They all sat up waiting for Hugh Stanbury till eleven, twelve, one, and two o’clock at night.  The ‘boots’ had returned saying that Mr Stanbury had not been at the office of the newspaper, but that, according to information received, he certainly would be there that night.  No other address had been given to the man, and the note had therefore of necessity been left at the office.  Sir Marmaduke became very fretful, and was evidently desirous of being liberated from his night watch.  But he could not go himself, and shewed his impatience by endeavouring to send the others away.  Lady Rowley replied for herself that she should certainly remain in her corner on the sofa all night, if it were necessary; and as she slept very soundly in her corner, her comfort was not much impaired.  Nora was pertinacious in refusing to go to bed.  ’I should only go to my own room, papa, and remain there,’ she said.  ’Of course I must speak to him before he goes.’  Sophie and Lucy considered that they had as much right to sit up as Nora, and submitted to be called geese and idiots by their father.

Sir Marmaduke had arisen with a snort from a short slumber, and had just sworn that he and everybody else should go to bed, when there came a ring at the front-door bell.  The trusty boots had also remained up, and in two minutes Hugh Stanbury was in the room.  He had to make his excuses before anything else could be said.  When he reached the D. R. office between ten and eleven, it was absolutely incumbent on him to write a leading article before he left it.  He had been in the reporter’s gallery of the House all the evening, and he had come away laden with his article.  ’It was certainly better that we should remain up, than that the whole town should be disappointed,’ said Sir Marmaduke, with something of a sneer.

‘It is so very, very good of you to come,’ said Nora.  ‘Indeed it is,’ said Lady Rowley; ‘but we were quite sure you would come.’  Having kissed and blessed him as her son-in-law, Lady Rowley was now prepared to love him almost as well as though he had been Lord Peterborough.

‘Perhaps, Mr Stanbury, we had better shew you this telegram,’ said Sir Marmaduke, who had been standing with the scrap of paper in his hand since the ring of the bell had been heard.  Hugh took the message and read it.  ’I do not know what should have made my daughter mention your name,’ continued Sir Marmaduke ’but as she has done so, and as perhaps the unfortunate invalid himself may have alluded to you, we thought it best to send for you.’

‘No doubt it was best, Sir Marmaduke.’

’We are so situated that I cannot go.  It is absolutely necessary that we should leave town for Southampton on Friday week.  The ship sails on Saturday.’

‘I will go as a matter of course,’ said Hugh.  ’I will start at once, at any time.  To tell the truth, when I got Lady Rowley’s note, I thought that it was to be so.  Trevelyan and I were very intimate at one time, and it may be that he will receive me without displeasure.’