第81章

No--Lord Colambre was not in his accustomed place, reading in the breakfast-room: nor did he make his appearance till both his father and mother had been some time at breakfast.

'Good morning to you, my Lord Colambre,' said his mother, in a reproachful tone, the moment he entered; 'I am much obliged to you for your company last night.'

'Good morning to you, Colambre,' said his father, in a more jocose tone of reproach; 'I am obliged to you for your good company last night.'

'Good morning to you, Lord Colambre,' said Miss Nugent; and though she endeavoured to throw all reproach from her looks, and to let none be heard in her voice, yet there was a slight tremulous motion in that voice which struck our hero to the heart.

'I thank you, ma'am, for missing me,' said he, addressing himself to his mother; 'I stayed away but half an hour; I accompanied my father to St.James's Street, and when I returned I found that every one had retired to rest.'

'Oh, was that the case?' said Lady Clonbrony; 'I own I thought it very unlike you to leave me in that sort of way.'

'And, lest you should be jealous of that half-hour when he was accompanying me,' said Lord Clonbrony, 'I must remark, that, though I had his body with me, I had none of his mind; that he left at home with you ladies, or with some fair one across the water, for the deuce of two words did he bestow upon me, with all his pretence of accompanying me.'

'Lord Colambre seems to have a fair chance of a pleasant breakfast,' said Miss Nugent, smiling; 'reproaches on all sides.'

'I have heard none on your side, Grace,' said Lord Clonbrony;'and that's the reason, I suppose, he wisely takes his seat beside you.But, come, we will not badger you any more, my dear boy.We have given him as fine a complexion amongst us as if he had been out hunting these three hours; have not we, Grace?'

'When Colambre has been a season or two more in Lon'on, he'll not be so easily put out of countenance,' said Lady Clonbrony; 'you don't see young men of fashion here blushing about nothing.'

'No, nor about anything, my dear,' said Lord Clonbrony; 'but that's no proof they do nothing they ought to blush for.'

'What they do, there's no occasion for ladies to inquire,' said Lady Clonbrony; 'but this I know, that it's a great disadvantage to a young man of a certain rank to blush; for no people, who live in a certain set, ever do; and it is the most opposite thing possible to a certain air, which, I own, I think Colambre wants;and now that he has done travelling in Ireland, which is no use in PINT of giving a gentleman a travelled air, or anything of that sort, I hope he will put himself under my conduct for next winter's campaign in town.'

Lord Clonbrony looked as if he did not know how to look; and, after drumming on the table for some seconds, said--'Colambre, I told you how it would be.That's a fatal hard condition of yours.'

'Not a hard condition, I hope, my dear father,' said Lord Colambre.

'Hard it must be, since it can't be fulfilled, or won't be fulfilled, which comes to the same thing,' replied Lord Clonbrony, sighing.

'I am persuaded, sir, that it will be fulfilled,' said Lord Colambre; 'I am persuaded that, when my mother hears the truth, and the whole truth--when she finds that your happiness, and the happiness of her whole family, depend upon her yielding her taste on one subject--'

'Oh, I see now what you are about,' cried Lady Clonbrony; 'you are coming round with your persuasions and prefaces to ask me to give up Lon'on, and go back with you to Ireland, my lord.You may save yourselves the trouble, all of you, for no earthly persuasions shall make me do it.I will never give up my taste on that PINT.My happiness has a right to be as much considered as your father's, Colambre, or anybody's; and, in one word, Iwon't do it,' cried she, rising angrily from the breakfast-table.

'There! did not I tell you how it would be?' cried Lord Clonbrony.

'My mother has not heard me, yet,' said Lord Colambre, laying his hand upon his mother's arm, as she attempted to pass; 'hear me, madam, for your own sake.You do not know what will happen, this very day--this very hour, perhaps --if you do not listen to me.'

'And what will happen?' said Lady Clonbrony, stopping short.

'Ay, indeed; she little knows,' said Lord Clonbrony, 'what's hanging over her head.'

'Hanging over my head?' said Lady Clonbrony, looking up;'nonsense! what?'

An execution, madam!' said Lord Colambre.

'Gracious me! an execution!' said Lady Clonbrony, sitting down again; 'but I heard you talk of an execution months ago, my lord, before my son went to Ireland, and it blew over I heard no more of it.'

'If won't blow over now,' said Lord Clonbrony; 'you'll hear more of it now.Sir Terence O'Fay it was, you may remember, that settled it then.'

'Well, and can't he settle it now? Send for him, since he understands these cases; and I will ask him to dinner myself, for your sake, and be very civil to him, my lord.'

'All your civility, either for my sake or your own, will not signify a straw, my dear, in this case--anything that poor Terry could do, he'd do, and welcome, without it; but he can do nothing.'

'Nothing!--that's very extraordinary.But I'm clear no one dare to bring a real execution against us in earnest; and you are only trying to frighten me to your purpose, like a child; but it shan't do.'

'Very well, my dear; you'll see--too late.'

A knock at the house door.

'Who is it?--What is it?' cried Lord Clonbrony, growing very pale.

Lord Colambre changed colour too, and ran downstairs.'Don't let 'em let anybody in, for your life, Colambre; under any pretence,'

cried Lord Clonbrony, calling from the head of the stairs; then running to the window, 'By all that's good, it's Mordicai himself! and the people with him.'

'Lean your head on me, my dear aunt,' said Miss Nugent.Lady Clonbrony leant back, trembling, and ready to faint.

'But he's walking off now; the rascal could not get in-- safe for the present!' cried Lord Clonbrony, rubbing his hands, and repeating, 'safe for the present!'