there will be no necessity to tell the Julians about my departure until
they have fixed the time for coming, and cannot alter their minds.'

The sound of the children with Cornelia, and their appearance outside the
window, pushing between the fuchsia bushes which overhung the path, put
an end to this dialogue; they entered armed with buckets and spades, a
very moist and sandy aspect pervading them as far up as the high-water
mark of their clothing, and began to tell Ethelberta of the wonders of
the deep.




32. A ROOM IN ENCKWORTH COURT


'Are you sure the report is true?'

'I am sure that what I say is true, my lord; but it is hardly to be
called a report. It is a secret, known at present to nobody but myself
and Mrs. Doncastle's maid.'

The speaker was Lord Mountclere's trusty valet, and the conversation was
between him and the viscount in a dressing-room at Enckworth Court, on
the evening after the meeting of archaeologists at Corvsgate Castle.

'H'm-h'm; the daughter of a butler. Does Mrs. Doncastle know of this
yet, or Mr. Neigh, or any of their friends?'

'No, my lord.'