Diana indifferent to him, or worse, another hten his hold on the rein
O'Hara castprofile beside hi whether his lordshi+p would last out the tedious ride or no He knew enough of Carstares' indoe to believe that he would, but he feared that it would prove too great a strain on him in his present weakened condition
Very wisely he made no attempt to draw Carstares out of his abstraction, but continued to push on in silence, past fields knee-deep in grass, soon to be hay, with sorrel and poppies growing apace, along lanes with hedges high above their heads on either side, over hill and down dalealways in silence
Presently O'Hara fell a little to the rear that heto do so He thought he had never seen Jack's face wear such a black look The fine brows almost met over his nose with only two sharp furrows to separate them; the mouth was co ahead between Jenny's nervous ears, see One hand at his hip was clenched on his riding-whip, the other uided the race of the e and splendid seat
Suddenly, as if aware that he was being studied, ave a tiny shrug and with it seemed to throw off his oppression The frown vanished, and he s your pardon, Miles I am a surly fellow”
”Mayhap your shoulder troubles you,” suggested O'Hara tactfully
”N-no, I am barely conscious of it I've no excuse beyond bad manners and a worse temper”
From thence onward he set hih was soh to keep O'Hara in a pleasurable state of amusement for some miles
By the time they arrived at Thurze House, Carstares was suspiciously white about the mouth, and there was once more a furrowthis tireet ance and to pay her at least three neat, laughing compliments before O'Hara took him firmly by the arm and marched him to his room, there to rest and recover before the dinner hour
Shortly after, Jis, and able to give a satisfactory verdict on Jenny's stalling He had quite accepted O'Hara as a friend, after some jealous qualms, and was noell pleased that histhe countryside
At five o'clock, as the gong rang, old and silver triht-hearted as the occasion deh there had never been a Diana to upset the whole course of a ainst the world for six long years Their teaching had been to hide all feeling beneath a perpetual mask of nonchalance and wit; never for an instance to betray a hurt, and never to allow it to appear that he was anything but the ood stead now, and even O'Hara wondered to see him in such spirits after all that had passed Lady Molly was delighted with her guest, ad an easy victi them, saith content that his capricious little as really attracted to h honour, for she was hard to please, and many of O'Hara's acquaintances had been received, if not with actual coldness, at least not with any degree of warmth
At the end of thethat they were not to sit too long over their wine, and that Miles was not to fatigue his lordshi+p
O'Hara pushed the decanter towards his friend
”I've a piece of news I daresay will interest ye!” he rely
”Ay 'Tis that his Grace of Andover has withdrawn his precious person to Paris”
Carstares raised one eyebrow
”I suppose he would naturally wish to reround after our little fracas”
”Does he ever wish to be in the background?”
”You probably know him better than I do Does he?”
”He does not 'Tis always in front he is, hty prominent damn him!”
My lord was faintly surprised