Even though he is her father, she should not sacrifice so much for him.
But it is just noble of her to do so. Oh, my poor love, shall I ever be able to shelter you from the storms of life?"
There did not seem to be much chance of it at the present moment.
Mistrusting her uncle, she had vanished, and would let no one but Portia know of her new hiding-place.
And Portia, as Giles saw, was too devoted to Anne to confess her whereabouts without permission.
And how was such permission to be obtained?
Anne allowed her uncle to think her guilty in order to save her unworthy father from his fraternal hatred. She had asserted her innocence to Giles, but had apparently, through Portia, tried to deceive him again, so that he might not follow her.
"Poor darling!" cries Giles, full of pity, "she wishes to put me out of her life, and has fled to avoid incriminating her father.
If she told me the whole truth her father would be in danger, and she chooses to bear his guilt herself.
But why should she think I would betray the man?
Bad as he is, I should screen him for her dear sake. Oh"—Giles stopped and looked up appealingly to the hot, blue sky—"if I only knew where she was to be found, if I could only hold her in my arms, never, never would I let her go, again!
My poor Quixotic darling, shall I ever be worthy of such nobility?"
It was all very well apostrophizing the sky, but such heroics did not help him in any practical way.
He cast about in his own mind to consider in which direction she had gone.
The nearest railway station to London was five miles away; but she would not leave the district thus openly, for the stationmaster knew her well.
She had frequently travelled from that centre as Miss Denham, and he would be sure to recognize her, even though she wore a veil.
Anne, as Giles judged, would not risk such recognition.
Certainly there was another station ten miles distant, which was very little used by the Rickwell people.
She might have tramped that distance, and have taken a ticket to London from there.
But was it her intention to go to London?
Giles thought it highly probable that she would.
Anne, as he knew from Portia, had very little money, and it would be necessary for her to seek out some friend.
She would probably go to Mrs. Cairns, for Mrs. Cairns believed her to be guiltless, and would shelter her in the meantime.
Later on a situation could be procured for her abroad, and she could leave England under a feigned name.
Giles felt that this was the course Anne would adopt, and he determined to follow the clue suggested by this theory.
Having made up his mind to this course, Giles hurried home to pack a few things and arrange for his immediate departure.
Chance, or rather Providence, led him past "Mrs. Parry's Eye" about five o'clock.
Of course, the good lady was behind the window spying on all and sundry, as usual.
She caught sight of Giles striding along the road with bent head and a discouraged air.
Wondering what was the matter and desperately anxious to know, Mrs. Parry sent out Jane to intercept him and ask him in.
Giles declined to enter at first; but then it struck him that since he was in search of information about Anne, Mrs. Parry might know something.
Her knowledge was so omniscient that, for all he knew, she might have been aware all the time of Anne's presence at the Priory, but held her tongue—which Mrs. Parry could do sometimes—out of pity for the girl's fate.
Giles went in resolved to pump Mrs. Parry without mentioning what he knew of Anne.
Supposing she was ignorant, he was not going to be the one to reveal Anne's refuge.
And if she did know, Ware was certain that Mrs. Parry would tell him all, since she was aware how deeply he loved the governess.
Thus in another five minutes the young man found himself seated in the big armchair opposite the old lady.
She was rather grim with him.
"You have not been to see me for ever so long," said she, rubbing her beaky nose. "Your Royal Princesses have taken up too much of your time, I suppose. Oh, I know all about them."
"I am sorry they did not stay for a few days," replied Giles in his most amiable tone. "I wished to introduce them to you."
"You mean present me to them," corrected the old dame, who was a stickler for etiquette. "They are genuine Princesses, are they not?"
"Oh, yes.
But they are not royal.
Princess Karacsay is the wife of a Magyar noble.
She is not an Austrian, however, as she came from Jamaica.
The younger, Princess Olga, is——"
"Jamaica," interrupted Mrs. Parry! "Humph!
That is where Anne Denham was born.
Queer this woman should come from the same island."
"It's certainly odd," replied Giles. "But a mere coincidence."
"Humph!" from Mrs. Parry. "Some folks make their own coincidences."