CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST.
DONE! ARNOLD was a little surprised by the curt manner in which Geoffrey answered him.
"Has Sir Patrick said any thing unpleasant ?" he asked.
"Sir Patrick has said just what I wanted him to say." "No difficulty about the marriage ?" "None." "No fear of Blanche--" "She won't ask you to go to Craig Fernie--I'll answer for that!" He said the words with a strong emphasis on them, took his brother's letter from the table, snatched up his hat, and went out.
His friends, idling on the lawn, hailed him.

He passed by them quickly without answering, without so much as a glance at them over his shoulder.

Arriving at the rose-garden, he stopped and took out his pipe; then suddenly changed his mind, and turned back again by another path.
There was no certainty, at that hour of the day, of his being left alone in the rose-garden.

He had a fierce and hungry longing to be by himself; he felt as if he could have been the death of any body who came and spoke to him at that moment.

With his head down and his brows knit heavily, he followed the path to see what it ended in.