Their acquaintance had blossomed thus far, when a dire disaster
happened and justified all his fears.
He ran gaily up the steps of Lady Elspeth's house one afternoon,
brimming with hope that kindly fortune might bring Margaret that way
that day, and was hurled into deepest depths of despair by old Hamish
as soon as he opened the door.
"Ech, Mr. Graeme!" said the old man, with his grizzled old face tuned
to befitting concern. "Her leddyship's awa' to Inverstrife at a
moment's notice. She had a tailegram late last night saying the little
leddy--the Countess, ye ken--was very bad, and would she go at once.
And she and Jannet were off by the first train this morning. They aye
send for us, ye ken, when anything by-ordinar's to the fore. It's the
little leddy's first, ye understand, and ye'll mind that her own
mother died two years ago."
"Well, well! I'm sorry you've had such an upsetting, Hamish. And
there's no knowing when Lady Elspeth will return, I suppose?"
"It a' depends on the little leddy, Mr. Graeme. Her leddyship will
stay till everything's all right, ye may depend upon that. She told me
to give you her kindest regairds and beg you to excuse her not
writing. They were all on their heads, so to speak, as ye can
understand."
"Yes, of course. Well, we must just hope the little lady will pull
through all right. If I don't hear from Lady Elspeth I will call now
and again for your latest news."
"Surely, sir. Jannet'll be letting me know, if her leddyship's too
busy. Miss Brandt was here about hauf an hour ago," he added, with
unmoved face;--to think of any man, even so ancient a man as old
Hamish, being able to state a fact so great as that with unmoved face!
And there was actually no sign of reminiscent and lingering after-glow
perceptible in him!--but Graeme was not at all sure that there was not
a veiled twinkle away down in the depths of his little blue-gray eyes.
"Ah! Miss Brandt has been here! She would be surprised too----"
"She was that, sir,--and a bit disappointed, it seemed to me----"
Yes, there _was_ a twinkle in the old fellow's eyes! Oh, he knew, he
knew without a doubt. Trust old Hamish for not missing much that was
to the fore. He and his old wife, Jannet Gordon, had been in Lady
Elspeth's service for over forty years, ever since her leddyship
married into the family, and Lady Elspeth trusted them both implicitly
and discussed most matters very freely with them. The dilatations of
those three shrewd old people, concerning things in general, and the
men and women of their acquaintance in particular, would have been
rare, rare hearing.
"Well, I'll call again in a day or two, Hamish," and he went away
along the gloomy streets, which were all ablaze with soft April
sunshine, and yet to him had suddenly become darkened. For he saw at a
glance all that this was like to do for him.