" The
Englishman and the Irishman looked at each other: the Anglo-Saxon was
impenetrably cool; the Celt was flushed and angry. They might have been
on the brink of a quarrel, but for Lord Harry's native quickness of
perception, and his exercise of it at that moment. When he had called
at Mr. Vimpany's house, and had asked for Iris, the doctor had got rid
of him by means of a lie. After this discovery, at what conclusion
could he arrive? The doctor was certainly keeping Iris out of his way.
Reasoning in this rapid manner, Lord Harry let one offence pass, in his
headlong eagerness to resent another. He instantly left Mountjoy. Again
the carriage rattled back along the street; but it was stopped before
it reached Mr. Vimpany's door.
Lord Harry knew the people whom he had to deal with, and took measures
to approach the house silently, on foot. The coachman received orders
to look out for a signal, which should tell him when he was wanted
again.
Mr. Vimpany's ears, vigilantly on the watch for suspicious events,
detected no sound of carriage wheels and no noisy use of the knocker.
Still on his guard, however, a ring at the house-bell disturbed him in
his consulting-room. Peeping into the hall, he saw Iris opening the
door, and stole back to his room.
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