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In no event would she go near Golfney Place that day! At about noon, however, it arrived from Donaldson's in a cardboard box, and really seemed too pretty to be wasted. There, too, were Bridget's initials, neatly engraved on its face, and, perhaps, after all, Colonel Faversham was reckoning without his guest.
"My only excuse," he concluded, "is that I have the honour to call myself a friend of Miss Rosser's." "Our dearest niece," murmured Miss Dobson. "You may know," said Jimmy, who had scarcely ever felt quite so nervous in his life, "that Bridget has been living at No. 5, Golfney Place!" "Extremely unsuitable on all accounts," answered Miss Dobson. "Extremely," said Miss Frances.
During Carrissima's absence from London in the weeks after Christmas, when he had no occupation for his idle hands, he had certainly spent many enjoyable hours at Number 5, Golfney Place, and it had been necessary on more than one occasion to remind himself that discretion was the better part of valour.
He had not the least intention to go near Golfney Place the following day, and every word he had spoken during the walk home with Carrissima was precisely true. He believed he could never live happily without her!
"I have met his daughter," said Carrissima, and, in reply to her father's demand for further information, she told him all she knew about Bridget; how that she had made Mark Driver late for dinner; how that, after some dubitation, a visit had been paid to Golfney Place, and duly returned.
"I will go to Golfney Place to-morrow, if you like," she said, with a momentary sense of something resembling sympathy for her father. Because, if what she was constantly hearing from Sybil were true, it seemed extremely probable that Colonel Faversham was doomed to disappointment.
"You appear to be full of confidence," she answered. "I am," he said, "but naturally Sybil can't go to see you until she knows your address." Hearing her tell him that she was lodging at Number 5, Golfney Place, Colonel Faversham could endure it no longer. Interrupting Mrs. Reynolds' discourse quite rudely, he limped across the room, whereupon Jimmy at once rose to his feet.
The immediate question was: Should she take any notice of Bridget Rosser, or leave her to her own devices? In the ordinary course of things, Carrissima would scarcely have hesitated. If she had been told by anybody else that Bridget was living alone in London, doubtless she would have lost very little time in finding her way to Number 5, Golfney Place.
But, to tell the truth, he was inclined to distrust appearances. During his previous visit to Golfney Place, she had betrayed a certain amount of feeling, with the deliberate object, he felt convinced, of awakening his sympathy. On that occasion Bridget had told him about her pecuniary difficulties, in order to induce him to anticipate Colonel Faversham.
"I was on my way home from Sir Wilford's, when I saw her in a motor-car just by the corner of Golfney Place. She insisted that I should go in with her, and because of her importunity I consented." "Has the carpet arrived yet?" asked Carrissima. "It was laid while I was out this afternoon," was the answer. "Well, I hope you approve of my taste." "It looks first-rate," said Mark.
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