"If so," said Colonel Bristo with irritation, "then Alice has played the deuce with the best young fellow in England!"
But how could he tell? How was he, the father, to get at the facts of the case? Alice was all the world to him: but for all the world he would not have sought her confidence in such a matter. Then what was he to do?
He got up from his chair, and paced the floor with the stride of a skipper on his poop. He had liked young Edmonstone always--respected him as a mere stripling. Love-sick boys were, as a rule, selfish, if not sly, young fools--that was his experience; but this one had shown himself upright and fearless--had, in fact, behaved uncommonly well, once the mischief was done. But that liking had developed into affection since the night of Dick's arrival. Poor fellow! how grateful he had been! how hopeful! Who could have discouraged him? The Colonel, for his part, had no reason to do so now. What was there against him? what against "it"? In a word, he had soon--as he saw more of him--set his heart upon Dick for his son. Secretly, he had already formed certain projects of parental ingenuity. He had already, in his walks, held stealthy intercourse with house and estate agents, and otherwise dipped into the future of other people, further than he had any business. And here was the death-blow to it all! The pair had quarrelled so violently that the prospective son-in-law was on the point of taking himself back to Australia! One thing was certain: it could be no ordinary disagreement--she must have jilted him. But if so, for whom? She had seen nobody for months--nobody but Miles! And Miles--the Colonel smiled indulgently--with all his good points, with all his fine qualities, Miles was no marrying man. Then who could it be? Once more he, her father, was unable to tell, for the life of him.
He sat down, rose again in a moment, and rang the bell. Then he sent a polite message to Mrs. Parish, requesting her kind attendance, if not in any way inconvenient.
"She can at least put me right on one or two points. That is, if she doesn't go off at a tangent, down some blind-alley of a side issue!"
The lady appeared after the regulation delay, by which she was in the habit of italicising the dignity of her office.