'Oh, no, no, no,' said the doctor; and then he whispered the purpose of his mission. 'I will be back in two minutes.' The doctor would have given twenty pounds to have closed the scene at once; but he was not the man to desert his friend in such a strait as that.
'He's a well-meaning fellow, the doctor,' said Sir Louis, when his guardian was out of the room, 'very; but he's not up to trap--not at all.'
'Up to trap--well, I should say he was; that is, if I know what trap means,' said Frank.
'Ah, but that's just the ticket. Do you know? Now I say Dr Thorne's not a man of the world.'
'He's about the best man I know, or ever heard of,' said the squire.
'And if any man ever had a good friend, you have got one in him; and so have I:' and the squire silently drank the doctor's health.
'All very true, I dare say; but yet he's not up to trap. Now look here, squire--'
'If you don't mind, sir,' said Frank, 'I've got something very particular--perhaps, however--'
'Stay till Thorne returns, thanks Frank.'
Frank did stay till Thorne returned, and then escaped.
'Excuse me, doctor,' said he, 'but I've something very particular to say; I'll explain to-morrow.' And then the three were left alone.
Sir Louis was no becoming almost drunk, and was knocking his words together. The squire had already attempted to stop the bottle; but the baronet had contrived to get hold of a modicum of Madeira, and there was no preventing him from helping himself; at least, none at the moment.
'As we were saying about lawyers,' continued Sir Louis. 'Let's see, what were we saying? Why, squire, it's just here. These fellows will fleece us both if we don't mind what we are after.'
'Never mind about lawyers now,' said Dr Thorne, angrily.
'Ah, but I do mind; most particularly. That's all very well for you, doctor; you've nothing to lose. You've no great stake in the matter.
Why, now, what sum of money of mine do you think those d---- doctors are handling?'
'D---- doctors!' said the squire in a tone of dismay.
'Lawyers, I mean, of course. Why, now, Gresham, we're all totted now, you see; you're down in my books, I take it, for pretty near a hundred thousand pounds.'
'Hold your tongue, sir,' said the doctor, getting up.
'Hold my tongue!' said Sir Louis.
'Sir Louis Scatcherd,' said the squire, slowly rising from his chair, 'we will not, if you please, talk about business at the present moment.
Perhaps we had better go to the ladies.'
This latter proposition had certainly not come from the squire's heart: going to the ladies was the very last thing for which Sir Louis was now fit. But the squire had said it as being the only recognised formal way he could think of for breaking up the symposium.
'Oh, very well,' hiccupped the baronet, 'I'm always ready for the ladies,' and he stretched out his hand to the decanter to get a last glass of Madeira.
'No,' said the doctor, rising stoutly, and speaking with a determined voice. 'No; you will have no more wine.'
'What's all this about?' said Sir Louis, with a drunken laugh.
'Of course he cannot go into the drawing-room, Mr Gresham. If you will leave him here with me, I will stay with him, till the fly comes. Pray tell Lady Arabella from me how sorry I am that this has occurred.'
The squire took him by the hand affectionately. 'I've seen a tipsy man before to-night,' said he.
'Yes,' said the doctor, 'and so have I, but--' He did not express the rest of his thoughts.
