“Very good, sir!” said he.  “As soon as it grows a little darker I shall be glad to have you walk up to my house.  As I said before, I am sure you would not care to do so now, as you might provoke remarks even from the servants.  Good-evening, sir, until I see you again.”

During all this time the young lady had not spoken, but as the two disappeared around the corner of the house I heard her voice.  She spoke very clearly and distinctly, and she said, “It would have been a great deal more gracious if you had asked him to come at once, without all that——­” The rest of her remarks were lost to me.

The little man and his wife presently came out on the porch.  Her countenance expressed a sort of resignation to thwarted hospitality.

“It’s the way of the world, sir!” she said.  “The ups are always up and the downs are always down!  I expect they will be glad to have company at the house, for it must be dreadfully lonely up there—­which might be said of this house as well.”

It soon became dark enough for me to walk through the grounds without hurting the sensibilities of their proprietor, and as I arose to go the good wife of the gardener brought me my cap.

“I dried that out for you, sir, for I knew you would want it, and to-morrow morning my man will take your clothes up to the house.”

I thanked her for her thoughtful kindness, and was about to depart, but the little man was not quite ready for me to go.

“If you don’t mind, sir,” said he, “and would step back there in the light just for one minute, I would like to take another look at you.  I don’t suppose I’ll ever see anybody again wearing the Duke’s dressing-gown.  By George, sir, you do look real royal!”

His wife looked at me admiringly.  “Yes, sir,” said she, “and I wish it was the fashion for gentlemen to dress something like that every day.  But I will say, sir, that if you don’t want people to be staring at you, and will just wrap that gown round you so that the lining won’t be seen, you won’t look so much out of the way.”

As I walked along the smooth, hard driveway I adopted the suggestion of the gardener’s wife; but as I approached the house, and saw that even the broad piazza was lighted by electric lamps, I was seized with the fancy to appear in all my glory, and I allowed my capacious robe to float out on each side of me in crimson brightness.

The gentleman stood at the top of the steps.  “I have been waiting for you, sir,” said he.  He looked as if he were about to offer me his hand, but probably considered this an unnecessary ceremony under the circumstances.  “Would you like to retire to your room, sir, or would you prefer—­prefer sitting out here to enjoy the cool of the evening?  Here are chairs and seats, sir, of all variety of comfort.  My family and I frequently sit out here in the evenings, but to-night the air is a little damp.”

I assured the gentleman that the air suited me very well, and that I would prefer not to retire so early; and so, not caring any longer to stand in front of the lighted doorway, I walked to one end of the piazza and took a seat.