“I might have known you wouldn’t tease yourself!” said the Earl, assailed by another stab of pain. “You’re all alike! Why I’ve been saddled with a pack of selfish, worthless, ungrateful brats I shall never know! Your mother spoilt you to death, of course, and I was fool enough to let her do it! As for you, damme if you’re not the worst of the bunch! I wash my hands of you, and the sooner you take yourself off the better pleased I shall be! I don’t know what brought you down here, but if it was to see me you might have spared yourself the pains! I don’t want to see your face again!”

The Viscount got up, saying with perfect affability: “Well, in that case I’ll remove it from your sight, sir! I won’t ask you for your blessing, for your sense of propriety would compel you to bestow it on me, and I’m sure it would choke you to utter the words! I won’t even offer to shake hands with you—but that’s to save myself a wounding snub!”

“Jackanapes!” said his parent, thrusting out his hand.

The Viscount took it in his, dropped a respectful kiss on it, and said: “Take care of yourself, Papa! Goodbye!”

The Earl watched him cross the room to the door, and, as he opened it, said, in the voice of a man goaded beyond endurance: “I suppose you came home because you wanted something!”

“I did!” replied the Viscount, throwing him a look brimful of mockery over his shoulder. “I wanted to see Mama!”

He then withdrew in good order, firmly closing the door on the explosion of wrath which greeted this parting shot.

When he reached the hall of the house he found that the butler was there, and encountered such a glance of mournful sympathy from this aged and privileged retainer that he broke into a chuckle, saying: “You’re looking your last at me, Pedmore! My father has cast me out! He says I’m a worthless skitterbrain, and a jackanapes, besides a number of other things which I can’t at the moment remember. Would you have believed he could be so unfeeling?”