The following day was a Thursday and on Thursdays, as has beenstated, Belpher Castle was thrown open to the general public betweenthe hours of two and four. It was a tradition of long standing, thisperiodical lowering of the barriers, and had always been faithfullyobserved by Lord Marshmoreton ever since his accession to the title.
By the permanent occupants of the castle the day was regarded withmixed feelings. Lord Belpher, while approving of it in theory, as hedid of all the family traditions--for he was a great supporter ofall things feudal, and took his position as one of the hereditaryaristocracy of Great Britain extremely seriously--heartily dislikedit in practice. More than once he had been obliged to exit hastilyby a further door in order to keep from being discovered by a droveof tourists intent on inspecting the library or the greatdrawing-room; and now it was his custom to retire to his bedroomimmediately after lunch and not to emerge until the tide of invasionhad ebbed away.
Keggs, the butler, always looked forward to Thursdays withpleasurable anticipation. He enjoyed the sense of authority whichit gave him to herd these poor outcasts to and fro among thesurroundings which were an every-day commonplace to himself. Alsohe liked hearing the sound of his own voice as it lectured inrolling periods on the objects of interest by the way-side. Buteven to Keggs there was a bitter mixed with the sweet. No one wasbetter aware than himself that the nobility of his manner,excellent as a means of impressing the mob, worked against him whenit came to a question of tips. Again and again had he been harrowedby the spectacle of tourists, huddled together like sheep, debatingamong themselves in nervous whispers as to whether they could offerthis personage anything so contemptible as half a crown for himselfand deciding that such an insult was out of the question. It washis endeavour, especially towards the end of the proceedings, tocultivate a manner blending a dignity fitting his position with asunny geniality which would allay the timid doubts of the touristand indicate to him that, bizarre as the idea might seem, there wasnothing to prevent him placing his poor silver in more worthyhands.
Possibly the only member of the castle community who was absolutelyindifferent to these public visits was Lord Marshmoreton. He madeno difference between Thursday and any other day. Precisely asusual he donned his stained corduroys and pottered about hisbeloved garden; and when, as happened on an average once a quarter,some visitor, strayed from the main herd, came upon him as heworked and mistook him for one of the gardeners, he accepted theerror without any attempt at explanation, sometimes going so far asto encourage it by adopting a rustic accent in keeping with hisappearance. This sort thing tickled the simple-minded peer.
George joined the procession punctually at two o'clock, just asKeggs was clearing his throat preparatory to saying, "We are now inthe main 'all, and before going any further I would like to callyour attention to Sir Peter Lely's portrait of--" It was his customto begin his Thursday lectures with this remark, but today it waspostponed; for, no sooner had George appeared, than a breezy voiceon the outskirts of the throng spoke in a tone that madecompetition impossible.
"For goodness' sake, George."And Billie Dore detached herself from the group, a trim vision inblue. She wore a dust-coat and a motor veil, and her eyes andcheeks were glowing from the fresh air.
"For goodness' sake, George, what are you doing here?""I was just going to ask you the same thing.""Oh, I motored down with a boy I know. We had a breakdown justoutside the gates. We were on our way to Brighton for lunch. Hesuggested I should pass the time seeing the sights while he fixedup the sprockets or the differential gear or whatever it was. He'scoming to pick me up when he's through. But, on the level, George,how do you get this way? You sneak out of town and leave the showflat, and nobody has a notion where you are. Why, we were thinkingof advertising for you, or going to the police or something. Forall anybody knew, you might have been sandbagged or dropped in theriver."This aspect of the matter had not occurred to George till now. Hissudden descent on Belpher had seemed to him the only natural courseto pursue. He had not realized that he would be missed, and thathis absence might have caused grave inconvenience to a large numberof people.
"I never thought of that. I--well, I just happened to come here.""You aren't living in this old castle?""Not quite. I've a cottage down the road. I wanted a few days inthe country so I rented it.""But what made you choose this place?"Keggs, who had been regarding these disturbers of the peace withdignified disapproval, coughed.
"If you would not mind, madam. We are waiting.""Eh? How's that?" Miss Dore looked up with a bright smile. "I'msorry. Come along, George. Get in the game." She nodded cheerfullyto the butler. "All right. All set now. You may fire when ready,Gridley."Keggs bowed austerely, and cleared his throat again.
"We are now in the main 'all, and before going any further I wouldlike to call your attention to Sir Peter Lely's portrait of thefifth countess. Said by experts to be in his best manner."There was an almost soundless murmur from the mob, expressive ofwonder and awe, like a gentle breeze rustling leaves. Billie Doreresumed her conversation in a whisper.
"Yes, there was an awful lot of excitement when they found that youhad disappeared. They were phoning the Carlton every ten minutestrying to get you. You see, the summertime number flopped on thesecond night, and they hadn't anything to put in its place. Butit's all right. They took it out and sewed up the wound, and nowyou'd never know there had been anything wrong. The show was tenminutes too long, anyway.""How's the show going?""It's a riot. They think it will run two years in London. As faras I can make it out you don't call it a success in London unlessyou can take your grandchildren to see the thousandth night.""That's splendid. And how is everybody? All right?""Fine. That fellow Gray is still hanging round Babe. It beats mewhat she sees in him. Anybody but an infant could see the manwasn't on the level. Well, I don't blame you for quitting London,George. This sort of thing is worth fifty Londons."The procession had reached one of the upper rooms, and they werelooking down from a window that commanded a sweep of miles of thecountryside, rolling and green and wooded. Far away beyond the lastcovert Belpher Bay gleamed like a streak of silver. Billie Doregave a little sigh.
"There's nothing like this in the world. I'd like to stand here forthe rest of my life, just lapping it up.""I will call your attention," boomed Keggs at their elbow, "to thiswindow, known............