He was so terribly jealous of her, that he had never made the slightest effort to bring any of his brother officers round to Rose-mount. He even kept Hugh away as much as he could. The lovers worked out their little plot very nicely. Miss Burton would leave Blankfield for a couple of weeks, ostensibly to pay a visit to a relative. Her destination would be London. Jack would take a few days' leave of absence in due course, and procure a special licence. They would return on separate days and resume their normal life, until such time as they perfected their after arrangements. CHAPTER VI |Miss Burton arrived home on a Monday by a mid-day train; her attentive brother met her at the station. She was one of those girls who look smart and neat under the most trying circumstances. Although it was a long journey, she bore no signs or stains of travel. "When does Jack arrive, not too soon, I hope?" commented George, as he assisted her into a cab, and sat down beside her. "He wanted to come down to-night, but I vetoed that," responded the girl. "I told him people might put two and two together. He will get here mid-day to-morrow. I shall meet him casually in the High Street. He is going to bring Murchison along with him. And I shall give them an impromptu invitation to dinner." "I don't know that I am very keen on having Murchison to dinner," remarked Mr. Burton in rather a growling tone. Miss Burton shrugged her shoulders. "And, perhaps, of the two, I am less keen than you are. But we have got to play it pretty quiet down here, till the whole lot of us clear out. Better to let Murchison come. He is pretty suspicious, as it is, but if we shut him out, he'll be more suspicious still." Mr. Burton chuckled in a grim fashion. "Well, our inquisitive friend, the whole lot of them as a matter of fact, can't do you much harm now. You've got him tight enough. And I'll say this for him, he's a bit soft and all that sort of thing, but he'll always play the game." The girl did not reply for a moment, then she spoke in a voice that was low and soft: "Yes, he's a dear little chap, he'll always play the game." "He can afford to," was the rather ungracious comment. Clearly Mr. Burton was not in one of his best moods to-day. Mr. Pomfret returned from his short leave on the following day, and at once sought his friend. "Glad to be back, old man, got fed-up with London," he cried cheerfully. His excuse for his visit was that he had to go up to see his aunt's solicitors, on some pressing affairs which the old lady had entrusted to him, after her temporary recovery from her dangerous illness.