He rose with a look of determination in his dark eyes.
"Thank you very much, madame, but I cannot consent to give you any
further trouble. I am quite capable of walking to anywhere, and I
will----" He broke off with an exclamation and sank down again. "I must
be worse than I thought," he said suddenly, "and I must ask you to put
up with me for a little while--half an hour."
Mrs Lorton crossed the room with the air of an empress, or a St. Teresa
on the verge of a great mission, and rang the bell.
"I cannot permit you to leave this house until you have recovered--quite
recovered," she said, in a stately fashion. "Molly, get the spare room
ready for this gentleman. Eleanor, you might assist, I think! I will see
that the sheets are properly aired--nothing is more important in such a
case--and we will send for the doctor while you are retiring."
Molly plunged out, followed by Nell, and Mrs. Lorton seated herself
opposite the injured man, and, folding her hands, gazed at him as if she
were solely accountable for his welfare.
"I'm very much obliged to you, madame," he said, at last, and by no
means amiably. "May I ask to whom I am indebted for so much--kindness?"
"My name is Lorton," said the dear lady, as if she had picked him up and
brought him in and given him brandy; "but I am a Wolfer."
He looked at her as if he thought she were mad, and Mrs. Lorton hastened
to explain.
"I am a near relative of Lord Wolfer."
"Oh, yes, yes; I beg your pardon," he said, with a touch of relief. "I
didn't understand for a moment."
"Perhaps you know Lord Wolfer?" she asked sweetly.
He shook his head.
"I've heard of him."
"Of course," she assented blandly. "He is sufficiently well known, not
to say famous. And your name--if I may ask?"
He frowned, and was silent for an instant.
"Vernon," he said reluctantly, "Drake Vernon."
"Indeed! The name seems familiar to me. Of the Northumberland Vernons, I
suppose?"
"No," he replied, rather shortly.
"No? There are some Vernons in Warwickshire, I remember," she suggested.
He shook his head.
"I'm not connected with any of the Vernons," he said with a grim courtesy.
Mrs. Lorton looked rather disappointed, but only for a moment; for,
foolish as she was, she knew a gentleman when she saw one, and this Mr.
Vernon, though not one of the Vernons, was evidently a gentleman and a
man of position. She smiled at him graciously.