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This was so ridiculous Delagarde had to laugh. “Not if he is in his right mind!” He saw Miss Wormley was unconvinced, and clicked an impatient tongue. “For God’s sake, ma’am, it is a criminal offence! Do you suggest the fellow is desperate enough to take so crazy a measure?”
“There is no saying what he might do, aided and abetted by his sister, too!”
“Come, come, ma’am. Lady Shurland is scarce likely to lend herself to such a scheme. As well accuse Shurland himself. I never heard such nonsense!”
“There, Ida, you see,” said Lady Hester, leading the other lady to a chair. “Did I not say the same? Now, sit you down, my dear, and try to compose yourself. Delagarde will at once go in search of Maidie and—”
“The devil I will!” Both the older women regarded him reproachfully, and he threw up his hands. “This is insane! You cannot expect me to scour London for the girl. Why, she might be anywhere. How should I know where to start looking?”
“You are responsible for her, Laurie.”
“That is debatable.”
“At any rate, you have accepted responsibility for her.”
“How can you say so, when you have enjoined me to keep away these many days?”
“That has nothing to do with it. At a time like this, you must remember your obligation.”
“Obligation!” He threw his eyes to heaven. “Oh, very well, I will go in search of her. But ten to one she will walk in the moment I have left the place.”
He stalked out to the hall just as Lowick answered a knock at the door. As he had confidently predicted, Maidie stood upon the threshold.
It might have been supposed this sudden return, relieving him of the necessity of setting out on what he had been convinced would turn out to be a wild goose chase, would have at once had a calming effect upon his ruffled temper. Instead, it threw him into such a flame, he pounced on her furiously as she entered the house.
“There you are! What the devil do you mean by it, you little pest? How dare you go off without letting anyone know?” Seizing her arm, he marched her unceremoniously across the hall, pouring the vials of his wrath upon her hapless head with unabated vigour. “Do you realise everyone is worried to death about you? Here have I been dragged from my club to scour the town for you, and you walk in, as cool as you please!” He thrust her into the drawing-room, and let her go. “There, you see! Did I not say so?”
“Oh, Maidie, thank heaven!” fluttered her duenna, rushing to enfold the truant in her arms. “I have been sick with dread!”
“Good gracious, Maidie, what a turn you have given us! Where have you been?”
Maidie, stunned by these unprecedented attacks, and thoroughly unnerved to find Delagarde awaiting her, endured in bemused silence until the fuss abated. It was perhaps fortunate the Viscount chose to behave to her in the manner which their early association had made familiar, for she recovered more readily than she might otherwise have done from a flood of consciousness at seeing him so unexpectedly.
“I have only been to a lecture,” she said, when she was finally able to edge in a word.
Dead silence greeted this statement, all three staring at her blankly. The Worm was the first to recover, as though it took her a moment or two to take it in after the absurd fears she had been indulging.
“Oh, a lecture,” she repeated, and nodded as if that made all right.
“A lecture!” scoffed Delagarde. “You do not expect us to believe that!”
“What sort of a lecture?” asked Lady Hester.
“At the Royal Society.” What in the world was the matter with them? “I am sorry to be so late, but I got into a discussion afterwards with the speaker, and some of his colleagues—they all knew of Great-uncle Reginald, is it not wonderful?—and I lost all count of time. One of them was so kind as to find me a hackney, and I came home as soon as I could.”
She perceived that neither Delagarde nor Lady Hester seemed to understand her, and she frowned. “But what have I said? A lecture at the Royal Society, you know. They hold them regularly, I understand. But I heard of this one quite by chance. It was to be given by a man who is acquainted with Herschel, so of course I could not resist.”
Delagarde blinked. “This sounds to me like pure fantasy. You are glib enough with this ridiculous explanation, but I wish you will tell us the truth.”
Maidie opened her eyes at him. “But I have told you the truth.” She turned to Lady Hester. “I do apologise, dear ma’am. I had forgot we are going to the theatre. I shall run up and change this moment. Do not hold dinner for me!”
Turning, she dashed out of the room. When Miss Wormley would have followed her, Delagarde detained her.
“See if you can get the truth out of her. I am not such a fool as to be put off with this cock-and-bull tale of a lecture at the Royal Society.”
To his astonishment, Miss Wormley nodded with vigour. “Oh, my lord, nothing could be more likely. I wonder I did not think of it for myself. I wish she had told me. But never mind. All’s well that ends well. Excuse me, my lord. I will help her to change so she will not delay Lady Hester.”
Delagarde watched her rush off after her charge, and turned a fulminating eye on his great-aunt. “It is all very well for you to sit there laughing, Aunt Hes. Either this is the most arrant nonsense, or the girl is quite off her head!”
