"
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
that person 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.
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