“Really, Sir William, you talk as if you were in a den of thieves!” said Miss Davison haughtily. “Really, Miss Davison, I am inclined to think that I am,” retorted the baronet, as he bowed and withdrew into the next room. Rachel was left standing, pale, indignant, frightened, in the middle of the music-room. The other men who had heard something of this short passage of arms, came round her, apologizing for Sir William, expressing the opinion that he had had too much champagne, and that there was no other explanation of his conduct than that, or a sudden attack of insanity. Miss Davison received these remarks graciously, again expressing her astonishment that Sir William could make himself so ridiculous. Before she had finished speaking, the group was added to by two or three more persons, one of whom was Gerard Buckland. With him she presently walked away towards the conservatory, and when they were out of hearing of the rest, she said in a low voice-- “If you can’t succeed in persuading Sir William not to carry out his absurd intention, but to declare--before he leaves the house that he has given it up, I advise you to look after him, Mr. Buckland.” “To look after him! What do you mean?” She raised her eyelids slowly, and looked at him with a strange, arresting steadiness. “Oh, I only mean, of course, that since it’s plain that he is scarcely in his right senses, he ought to be--_closely watched_.” CHAPTER XX Gerard stood still in a state approaching stupefaction as Miss Davison, having given him this extraordinary warning, turned quickly away. He did not know whether she was speaking in the interest of Sir William Gurdon or in that of the Van Santens, but after a little reflection he decided that he had better profit by her words, at least to the extent of ascertaining exactly what the young baronet was going to do, and how he fared in doing it. Gerard had, on this occasion, come down by train by himself, instead of in Arthur Aldington’s car. Full of his resolution, and confirmed in it by Miss Davison’s manner when he said good-bye, he went down the drive by himself, and then waited outside the gates for the coming of Sir William’s motor-car. Sir William came out a few minutes later, driving his car himself, as usual. Perceiving Gerard, he stopped, and apparently anxious to have someone to confide his grievances to once more, he asked him, as Gerard had expected and hoped, whether he should give him a lift back to town. Gerard thanked him and took the seat beside Sir William, while the chauffeur got inside the car. As Gerard expected, the baronet broke out into fresh denunciation of the Van Santens without delay. “I don’t believe the one of them is any better than the other, and I shouldn’t be surprised to hear that they’ve been warned out of New York. I’m going to make some inquiries about them,” he said. “Do they know that?” asked Gerard.