And your
daughter too. Things might have been worse."

Larpent grunted. "Think so?"

"She does anyway," said Bunny, with a grin.

Larpent grunted again. "Shipboard is not the place for a girl," he
remarked.

"Toby seems more at home on horseback than anywhere else," said Bunny.

Larpent gave him a keen look. "Oh, she still goes by that name, does
she?" he said.

"What do you call her?" said Bunny.

Larpent snapped his fingers curtly.

"Does she come for that?" asked Bunny.

"Usually," said Larpent.

"Then she's more docile than I thought she was," commented Bunny.

Larpent said nothing. He propped himself against the high mantelpiece and
stared morosely out before him to the pine-clad slopes of the park.

"How you must hate being ashore!" said Bunny.

"Why do you say that?" Larpent scarcely removed his moody gaze.

"You look as if you did." There was a hint of chaff in Bunny's voice. He
surveyed the gaunt man with humorous interest, seated on one of the gilt
chairs with his hands clasped round his knee. "I suppose Saltash will buy
another yacht, won't he?"

Larpent's eyes came definitely down to him, grimly contemptuous. "Do you
also suppose that would be the same thing?" he said.

Bunny flushed a little, but he accepted the rebuff with a good grace. "I
don't know, sir. You see, I've never been the captain of a yacht."

Larpent's hard visage relaxed a little. He resumed his contemplation of
the distant pine-woods in silence.

Bunny got up whistling and began to stroll about the room. He was never
still for long. He was not very familiar with the state reception-rooms
of Burchester Castle and he found plenty to interest him.

Several minutes passed, and he had almost forgotten the silent man who
leaned against the fire-place, when suddenly Larpent came out of his
melancholy reverie and spoke.

"How long has the child been with these Boltons?"

Bunny paused at the further end of the room. "Let's see! It must be some
time now--practically ever since the wreck. It must be about six weeks.
Yes; she came just before I left to take on this job--the week of the
Graydown Meetings." Bunny's eyes kindled at the memory. "We had some
sport the day she came, I remember; quite a little flutter. In fact we
soared so high that I thought we were going to create a sensation, and
then"--Bunny whistled dramatically--"down we came with a rush, and I was
broke!" He began to laugh. "It's rather a shame to tell you, is