derstood and
dared not let escape) by the time he arrived in England to meet Ena.
They were still struggling in prison when he went on board the
_Monarchic_, but there a light shone fitfully through the keyhole of
the cell. It was a beautiful light, almost beautiful enough to be a
light Peter had read and dreamed of which was said never to shine on
land or sea. Then, suddenly and surprisingly, it went out. The prison,
full of thoughts, was left a place of dark confusion.
This was the inner state of Peter Rolls, Jr., when he arrived at home
after his long absence. But outwardly he appeared to be much as usual,
and was so nice to the Irish guests that Ena was grateful, though
never remorseful. Indeed, she had so much to think about that she
almost forgot her little act of diplomacy in eliminating an
undesirable sister-in-law.
She was on tenterhooks lest Lord Raygan and his mother and sister
should be finding the _menage_ at Sea Gull Manor "all wrong," and
laughing secretly at father and mother. If there had been that fear
about the dressmaker's model on top of the rest of her anxieties she
would have broken down with nervous prostration. But, thanks to her
for saving him (without his knowledge), Peter seemed to have got over
his silliness and was able to stand by her like a brick.
Lady Raygan, a singularly young-looking, red-faced woman of boyish
figure, and with stick-out teeth, was a leading militant suffragette.
When she embarked hastily for Queenstown she had just been rescued by
her son from the London police. At first she had been too seasick to
care that she was being carried past her home and that a series of
lectures she had intended giving would be delayed. Now, in America,
she had determined to make the best of a bad bargain by sending the
fiery cross through the States.
She stayed in her room and jotted down notes. Also, she
conscientiously tried to make Mrs. Rolls a suffragette. About most
other things she was absent-minded; therefore Ena did not waste gray
matter in worrying over the impression that Sea Gull Manor was making
on Lady Raygan.
It was Rags and Eileen whose observing eyes and sense of humour had to
be feared. Eileen, for instance, had a little way of saying that
anything she considered odd was "too _endlessly_ quaint." Things she
admired were "melting." If only Ena had known enough about earls and
their families to be sure whether Lord Raygan and Eileen would, in
their secret hearts
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