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"Wouldn't for all the world pry into your affairs, Legerwood," said old Cassington, untruthfully, "but I couldn't help wondering what that boy of yours was doing at Doctor's Commons this afternoon. Not his usual lay at all."
Legerwood gazed meditatively upon his brandy-glass. His day had begun at Margate, making his farewells to his lady and youthful progeny now safely settled by the seaside, and on return to the city he had repaired to his club to dine and recuperate his strength. Being blindsided by disturbing news about his elder children had not been in his plans.
"I am sure that prying into my affairs is the last thing on your mind, my dear Cassington," he responded. "I have always found that Freddy has a tolerably good reason for his actions." But his parrying words were a trifle mechanical, and not only because of the fatiguing day. He had not felt any urgent need to seek out his eldest on his return to the Metropolis, but this news exercised his mind to no small degree. It was true that there were other reasons to call at Doctor's Commons other than the obtaining of a special licence of marriage; he could not imagine that any of them might draw Freddy there, and it was undoubtedly true that Freddy was entangled in a most pecular betrothal. Could this peculiarity have driven Freddy and Miss Charing to make a runaway match of it? It would be highly irregular, and he had never known Freddy do anything the least irregular--until he had arrived in Mount Street a few weeks ago and presented Miss Charing to his family as his secret betrothed.
It had been borne upon Lord Legerwood that he knew his eldest less well than he had thought. He exchanged a few more words with Cassington, spoke to a few other cronies--none of whom mentioned any startling news about any of his family members--and when a suitable time had passed, left the club in search of his son.
But enquiries at Freddy's lodgings revealed that he had gone out of town. When, cautiously, he ventured to Buckhaven's, he found Meg absent at a dinner-party, but a few words with the butler told him that his instincts for danger had been correct: Miss Charing had also left town, following a letter from Arnside. The addition that she was expected back on the morrow he found of only limited reassurance, for he had no way to tell whether she would return Miss Charing--or as Kitty Standen. From his original shock at the news, he had come to think she would make a capital wife for Freddy, and that in taking care of her about the ton Freddy had been very much the gainer. But that she--for it had been Legerwood's impression at no point that Freddy had been the originator of any of their more unusual starts--should feel a runaway match was a necessity caused him no little disquiet.
It had been Lord Legerwood's fondest desire to dance at his son's wedding-party.
A period of reflection led him to the conclusion that to rush in desperate haste to Arnside in the middle of the night would in no way answer: if the wedding had been today it would be long over by now amd he was already too late, and such a performance would undoubtedly attract the notice of every gossip-monger in town. But if Freddy had only obtained the licence in the afternoon, he would not have reached Arnside in time for a ceremony to be performed the same day. The likelihood was that this runaway match would be tomorrow. With this conclusion reached, Legerwood returned to Mount Street and gave orders to be called at first light for a journey to Arnside.
It was a fair day with the spring sunshine filtering through the budding boughs of the trees as Legerwood entered the village of Garsfield. The morning was more advanced than Legerwood had wished, owing to a broken trace and a lamed wheeler, but it was still early enough that he had good hopes of being well in time, whether to encourage the runaways to a more proper notion of their nuptials, or to embrace his son and newest daughter if that was how the dice fell.
He reached the church, and while Legerwood's first thought had been for the Rectory and Hugh Rattray, on seeing an elderly woman departing from the church with an empty basket he halted and addressed her.
"Is there to be a wedding here today, madam?"
The woman bobbed her head perfunctorially. "Oh yes, sir, they're just a-coming. I've made the flowers all nice for them, just as himself up at Arnside would wish for his nevvy, come all the way from London to get married here."
Legerwood did not share his reflections as to what Matthew Penicuik would wish for his nephews, but thanked the woman suitably for her answer and handed his curricle over to the care of his groom. He had not, it seemed, been mistaken.
The church was decked with spring flowers, and if the daffodils were a little more garishly coloured than he thought Freddy might prefer, they did add a festive note to the sombre grey stone of the building. If Freddy needs must make a runaway match of it, he could have chosen far worse spots than this.
Footsteps in the vestry drew his attention, and he made his way towards them to find the Reverend Hugh Rattray in his robes of office. Hugh startled at Legerwood's entrance.
"I did not look to see you here," he exclaimed, then with a return to his usual precise prosiness as he recovered from his surprise, "How do you do? I collect Freddy must have left word of his plan. He did not mention that he expected you here."
"No, how should he, when I did not know when I would be returning from Margate?" Legerwood returned. "They are quite set on this match, then?"
"Entirely so," Hugh answered. "While it may not be precisely as eligible as one might wish, I cannot deny that it seems likely to answer very well for both of them. I am glad to have you here to lend your countenance to it."
They both looked around at the sound of carriage wheels outside. "That sounds like the bridegroom," Hugh said. "I must finish my preparations, perhaps you would care to--"
Legerwood inclined his head and left Hugh to his rites. But he was as startled as Hugh to see his son, as neatly turned out as ever, escorting Dolph into the church. "There you go, old fellow, you sit down here and have a look through your lines again, so you have them all perfect." He put a prayer-book into Dolphington's hand, and they both saw Legerwood.
Dolphington turned pale and blurted out, "Did you bring Mama? Freddy--!"
