Part 22 (2/2)

”Does he? What about?” said the Duke indifferently, as he tore a bit of charred paper from the end of his cigarette, which had burned badly. She did not answer at first. He inspected the cigarette, puffed it into active life again, and looked up.

”What about, Vick?”

”About his friend--about Doctor Claudius. I like Doctor Claudius.” Lady Victoria smoothed her rebellious brown hair at the huge over-gilt pier-gla.s.s of the little drawing-room which she and Margaret had in common.

”I like him too,” said the Duke. ”He is a gentleman. Why don't you do your hair like the American women--all fuzzy, over your eyes? I should think it would be much less trouble.”

”It's not neat,” said her ladys.h.i.+p, still looking into the gla.s.s. Then suddenly, ”Do you know what I think?”

”Well?”

”I believe Mr. Barker would like to marry Margaret himself.”

”Pshaw! Victoria, don't talk nonsense. Who ever heard of such a thing!

The Duke rose and walked once up and down the room; then he sat down again in the same place. He was not pleased at the suggestion.

”Why is it such nonsense?” she asked.

”Any number of reasons. Besides, she would not have him.”

”That would not prevent him from wis.h.i.+ng to marry her.”

”No, of course not, but--well, it's great stuff.” He looked a little puzzled, as if he found it hard to say exactly why he objected to the idea.

”You would be very glad if Claudius married her, would you not?” asked his sister.

”Glad--I don't know--yes, I suppose so.”

”But you pretend to like Mr. Barker a great deal more than you like Doctor Claudius,” said she argumentatively.

”I know him better,” said the Duke; ”I have known Barker several years.”

”And he is rich--and that, and why should he not think of proposing to Margaret?”

”Because--well I don't know, but it would be so deuced inappropriate,”

in which expression the honest-hearted Englishman struck the truth, going for it with his head down, after the manner of his people.

”At first he was very nice,” said Lady Victoria, who had gained a point, though for what purpose she hardly knew; ”but after a while he began to say disagreeable things. He hinted in all sorts of ways that Claudius was not exactly a gentleman, and that no one knew where he came from, and that he ought not to make love to Margaret, and so on, till I wanted to box his ears;” and she waxed warm in her wrath, which was really due in great part to the fact that Mr. Barker was personally not exactly to her taste. If she had liked him she would have thought differently of the things he said. But her brother was angry too by this time, for he remembered a conversation he had had with Barker on the same topic.

”I told Barker once that Claudius was a gentleman, every inch of him, and I should think that was enough. As if I did not know--it's too bad, upon my word!” And the ducal forehead reddened angrily. The fact was that both he and his sister had taken an unaccountable fancy to this strange Northman, with his quiet ways and his unaffected courtesy, and at the present moment they would have quarrelled with their best friends rather than hear a word against him. ”My guest, too, and on my yacht,”

he went on; and it did his sister good to see him angry--”it's true he brought him, and introduced him to me.” Then a bright idea struck him.

”And if Claudius were not a gentleman, what the deuce right had Barker to bring him to me at all, eh? Wasn't it his business to find out? My word! I would like to ask him that, and if I find him I will.” Lady Victoria had no intention of making mischief between her brother and Mr.

Barker. But she did not like the American, and she thought Barker was turning the Duke into a miner, or a farmer, or a greengrocer, or something--it was not quite clear. But she wished him out of the way, and fate had given her a powerful weapon. It was just that sort of double-handedness that the Duke most hated of all things in the earth.

Moreover, he knew his sister never exaggerated, and that what she had told him was of necessity perfectly true.

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