Edgar Jepson

“ We walked on out of the garden, going more slowly the nearer we came to the gate; and then we were some time in her stepfather's porch before she rang the bell.
I walked back to my house in a quit contented frame of mind. Amber's fright had forced my hand and settled things for us. It had, for the time being, put the ghost trick out of my mind. In spite of the fact that I had spent the night before traveling across Europe, I was a long while getting to sleep. I had to think about Amber. ”

“ At six in the evening I told Mowart to pack, and came straight back to Garthoyle Gardens.
I was no sooner in my own house, within three hundred yards of Amber, than the restlessness left me. I wanted to see her as soon as possible, of course; but I could wait an hour or two without an effort.
I dined at home, with a much better appetite than I had had in Paris or Berlin; and then I went out into the central garden. It was late, for I had dined late; it must have been nearly half past ten. There was not much chance of finding Amber, for she did not often come into the garden at night. ”

“ On the way, it occurred to me that her stepfather had got us into the mess, and that the least he could do would be to help us out of it. He might have a great deal of influence with her; she might even be afraid of him. It would be so much better that she should have one unpleasant quarter of an hour than that she should be miserable for a week. Besides, I should probably find it very difficult, if not quite impossible, to get an interview with her on my own; he might at least work that for me.
The butler said that Mr. Scruton was at home, and took me to the smoking room. ”

“ Not a word!” bellowed Scruton. “You marry Lord Garthoyle in a month from now; and that's all there is to it. I'm going straight to my lawyers to instruct them to draw up the settlements.”
He walked to the door rather quickly, and was out of the room before Amber could recover herself.
She turned on me furiously, with blazing eyes.
“To come to my stepfather! Oh, you have—you have a—a——”
“Cheek—yes—I was born with it. I've told you so before,” I said, walking quietly across the room. “But there was no one else to go to. Surely your stepfather's the proper person. ”

“ It's very common out there. But am I to understand that before you let this out, Amber had definitely accepted you?”
“Oh, yes; quite definitely,” I assured him.
“Well, an acceptance of a proposal of marriage is a very serious thing, and I shall have to speak to her seriously about it,” he said solemnly, and he rang the bell.
The butler came, and Scruton told him to tell Amber that he wanted to speak to her in the smoking room. We waited two or three minutes, and then the butler came back and said that Miss Devine had a headache and was staying in her room. ”

“ I catch a pretty girl playing a trick like that on me to get her stepfather out of paying his rent, and of course I kiss her—à la guerre comme à la guerre. I couldn't beat you for the horrid fright you'd given me, could I? ”

“ I said; “you're more comfortable where you are. And you feel so much safer.”
I drew her closer to me, and kissed her again. She was quite still.
We sat on that bench for a long time—I had it taken away to Garth Royal, later; and it is in the rose garden there, under a stone canopy. We did not say very much, because there did not seem to be anything to say. It seemed to be quite enough to be sitting there together. At last, she said that she must be going, or the house would be locked up, and she would have to ring up a servant to let her in. ”

“ Then the whole place seemed to turn sour, and, after lunch on the fourth day, I told Mowart to pack my things and take tickets for Berlin, a much more amusing town, when you know the ropes, than people will admit. ”