"Good morning to you both," Legerwood said mildly. "I have brought no-one but myself. But Freddy, I would be glad of a moment of your time."
"Father," Freddy said in his most vacant tones. Legerwood was starting to understand that they betokened his son thinking furiously. "How in the world--but no, never mind that now. Dolph, it's just my father, nobody else. And it'll all be done in a few minutes. Read through your lines again here and I'll go talk to my father outside." In an undertone to Legerwood he added, "Wouldn't do to talk in here, poor fellow's anxious enough as it is. Stands to reason, anyone would be!"
Leaving Dolph in the church they went out to the steps and Freddy said, "Is my Aunt Dolphington coming? Because if she is--well, I shall have to think of something."
"I have no reason to suppose she is in any way concerned with this," Legerwood responded.
"Well, but she might be, you know," Freddy retorted. "Stands to reason. Poor Dolph's all in a quake thinking she'll poke her oar in at the last minute."
"It is not Dolphington I came here to speak to you about, you know," Legerwood said. "Are you quite certain this is the best course of action, Freddy? Your dear mother will be most grieved."
"I don't think she will, sir," Freddy said with surprising decisiveness. "Told Hugh as much last night. I've an idea that she'll think it by far the best thing I could have done, the way things stood." His countenance lightened suddenly. "Oh, here they are. Well, it'll all be done in a minute and it won't matter whether Aunt Dolphington shows her face or not."
Two young ladies were entering by the lych-gate. Legerwood turned to see Kitty Charing arm in arm with a young lady he dimly recalled seeing in her company on some occasions in London over the past weeks. Legerwood made a bow to them as they reached the step, and Kitty detached herself from her companion and went to stand by Freddy. Legerwood rather suspected that had he been absent, Freddy might have embraced her, and for all that he would have preferred to see them on the steps of St George's Hanover Square, he could not but smile at the way they beamed upon each other like twin stars.
But then the young ladies both looked at him in some dismay. "Sir!" Kitty said. "But--why are you here?"
"When I heard that my son had obtained a special licence of marriage," Legerwood said, "naturally I had to come."
"Oh, is that how it was?" Freddy said in tones of easy understanding. "Always a downy one, m'father," he added. Then, clearly recalled to the social niceties, he turned to the other young lady and said, "My father, you know--this is Miss Plymstock."
The young lady greeted him with a deal of cautious reserve. Legerwood said what was polite, and then looked again at his son. "As you so truly say, I am indeed one of the downy ones, and so I am well aware that your betrothal has contained some elements of, shall we say, irregularity, but I must repeat what I told Miss Charing a few days ago: I look forward to seeing you taking up married life together. If you feel there is some reason why you must continue in this irregular way, I beg you will tell me so that I may serve you in--"
"Oh!" said Kitty, interrupting, and then colouring. "Forgive me, but--did you say you came because you heard Freddy had been to get a special licence? It's for Dolph and Hannah, you know, sir. It's not--we are not--" She looked at Freddy for aid.
"Dash it all, Father," Freddy said as he took this in. "You can't mean to say you thought that I was going to take Kit and run away with her like this? I mean to say, I'm a Standen!"
"I am quite aware of this fact," said Legerwood, supressing an urge to laugh. "I see I again have cause to ask your forgiveness for the vulgar error I have made. But--Dolphington?"
"It'll be by far the best thing for him, indeed it will, sir," Kitty said earnestly. "Dolph has been wishing to marry Hannah this past year. It may not be the most eligible match, but I do believe it is right."
"Mama would like it, I think," Freddy chimed in. "And once they're safely wed, there won't be a thing Aunt Dolphington can do about it. Then they can go take their honeymoon at Arnside while the lawyers sort it all out, and I think Dolph and Hannah have a fancy to settle in Ireland."
"Indeed so," Miss Plymstock said, "and I would very much prefer not to keep Foster waiting any longer now, if it's all the same to you." She directed her words carefully at Freddy rather than at Legerwood, but Kitty chimed in at once with, "Oh yes, please, it will not be good for him to wait," and Miss Plymstock made for the church door.
"Well," said Legerwood, "I did come up in the expectation of attending a wedding, and so I shall celebrate this one instead. And what about you and Freddy, my dear? It is not, I take it, to be a runaway match?"
This time Kitty did not look away or shift uncomfortably at the question, and Freddy did not twitch like a nervous colt. Instead he put his arm through Kitty's and said, "That wouldn't be the thing at all, you know. I'd like Kit to have everything in the proper mode--and we're not going to take our honeymoon at Arnside, either!"
"Once Dolphington's business has been settled," Legerwood said probingly, "perhaps we can set a date?"
"Once we're back in London I'll be sending a notice to the Gazette. Got everything else sorted out now, no difficulties of any sort. With d'Evron taking Miss Broughty back off to France and Dolph and Hannah riveted, there'll be plenty of time to figure out our own affairs in the proper mode."
"Freddy untangled it all," Kitty informed him. "He always knows what is right to do."
Filing those additional titbits of information in his mind, Legerwood made a bow that was not entirely ironical. "Well, my son, perhaps it should be my turn next to ask your advice--"
"Starting-pistol's gone," Freddy observed, looking into the church. "We can't be standing out here talking now, Father. It isn't the thing!" He took his betrothed by the arm and they went into the church.
"How right you are," Legerwood murmured, and followed them in.