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Braddon" /> + +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body { margin:5%; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + --> +</style> +</head> + + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +Project Gutenberg's Lady Audley's Secret, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lady Audley's Secret + +Author: Mary Elizabeth Braddon + +Posting Date: February 3, 2012 [EBook #8954] +Release Date: September, 2005 +First Posted: August 29, 2003 +[Last updated: December 20, 2020] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram and Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +</pre> + <h1> + LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Mary Elizabeth Braddon + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. + </h2> + <h3> + LUCY. + </h3> + <p> + It lay down in a hollow, rich with fine old timber and luxuriant pastures; + and you came upon it through an avenue of limes, bordered on either side + by meadows, over the high hedges of which the cattle looked inquisitively + at you as you passed, wondering, perhaps, what you wanted; for there was + no thorough-fare, and unless you were going to the Court you had no + business there at all. + </p> + <p> + At the end of this avenue there was an old arch and a clock tower, with a + stupid, bewildering clock, which had only one hand—and which jumped + straight from one hour to the next—and was therefore always in + extremes. Through this arch you walked straight into the gardens of Audley + Court. + </p> + <p> + A smooth lawn lay before you, dotted with groups of rhododendrons, which + grew in more perfection here than anywhere else in the county. To the + right there were the kitchen gardens, the fish-pond, and an orchard + bordered by a dry moat, and a broken ruin of a wall, in some places + thicker than it was high, and everywhere overgrown with trailing ivy, + yellow stonecrop, and dark moss. To the left there was a broad graveled + walk, down which, years ago, when the place had been a convent, the quiet + nuns had walked hand in hand; a wall bordered with espaliers, and shadowed + on one side by goodly oaks, which shut out the flat landscape, and circled + in the house and gardens with a darkening shelter. + </p> + <p> + The house faced the arch, and occupied three sides of a quadrangle. It was + very old, and very irregular and rambling. The windows were uneven; some + small, some large, some with heavy stone mullions and rich stained glass; + others with frail lattices that rattled in every breeze; others so modern + that they might have been added only yesterday. Great piles of chimneys + rose up here and there behind the pointed gables, and seemed as if they + were so broken down by age and long service that they must have fallen but + for the straggling ivy which, crawling up the walls and trailing even over + the roof, wound itself about them and supported them. The principal door + was squeezed into a corner of a turret at one angle of the building, as if + it were in hiding from dangerous visitors, and wished to keep itself a + secret—a noble door for all that—old oak, and studded with + great square-headed iron nails, and so thick that the sharp iron knocker + struck upon it with a muffled sound, and the visitor rung a clanging bell + that dangled in a corner among the ivy, lest the noise of the knocking + should never penetrate the stronghold. + </p> + <p> + A glorious old place. A place that visitors fell in raptures with; feeling + a yearning wish to have done with life, and to stay there forever, staring + into the cool fish-ponds and counting the bubbles as the roach and carp + rose to the surface of the water. A spot in which peace seemed to have + taken up her abode, setting her soothing hand on every tree and flower, on + the still ponds and quiet alleys, the shady corners of the old-fashioned + rooms, the deep window-seats behind the painted glass, the low meadows and + the stately avenues—ay, even upon the stagnant well, which, cool and + sheltered as all else in the old place, hid itself away in a shrubbery + behind the gardens, with an idle handle that was never turned and a lazy + rope so rotten that the pail had broken away from it, and had fallen into + the water. + </p> + <p> + A noble place; inside as well as out, a noble place—a house in which + you incontinently lost yourself if ever you were so rash as to attempt to + penetrate its mysteries alone; a house in which no one room had any + sympathy with another, every chamber running off at a tangent into an + inner chamber, and through that down some narrow staircase leading to a + door which, in its turn, led back into that very part of the house from + which you thought yourself the furthest; a house that could never have + been planned by any mortal architect, but must have been the handiwork of + that good old builder, Time, who, adding a room one year, and knocking + down a room another year, toppling down a chimney coeval with the + Plantagenets, and setting up one in the style of the Tudors; shaking down + a bit of Saxon wall, allowing a Norman arch to stand here; throwing in a + row of high narrow windows in the reign of Queen Anne, and joining on a + dining-room after the fashion of the time of Hanoverian George I, to a + refectory that had been standing since the Conquest, had contrived, in + some eleven centuries, to run up such a mansion as was not elsewhere to be + met with throughout the county of Essex. Of course, in such a house there + were secret chambers; the little daughter of the present owner, Sir + Michael Audley, had fallen by accident upon the discovery of one. A board + had rattled under her feet in the great nursery where she played, and on + attention being drawn to it, it was found to be loose, and so removed, + revealed a ladder, leading to a hiding-place between the floor of the + nursery and the ceiling of the room below—a hiding-place so small + that he who had hid there must have crouched on his hands and knees or + lain at full length, and yet large enough to contain a quaint old carved + oak chest, half filled with priests' vestments, which had been hidden + away, no doubt, in those cruel days when the life of a man was in danger + if he was discovered to have harbored a Roman Catholic priest, or to have + mass said in his house. + </p> + <p> + The broad outer moat was dry and grass-grown, and the laden trees of the + orchard hung over it with gnarled, straggling branches that drew + fantastical shadows upon the green slope. Within this moat there was, as I + have said, the fish-pond—a sheet of water that extended the whole + length of the garden and bordering which there was an avenue called the + lime-tree walk; an avenue so shaded from the sun and sky, so screened from + observation by the thick shelter of the over-arching trees that it seemed + a chosen place for secret meetings or for stolen interviews; a place in + which a conspiracy might have been planned, or a lover's vow registered + with equal safety; and yet it was scarcely twenty paces from the house. + </p> + <p> + At the end of this dark arcade there was the shrubbery, where, half buried + among the tangled branches and the neglected weeds, stood the rusty wheel + of that old well of which I have spoken. It had been of good service in + its time, no doubt; and busy nuns have perhaps drawn the cool water with + their own fair hands; but it had fallen into disuse now, and scarcely any + one at Audley Court knew whether the spring had dried up or not. But + sheltered as was the solitude of this lime-tree walk, I doubt very much if + it was ever put to any romantic uses. Often in the cool of the evening Sir + Michael Audley would stroll up and down smoking his cigar, with his dogs + at his heels, and his pretty young wife dawdling by his side; but in about + ten minutes the baronet and his companion would grow tired of the rustling + limes and the still water, hidden under the spreading leaves of the + water-lilies, and the long green vista with the broken well at the end, + and would stroll back to the drawing-room, where my lady played dreamy + melodies by Beethoven and Mendelssohn till her husband fell asleep in his + easy-chair. