“I know the fellow was an impostor. He was probably after the spoons!”
Keggs coughed.
“If I might be allowed to take a further liberty, your lordship, might I suggest that I am aware of the man’s identity and of his motive for visiting the castle.”
He waited a little apprehensively. This was the crucial point in the interview. If Lord Belpher did not now freeze him with a glance and order him from the room, the danger would be past, and he could speak freely. His light blue eyes were expressionless as they met Percy’s, but inwardly he was feeling much the same sensation as he was wont to experience when the family was in town and he had managed to slip off to Kempton Park or some other race-course and put some of his savings on a horse. As he felt when the racing steeds thundered down the straight, so did he feel now.
Astonishment showed in Lord Belpher’s round face. Just as it was about to be succeeded by indignation, the butler spoke again.
“I am aware, your lordship, that it is not my place to offer suggestions as to the private and intimate affairs of the family I ‘ave the honour to serve, but, if your lordship would consent to overlook the liberty, I think I could be of ‘elp and assistance in a matter which is causing annoyance and unpleasantness to all.”
He invigorated himself with another dip into the waters of memory. Yes. The young man before him might be Lord Belpher, son of his employer and heir to all these great estates, but once he had seen him spanked.
Perhaps Percy also remembered this. Perhaps he merely felt that Keggs was a faithful old servant and, as such, entitled to thrust himself into the family affairs. Whatever his reasons, he now definitely lowered the barrier.
“Well,” he said, with a glance at the door to make sure that there were no witnesses to an act of which the aristocrat in him disapproved, “go on!”
Keggs breathed freely. The danger-point was past.
“‘Aving a natural interest, your lordship,” he said, “we of the Servants’ ‘All generally manage to become respectfully aware of whatever ‘appens to be transpirin’ above stairs. May I say that I became acquainted at an early stage with the trouble which your lordship is unfortunately ‘aving with a certain party?”
Lord Belpher, although his whole being revolted against what practically amounted to hobnobbing with a butler, perceived that he had committed himself to the discussion. It revolted him to think that these delicate family secrets were the subject of conversation in menial circles, but it was too late to do anything now. And such was the whole-heartedness with which he had declared war upon George Bevan that, at this stage in the proceedings, his chief emotion was a hope that Keggs might have something sensible to suggest.
“I think, begging your lordship’s pardon for making the remark, that you are acting injudicious. I ‘ave been in service a great number of years, startin’ as steward’s room boy and rising to my present position, and I may say I ‘ave ‘ad experience during those years of several cases where the daughter or son of the ‘ouse contemplated a misalliance, and all but one of the cases ended disastrously, your lordship, on account of the family trying opposition. It is my experience that opposition in matters of the ‘eart is useless, feedin’, as it, so to speak, does the flame. Young people, your lordship, if I may be pardoned for employing the expression in the present case, are naturally romantic and if you keep ’em away from a thing they sit and pity themselves and want it all the more. And in the end you may be sure they get it. There’s no way of stoppin’ them. I was not on sufficiently easy terms with the late Lord Worlingham to give ‘im the benefit of my experience on the occasion when the Honourable Aubrey Pershore fell in love with the young person at the Gaiety Theatre. Otherwise I could ‘ave told ‘im he was not acting judicious. His lordship opposed the match in every way, and the young couple ran off and got married at a registrar’s. It was the same when a young man who was tutor to ‘er ladyship’s brother attracted Lady Evelyn Walls, the only daughter of the Earl of Ackleton. In fact, your lordship, the only entanglement of the kind that came to a satisfactory conclusion in the whole of my personal experience was the affair of Lady Catherine Duseby, Lord Bridgefield’s daughter, who injudiciously became infatuated with a roller-skating instructor.”