Although Charles had enlisted3 in Hornby’s own regiment4, he had craftily5 calculated that there was not the slightest chance of Hornby’s finding it out for some time. Hornby’s troop was at the Regent’s Park. The headquarters were at Windsor, and the only officer likely to recognise him was Hornby’s captain. And so he went to work at his new duties with an easy mind, rather amused than otherwise, and wondering where and when it would all end.
From sheer unadulterated ignorance, I cannot follow him during the first week or so of his career. I have a suspicion, almost amounting to certainty, that, if I could, I should not. I do not believe that the readers of Ravenshoe would care to hear about sword-exercise, riding-school, stablegnard, and so on. I can, however, tell you thus much, that Charles learnt his duties in a wonderfully short space of time, and was a great favourite with high and low.
When William went to see Adelaide by appointment the morning after his interview with her, he had an interview with Lord Welter, who told him, in answer to his inquiries6, that Charles was groom7 to Lieutenant8 Hornby.
“I promised that I would say nothing about it,” he continued; “but I think I ought: and Lady Welter has been persuading me to do so, if any inquiries were made, only this morning. I am deuced glad, Ravenshoe, that none of you have forgotten him. It would be a great shame if you had. He is a good fellow, and has been infernally used by some of us — by me, for instance.”
William, in his gladness, said, “Never mind, my lord; let bygones be bygones. We shall all be to one another as we were before, please God. I have found Charles, at all events; so there is no gap in the old circle, except my father’s. I had a message for Lady Welter.”
“She is not down; she is really not well this morning, or she could have seen you.”
“It is only this. Lady Ascot begs that she will come over to lunch. My aunt wished she would have stopped longer last night.”
“Your aunt?”
“My aunt. Lady Ascot.”
“Ah! I beg pardon; 1 am not quite used to the new state of affairs. Was Lady Welter with Lady Ascot last night?”
William was obliged to say yes, but felt as if he had committed an indiscretion by having said anything about it.
“The deuce she was!” said Lord Welter. “I thought she was somewhere else. Tell my father that I will come and see him today, if he don’t think it would be too much for him.”
“All, Lord Welter 1 you would have come before, if you had known — ”
“I know, I know. You must know that I had my reasons for not coming. Well, I hope that you and I will be better acquainted in our new positions; we were intimate enough in our old.”
When William was gone. Lord Welter went up to his wife’s dressing-room, and said —
“Lady Welter, you are a jewel. If you go on like this, you will be recognised, and we shall die at Ranford — you and I— a rich and respectable couple. If ‘ifs and ands were pots and pans,’ Lady Welter, we should do surprisingly well. If, for instance. Lord Saltire could be got to like me something better than a mad dog, he would leave my father the whole of his landed estate, and cut Charles Horton, whilom Ravenshoe, off with the comparatively insignificant9 sum of eighty thousand pounds, the amount of his funded property. Eh! Lady Welter.”
Adelaide actually bounded from her chair.
“Are you drunk, Welter?” she said.
“Seeing that it is hut the third hour of the day, I am not, Lady Welter. Neither am I a fool. Lord Saltire would clear my father now, if he did not know that it would be more for my benefit than his. I believe he would sooner leave his money to a hospital than see me get one farthing of it.”
“Welter,” said Adelaide, eagerly, “if Charles gets hold of Lord Saltire again, he will have the whole; the old man adores him. I know it; I see it all now; why did I never think of it before? He thinks he is like Lord Barkham, his son. There is time yet. If that man, William Ravenshoe, comes this morning, you must know nothing of Charles.!Mind that. Nothing. They must not meet. He may forget him, Mind, Welter, no answer!”
She was walking up and down the room rapidly now, and Lord Welter was looking at her with a satirical smile on his face.
“Lady Welter,” he said, “the man, William Ravenshoe, has been here, and has got his answer. By this time, Charles is receiving his lordship’s blessing10.”
“Fool!” was all that Adelaide could say.
“Well, hardly that,” said Lord Welter. “At leasts you should hardly call me so. I understood the position of affairs long before you. I was a reckless young cub11 not to have paid Lord Saltire more court in old times; but I never knew the state of our affairs till very shortly efore the crash came, or I might have done so. In the present case, I have not been such a fool. Charles is restored to Lord Saltire through my instrumentality. A very good basis of operations, Lady Welter.”
“At a risk of about half a million of money,” remarked Adelaide.
“There was no risk in the other course, certainly,” said Lord Welter, “for we should never have seen a farthing of it. And besides, Lady Welter — ”
“Well!”
“I have your attention. Good. It may seem strange to you, who care about no one in heaven or earth, but I love this fellow, this Charles Horton. I always did. He is worth all the men I ever met put together. I am glad to have been able to give him a lift this morning. Even if I had not been helping12 myself, I should have done it all the same. That is comical, is it not? For Lord Saltire’s landed property I shall light. The campaign begins at lunch today, Lady Welter; so, if you will be so good as to put on your full war-paint and feathers, we will dig up the tomahawk, and be off on the war-trail in your ladyship’s brougham. Goodbye for the present.”
Adelaide was beaten. She was getting afraid of her husband; afraid of his strong masculine cunning, of his reckless courage, and of the strange apparition13 of a great brutal14 heart at the bottom of it all. What were all her fine-spun female cobwebs worth against such a huge, blundering, thieving, hornet as he?
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1
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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2
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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3
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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4
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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5
craftily
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| 狡猾地，狡诈地 | |
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6
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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7
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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8
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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9
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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10
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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11
cub
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| n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人 | |
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12
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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13
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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14
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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