Mrs. Presty recovered all her audacity. "A very wise decision," she remarked. "Your sour face would spoil the best dinner that ever was put on the table. Have you any message for Captain Bennydeck?"
Randal asked if his friend was then at the hotel.
Mrs. Presty smiled significantly. "Not at the hotel, just now."
"Where is he?"
"Where he is every day, about this time--out driving with Catherine and Kitty."
It was a relief to Randal--in the present state of Catherine's relations toward Bennydeck--to return to London without having seen his friend.
He took leave of Mrs. Presty with the formality due to a stranger--he merely bowed. That incorrigible old woman treated him with affectionate familiarity in return.
"Good-by, dear Randal. One moment before you go! Will it be of any use if we invite you to the marriage?"
Arrived at the station, Randal found that he must wait for the train. While he was walking up and down the platform with a mind doubly distressed by anxiety about his brother and anxiety about Sydney, the train from London came in. He stood, looking absently at the passengers leaving the carriage on the opposite side of the platform. Suddenly, a voice that he knew was audible, asking the way to Buck's Hotel. He crossed the line in an instant, and found himself face to face with Herbert.