Marian half smiled; it was pleasant to find that, towards her at least, the boys' intention had been anything but unkind, but still she hardly knew how to be placable with Lionel when he had led her brother into mischief, and then left him to bear all the blame.
'It was very wrong,' she repeated.
'Come, don't be cross, Marian. You don't mean that you really cared for that trumpery picture?'
'I did not care for it so much,' said she, 'but it was a valuable book, and it was very kind of your papa to give it to me, so I was sorry to have it spoilt.'
'Won't it rub out?' said Lionel.
'No, of course not.'
'I thought pencil always did.'
'And then, Lionel, why could you not have thought what disgrace you were leading Gerald into?'
'You don't think, Marian, I was going to be shabby enough to leave Gerald alone in the scrape? No, if I do, I'll give you leave to tell of me or do whatever you please; but you see now he is not in disgrace for drawing that pretty little beast, but for giving poor unfortunate a bit of his mind, so what use would there be in my putting my neck into the noose before my time? No, if Gerald is the fellow I take him for, and stands out about begging her pardon, the whole business of the book will blow over, and we shall hear no more of it.'
Marian shook her head. 'O, Lionel, if you would only think whether a thing is right before you do it!'
'How can you wish me to be so stupid, Marian?'
'I am sure, Lionel, the funniest, merriest people that I know, think most about what is right.'
'Well, that may do in Devonshire perhaps,' said Lionel, stretching himself, 'but it won't here except with you. Indeed there is nobody else that I know of that does make such a fuss about right and wrong, except Walter, and he hasn't got an atom of fun to bless himself with.'
'But, Lionel, what good will all the fun in the world do us when we come to die?' said Marian, whispering.
The boy looked full at her, but would not show that he felt any force in her words. 'I don't mean to die just yet,' he said, and by way of escaping from the subject he mounted on the balusters, and was sliding down as he had often done before, when by some hitch or some slip he lost his balance, and slid down without the power to stop himself. Marian thought him gone, and with suspended breath stood, in an agony of horror, listening for his fall on the stones of the hall far beneath; but the next moment she saw that he had been stopped by the turn of the staircase, and the instinct of self-preservation had made him cling fast to the rail with both hands, though he was unable to recover his footing on the narrow ledge of the steps beyond it. She did not scream or call, she ran down to the landing place--how she did it she knew not--but she threw her arms round him and succeeded in lifting and dragging him over the rail, which was not very high, till he stood on the safe side of the balusters, Her heart beat, her head swam, and she was obliged to sit down on the step and pant for breath; Lionel leant against the wall, for his nerve was not restored for a moment or two, after his really frightful peril. Not a word was spoken, and perhaps it was better that none should pass between them. Mr. Lyddell's step was heard ascending, and they both hurried away as fast as they could.
No one was told of the adventure, it was not Marian's part to speak of it, if indeed she _could_ have done so, and it did not appear that Lionel chose to mention it. Perhaps it was that he did not like to enter upon it seriously, and it had been too much of an answer to his light speech to be made a laughing matter. At any rate he was silent, and Marian was very glad of it.
Mr. Lyddell was coming up to visit the prisoner and try if he could bring him to reason, but it soon transpired that all his attempts had been in vain, even though he came to a threat that unless Gerald made his submission before the next day was at an end, he should be sent to school with Lionel at the end of another fortnight.
