Vermont is a gentleman?"
"Yes, by Act of Parliament!" snapped the old man, in whose aristocratic
eyes a lawyer was but little removed from the criminal whose case he
defended.
"Certainly it is strange that Adrien should be so attached to him," the
girl said musingly; she, herself, had little liking for the gentleman in
question, though her sense of justice had made her speak a good word for
him. "But he is a clever steward, at least."
"A rogue's only virtue," said Lord Barminster dryly.
"Amusing, too," she suggested.
"We've no longer need of a court jester," returned her companion, with
sarcasm. "But never mind, Adrien will find out his mistake for himself
one day. Certainly, I am not going to attempt to strip the mask off his
friend's face. Give him rope enough, and he will hang himself.
Meanwhile, give me some more coffee, and leave the fellow's name alone;
I hate even the thought of him."
Lady Constance refilled his cup and brought it to the end of the table,
for she loved to wait on the old man. As she did so, his sharp eyes
caught the glitter of a piece of needlework across the back of her
chair, and with a curt gesture towards it, he said:
"What is that?"
She blushed, almost deeply, then took it up, and opened it out for him
to see.
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