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley was fifty-six years of age, and he had married a second + wife three months after his fifty-fifth birthday. He was a big man, tall + and stout, with a deep, sonorous voice, handsome black eyes, and a white + beard—a white beard which made him look venerable against his will, + for he was as active as a boy, and one of the hardest riders in the + country. For seventeen years he had been a widower with an only child, a + daughter, Alicia Audley, now eighteen, and by no means too well pleased at + having a step-mother brought home to the Court; for Miss Alicia had + reigned supreme in her father's house since her earliest childhood, and + had carried the keys, and jingled them in the pockets of her silk aprons, + and lost them in the shrubbery, and dropped them into the pond, and given + all manner of trouble about them from the hour in which she entered her + teens, and had, on that account, deluded herself into the sincere belief, + that for the whole of that period, she had been keeping the house. + </p> + <p> + But Miss Alicia's day was over; and now, when she asked anything of the + housekeeper, the housekeeper would tell her that she would speak to my + lady, or she would consult my lady, and if my lady pleased it should be + done. So the baronet's daughter, who was an excellent horsewoman and a + very clever artist, spent most of her time out of doors, riding about the + green lanes, and sketching the cottage children, and the plow-boys, and + the cattle, and all manner of animal life that came in her way. She set + her face with a sulky determination against any intimacy between herself + and the baronet's young wife; and amiable as that lady was, she found it + quite impossible to overcome Miss Alicia's prejudices and dislike; or to + convince the spoilt girl that she had not done her a cruel injury by + marrying Sir Michael Audley. The truth was that Lady Audley had, in + becoming the wife of Sir Michael, made one of those apparently + advantageous matches which are apt to draw upon a woman the envy and + hatred of her sex. She had come into the neighborhood as a governess in + the family of a surgeon in the village near Audley Court. No one knew + anything of her, except that she came in answer to an advertisement which + Mr. Dawson, the surgeon, had inserted in The <i>Times</i>. She came from + London; and the only reference she gave was to a lady at a school at + Brompton, where she had once been a teacher. But this reference was so + satisfactory that none other was needed, and Miss Lucy Graham was received + by the surgeon as the instructress of his daughters. Her accomplishments + were so brilliant and numerous, that it seemed strange that she should + have answered an advertisement offering such very moderate terms of + remuneration as those named by Mr. Dawson; but Miss Graham seemed + perfectly well satisfied with her situation, and she taught the girls to + play sonatas by Beethoven, and to paint from nature after Creswick, and + walked through a dull, out-of-the-way village to the humble little church, + three times every Sunday, as contentedly as if she had no higher + aspiration in the world than to do so all the rest of her life. + </p> + <p> + People who observed this, accounted for it by saying that it was a part of + her amiable and gentle nature always to be light-hearted, happy and + contented under any circumstances. + </p> + <p> + Wherever she went she seemed to take joy and brightness with her. In the + cottages of the poor her fair face shone like a sunbeam. She would sit for + a quarter of an hour talking to some old woman, and apparently as pleased + with the admiration of a toothless crone as if she had been listening to + the compliments of a marquis; and when she tripped away, leaving nothing + behind her (for her poor salary gave no scope to her benevolence), the old + woman would burst out into senile raptures with her grace, beauty, and her + kindliness, such as she never bestowed upon the vicar's wife, who half fed + and clothed her. For you see, Miss Lucy Graham was blessed with that magic + power of fascination, by which a woman can charm with a word or intoxicate + with a smile. Every one loved, admired, and praised her. The boy who + opened the five-barred gate that stood in her pathway, ran home to his + mother to tell of her pretty looks, and the sweet voice in which she + thanked him for the little service. The verger at the church, who ushered + her into the surgeon's pew; the vicar, who saw the soft blue eyes uplifted + to his face as he preached his simple sermon; the porter from the railway + station, who brought her sometimes a letter or a parcel, and who never + looked for reward from her; her employer; his visitors; her pupils; the + servants; everybody, high and low, united in declaring that Lucy Graham + was the sweetest girl that ever lived. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps it was the rumor of this which penetrated into the quiet chamber + of Audley Court; or, perhaps, it was the sight of her pretty face, looking + over the surgeon's high pew every Sunday morning; however it was, it was + certain that Sir Michael Audley suddenly experienced a strong desire to be + better acquainted with Mr. Dawson's governess. + </p> + <p> + He had only to hint his wish to the worthy doctor for a little party to be + got up, to which the vicar and his wife, and the baronet and his daughter, + were invited. + </p> + <p> + That one quiet evening sealed Sir Michael's fate. He could no more resist + the tender fascination of those soft and melting blue eyes; the graceful + beauty of that slender throat and drooping head, with its wealth of + showering flaxen curls; the low music of that gentle voice; the perfect + harmony which pervaded every charm, and made all doubly charming in this + woman; than he could resist his destiny! Destiny! Why, she was his + destiny! He had never loved before. What had been his marriage with + Alicia's mother but a dull, jog-trot bargain made to keep some estate in + the family that would have been just as well out of it? What had been his + love for his first wife but a poor, pitiful, smoldering spark, too dull to + be extinguished, too feeble to burn? But <i>this</i> was love—this + fever, this longing, this restless, uncertain, miserable hesitation; these + cruel fears that his age was an insurmountable barrier to his happiness; + this sick hatred of his white beard; this frenzied wish to be young again, + with glistening raven hair, and a slim waist, such as he had twenty years + before; these, wakeful nights and melancholy days, so gloriously + brightened if he chanced to catch a glimpse of her sweet face behind the + window curtains, as he drove past the surgeon's house; all these signs + gave token of the truth, and told only too plainly that, at the sober age + of fifty-five, Sir Michael Audley had fallen ill of the terrible fever + called love. + </p> + <p> + I do not think that, throughout his courtship, the baronet once calculated + upon his wealth or his position as reasons for his success. If he ever + remembered these things, he dismissed the thought of them with a shudder. + It pained him too much to believe for a moment that any one so lovely and + innocent could value herself against a splendid house or a good old title. + No; his hope was that, as her life had been most likely one of toil and + dependence, and as she was very young nobody exactly knew her age, but she + looked little more than twenty, she might never have formed any + attachment, and that he, being the first to woo her, might, by tender + attentions, by generous watchfulness, by a love which should recall to her + the father she had lost, and by a protecting care that should make him + necessary to her, win her young heart, and obtain from her fresh and + earliest love, the promise of her hand. It was a very romantic day-dream, + no doubt; but, for all that, it seemed in a very fair way to be realized. + Lucy Graham appeared by no means to dislike the baronet's attentions. + There was nothing whatever in her manner that betrayed the shallow + artifices employed by a woman who wishes to captivate a rich man. She was + so accustomed to admiration from every one, high and low, that Sir + Michael's conduct made very little impression upon her. Again, he had been + so many years a widower that people had given up the idea of his ever + marrying again. At last, however, Mrs. Dawson spoke to the governess on + the subject. The surgeon's wife was sitting in the school-room busy at + work, while Lucy was putting the finishing touches on some water-color + sketches done by her pupils. + </p> + <p> + "Do you know, my dear Miss Graham," said Mrs. Dawson, "I think you ought + to consider yourself a remarkably lucky girl?" + </p> + <p> + The governess lifted her head from its stooping attitude, and stared + wonderingly at her employer, shaking back a shower of curls. They were the + most wonderful curls in the world—soft and feathery, always floating + away from her face, and making a pale halo round her head when the + sunlight shone through them. + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean, my dear Mrs. Dawson?" she asked, dipping her + camel's-hair brush into the wet aquamarine upon the palette, and poising + it carefully before putting in the delicate streak of purple which was to + brighten the horizon in her pupil's sketch. + </p> + <p> + "Why, I mean, my dear, that it only rests with yourself to become Lady + Audley, and the