Then suddenly her voice faltered, the hand that held the lorgnette
shook, her face seemed to stiffen and, in a low voice, she said to
Reggie, who had pulled up Turk, "Drive on! Drive on quickly!"
"Certainly," said Reggie, who had raised his hat to the pair, and was
regarding them with a benedictory smile. "But what's the matter?"
"I--I know that young man," said Lady Gridborough. "What is Celia doing
with him? She doesn't know----"
"Doesn't know what?" asked Reggie, as he persuaded Turk to resume his
amble.
"That he's a very wicked young man; that he has no right to be in her
company, to be standing there with her, all alone. Yes; he's a very
wicked, unprincipled young fellow."
"Hold on, Lady Gridborough!" said Reggie, blandly. "I must tell you that
you're abusing a friend of mine."
"A friend of yours!" said Lady Gridborough. "Well, he was a friend of
mine once." She sighed. "He is one no longer; and, if you take my
advice, you will have nothing more to do with him."
"There is no person on earth whose advice I value more highly than
yours, Lady Gridborough," said Reggie, as blandly as before; "and in
most matters, I should accept it and follow it without hesitation; but,
in this matter of my friend, Mr. Sydney Green----"
"Mr. Sydney--what?" broke in the old lady, evidently much agitated. "Oh,
an alias, of course; yes, I'm not surprised that he should be ashamed of
his own name. But, Celia, Celia Grant--oh, it is too sad! I must tell
her, warn her."
"My dear Lady Gridborough," said Reggie, smoothly, "I'm going to ask you
a great favour."
"What is it?" said Lady Gridborough, glancing over her shoulder at
Derrick and Celia in a half-fearsome way. "I can't think of anything
else but that young man and--and Celia Grant. Such a dear, sweet girl!"
"My favours concerns both the wicked young man and the dear, sweet
girl," said Reggie. "I am going to ask you to refrain from uttering your
warning; for two reasons. First, because Miss Grant is in love with him,
and wouldn't listen to you--and wouldn't believe you, if she did listen
to you; and secondly because, if I may use a vulgarism quite unfit for
your aristocratic ears, you will upset the apple-cart."
"Apple-cart!" echoed Lady Gridborough, looking round confusedly. "What
apple-cart? I thought for the moment we were going to run into
something! You mean that you want me not to speak to Celia, to tell her
what I know about your precious--Mr. Sydney Black?"