Part 33 (1/2)

”And we couldn't possibly let him take no notice of our letter, Mum--it was such a polite letter--and not take it out of him,” said Erebus.

”And it hasn't done any harm, you know. We wanted those trout ever so much more than he did,” said the Terror.

Mrs. Dangerfield said nothing for a while; and her frown deepened as she pondered how to deal with the affair. She was still chiefly annoyed that Sir James should have been the victim. The Twins gazed at her with a sympathetic gravity which by no means meant that they were burdened by a sense of wrong-doing. They were merely sorry that she was annoyed.

”Well, there's nothing for it: you'll have to apologize to Sir James--both of you,” she said at last.

”Apologize to him! But he never answered our letter!” cried Erebus.

The Terror hesitated a moment, opened his mouth to speak, shut it, opened it again and said in a soothing tone: ”All right, Mum; we'll apologize.”

”I'll take you to the Grange to-morrow afternoon to do it,” said Mrs.

Dangerfield, for she thought that unless she were present the Twins would surely contrive to repeat the offense in the apology and compel Sir James to invite them to continue to fish.

There had been some such intention in the Terror's mind, for his face fell: an apology in the presence of his mother would have to be a real apology. But he said amiably: ”All right; just as you like, Mum.”

Erebus scowled very darkly, and muttered fierce things under her breath. After supper, without moving him at all, she reproached the Terror bitterly for not refusing firmly.

The next afternoon therefore the three of them walked, by a foot-path across the fields, to the Grange. Surprise and extreme pleasure were mingled with the respect with which Mawley ushered them into the drawing-room; and he almost ran to apprise Sir James of their coming.

Sir James was at the moment wondering very anxiously whether he would find Mrs. Dangerfield on the bank of the stream that evening watching her children fish. His night's rest had trebled his interest in her and his desire to see more, a great deal more, of her. The appeal to him of her frail and delicate beauty was stronger than ever.

At dinner the night before he had questioned Mawley, with a careless enough air, about her, and had learned that Mr. Dangerfield had been dead seven years, that she had a very small income, and was hard put to it to make both ends meet. His compa.s.sion had been deeply stirred; she was so plainly a creature who deserved the smoothest path in life. He wished that he could now, at once, see his way to help her to that smoothest path; and he was resolved to find that way as soon as he possibly could.

When Mawley told him that she was in his drawing-room, he could scarcely believe his joyful ears. He had to put a constraint on himself to walk to its door in a decorous fas.h.i.+on fit for Mawley's eyes, and not dash to it at full speed. He entered the room with his eyes s.h.i.+ning very brightly.

Mrs. Dangerfield greeted him coldly, even a little haughtily. She was looking grave and ill at ease.

”I've come about a rather unpleasant matter, Sir James,” she said as they shook hands. ”I find that these children have been blackmailing you; and I've brought them to apologize. I--I'm exceedingly distressed about it.”

”Oh, there's no need to be--no need at all. It was rather a joke,” Sir James protested quickly.

”But blackmailing isn't a joke--though of course they didn't realize what a serious thing it is--”

”It was the Douglases doing it,” broke in the Terror in an explanatory tone.

”I don't think you ought to have given way to them, Sir James,” said Mrs. Dangerfield severely.

”But I hadn't any choice, I a.s.sure you. They had me in a cleft stick,”

protested Sir James.

”Well then you ought to have come straight to me,” said Mrs.

Dangerfield.

”Oh, but really--a little fis.h.i.+ng--what is a little fis.h.i.+ng? I couldn't come bothering you about a thing like that,” protested Sir James.

”But it isn't a little thing if you get it like that,” said Mrs.