His sister did not know what to say in answer to this.  Her chief anxiety was, of course, on behalf of her brother.  That he should be made to forget Clara Amedroz, if that were only possible, was her great desire; and his journey at such a time as this down to Belton was not the way to accomplish such forgetting.  And then she felt that Clara might very possibly not wish to see him.  Had Will simply been her cousin, such a visit might be very well; but he had attempted to be more than her cousin, and therefore it would probably not be well.  Captain Aylmer might not like it; and Mary felt herself bound to consider even Captain Aylmer’s likings in such a matter.  And yet she could not bear to oppose him in anything.  ’It would be a very long journey,’ she said.

‘What does that signify?’

‘And then it might so probably be for nothing.’

‘Why should it be for nothing?’

’Because ’

’Because what?  Why don’t you speak out?  You need not be afraid of hurting me.  Nothing that you can say can make it at all worse than it is.’

‘Dear Will, I wish I could make it better.’

’But you can’t.  Nobody can make it either better or worse.  I promised her once before that I would go to her when she might be in trouble, and I will be as good as my word.  I said I would be a brother to her and so I will.  So help me God, I will!’ Then he rushed out of the room, striding through the door as though he would knock it down, and hurried up. stairs to his own chamber.  When there he stripped himself of his hunting things, and dressed himself again with all the expedition in his power; and then he threw a heap of clothes into a large portmanteau, and set himself to work packing as though everything in the world were to depend upon his catching a certain train.  And he went to a locked drawer, and taking out a cheque-book, folded it up and put it into his pocket.  Then he rang the bell violently; and as he was locking the portmanteau, pressing down the lid with all his weight and all his strength, he ordered that a certain mare should be put into a certain dog-cart and that somebody might be ready to drive over with him to the Downham Station.  Within twenty minutes of the time of his rushing upstairs he appeared again before his sister with a greatcoat on, and a railway rug hanging over his arm.  ’Do you mean that you are going today?’ said she.

’Yes.  I’ll catch the 11.40 up-train at Downham.  What’s the good of going unless I go at once?  If I can be of any use it will be at the first.  It may be that she will have nobody there to do anything for her.’

’There is the clergyman, and Colonel Askerton even if Captain Aylmer has not gone down.’

’The clergyman and Colonel Askerton are nothing to her.  And if that man is there I can come back again.’

‘You will not quarrel with him?’

’Why should I quarrel with him?  What is there to quarrel about?  I’m not such a fool as to quarrel with a man because I hate him.  If he is there I shall see her for a minute or two, and then I shall come back.’