mistress of Audley Court." + </p> + <p> + Lucy Graham dropped the brush upon the picture, and flushed scarlet to the + roots of her fair hair; and then grew pale again, far paler than Mrs. + Dawson had ever seen her before. + </p> + <p> + "My dear, don't agitate yourself," said the surgeon's wife, soothingly; + "you know that nobody asks you to marry Sir Michael unless you wish. Of + course it would be a magnificent match; he has a splendid income, and is + one of the most generous of men. Your position would be very high, and you + would be enabled to do a great deal of good; but, as I said before, you + must be entirely guided by your own feelings. Only one thing I must say, + and that is that if Sir Michael's attentions are not agreeable to you, it + is really scarcely honorable to encourage him." + </p> + <p> + "His attentions—encourage him!" muttered Lucy, as if the words + bewildered her. "Pray, pray don't talk to me, Mrs. Dawson. I had no idea + of this. It is the last thing that would have occurred to me." She leaned + her elbows on the drawing-board before her, and clasping her hands over + her face, seemed for some minutes to be thinking deeply. She wore a narrow + black ribbon round her neck, with a locket, or a cross, or a miniature, + perhaps, attached to it; but whatever the trinket was, she always kept it + hidden under her dress. Once or twice, while she sat silently thinking, + she removed one of her hands from before her face, and fidgeted nervously + with the ribbon, clutching at it with a half-angry gesture, and twisting + it backward and forward between her fingers. + </p> + <p> + "I think some people are born to be unlucky, Mrs. Dawson," she said, + by-and-by; "it would be a great deal too much good fortune for me to + become Lady Audley." + </p> + <p> + She said this with so much bitterness in her tone, that the surgeon's wife + looked up at her with surprise. + </p> + <p> + "You unlucky, my dear!" she exclaimed. "I think you are the last person + who ought to talk like that—you, such a bright, happy creature, that + it does every one good to see you. I'm sure I don't know what we shall do + if Sir Michael robs us of you." + </p> + <p> + After this conversation they often spoke upon the subject, and Lucy never + again showed any emotion whatever when the baronet's admiration for her + was canvassed. It was a tacitly understood thing in the surgeon's family + that whenever Sir Michael proposed, the governess would quietly accept + him; and, indeed, the simple Dawsons would have thought it something more + than madness in a penniless girl to reject such an offer. + </p> + <p> + So, one misty August evening, Sir Michael, sitting opposite to Lucy + Graham, at a window in the surgeon's little drawing-room, took an + opportunity while the family happened by some accident to be absent from + the room, of speaking upon the subject nearest to his heart. He made the + governess, in a few but solemn words, an offer of his hand. There was + something almost touching in the manner and tone in which he spoke to her—half + in deprecation, knowing that he could hardly expect to be the choice of a + beautiful young girl, and praying rather that she would reject him, even + though she broke his heart by doing so, than that she should accept his + offer if she did not love him. + </p> + <p> + "I scarcely think there is a greater sin, Lucy," he said, solemnly, "than + that of a woman who marries a man she does not love. You are so precious + to me, my beloved, that deeply as my heart is set on this, and bitter as + the mere thought of disappointment is to me, I would not have you commit + such a sin for any happiness of mine. If my happiness could be achieved by + such an act, which it could not—which it never could," he repeated, + earnestly—"nothing but misery can result from a marriage dictated by + any motive but truth and love." + </p> + <p> + Lucy Graham was not looking at Sir Michael, but straight out into the + misty twilight and dim landscape far away beyond the little garden. The + baronet tried to see her face, but her profile was turned to him, and he + could not discover the expression of her eyes. If he could have done so, + he would have seen a yearning gaze which seemed as if it would have + pierced the far obscurity and looked away—away into another world. + </p> + <p> + "Lucy, you heard me?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," she said, gravely; not coldly, or in any way as if she were + offended at his words. + </p> + <p> + "And your answer?" + </p> + <p> + She did not remove her gaze from the darkening country side, but for some + moments was quite silent; then turning to him, with a sudden passion in + her manner, that lighted up her face with a new and wonderful beauty which + the baronet perceived even in the growing twilight, she fell on her knees + at his feet. + </p> + <p> + "No, Lucy; no, no!" he cried, vehemently, "not here, not here!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, here, here," she said, the strange passion which agitated her making + her voice sound shrill and piercing—not loud, but preternaturally + distinct; "here and nowhere else. How good you are—how noble and how + generous! Love you! Why, there are women a hundred times my superiors in + beauty and in goodness who might love you dearly; but you ask too much of + me! Remember what my life has been; only remember that! From my very + babyhood I have never seen anything but poverty. My father was a + gentleman: clever, accomplished, handsome—but poor—and what a + pitiful wretch poverty made of him! My mother—But do not let me + speak of her. Poverty—poverty, trials, vexations, humiliations, + deprivations. You cannot tell; you, who are among those for whom life is + so smooth and easy, you can never guess what is endured by such as we. Do + not ask too much of me, then. I cannot be disinterested; I cannot be blind + to the advantages of such an alliance. I cannot, I cannot!" + </p> + <p> + Beyond her agitation and her passionate vehemence, there is an undefined + something in her manner which fills the baronet with a vague alarm. She is + still on the ground at his feet, crouching rather than kneeling, her thin + white dress clinging about her, her pale hair streaming over her + shoulders, her great blue eyes glittering in the dusk, and her hands + clutching at the black ribbon about her throat, as if it had been + strangling her. "Don't ask too much of me," she kept repeating; "I have + been selfish from my babyhood." + </p> + <p> + "Lucy—Lucy, speak plainly. Do you dislike me?" + </p> + <p> + "Dislike you? No—no!" + </p> + <p> + "But is there any one else whom you love?" + </p> + <p> + She laughed aloud at his question. "I do not love any one in the world," + she answered. + </p> + <p> + He was glad of her reply; and yet that and the strange laugh jarred upon + his feelings. He was silent for some moments, and then said, with a kind + of effort: + </p> + <p> + "Well, Lucy, I will not ask too much of you. I dare say I am a romantic + old fool; but if you do not dislike me, and if you do not love any one + else, I see no reason why we should not make a very happy couple. Is it a + bargain, Lucy?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + The baronet lifted her in his arms and kissed her once upon the forehead, + then quietly bidding her good-night, he walked straight out of the house. + </p> + <p> + He walked straight out of the house, this foolish old man, because there + was some strong emotion at work in his breast—neither joy nor + triumph, but something almost akin to disappointment—some stifled + and unsatisfied longing which lay heavy and dull at his heart, as if he + had carried a corpse in his bosom. He carried the corpse of that hope + which had died at the sound of Lucy's words. All the doubts and fears and + timid aspirations were ended now. He must be contented, like other men of + his age, to be married for his fortune and his position. + </p> + <p> + Lucy Graham went slowly up the stairs to her little room at the top of the + house. She placed her dim candle on the chest of drawers, and seated + herself on the edge of the white bed, still and white as the draperies + hanging around her. + </p> + <p> + "No more dependence, no more drudgery, no more humiliations," she said; + "every trace of the old life melted away—every clew to identity + buried and forgotten—except these, except these." + </p> + <p> + She had never taken her left hand from the black ribbon at her throat. She + drew it from her bosom, as she spoke, and looked at the object attached to + it. + </p> + <p> + It was neither a locket, a miniature, nor a cross; it was a ring wrapped + in an oblong piece of paper—the paper partly written, partly + printed, yellow with age, and crumpled with much folding. