reticule. ‘Ten thousand!’ she exclaimed faintly. ‘No, never mind my reticule, Deb, it don’t signify! What did you say to that?’
‘I said, Paltry!’ answered Miss Grantham.
Her aunt blinked at her. ‘Paltry ... Would you—would you call it paltry, my love?’
‘I did call it paltry. I said I would not let Adrian slip through my fingers for a mere ten thousand. I enjoyed saying that, Aunt Lizzie!’
‘Yes, my dear, but—but was it wise, do you think?’
‘Pooh, what can he do, pray?’ said Miss Grantham scornfully. ‘To be sure, he flew into as black a temper as my own, and took no pains to conceal it from me. I was excessively glad to see him so angry! He said—about Ormskirk—Oh, if I were a man, to be able to call him out, and run him through, and through, and through!’
Lady Bellingham, who appeared quite shattered, said feebly that you could not run a man through three times. ‘At least, I don’t think so,’ she added. ‘Of course, I never was present at a duel, but there are always seconds, you know, and they would be bound to stop you.’
‘Nobody would stop me!’ declared Miss Grantham bloodthirstily. ‘I would like to carve him into mincemeat!’
‘Oh dear, I can’t think where you get such unladylike notions!’ sighed her aunt. ‘I do trust that you did not say it?’
‘No, I said that I thought I should make Adrian a famous wife. That made him angrier than ever. I thought he might very likely strangle me. However, he did not. He asked me what figure I set upon myself.’
Lady Bellingham showed a flicker of hope. ‘And what answer did you make to that, Deb?’
‘I said I should be very green to accept less than twenty thousand!’
‘Less than—My love, where are my smelling-salts? I do not feel at all the thing! Twenty thousand! It is a fortune! He must have thought you had taken leave of your senses!’
‘Very likely, but he said he would pay me twenty thousand if I would release Adrian.’
Lady Bellingham sank back in her chair, holding the vinaigrette to her nose.
‘So then,’ concluded Miss Grantham, with reminiscent pleasure, ‘I said that after all I preferred to marry Adrian.’
A moan from her aunt brought her eyes round to that afflicted lady. ‘Mablethorpe instead of twenty thousand pounds?’ demanded her ladyship, in quavering accents. ‘But you told me positively you would not have him!’
‘Of course I shall not!’ said Miss Grantham impatiently. ‘At least, not unless I marry him in a fit of temper,’ she added, with an irrepressible twinkle.
‘Deb, either you are mad, or I am!’ announced Lady Bellingham, lowering the vinaigrette. ‘Oh, it does not beat thinking of! We might have been free of all our difficulties! Ring the bell; I must have the hartshorn!’
Deborah looked at her in incredulous astonishment. ‘Aunt Eliza! You did not suppose—you could not suppose that I would allow that odious man to buy me off?’ she gasped.
‘Kit might have bought his exchange! Not to mention the mortgage!’ mourned her ladyship.
‘Kit buy his exchange out of—out of blood-money? He would prefer to sell out!’
‘Well, but, my love, there is no need to call it by such an ugly name, I am sure! You do not want young Mablethorpe, after all I’
‘Aunt, you would not have had me accept a bribe!’
‘Not an ordinary bribe, dear Deb! Certainly not! But twenty thousand—Oh, I can’t say it!’
‘It was the horridest insult I have ever received!’ said Deborah hotly.
‘You can’t call a sum like that an insult!’ protested her ladyship. ‘If only you would not be so impulsive! Think of poor dear Kit! He is coming home on leave too, and he says he has fallen in love. Was ever anything so unfortunate? It is all very well to talk of insults, but one must be practical, Deb! Seventy pounds for green peas, and here you are throwing twenty thousand to the winds! And the end of it will be that you will fall into Ormskirk’s hands! I can
‘I said, Paltry!’ answered Miss Grantham.
Her aunt blinked at her. ‘Paltry ... Would you—would you call it paltry, my love?’
‘I did call it paltry. I said I would not let Adrian slip through my fingers for a mere ten thousand. I enjoyed saying that, Aunt Lizzie!’
‘Yes, my dear, but—but was it wise, do you think?’
‘Pooh, what can he do, pray?’ said Miss Grantham scornfully. ‘To be sure, he flew into as black a temper as my own, and took no pains to conceal it from me. I was excessively glad to see him so angry! He said—about Ormskirk—Oh, if I were a man, to be able to call him out, and run him through, and through, and through!’
Lady Bellingham, who appeared quite shattered, said feebly that you could not run a man through three times. ‘At least, I don’t think so,’ she added. ‘Of course, I never was present at a duel, but there are always seconds, you know, and they would be bound to stop you.’
‘Nobody would stop me!’ declared Miss Grantham bloodthirstily. ‘I would like to carve him into mincemeat!’
‘Oh dear, I can’t think where you get such unladylike notions!’ sighed her aunt. ‘I do trust that you did not say it?’
‘No, I said that I thought I should make Adrian a famous wife. That made him angrier than ever. I thought he might very likely strangle me. However, he did not. He asked me what figure I set upon myself.’
Lady Bellingham showed a flicker of hope. ‘And what answer did you make to that, Deb?’
‘I said I should be very green to accept less than twenty thousand!’
‘Less than—My love, where are my smelling-salts? I do not feel at all the thing! Twenty thousand! It is a fortune! He must have thought you had taken leave of your senses!’
‘Very likely, but he said he would pay me twenty thousand if I would release Adrian.’
Lady Bellingham sank back in her chair, holding the vinaigrette to her nose.
‘So then,’ concluded Miss Grantham, with reminiscent pleasure, ‘I said that after all I preferred to marry Adrian.’
A moan from her aunt brought her eyes round to that afflicted lady. ‘Mablethorpe instead of twenty thousand pounds?’ demanded her ladyship, in quavering accents. ‘But you told me positively you would not have him!’
‘Of course I shall not!’ said Miss Grantham impatiently. ‘At least, not unless I marry him in a fit of temper,’ she added, with an irrepressible twinkle.
‘Deb, either you are mad, or I am!’ announced Lady Bellingham, lowering the vinaigrette. ‘Oh, it does not beat thinking of! We might have been free of all our difficulties! Ring the bell; I must have the hartshorn!’
Deborah looked at her in incredulous astonishment. ‘Aunt Eliza! You did not suppose—you could not suppose that I would allow that odious man to buy me off?’ she gasped.
‘Kit might have bought his exchange! Not to mention the mortgage!’ mourned her ladyship.
‘Kit buy his exchange out of—out of blood-money? He would prefer to sell out!’
‘Well, but, my love, there is no need to call it by such an ugly name, I am sure! You do not want young Mablethorpe, after all I’
‘Aunt, you would not have had me accept a bribe!’
‘Not an ordinary bribe, dear Deb! Certainly not! But twenty thousand—Oh, I can’t say it!’
‘It was the horridest insult I have ever received!’ said Deborah hotly.
‘You can’t call a sum like that an insult!’ protested her ladyship. ‘If only you would not be so impulsive! Think of poor dear Kit! He is coming home on leave too, and he says he has fallen in love. Was ever anything so unfortunate? It is all very well to talk of insults, but one must be practical, Deb! Seventy pounds for green peas, and here you are throwing twenty thousand to the winds! And the end of it will be that you will fall into Ormskirk’s hands! I can
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