He glanced down at her, a glint in his eye. ‘You are becoming remarkably hot at hand, my child, are you not? No: Freddy is decidedly not the man to control your spurts! However, don’t let us quarrel! I want to talk to you of quite another matter. Have you had any news lately from Arnside?’
She turned her head, surprised. ‘Why, yes! Fish writes to me every week!’
‘Have you any notion that all is not well there?’
‘Not the least in the world!’ she replied. ‘To be sure, poor Fish could do nothing but bemoan her lot at first, but she is a such a good creature she has made the best of it, and, indeed, is not, I think, managing so very ill. Uncle Matthew’s gout is less painful, which must make it not so disagreeable for Fish. Why should you suppose something is amiss?’
‘Merely that I have had no word from him. In general, he is a regular correspondent of mine, as you may know. However, I daresay I am in disgrace with him.’
She knew that this was true, but said nothing. Mr Westruther turned his head, and she saw that his eyes were laughing again. ‘For not obeying his peremptory summons,’ he explained.
‘He did not quite like it, perhaps,’ she acknowledged. ‘He has the oddest notions! For my part, I was thankful that you did not come. I knew you would not, of course.’
‘Why, yes, I imagine you might,’ he said. She looked up quickly, and he added, smiling: ‘I never supposed, Kitty, that you would wish me to offer for you at my grand-uncle’s bidding.’
‘Most certainly not!’
‘Like Dolphinton, and Hugh—and not like Freddy,’ he said. ‘I, too, have the oddest notions, and one of them is that I will be neither bribed nor coerced into a proposal of marriage. Really, I think my uncle should have known me better. You too, dear Kitty.’
‘I knew you very well indeed, and I never thought you would come!’
‘You did not know me at all, my child, or you would not be in London today,’ he replied calmly.
It was fortunate, since she was at a loss for an answer, that a diversion was just then created. Kitty perceived Lady Legerwood’s barouche, and desired Mr Westruther to pull up. He drew up alongside the barouche; greetings were exchanged, enquiries made after the progress of the convalescents; and by the time the curricle was again in motion the awkward moment had passed, and Kitty was able, quite naturally, to inaugurate a different topic of conversation. Mr Westruther permitted this; but when they drove out of the Park presently he referred again to his great-uncle. ‘In spite of this very gratifying intelligence, that his gout is paining him less, I find I cannot be entirely easy in my mind,’ he said. ‘However, I collect that you will shortly be returning to Arnside?’
‘I? No!’ Kitty said.
He looked down at her, slightly frowning. ‘Surely you informed me that you had come to town for one month?’
‘Why, yes! But Meg has so very kindly invited me to remain with her for the present that I need not go home again. With little Edmund still so poorly, and Lady Legerwood being determined to take him to the seaside, Meg is quite in a fix, for she says that Margate always make her bilious, besides being shockingly flat at this season. So I am to remain, to bear her company, which is a piece of great good fortune for me.’
‘Does my uncle give his consent to his?’ he demanded.
‘Yes, and I believe I have to thank my dear, good Fish for it! Only fancy, Jack! Actually she persuaded him to send me a draft for twenty-five pounds! His gout must be very much better, I think: Fish says it is all due to a remedy which she discovered in some old household book! At all events, I was never more grateful for anything, because although Freddy is for ever begging me to let him be my banker, that I will not do!’
‘You astonish me!’ he said sardonically. ‘I had supposed him to have been franking you all this while.’
‘No, indeed!’ she cried. ‘How could you think such a thing? Uncle Matthew bestowed a very handsome sum on me, upon my betrothal!’
‘Handsome indeed, if it has paid for all your finery, my dear!’ he said dryly. He saw that she was looking startled, and laughed. ‘Never mind! But I wish you will go back to Arnside, Kitty. I believe you have been guilty of a great piece of folly in leaving my uncle in this way.’
They had reached Lady Buckhaven’s house by this time, and Kitty was preparing to alight from the curricle. She paused. ‘Nonsense! Why did you laugh like that? It is true that Freddy has paid all my bills, but he has done it with the money Uncle Matthew gave me for the purpose!’
‘Oh, is that how it has been?’ said Mr Westruther gravely. ‘I begin to think I have underrated Freddy!’
Fifteen
Since Freddy, accompanied by his stammering friend, Mr Stonehouse, was dining in Berkeley Square that evening, before escorting both ladies to Almack’s, Miss Charing was easily able to find an opportunity of taking him apart, for the purpose of probing to its depths Mr Westruther’s strange remark. But Freddy, who had long foreseen that he would sooner or later be called upon to render an account of his stewardship, was prepared, and instantly confounded her by assuming all the air of one unjustly accused of dishonesty. He said that he had faithfully discharged, through his sister’s agency, all milliners’ and mantua-makers’ bills; that a small sum still remained in his possession; and that perhaps Kitty would wish him to hand this over to her? In her anxiety to disabuse his mind of its quite dreadful misapprehension, Kitty lost sight of the real purpose of her enquiry. She did once try to explain to him what this was, but as he only said severely that she was doing it rather too brown, and added, with awful irony, an assurance that his circumstances made it unnecessary for him to rob her, she was obliged to devote her energies to the task of smoothing his apparently ruffled sensibilities. ‘In fact,’ Fre
ddy told his sister, later in the evening, ‘brushed through the thing tolerably well! That is, as long as you don’t make a muff of it, Meg! Daresay she’ll ask you for a sight of the bills. Better say you gave ’em to me.’
‘Why should I have done that?’ she asked, willing but puzzled.
‘Dash it, you must be able to think of some reason!’ said Freddy, with asperity. ‘Seems to me no one but me can think of anything in this family! Getting to be devilish fatiguing. Even my father said he didn’t know how to—well, never mind that! You tell Kit I’m keeping the bills to show to the old gentleman. Come to think of it, shouldn’t be at all surprised if he asked to see ’em: sort of thing he would do!’
‘Well, it is to be hoped he does not,’ observed Meg practically. ‘Depend upon it, he would be as mad as fire. When do you mean to make your engagement known, Freddy? It seems so odd of you not to put an announcement in the Gazette! I am sure at least a dozen people must know of it!’
‘Can’t announce it till m’mother comes home from Margate,’ replied Freddy firmly. ‘Must give a dress-party! Season not begun; no one in town yet!’