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. + </h2> + <h3> + ON BOARD THE ARGUS. + </h3> + <p> + He threw the end of his cigar into the water, and leaning his elbows upon + the bulwarks, stared meditatively at the waves. + </p> + <p> + "How wearisome they are," he said; "blue and green, and opal; opal, and + blue, and green; all very well in their way, of course, but three months + of them are rather too much, especially—" + </p> + <p> + He did not attempt to finish his sentence; his thoughts seemed to wander + in the very midst of it, and carry him a thousand miles or so away. + </p> + <p> + "Poor little girl, how pleased she'll be!" he muttered, opening his + cigar-case, lazily surveying its contents; "how pleased and how surprised? + Poor little girl. After three years and a half, too; she <i>will</i> be + surprised." + </p> + <p> + He was a young man of about five-and-twenty, with dark face bronzed by + exposure to the sun; he had handsome brown eyes, with a lazy smile in them + that sparkled through the black lashes, and a bushy beard and mustache + that covered the whole lower part of his face. He was tall and powerfully + built; he wore a loose gray suit and a felt hat, thrown carelessly upon + his black hair. His name was George Talboys, and he was aft-cabin + passenger on board the good ship <i>Argus</i>, laden with Australian wool + and sailing from Sydney to Liverpool. + </p> + <p> + There were very few passengers in the aft-cabin of the <i>Argus</i>. An + elderly wool-stapler returning to his native country with his wife and + daughters, after having made a fortune in the colonies; a governess of + three-and-thirty years of age, going home to marry a man to whom she had + been engaged fifteen years; the sentimental daughter of a wealthy + Australian wine-merchant, invoiced to England to finish her education, and + George Talboys, were the only first-class passengers on board. + </p> + <p> + This George Talboys was the life and soul of the vessel; nobody knew who + or what he was, or where he came from, but everybody liked him. He sat at + the bottom of the dinner-table, and assisted the captain in doing the + honors of the friendly meal. He opened the champagne bottles, and took + wine with every one present; he told funny stories, and led the life + himself with such a joyous peal that the man must have been a churl who + could not have laughed for pure sympathy. He was a capital hand at + speculation and vingt-et-un, and all the merry games, which kept the + little circle round the cabin-lamp so deep in innocent amusement, that a + hurricane might have howled overhead without their hearing it; but he + freely owned that he had no talent for whist, and that he didn't know a + knight from a castle upon the chess-board. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, Mr. Talboys was by no means too learned a gentleman. The pale + governess had tried to talk to him about fashionable literature, but + George had only pulled his beard and stared very hard at her, saying + occasionally, "Ah, yes, by Jove!" and "To be sure, ah!" + </p> + <p> + The sentimental young lady, going home to finish her education, had tried + him with Shelly and Byron, and he had fairly laughed in her face, as if + poetry were a joke. The woolstapler sounded him on politics, but he did + not seem very deeply versed in them; so they let him go his own way, smoke + his cigars and talk to the sailors, lounge over the bulwarks and stare at + the water, and make himself agreeable to everybody in his own fashion. But + when the <i>Argus</i> came to be within about a fortnight's sail of + England everybody noticed a change in George Talboys. He grew restless and + fidgety; sometimes so merry that the cabin rung with his laughter; + sometimes moody and thoughtful. Favorite as he was among the sailors, they + were tired at last of answering his perpetual questions about the probable + time of touching land. Would it be in ten days, in eleven, in twelve, in + thirteen? Was the wind favorable? How many knots an hour was the vessel + doing? Then a sudden passion would seize him, and he would stamp upon the + deck, crying out that she was a rickety old craft, and that her owners + were swindlers to advertise her as the fast-sailing <i>Argus</i>. She was + not fit for passenger traffic; she was not fit to carry impatient living + creatures, with hearts and souls; she was fit for nothing but to be laden + with bales of stupid wool, that might rot on the sea and be none the worse + for it. + </p> + <p> + The sun was drooping down behind the waves as George Talboys lighted his + cigar upon this August evening. Only ten days more, the sailors had told + him that afternoon, and they would see the English coast. "I will go + ashore in the first boat that hails us," he cried; "I will go ashore in a + cockle-shell. By Jove, if it comes to that, I will swim to land." + </p> + <p> + His friends in the aft-cabin, with the exception of the pale governess, + laughed at his impatience; she sighed as she watched the young man, + chafing at the slow hours, pushing away his untasted wine, flinging + himself restlessly about upon the cabin sofa, rushing up and down the + companion ladder, and staring at the waves. + </p> + <p> + As the red rim of the sun dropped into the water, the governess ascended + the cabin stairs for a stroll on deck, while the passengers sat over their + wine below. She stopped when she came up to George, and, standing by his + side, watched the fading crimson in the western sky. + </p> + <p> + The lady was very quiet and reserved, seldom sharing in the after-cabin + amusements, never laughing, and speaking very little; but she and George + Talboys had been excellent friends throughout the passage. + </p> + <p> + "Does my cigar annoy you, Miss Morley?" he said, taking it out of his + mouth. + </p> + <p> + "Not at all; pray do not leave off smoking. I only came up to look at the + sunset. What a lovely evening!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, I dare say," he answered, impatiently; "yet so long, so long! + Ten more interminable days and ten more weary nights before we land." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Miss Morley, sighing. "Do you wish the time shorter?" + </p> + <p> + "Do I?" cried George. "Indeed I do. Don't you?" + </p> + <p> + "Scarcely." + </p> + <p> + "But is there no one you love in England? Is there no one you love looking + out for your arrival?" + </p> + <p> + "I hope so," she said gravely. They were silent for some time, he smoking + his cigar with a furious impatience, as if he could hasten the course of + the vessel by his own restlessness; she looking out at the waning light + with melancholy blue eyes—eyes that seemed to have faded with poring + over closely-printed books and difficult needlework; eyes that had faded a + little, perhaps, by reason of tears secretly shed in the lonely night. + </p> + <p> + "See!" said George, suddenly, pointing in another direction from that + toward which Miss Morley was looking, "there's the new moon!" + </p> + <p> + She looked up at the pale crescent, her own face almost as pale and wan. + </p> + <p> + "This is the first time we have seen it." + </p> + <p> + "We must wish!" said George. "I know what I wish." + </p> + <p> + "What?" + </p> + <p> + "That we may get home quickly." + </p> + <p> + "My wish is that we may find no disappointment when we get there," said + the governess, sadly. + </p> + <p> + "Disappointment!" + </p> + <p> + He started as if he had been struck, and asked what she meant by talking + of disappointment. + </p> + <p> + "I mean this," she said, speaking rapidly, and with a restless motion of + her thin hands; "I mean that as the end of the voyage draws near, hope + sinks in my heart; and a sick fear comes over me that at the last all may + not be well. The person I go to meet may be changed in his feelings toward + me; or he may retain all the old feeling until the moment of seeing me, + and then lose it in a breath at sight of my poor wan face, for I was + called a pretty girl, Mr. Talboys, when I sailed for Sydney, fifteen years + ago; or he may be so changed by the world as to have grown selfish and + mercenary, and he may welcome me for the sake of my fifteen years' + savings. Again, he may be dead. He may have been well, perhaps, up to + within a week of our landing, and in that last week may have taken a + fever, and died an hour before our vessel anchors in the Mersey. I think + of all these things, Mr. Talboys, and act the scenes over in my mind, and + feel the anguish of them twenty times a day. Twenty times a day," she + repeated; "why I do it a thousand times a day." + </p> + <p> + George Talboys had stood motionless, with his cigar in his hand, listening + to her so intently that, as she said the last words, his hold relaxed, and + the cigar dropped in the water. + </p> + <p> + "I wonder," she continued, more to herself than to him, "I wonder, looking + back, to think how hopeful I was when