第9章

“Yes；wehadn’tclearproofofidentitythen，“hereturnedcoolly，“butwehadareexaminationofthebodybeforewitnessesafterward，andaverdictaccordingtothefacts。Thatwaskeptoutofthepapersindeferencetothefeelingsofthefamilyandfriends。I

fancyyouwouldn’thavelikedtobecross-examinedbeforeastupidjuryaboutwhatyouweredoingwithJack’sportmanteau，evenifWE

weresatisfiedwithit。“

“Ishouldhavebeengladtotestifytothekindnessofyourbrother，atanyrisk，“returnedRandolphstoutly。“Youhaveheardthattheportmanteauwasstolenfromme，buttheamountofmoneyitcontainedhasbeenplacedinMr。Dingwall’shandsfordisposal。“

“Itscontentswereknown，andallthat’sbeensettled，“returnedSirWilliam，rising。“But，“hecontinued，withhisforcedlaugh，whichtoRandolph’sfancymaskedacertainthreateningsignificance，“Isay，itwouldhavebeenabeastlybusiness，don’tyouknow，ifyouHADbeencalledupontoproduceitagain——ha，ha！——eh？“

Returningtothediningroom，RandolphfoundMissAvondalealoneonacornerofthesofa。Shesweptherskirtsasideasheapproached，asaninvitationforhimtositbesideher。Stillsorefromhisexperience，heacceptedonlyinthehopethatshewasabouttoconfidetohimheropinionofthisstrangestory。But，tohischagrin，shelookedathimoverherfanwithamischievoustolerance。“Youseemedmoreinterestedinthecousinthanthebrotherofyourpatron。“

OnceRandolphmighthavebeenflatteredatthis。Butherspeechseemedtohimonlyanechoofthegeneralheartlessness。“IfoundMissEversleighverysympatheticoverthefateoftheunfortunateman，whomnobodyelsehereseemstocarefor，“saidRandolphcoldly。

“Yes，“returnedMissAvondalecomposedly；“IbelieveshewasagreatfriendofCaptainDorntonwhenshewasquiteachild，andI

don’tthinkshecanexpectmuchfromSirWilliam，whoisverydifferentfromhisbrother。Infact，shewasoneoftherelativeswhocameoverhereinquestofthecaptain，whenitwasbelievedhewaslivingandtheheir。Hewasquiteapatronofhers。“

“Butwashenotalsooneofyours？“saidRandolphbluntly。

“IthinkItoldyouIwasthefriendoftheboyandofpoorPaquita，theboy’smother，“saidMissAvondalequietly。“IneversawCaptainDorntonbuttwice。“

Randolphnoticedthatshehadnotsaid“wife，“althoughinherpreviousconfidencesshehadsodescribedthemother。But，asDingwallhadsaid，whyshouldshehaveexposedtheboy’sillegitimacytoacomparativestranger；andifsheherselfhadbeendeceivedaboutit，whyshouldheexpecthertotellhim？Andyet——

hewasnotsatisfied。

Hewasstartledbyalittlelaugh。“Well，Ideclare，youlookasifyouresentedthefactthatyourbenefactorhadturnedouttobeabaronet——justasinsomenovel——andthatyouhaverenderedaservicetotheEnglisharistocracy。IfyouarethinkingofpoorBobby，“shecontinued，withouttheslightestshowofself-

consciousness，“SirWilliamwillprovideforhim，andthinksoftakinghimtoEnglandtorestorehishealth。Now“——withhersmiling，tolerantsuperiority——“youmustgoandtalktoMissEversleigh。Iseeherlookingthisway，andIdon’tthinkshehalflikesmeasitis。“

Randolph，who，however，alsosawthatSirWilliamwasloungingtowardthem，hereroseformally，asifpermittingthelattertotakethevacatedseat。ThispartlyimposedonhimthenecessityofseekingMissEversleigh，who，havingwithdrawntotheotherendoftheroom，wasturningovertheleavesofanalbum。AsRandolphjoinedher，shesaid，withoutlookingup，“IsMissAvondaleafriendofyours？“

Thequestionwassopertinenttohisreflectionsatthemomentthatheansweredimpulsively，“Ireallydon’tknow。“

“Yes，that’stheanswer，Ithink，mostofheracquaintanceswouldgive，iftheywereaskedthesamequestionandrepliedhonestly，“

saidtheyounggirl，asifmusing。

“EvenSirWilliam？“suggestedRandolph，halfsmiling，yetwonderingatherunlooked-forseriousshrewdnessasheglancedtowardthesofa。

“Yes；butHEwouldn’tcare。Yousee，therewouldbeapairofthem。“Shestoppedwithaslightblush，asifshehadgonetoofar，butcorrectedherselfinherformeryouthfulfrankness:“Youdon’tmindmysayingwhatIdidofher？You’renotsuchaPARTICULARfriend？“

“WebothoweadebtofgratitudetoyourcousinJack，“saidRandolph，insomeembarrassment。

“Yes，butYOUfeelitandshedoesn’t。Sothatdoesn’tmakeyoufriends。“

“ButshehastakengoodcareofCaptainDornton’schild，“suggestedRandolphloyally。

Hestopped，however，feelingthathewasondangerousground。ButMissEversleighputherownconstructiononhisreticence，andsaid，——

