第42章

"See here, Charity--you're always telling me I've got no rights over you.There might be two ways of looking at that--but I ain't going to argue it.All I know is I raised you as good as I could, and meant fairly by you always except once, for a bad half-hour.There's no justice in weighing that half-hour against the rest, and you know it.If you hadn't, you wouldn't have gone on living under my roof.Seems to me the fact of your doing that gives me some sort of a right; the right to try and keep you out of trouble.I'm not asking you to consider any other."She listened in silence, and then gave a slight laugh."Better wait till I'm in trouble," she said.He paused a moment, as if weighing her words.

"Is that all your answer?"

"Yes, that's all."

"Well--I'll wait."

He turned away slowly, but as he did so the thing she had been waiting for happened; the door opened again and Harney entered.

He stopped short with a face of astonishment, and then, quickly controlling himself, went up to Mr.Royall with a frank look.

"Have you come to see me, sir?" he said coolly, throwing his cap on the table with an air of proprietorship.

Mr.Royall again looked slowly about the room; then his eyes turned to the young man.

"Is this your house?" he inquired.

Harney laughed: "Well--as much as it's anybody's.Icome here to sketch occasionally."

"And to receive Miss Royall's visits?"

"When she does me the honour----"

"Is this the home you propose to bring her to when you get married?"There was an immense and oppressive silence.Charity, quivering with anger, started forward, and then stood silent, too humbled for speech.Harney's eyes had dropped under the old man's gaze; but he raised them presently, and looking steadily at Mr.Royall, said: "Miss Royall is not a child.Isn't it rather absurd to talk of her as if she were? I believe she considers herself free to come and go as she pleases, without any questions from anyone." He paused and added: "I'm ready to answer any she wishes to ask me."Mr.Royall turned to her."Ask him when he's going to marry you, then----" There was another silence, and he laughed in his turn--a broken laugh, with a scraping sound in it."You darsn't!" he shouted out with sudden passion.He went close up to Charity, his right arm lifted, not in menace but in tragic exhortation.