the vessel sailed; I never thought + then of disappointment, but I pictured the joy of meeting, imagining the + very words that would be said, the very tones, the very looks; but for + this last month of the voyage, day by day, and hour by hour my heart sinks + and my hopeful fancies fade away, and I dread the end as much as if I knew + that I was going to England to attend a funeral." + </p> + <p> + The young man suddenly changed his attitude, and turned his face full upon + his companion, with a look of alarm. She saw in the pale light that the + color had faded from his cheek. + </p> + <p> + "What a fool!" he cried, striking his clenched fist upon the side of the + vessel, "what a fool I am to be frightened at this? Why do you come and + say these things to me? Why do you come and terrify me out of my senses, + when I am going straight home to the woman I love; to a girl whose heart + is as true as the light of Heaven; and in whom I no more expect to find + any change than I do to see another sun rise in to-morrow's sky? Why do + you come and try to put such fancies in my head when I am going home to my + darling wife?" + </p> + <p> + "Your wife," she said; "that is different. There is no reason that my + terrors should terrify you. I am going to England to rejoin a man to whom + I was engaged to be married fifteen years ago. He was too poor to marry + then, and when I was offered a situation as governess in a rich Australian + family, I persuaded him to let me accept it, so that I might leave him + free and unfettered to win his way in the world, while I saved a little + money to help us when we began life together. I never meant to stay away + so long, but things have gone badly with him in England. That is my story, + and you can understand my fears. They need not influence you. Mine is an + exceptional case." + </p> + <p> + "So is mine," said George, impatiently. "I tell you that mine is an + exceptional case: although I swear to you that until this moment, I have + never known a fear as to the result of my voyage home. But you are right; + your terrors have nothing to do with me. You have been away fifteen years; + all kinds of things may happen in fifteen years. Now it is only three + years and a half this very month since I left England. What can have + happened in such a short time as that?" + </p> + <p> + Miss Morley looked at him with a mournful smile, but did not speak. His + feverish ardor, the freshness and impatience of his nature were so strange + and new to her, that she looked at him half in admiration, half in pity. + </p> + <p> + "My pretty little wife! My gentle, innocent, loving little wife! Do you + know, Miss Morley," he said, with all his old hopefulness of manner, "that + I left my little girl asleep, with her baby in her arms, and with nothing + but a few blotted lines to tell her why her faithful husband had deserted + her?" + </p> + <p> + "Deserted her!" exclaimed the governess. + </p> + <p> + "Yes. I was an ensign in a cavalry regiment when I first met my little + darling. We were quartered at a stupid seaport town, where my pet lived + with her shabby old father, a half-pay naval officer; a regular old + humbug, as poor as Job, and with an eye for nothing but the main chance. I + saw through all his shallow tricks to catch one of us for his pretty + daughter. I saw all the pitiable, contemptible, palpable traps he set for + us big dragoons to walk into. I saw through his shabby-genteel dinners and + public-house port; his fine talk of the grandeur of his family; his sham + pride and independence, and the sham tears of his bleared old eyes when he + talked of his only child. He was a drunken old hypocrite, and he was ready + to sell my poor, little girl to the highest bidder. Luckily for me, I + happened just then to be the highest bidder; for my father, is a rich man, + Miss Morley, and as it was love at first sight on both sides, my darling + and I made a match of it. No sooner, however, did my father hear that I + had married a penniless little girl, the daughter of a tipsy old half-pay + lieutenant, than he wrote me a furious letter, telling me he would never + again hold any communication with me, and that my yearly allowance would + stop from my wedding-day. + </p> + <p> + "As there was no remaining in such a regiment as mine, with nothing but my + pay to live on, and my pretty little wife to keep, I sold out, thinking + that before the money was exhausted, I should be sure to drop into + something. I took my darling to Italy, and we lived there in splendid + style as long as my two thousand pounds lasted; but when that began to + dwindle down to a couple of hundred or so, we came back to England, and as + my darling had a fancy for being near that tiresome old father of hers, we + settled at the watering-place where he lived. Well, as soon as the old man + heard that I had a couple of hundred pounds left, he expressed a wonderful + degree of affection for us, and insisted on our boarding in his house. We + consented, still to please my darling, who had just then a peculiar right + to have every whim and fancy of her innocent heart indulged. We did board + with him, and finally he fleeced us; but when I spoke of it to my little + wife, she only shrugged her shoulders, and said she did not like to be + unkind to her 'poor papa.' So poor papa made away with our little stock of + money in no time; and as I felt that it was now becoming necessary to look + about for something, I ran up to London, and tried to get a situation as a + clerk in a merchant's office, or as accountant, or book-keeper, or + something of that kind. But I suppose there was the stamp of a heavy + dragoon about me, for do what I would I couldn't get anybody to believe in + my capacity; and tired out, and down-hearted, I returned to my darling, to + find her nursing a son and heir to his father's poverty. Poor little girl, + she was very low-spirited; and when I told her that my London expedition + had failed, she fairly broke down, and burst in to a storm of sobs and + lamentations, telling me that I ought not to have married her if I could + give her nothing but poverty and misery; and that I had done her a cruel + wrong in making her my wife. By heaven! Miss Morley, her tears and + reproaches drove me almost mad; and I flew into a rage with her, myself, + her father, the world, and everybody in it, and then ran out of the + house. I walked about the streets all that day, half out of my mind, and + with a strong inclination to throw myself into the sea, so as to leave my + poor girl free to make a better match. 'If I drown myself, her father must + support her,' I thought; 'the old hypocrite could never refuse her a + shelter; but while I live she has no claim on him.' I went down to a + rickety old wooden pier, meaning to wait there till it was dark, and then + drop quietly over the end of it into the water; but while I sat there + smoking my pipe, and staring vacantly at the sea-gulls, two men came down, + and one of them began to talk of the Australian gold-diggings, and the + great things that were to be done there. It appeared that he was going to + sail in a day or two, and he was trying to persuade his companion to join + him in the expedition. + </p> + <p> + "I listened to these men for upward of an hour, following them up and down + the pier, with my pipe in my mouth, and hearing all their talk. After this + I fell into conversation with them myself, and ascertained that there was + a vessel going to leave Liverpool in three days, by which vessel one of + the men was going out. This man gave me all the information I required, + and told me, moreover, that a stalwart young fellow, such as I was, could + hardly fail to do well in the diggings. The thought flashed upon me so + suddenly, that I grew hot and red in the face, and trembled in every limb + with excitement. This was better than the water, at any rate. Suppose I + stole away from my darling, leaving her safe under her father's roof, and + went and made a fortune in the new world, and came back in a twelvemonth + to throw it into her lap; for I was so sanguine in those days that I + counted on making my fortune in a year or so. I thanked the man for his + information, and late at night strolled homeward. It was bitter winter + weather, but I had been too full of passion to feel cold, and I walked + through the quiet streets, with the snow drifting in my face, and a + desperate hopefulness in my heart. The old man was sitting drinking + brandy-and-water in the little dining-room; and my wife was up-stairs, + sleeping peacefully, with the baby on her breast. I sat down and wrote a + few brief lines, which told her that I never had loved her better than + now, when I seemed to desert her; that I was going to try my fortune in + the new world, and that if I succeeded I should come back to bring her + plenty and happiness; but that if I failed I should never look upon her + face again. I divided the remainder of our money—something over + forty pounds—into two equal portions, leaving one for her, and + putting the other in my pocket. I knelt down and prayed for my wife and + child, with my head upon the white counterpane that covered them. I wasn't + much of a praying man at ordinary times, but God knows <i>that</i> was a + heartfelt prayer. I kissed her once, and the baby once, and then crept out + of the room. The dining-room door was open, and the old man was nodding + over his paper. He looked up as he heard my step in the passage, and asked + me where I was going. 