“Idon’tthinkshecaresforitmuch——orforANYchildren。“

Randolphrememberedhisownimpressiontheonlytimehehadeverseenherwiththechild，andwasstruckwiththeyounggirl’sinstinctagaincoincidingwithhisown。But，possiblybecauseheknewhecouldneveragainfeeltowardMissAvondaleashehad，hewasthemoreanxioustobejust，andhewasabouttoutteraprotestagainstthisgeneralassumption，whenthevoiceofSirWilliambrokeinuponthem。Hewastakinghisleave——andtheopportunityofaccompanyingMissAvondaletoherlodgingsonthewaytohishotel。HelingeredamomentoverhishandshakingwithRandolph。

“Awfullygladtohavemetyou，andIfancyyou’reawfullygladtogetridofwhattheycallyour’trust。’Musthavegivenyouabeastlylotofbother，eh——mighthavegivenyoumore？“

HenoddedfamiliarlytoMissEversleigh，andturnedawaywithMissAvondale，whowavedherusualsmilingpatronagetoRandolph，evenincludinghiscompanioninthathalf-amused，half-superiorsalutation。Perhapsitwasthisthatputasuddenhauteurintotheyounggirl’sexpressionasshestaredatMissAvondale’sdepartingfigure。

“IfyouevercometoEngland，Mr。Trent，“shesaid，withaprettydignityinheryouthfulface，“Ihopeyouwillfindsomepeoplenotquitesorudeasmycousinand“——

“MissAvondale，youwouldsay，“returnedRandolphquietly。“AstoHER，Iamquiteaccustomedtohermaturersuperiority，which，Iamafraid，istheeffectofmyownyouthandinexperience；andI

believethat，incourseoftime，yourcousin’sbrusquenessmightbeaseasilyunderstoodbyme。Idaresay，“headded，withalaugh，“thatImustseemtothemaveryromanticvisionarywithmy’trust，’andthefoolishimportanceIhaveputuponaverytrivialoccurrence。“

“Idon’tthinkso，“saidthegirlquickly，“andIconsiderBillveryrude，and，“sheadded，withareturnofherboyishfrankness，“Ishalltellhimso。AsforMissAvondale，she’sATLEASTthirty，Iunderstand；perhapsshecan’thelpshowingitinthatway，too。“

ButhereRandolph，toevadefurtherpersonalallusions，continuedlaughingly:“AndasI’veLOSTmy’trust，’Ihaven’teventhattoshowindefense。Indeed，whenyouallaregoneIshallhavenothingtoremindmeofmykindbenefactor。Itwillseemlikeadream。“

MissEversleighwassilentforamoment，andthenglancedquicklyaroundher。Therestofthecompanyweretheirelders，and，engagedinconversationattheotherendoftheapartment，hadevidentlylefttheyoungpeopletothemselves。

“Waitamoment，“shesaid，withayouthfulairofmysteryandearnestness。RandolphsawthatshehadslippedanIndianbracelet，profuselyhungwithsmalltrinkets，fromherarmtoherwrist，andwasevidentlyselectingone。Itprovedtobeachild’stinyringwithasmallpearlsetting。“ThiswasgiventomebyCousinJack，“

saidMissEversleighinalowvoice，“whenIwasachild，atsomefrolicorfestival，andIhavekeptiteversince。Ibroughtitwithmewhenwecamehereasakindofmementotoshowhim。Youknowthatisimpossiblenow。Yousayyouhavenothingofhistokeep。Willyouacceptthis？Iknowhewouldbegladtoknowyouhadit。Youcouldwearitonyourwatchchain。Don’tsayno，buttakeit。“

Protesting，yetfilledwithastrangejoyandpride，Randolphtookitfromtheyounggirl’shand。Thelittlecolorwhichhaddeepenedonhercheekclearedawayashethankedhergratefully，andwithaquietdignityshearoseandmovedtowardtheothers。Randolphdidnotlingerlongafterthis，andpresentlytookhisleaveofhishostandhostess。

Itseemedtohimthathewalkedhomethatnightinthewhirlingcloudsofhisdispelleddream。Theairystructurehehadbuiltupforthelastthreemonthshadcollapsed。TheenchantedcanopyunderwhichhehadstoodwithMissAvondalewasfoldedforever。

Theromancehehadevolvedfromhisstrangefortunehadcometoanend，notprosaically，assuchromancesareapttodo，butwithadramaticterminationwhich，however，wasequallyfataltohishopes。AtanyothertimehemighthaveprojectedthewildesthopesfromthefancythatheandMissAvondalewereorphanedofacommonbenefactor；butitwasplainthatherinterestswereapartfromhis。Andtherewasanindefinablesomethinghedidnotunderstand，anddidnotwanttounderstand，inthestoryshehadtoldhim。Howmuchofitshehadwithheld，notsomuchfromdelicacyorcontemptforhisunderstandingasadesiretomisleadhim，hedidnotknow。

Hisfaithinherhadgonewithhisromance。ItwasnotstrangethattheyoungEnglishgirl’sunsophisticatedfranknessandsimpleconfidenceslingeredlongestinhismemory，andthatwhen，afewdayslater，Mr。DingwallinformedhimthatMissAvondalehadsailedforEnglandwiththeDorntonfamily，hewasmoreconsciousofalossinthestrangergirl’sdeparture。

“IsupposeMissAvondaletakeschargeof——oftheboy，sir？“hesaidquietly。

Mr。Dingwallgavehimaquickglance。“Possibly。SirWilliamhasbehavedwithgreat——er——consideration，“herepliedbriefly。