Part 44 (1/2)
Richard stepped forward into the full light of the candles
”If you will all listen to ed,” he said steadily
Lord John started forward
”dick!” he cried, warningly, and would have gone to hi hirowled Miles ”Let the ue, O'Hara! dick, wait one lanced at hi that should have been toldseven years ago-”
”Once and for all, I forbid it!” snapped rip
Miles leant over hiue in your head, itsyou, and that's that!”
My lord swore at hientle hand on his arm
”Please, John! Please be still! Why should not Mr Carstares speak?”
”You don't knohat he would do!” fuh, Sir Miles and Andrew are completely in the dark,” drawled the Duke ”Shall I tell the tale, Richard?”
”Thank you, I shall not require your assistance,” was the cold rejoinder ”But I must ask you to be quiet, John”
”I will not! You must n-”
”That will do,” decided O'Hara, and placed a relentless hand over his mouth ”Go on, Carstares!”
”For the sake of Miss Beauleigh, I will tell you that seven years ago my brother and I went to a card-party I cheated He took the blame He has borne it ever since because I was too much a coward to confess That is all I have to say”
”'Twas for that ye wanted to see me on Friday?” shot out O'Hara
Richard nodded, dully
”Yes, I was going to tell you then”
”H'lad ye had decided to play the man's part for once!”
With a furious oath Jack wrenched himself free and rounded on his friend
”You take too much upon yourself, O'Hara!”
He rose unsteadily and walked to Richard's side
”dick has told you much, but not all You none of you know the reasons we had for acting as we did But you know hi reasons to induce hiht to say in the lad if he will say it to ly as they swept the co countenance Then he turned and held out his hand to his brother with his own peculiarly wistful smile
”Can you bear to speak to me?” muttered Richard, with face averted
”Gad, dick, don't be ridiculous!” He grasped the unwilling hand ”You would have done the same for me!”
,Andrew pressed forward
”Well, I can see no use in raking up old scores! After all, what does it matter? It's buried and finished Here's my hand on it, dick! Lord! I couldn't turn hed irrepressibly, and wrung Richard's hand
My lord's eyes were on O'Hara, pleading Reluctantly the Irishman came forward
”'Tis only fair to tell you, Richard, that I can't see eye to eye with Andrew, here
However, I'ood deal better of ye now than I didseven years ago”
Richard looked up eagerly
”You never believed hihed
”Hardly!”
”You kneas I?”
”I had me suspicions, of course”
”I wishoh, hoish you had voiced them!”
O'Hara raised his eyebrows, and there fell a little silence His Grace of Andover broke it, co forward in his inimitable way He looked round the room at each member of the company
”One, two, threefour, five-” he counted ”Andrew, tell the-roo?” asked his brother, surprised
”I have supped,” replied Tracy coolly
For aEveryone looked at hiasped ”Oh, sinkvillain! 'Lay covers for five!' Oh, damme!”
”Or should I have said six?” continued his Grace ih's company?”