'To have a smoke in the street,' I answered; and as + this was a common habit of mine he believed me. Three nights after I was + out at sea, bound for Melbourne—a steerage passenger, with a + digger's tools for my baggage, and about seven shillings in my pocket." + </p> + <p> + "And you succeeded?" asked Miss Morley. + </p> + <p> + "Not till I had long despaired of success; not until poverty and I had + become such old companions and bed-fellows, that looking back at my past + life, I wondered whether that dashing, reckless, extravagant, luxurious, + champagne-drinking dragoon could have really been the same man who sat on + the damp ground gnawing a moldy crust in the wilds of the new world. I + clung to the memory of my darling, and the trust that I had in her love + and truth was the one keystone that kept the fabric of my past life + together—the one star that lit the thick black darkness of the + future. I was hail-fellow-well-met with bad men; I was in the center of + riot, drunkenness, and debauchery; but the purifying influence of my love + kept me safe from all. Thin and gaunt, the half-starved shadow of what I + once had been, I saw myself one day in a broken bit of looking-glass, and + was frightened by my own face. But I toiled on through all; through + disappointment and despair, rheumatism, fever, starvation; at the very + gates of death, I toiled on steadily to the end; and in the end I + conquered." + </p> + <p> + He was so brave in his energy and determination, in his proud triumph of + success, and in the knowledge of the difficulties he had vanquished, that + the pale governess could only look at him in wondering admiration. + </p> + <p> + "How brave you were!" she said. + </p> + <p> + "Brave!" he cried, with a joyous peal of laughter; "wasn't I working for + my darling? Through all the dreary time of that probation, her pretty + white hand seemed beckoning me onward to a happy future! Why, I have seen + her under my wretched canvas tent sitting by my side, with her boy in her + arms, as plainly as I had ever seen her in the one happy year of our + wedded life. At last, one dreary foggy morning, just three months ago, + with a drizzling rain wetting me to the skin, up to my neck in clay and + mire, half-starved, enfeebled by fever, stiff with rheumatism, a monster + nugget turned up under my spade, and I was in one minute the richest man + in Australia. I fell down on the wet clay, with my lump of gold in the + bosom of my shirt, and, for the first time in my life, cried like a child. + I traveled post-haste to Sydney, realized my price, which was worth upward + of £20,000, and a fortnight afterward took my passage for England in this + vessel; and in ten days—in ten days I shall see my darling." + </p> + <p> + "But in all that time did you never write to your wife?" + </p> + <p> + "Never, till the night before I left Sydney. I could not write when + everything looked so black. I could not write and tell her that I was + fighting hard with despair and death. I waited for better fortune, and + when that came I wrote telling her that I should be in England almost as + soon as my letter, and giving her an address at a coffee-house in London + where she could write to me, telling me where to find her, though she is + hardly likely to have left her father's house." + </p> + <p> + He fell into a reverie after this, and puffed meditatively at his cigar. + His companion did not disturb him. The last ray of summer daylight had + died out, and the pale light of the crescent moon only remained. + </p> + <p> + Presently George Talboys flung away his cigar, and turning to the + governess, cried abruptly, "Miss Morley, if, when I get to England, I hear + that anything has happened to my wife, I shall fall down dead." + </p> + <p> + "My dear Mr. Talboys, why do you think of these things? God is very good + to us; He will not afflict us beyond our power of endurance. I see all + things, perhaps, in a melancholy light; for the long monotony of my life + has given me too much time to think over my troubles." + </p> + <p> + "And my life has been all action, privation, toil, alternate hope and + despair; I have had no time to think upon the chances of anything + happening to my darling. What a blind, reckless fool I have been! Three + years and a half and not one line—one word from her, or from any + mortal creature who knows her. Heaven above! what may not have happened?" + </p> + <p> + In the agitation of his mind he began to walk rapidly up and down the + lonely deck, the governess following, and trying to soothe him. + </p> + <p> + "I swear to you, Miss Morley," he said, "that till you spoke to me + to-night, I never felt one shadow of fear, and now I have that sick, + sinking dread at my heart which you talked of an hour ago. Let me alone, + please, to get over it my own way." + </p> + <p> + She drew silently away from him, and seated herself by the side of the + vessel, looking over into the water. + </p> + <p> + George Talboys walked backward and forward for some time, with his head + bent upon his breast, looking neither to the right nor the left, but in + about a quarter of an hour he returned to the spot where the governess was + seated. + </p> + <p> + "I have been praying," he said—"praying for my darling." + </p> + <p> + He spoke in a voice little above a whisper, and she saw his face ineffably + calm in the moonlight. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. + </h2> + <h3> + HIDDEN RELICS. + </h3> + <p> + The same August sun which had gone down behind the waste of waters + glimmered redly upon the broad face of the old clock over that ivy-covered + archway which leads into the gardens of Audley Court. + </p> + <p> + A fierce and crimson sunset. The mullioned windows and twinkling lattices + are all ablaze with the red glory; the fading light flickers upon the + leaves of the limes in the long avenue, and changes the still fish-pond + into a sheet of burnished copper; even into those dim recesses of brier + and brushwood, amidst which the old well is hidden, the crimson brightness + penetrates in fitful flashes till the dank weeds and the rusty iron wheel + and broken woodwork seem as if they were flecked with blood. + </p> + <p> + The lowing of a cow in the quiet meadows, the splash of a trout in the + fish-pond, the last notes of a tired bird, the creaking of wagon-wheels + upon the distant road, every now and then breaking the evening silence, + only made the stillness of the place seem more intense. It was almost + oppressive, this twilight stillness. The very repose of the place grew + painful from its intensity, and you felt as if a corpse must be lying + somewhere within that gray and ivy-covered pile of building—so + deathlike was the tranquillity of all around. + </p> + <p> + As the clock over the archway struck eight, a door at the back of the + house was softly opened, and a girl came out into the gardens. + </p> + <p> + But even the presence of a human being scarcely broke the silence; for the + girl crept slowly over the thick grass, and gliding into the avenue by the + side of the fish-pond, disappeared in the rich shelter of the limes. + </p> + <p> + She was not, perhaps, positively a pretty girl; but her appearance was of + that order which is commonly called interesting. Interesting, it may be, + because in the pale face and the light gray eyes, the small features and + compressed lips, there was something which hinted at a power of repression + and self-control not common in a woman of nineteen or twenty. She might + have been pretty, I think, but for the one fault in her small oval face. + This fault was an absence of color. Not one tinge of crimson flushed the + waxen whiteness of her cheeks; not one shadow of brown redeemed the pale + insipidity of her eyebrows and eyelashes; not one glimmer of gold or + auburn relieved the dull flaxen of her hair. Even her dress was spoiled by + this same deficiency. The pale lavender muslin faded into a sickly gray, + and the ribbon knotted round her throat melted into the same neutral hue. + </p> + <p> + Her figure was slim and fragile, and in spite of her humble dress, she had + something of the grace and carriage of a gentlewoman, but she was only a + simple country girl, called Phoebe Marks, who had been