He entered Jake’s sunny parlour with absolute assurance, though the frown still drew his forehead.
And "Hullo, Bunny!" came from Lord Saltash in the same moment as he strode forward to Bunny’s sofa with the confidence of one entering the presence of an old friend.
Bunny’s quick cry of "Charlie!" fully justified this attitude, and Mrs. Lovelace withdrew with a very greatly enhanced opinion of the importance of the Brian family.
"He might have been greeting his own brother," she said to herself, as she trotted back to her kitchen.
There was certainly no cordiality lacking in Bunny’s reception of the visitor. He clung to Lord Saltash’s hand with shining eyes upraised.
"I say, what a bounder you are to have stayed away all this time! I thought you’d have come back long ago. Maud’s married. I suppose you know?"
"Married to Jake Bolton?" There was a peculiar intonation in the question. Lord Saltash was smiling as he uttered it, smiling with drawn brows.
"Yes; and he’s the best of good fellows. But I wanted her to wait for you all the same," said Bunny, with the candour of the confidant. "It was no good talking though. She couldn’t wait."
"How long has she been married?" Lord Saltash’s tone was settling into studied indifference.
"Only a few days," Bunny told him. "Only since Sunday."
"Was it so urgent as that then? She isn’t generally in such a desperate hurry."
Bunny looked uncomfortable. "You see, it was that brute of a Sheppard at ’The Anchor.’ The mater married him, you know. Thought she was going to do a good thing for us all. I think it has turned out all right so far as she is concerned. But he was a perfect beast to Maud and me."
Lord Saltash nodded comprehension. "I never did think your mother was over-endowed with wisdom," he commented. "And how did you come to know Bolton? Is he a friend of Sheppard’s?"
"They’re in the same lot, though I don’t think Jake likes him. Jake’s a good sort, isn’t he?" said Bunny almost pleadingly. "He’s been jolly decent to us."
Lord Saltash was gazing before him through eyelids that were slightly contracted. "I believe he is quite a good sort," he said after a moment without enthusiasm. "And Maud? Is she in love with him?"
Lord Saltash turned towards him sharply. "You’re very emphatic. Why?"