"Will you kindly permit me, madam, to say a few words?""No!" said Miss Pink, asserting the most immovable obstinacy under the blandest politeness of manner. "Your time, Mr. Troy, is really too valuable! Not even your trained intellect can excuse conduct which is manifestly _in_excusable on the face of it. Now you know my opinion ofLady Lydiard, you will not be surprised to hear that I decline to trust her Ladyship. She may, or she may not, cause the necessary inquiries to be made for the vindication of my niece's character. In a matter so serious as this--I may say, in a duty which I owe to the memories of my sister and my parents--I will not leave the responsibility to Lady Lydiard. I will take it on myself. Let me add that I am able to pay the necessary expenses. The earlier years of my life, Mr. Troy, have been passed in the tuition of young ladies. I have been happy in meriting the confidence of parents; and I have been strict in observing the golden rules of economy. On my retirement, I have been able to invest a modest, a very modest, little fortune in the Funds. A portion of it is at the service of my niece for the recovery of her good name; and I desire to place the necessary investigation confidentially in your hands. You are acquainted with the case, and the case naturally goes to you. I could not prevail on myself--I really could not prevail on myself--to mention it to a stranger. That is the business on which I wished to consult you. Please say nothing more about Lady Lydiard--the subject is inexpressibly disagreeable to me. I will only trespass on your kindness to tell me if I have succeeded in making myself understood."Miss Pink leaned back in her chair, at the exact angle permitted by the laws of propriety; rested her left elbow on the palm of her right hand, and lightly supported her cheek with her forefinger and thumb. In this position she waited Mr. Troy's answer--the living picture of human obstinacy in its most respectable form.
If Mr. Troy had not been a lawyer--in other words, if he had not been professionally capable of persisting in his own course, in the face of every conceivable difficulty and discouragement--Miss Pink might have remained in undisturbed possession of her own opinions. As it was, Mr. Troy had got his hearing at last; and no matter how obstinately she might close her eyes to it, Miss Pink was now destined to have the other side of the case presented to her view.
"I am sincerely obliged to you, madam, for the expression of your confidence in me," Mr. Troy began; "at the same time, I must beg you to excuse me if I decline to accept your proposal."Miss Pink had not expected to receive such an answer as this. The lawyer's brief refusal surprised and annoyed her.
"Why do you decline to assist me?" she asked.
"Because," answered Mr. Troy, "my services are already engaged, in Miss Isabel's interest, by a client whom I have served for more than twenty years. My client is--"Miss Pink anticipated the coming disclosure. "You need not trouble yourself, sir, to mention your client's name," she said.
"My client," persisted Mr. Troy, "loves Miss Isabel dearly." "That is a matter of opinion," Miss Pink interposed.
"And believes in Miss Isabel's innocence," proceeded the irrepressible lawyer, "as firmly as you believe in it yourself."Miss Pink (being human) had a temper; and Mr. Troy had found his way to it.
"If Lady Lydiard believes in my niece's innocence," said Miss Pink, suddenly sitting bolt upright in her chair, "why has my niece been compelled, in justice to herself, to leave Lady Lydiard's house?""You will admit, madam," Mr. Troy answered cautiously, "that we are all of us liable, in this wicked world, to be the victims of appearances. Your niece is a victim--an innocent victim. She wisely withdraws from Lady Lydiard's house until appearances are proved to be false and her position is cleared up."Miss Pink had her reply ready. "That is simply acknowledging, in other words, that my niece is suspected. I am only a woman, Mr. Troy--but it is not quite so easy to mislead me as you seem to suppose."Mr. Troy's temper was admirably trained. But it began to acknowledge that Miss Pink's powers of irritation could sting to some purpose.
"No intention of misleading you, madam, has ever crossed my mind," he rejoined warmly. "As for your niece, I can tell you this. In all my experience of Lady Lydiard, I never saw her so distressed as she was when Miss Isabel left the house!""Indeed!" said Miss Pink, with an incredulous smile. "In my rank of life, when we feel distressed about a person, we do our best to comfort thatperson by a kind letter or an early visit. But then I am not a lady of title." "Lady Lydiard engaged herself to call on Miss Isabel in my hearing,"said Mr. Troy. "Lady Lydiard is the most generous woman living!""Lady Lydiard is here!" cried a joyful voice on the other side of the door.
At the same moment, Isabel burst into the room in a state of excitement which actually ignored the formidable presence of Miss Pink. "I beg your pardon, aunt! I was upstairs at the window, and I saw the carriage stop at the gate. And Tommie has come, too! The darling saw me at the window!" cried the poor girl, her eyes sparkling with delight as a perfect explosion of barking made itself heard over the tramp of horses' feet and the crash of carriage wheels outside.
Miss Pink rose slowly, with a dignity that looked capable of adequately receiving--not one noble lady only, but the whole peerage of England.
"Control yourself, dear Isabel," she said. "No well-bred young lady permits herself to become unduly excited. Stand by my side--a little behind me."Isabel obeyed. Mr. Troy kept his place, and privately enjoyed his triumph over Miss Pink. If Lady Lydiard had been actually in league with him, she could not have chosen a more opportune time for her visit. A momentary interval passed. The carriage drew up at the door; the horses trampled on the gravel; the bell rung madly; the uproar of Tommie, released from the carriage and clamoring to be let in, redoubled its fury. Never before had such an unruly burst of noises invaded the tranquility of Miss Pink's villa!