nursemaid in Mr. + Dawson's family, and whom Lady Audley had chosen for her maid after her + marriage with Sir Michael. + </p> + <p> + Of course, this was a wonderful piece of good fortune for Phoebe, who + found her wages trebled and her work lightened in the well-ordered + household at the Court; and who was therefore quite as much the object of + envy among her particular friends as my lady herself to higher circles. + </p> + <p> + A man, who was sitting on the broken wood-work of the well, started as the + lady's-maid came out of the dim shade of the limes and stood before him + among the weeds and brushwood. + </p> + <p> + I have said before that this was a neglected spot; it lay in the midst of + a low shrubbery, hidden away from the rest of the gardens, and only + visible from the garret windows at the back of the west wing. + </p> + <p> + "Why, Phoebe," said the man, shutting a clasp-knife with which he had been + stripping the bark from a blackthorn stake, "you came upon me so still and + sudden, that I thought you was an evil spirit. I've come across through + the fields, and come in here at the gate agen the moat, and I was taking a + rest before I came up to the house to ask if you was come back." + </p> + <p> + "I can see the well from my bedroom window, Luke," Phoebe answered, + pointing to an open lattice in one of the gables. "I saw you sitting here, + and came down to have a chat; it's better talking out here than in the + house, where there's always somebody listening." + </p> + <p> + The man was a big, broad-shouldered, stupid-looking clod-hopper of about + twenty-three years of age. His dark red hair grew low upon his forehead, + and his bushy brows met over a pair of greenish gray eyes; his nose was + large and well-shaped, but the mouth was coarse in form and animal in + expression. Rosy-cheeked, red-haired, and bull-necked, he was not unlike + one of the stout oxen grazing in the meadows round about the Court. + </p> + <p> + The girl seated herself lightly upon the wood-work at his side, and put + one of her hands, which had grown white in her new and easy service, about + his thick neck. + </p> + <p> + "Are you glad to see me, Luke?" she asked. + </p> + <p> + "Of course I'm glad, lass," he answered, boorishly, opening his knife + again, and scraping away at the hedge-stake. + </p> + <p> + They were first cousins, and had been play fellows in childhood, and + sweethearts in early youth. + </p> + <p> + "You don't seem much as if you were glad," said the girl; "you might look + at me, Luke, and tell me if you think my journey has improved me." + </p> + <p> + "It ain't put any color into your cheeks, my girl," he said, glancing up + at her from under his lowering eyebrows; "you're every bit as white as you + was when you went away." + </p> + <p> + "But they say traveling makes people genteel, Luke. I've been on the + Continent with my lady, through all manner of curious places; and you + know, when I was a child, Squire Horton's daughters taught me to speak a + little French, and I found it so nice to be able to talk to the people + abroad." + </p> + <p> + "Genteel!" cried Luke Marks, with a hoarse laugh; "who wants you to be + genteel, I wonder? Not me, for one; when you're my wife you won't have + overmuch time for gentility, my girl. French, too! Dang me, Phoebe, I + suppose when we've saved money enough between us to buy a bit of a farm, + you'll be <i>parleyvooing</i> to the cows?" + </p> + <p> + She bit her lip as her lover spoke, and looked away. He went on cutting + and chopping at a rude handle he was fashioning to the stake, whistling + softly to himself all the while, and not once looking at his cousin. + </p> + <p> + For some time they were silent, but by-and-by she said, with her face + still turned away from her companion: + </p> + <p> + "What a fine thing it is for Miss Graham that was, to travel with her maid + and her courier, and her chariot and four, and a husband that thinks there + isn't one spot upon all the earth that's good enough for her to set her + foot upon!" + </p> + <p> + "Ay, it is a fine thing, Phoebe, to have lots of money," answered Luke, + "and I hope you'll be warned by that, my lass, to save up your wages agin + we get married." + </p> + <p> + "Why, what was she in Mr. Dawson's house only three months ago?" continued + the girl, as if she had not heard her cousin's speech. "What was she but a + servant like me? Taking wages and working for them as hard, or harder, + than I did. You should have seen her shabby clothes, Luke—worn and + patched, and darned and turned and twisted, yet always looking nice upon + her, somehow. She gives me more as lady's-maid here than ever she got from + Mr. Dawson then. Why, I've seen her come out of the parlor with a few + sovereigns and a little silver in her hand, that master had just given her + for her quarter's salary; and now look at her!" + </p> + <p> + "Never you mind her," said Luke; "take care of yourself, Phoebe; that's + all you've got to do. What should you say to a public-house for you and + me, by-and-by, my girl? There's a deal of money to be made out of a + public-house." + </p> + <p> + The girl still sat with her face averted from her lover, her hands hanging + listlessly in her lap, and her pale gray eyes fixed upon the last low + streak of crimson dying out behind the trunks of the trees. + </p> + <p> + "You should see the inside of the house, Luke," she said; "it's a + tumbledown looking place enough outside; but you should see my lady's + rooms—all pictures and gilding, and great looking-glasses that + stretch from the ceiling to the floor. Painted ceilings, too, that cost + hundreds of pounds, the housekeeper told her, and all done for her." + </p> + <p> + "She's a lucky one," muttered Luke, with lazy indifference. + </p> + <p> + "You should have seen her while we were abroad, with a crowd of gentlemen + hanging about her; Sir Michael not jealous of them, only proud to see her + so much admired. You should have heard her laugh and talk with them; + throwing all their compliments and fine speeches back at them, as it were, + as if they had been pelting her with roses. She set everybody mad about + her, wherever she went. Her singing, her playing, her painting, her + dancing, her beautiful smile, and sunshiny ringlets! She was always the + talk of a place, as long as we stayed in it." + </p> + <p> + "Is she at home to-night?" + </p> + <p> + "No; she has gone out with Sir Michael to a dinner party at the Beeches. + They've seven or eight miles to drive, and they won't be back till after + eleven." + </p> + <p> + "Then I'll tell you what, Phoebe, if the inside of the house is so mighty + fine, I should like to have a look at it." + </p> + <p> + "You shall, then. Mrs. Barton, the housekeeper, knows you by sight, and + she can't object to my showing you some of the best rooms." + </p> + <p> + It was almost dark when the cousins left the shrubbery and walked slowly + to the house. The door by which they entered led into the servants' hall, + on one side of which was the housekeeper's room. Phoebe Marks stopped for + a moment to ask the housekeeper if she might take her cousin through some + of the rooms, and having received permission to do so, lighted a candle at + the lamp in the hall, and beckoned to Luke to follow her into the other + part of the house. + </p> + <p> + The long, black oak corridors were dim in the ghostly twilight—the + light carried by Phoebe looking only a poor speck in the broad passages + through which the girl led her cousin. Luke looked suspiciously over his + shoulder now and then, half-frightened by the creaking of his own + hob-nailed boots. + </p> + <p> + "It's a mortal dull place, Phoebe," he said, as they emerged from a + passage into the principal hall, which was not yet lighted; "I've heard + tell of a murder that was done here in old times." + </p> + <p> + "There are murders enough in these times, as to that, Luke," answered the + girl, ascending the staircase, followed by the young man. + </p> + <p> + She led the way through a great drawing-room, rich in satin and ormolu, + buhl and inlaid cabinets, bronzes, cameos, statuettes, and trinkets, that + glistened in the dusky light; then through a morning room, hung with proof + engravings of valuable pictures; through this into an ante-chamber, where + she stopped, holding the light above her head. + </p> + <p> + The young man stared about him, open-mouthed and open-eyed. + </p> + <p> + "It's a rare fine place," he said, "and must have cost a heap of money." + </p> + <p> + "Look at the pictures on the walls," said Phoebe, glancing at the panels + of the octagonal chamber, which were hung with Claudes and Poussins, + Wouvermans and Cuyps. "I've heard that those alone are worth a fortune. + This is the entrance to my lady's apartments, Miss Graham that was." She + lifted a heavy green cloth curtain which hung across a doorway, and led + the astonished countryman into a fairy-like boudoir, and thence to a + dressing-room, in which the open doors of a wardrobe and a heap of dresses + flung about a sofa showed that it still remained exactly as its occupants + had left it. + </p> + <p> + "I've got all these things to put away before my lady comes home, Luke; + you might sit down here while I do it, I shan't be long." + </p> + <p> + Her cousin looked around in gawky embarrassment, bewildered by the + splendor of the room; and after some deliberation selected the most + substantial of the chairs, on the extreme edge of which he carefully + seated himself. + </p> + <p> + "I wish I could show you the jewels, Luke," said the girl; "but I can't, + for she always keeps the keys herself; that's the case on the + dressing-table there." + </p> + <p> + "What, <i>that?