Bellairs. Absent-minded and dogmatic, Aunt Ruby was nevertheless amiable and kindly, and Olive was really fond of her. But it was rare for her to leave Rome or Babylon to speak on commonplace subjects. She was difficult to manage, and required no little humouring.
On seeing two young men standing bareheaded before her, she stopped and looked bewildered. Then she recognized them both and smiled. Finally she pointed a lean finger at Lord Aldean.
"Septem alta jugis toti quæ presidet orbi,'" said Miss Slarge, solemnly. "What does that mean, Lord Aldean?"
"Great Scott!" gasped Jim, cramming his hat on his head, "I don't know."
"Yet you call yourself a scholar, sir?"
"No, I don't, Miss Slarge. I call Mr. Mallow a scholar. What is it, Mallow?"
"The lofty city with seven hills which governs the whole world," translated Mallow.
"I know that," snapped Miss Slarge; "it is a simple sentence from Virgil. But what city?"
"Rome, of course; what other city has seven hills?"
"I was certain of it," cried Miss Slarge, triumphantly; "the chief seat of idolatry under the New Testament. Mystery, Babylon the great--that is Rome!"
"Is it indeed," said Aldean, for her eyes were fastened upon him. "What a rum idea!"
"Jim, Jim," reproved Mallow, smiling.
"It is a very wonderful idea," said Miss Slarge, reproachfully. "Do you know, Mr. Mallow, I made a most remarkable discovery last week? The two-horned mitre of the Romish bishops is nothing but the mitre worn by Dagon, the fish-god of the Babylonians."
"I do not quite understand, Miss Slarge."
"It is not difficult," replied the lady. "Dagon was depicted as half man, half fish."
"I know," cried Aldean; "he had a fish's tail, like a mermaid."
"True enough," assented Mallow; "but that does not explain the mitre."
Miss Slarge became excited. "The head of the fish, with open jaws, was worn on the god's head!" she cried, "and the scales and tail formed a cloak. The bishops of the papal church don't wear the tail, but they place the open-jawed head on their brows, and call it a mitre. Now do you see?"
"Oh yes. It is truly wonderful, Miss Slarge."
"Osiris also wore such a mitre, Mr. Mallow. How then can you doubt that the Pope of Rome is not the modern representative of the Philistine, of the Babylonian deity. Why, if----"
By this time Miss Slarge was taking a breather on her hobby horse, and might be expected to gallop that tiresome animal for a considerable time; so, leaving Mallow to endure the martyrdom, Lord Aldean edged away from the pair by degrees. The cunning rascal had caught a glimpse of Miss Ostergaard out of the tail of his eye, and, preferring flirtation to instruction, managed to place himself by her side whilst she was filling a small basket with roses. All this apparently without her knowledge.
The young lady from New Zealand was one of the most charming of young ladies; and Aldean went so far as to make no reservation in favour of any one. She had been sent to England to be educated, and, having gone to the same school as Olive, a close friendship had sprung up between them as rapidly as had grown Jonah's gourd. Happily the friendship was more enduring than the plant, and for three or four years these two had been like Helena and Hermia, two cherries on one stem. Miss Ostergaard, whose Christian, or rather Maori name, was Tui, loved Olive as her other self, and frequently came to stay at the Manor House. She was now twenty years of age, and so pretty that she won every heart left uncaptured by Olive. With dark hair, dark complexion, and two wonderful dark eyes like wells of liquid light, she made such havoc amongst young and susceptible males that she should have been shut up as a too delightful damsel dangerous to the youth of the community. Her last victim was the hapless Aldean. Having impaled him on a pin, she was watching him wriggle. Not that Jim objected to the process--indeed, he rather liked it--for if he wriggled on the pin no one else could, for the time being; and thus he secured all the sweet torment unto himself: a most gratifying monopoly.
Of course Tui knew that Olive was in love with Mallow, and equally, of course, Olive was aware of Aldean's passion for Tui; and of course both of them discussed their lovers to their hearts' content. Tui was distinctly in favour of Mallow as a suitor for her darling Olive, and was enraged at the mere thought of her friend being handed over, with fifty thousand pounds, to an unknown suitor from the back of beyond. Therefore she was glad to see him, and she hoped that he would rescue Olive from the Indian dragon as a true knight should; for Olive was very wretched and very tearful, and had been so ever since the departure of Mr. Dimbal.
"Poor dear!" sighed Miss Ostergaard, thinking of her friend.
"That is me, isn't it?" asked the artful Aldean.
"You?" said the lady, snipping vigorously--"as if I was thinking of you, Lord Aldean. Oh, you men, you men!--and they say that women are vain!"
"You have something to be vain about," said Aldean, seeing his way to a compliment.
"I have, indeed--with you. No, I was thinking of Olive. You know that she is going to be married?"
Aldean cast a commiserating look at his friend, who was still being assailed with Babylonic information by Miss Slarge, and nodded.
"But she may not marry the chap after all, you know?"
"Oh yes, she will. Mr. Carson is coming down here in three days, and Olive has fully made up her mind to accept him. I am so enraged," cried Tui, "that I could (snip) cut his (snip) head off (snip, snip)."
"She has never seen Carson, has she?"
"No; that's the worst of it. Fancy marrying a veiled prophet--a Mokanna!"
"Never heard of the Johnny, Miss Ostergaard. Who is he?"
"He is a fable, Lord Aldean."
"Pity this Carson man isn't," said his lordship, with a grin.
"I wish he were," sighed Tui, walking towards the house. "I am sure he is a beast--a beast with a big, big B!"
"Who deserves a big, big D!" cried Aldean, emphatically. "Oh, what a beast!"
"Are you talking of the beast from the Persian Gulf," cried Miss Slarge, who, having pulverized Mallow, had glided behind them; "the beast who taught the Babylonians arts and sciences?"
"This beast comes from India," said Aldean, smiling at Tui, and with a side glance at Mallow; "he is called Car----"
"Oh, there is Olive," interrupted Miss Ostergaard, waving her hand; "Olive, here are two visitors!" and Olive, pale and listless, descending the steps, turned yet paler at the sight of the man she loved and who loved her.
CHAPTER IV.
A QUEER COINCIDENCE.
When Olive saw who was standing on the lawn, she felt very much inclined to fly from so dear yet dangerous a foe. But maidenly pride came to her aid, and, doing violence to her feelings,
