Lady Angleford looked out of the window.
"I am so near-sighted----"
"A tall, thin man, with long hair," he said. "He has just gone round the
corner toward the lodge."
"That must be the man who is staying at the south lodge," she said. "His
name is Falconer, and he is a musician."
"A musician staying at the south lodge?" said Drake, with surprise. "Ah,
yes! I remember hearing the violin, as I passed the other day."
"Yes," said Lady Angleford. "The young fellow the engineers sent down is
staying at the lodge with his sister and their friend, this Mr.
Falconer. They were to have gone yesterday, when the work was completed;
but I thought they had better stay a few days, until after the dance, at
any rate, in case anything should go wrong with the electric light. It
is such a nuisance if they happen to pop out all of a sudden; and they
generally do when there is something on. You don't mind their being
here?"
He smiled.
"Why should I? It was a good idea to keep him. I suppose there is to be
a resident engineer?"
"Yes; I suppose so. It would not be a bad idea to keep this young
fellow, for I'm told that he has done the work very well. I've not seen
him or his sister. I hear that she is an extremely pretty girl, and very
ladylike, and I meant calling at the lodge and asking if they were
comfortable; but I have been so busy."
"I can quite understand that," he said. "I only hope you will not have
tired yourself out for to-morrow night."
She laughed.
"I am not easily tired; and I'm tough, though I'm small," she retorted,
with her pretty twang. "By the way, speaking of to-morrow night. I
wonder whether this Mr. Falconer would come up and play----"
She hesitated, and looked at him doubtfully.
Drake smiled.
"You think he may be some swell musician?" he said. "Too swell to play
for money? It's likely."
"No, it wasn't that; I was thinking that I could scarcely ask him
without asking the girl. He's engaged to her, I'm told."
"That's one of those problems which a man is quite unqualified to
solve," he said indifferently.
"Well, I'll ask them, and chance it. Oh, here are some of the carriages.
Would you like to run away, or will you----"