</i>" cried Luke, staring at the massive walnut-wood and + brass inlaid casket. "Why, that's big enough to hold every bit of clothes + I've got!" + </p> + <p> + "And it's as full as it can be of diamonds, rubies, pearls and emeralds," + answered Phoebe, busy as she spoke in folding the rustling silk dresses, + and laying them one by one upon the shelves of the wardrobe. As she was + shaking out the flounces of the last, a jingling sound caught her ear, and + she put her hand into the pocket. + </p> + <p> + "I declare!" she exclaimed, "my lady has left her keys in her pocket for + once in a way; I can show you the jewelry, if you like, Luke." + </p> + <p> + "Well, I may as well have a look at it, my girl," he said, rising from his + chair and holding the light while his cousin unlocked the casket. He + uttered a cry of wonder when he saw the ornaments glittering on white + satin cushions. He wanted to handle the delicate jewels; to pull them + about, and find out their mercantile value. Perhaps a pang of longing and + envy shot through his heart as he thought how he would have liked to have + taken one of them. + </p> + <p> + "Why, one of those diamond things would set us up in life, Phoebe, he + said, turning a bracelet over and over in his big red hands. + </p> + <p> + "Put it down, Luke! Put it down directly!" cried the girl, with a look of + terror; "how can you speak about such things?" + </p> + <p> + He laid the bracelet in its place with a reluctant sigh, and then + continued his examination of the casket. + </p> + <p> + "What's this?" he asked presently, pointing to a brass knob in the + frame-work of the box. + </p> + <p> + He pushed it as he spoke, and a secret drawer, lined with purple velvet, + flew out of the casket. + </p> + <p> + "Look ye here!" cried Luke, pleased at his discovery. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks threw down the dress she had been folding, and went over to + the toilette table. + </p> + <p> + "Why, I never saw this before," she said; "I wonder what there is in it?" + </p> + <p> + There was not much in it; neither gold nor gems; only a baby's little + worsted shoe rolled up in a piece of paper, and a tiny lock of pale and + silky yellow hair, evidently taken from a baby's head. Phoebe's eyes + dilated as she examined the little packet. + </p> + <p> + "So this is what my lady hides in the secret drawer," she muttered. + </p> + <p> + "It's queer rubbish to keep in such a place," said Luke, carelessly. + </p> + <p> + The girl's thin lip curved into a curious smile. + </p> + <p> + "You will bear me witness where I found this," she said, putting the + little parcel into her pocket. + </p> + <p> + "Why, Phoebe, you're not going to be such a fool as to take that," cried + the young man. + </p> + <p> + "I'd rather have this than the diamond bracelet you would have liked to + take," she answered; "you shall have the public house, Luke." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. + </h2> + <h3> + IN THE FIRST PAGE OF "THE TIMES." + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley was supposed to be a barrister. As a barrister was his name + inscribed in the law-list; as a barrister he had chambers in Figtree + Court, Temple; as a barrister he had eaten the allotted number of dinners, + which form the sublime ordeal through which the forensic aspirant wades on + to fame and fortune. If these things can make a man a barrister, Robert + Audley decidedly was one. But he had never either had a brief, or tried to + get a brief, or even wished to have a brief in all those five years, + during which his name had been painted upon one of the doors in Figtree + Court. He was a handsome, lazy, care-for-nothing fellow, of about + seven-and-twenty; the only son of a younger brother of Sir Michael Audley. + His father had left him £400 a year, which his friends had advised him to + increase by being called to the bar; and as he found it, after due + consideration, more trouble to oppose the wishes of these friends than to + eat so many dinners, and to take a set of chambers in the Temple, he + adopted the latter course, and unblushingly called himself a barrister. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes, when the weather was very hot, and he had exhausted himself + with the exertion of smoking his German pipe, and reading French novels, + he would stroll into the Temple Gardens, and lying in some shady spot, + pale and cool, with his shirt collar turned down and a blue silk + handkerchief tied loosely about his neck, would tell grave benchers that + he had knocked himself up with over work. + </p> + <p> + The sly old benchers laughed at the pleasant fiction; but they all agreed + that Robert Audley was a good fellow; a generous-hearted fellow; rather a + curious fellow, too, with a fund of sly wit and quiet humor, under his + listless, dawdling, indifferent, irresolute manner. A man who would never + get on in the world; but who would not hurt a worm. Indeed, his chambers + were converted into a perfect dog-kennel, by his habit of bringing home + stray and benighted curs, who were attracted by his looks in the street, + and followed him with abject fondness. + </p> + <p> + Robert always spent the hunting season at Audley Court; not that he was + distinguished as a Nimrod, for he would quietly trot to covert upon a + mild-tempered, stout-limbed bay hack, and keep at a very respectful + distance from the hard riders; his horse knowing quite as well as he did, + that nothing was further from his thoughts than any desire to be in at the + death. + </p> + <p> + The young man was a great favorite with his uncle, and by no means + despised by his pretty, gipsy-faced, light-hearted, hoydenish cousin, Miss + Alicia Audley. It might have seemed to other men, that the partiality of a + young lady who was sole heiress to a very fine estate, was rather well + worth cultivating, but it did not so occur to Robert Audley. Alicia was a + very nice girl, he said, a jolly girl, with no nonsense about her—a + girl of a thousand; but this was the highest point to which enthusiasm + could carry him. The idea of turning his cousin's girlish liking for him + to some good account never entered his idle brain. I doubt if he even had + any correct notion of the amount of his uncle's fortune, and I am certain + that he never for one moment calculated upon the chances of any part of + that fortune ultimately coming to himself. So that when, one fine spring + morning, about three months before the time of which I am writing, the + postman brought him the wedding cards of Sir Michael and Lady Audley, + together with a very indignant letter from his cousin, setting forth how + her father had just married a wax-dollish young person, no older than + Alicia herself, with flaxen ringlets, and a perpetual giggle; for I am + sorry to say that Miss Audley's animus caused her thus to describe that + pretty musical laugh which had been so much admired in the late Miss Lucy + Graham—when, I say, these documents reached Robert Audley—they + elicited neither vexation nor astonishment in the lymphatic nature of that + gentleman. He read Alicia's angry crossed and recrossed letter without so + much as removing the amber mouth-piece of his German pipe from his + mustached lips. When he had finished the perusal of the epistle, which he + read with his dark eyebrows elevated to the center of his forehead (his + only manner of expressing surprise, by the way) he deliberately threw that + and the wedding cards into the waste-paper basket, and putting down his + pipe, prepared himself for the exertion of thinking out the subject. + </p> + <p> + "I always said the old buffer would marry," he muttered, after about half + an hour's revery. Alicia and my lady, the stepmother, will go at it hammer + and tongs. I hope they won't quarrel in the hunting season, or say + unpleasant things to each other at the dinner-table; rows always upset a + man's digestion. + </p> + <p> + At about twelve o'clock on the morning following that night upon which the + events recorded in my last chapter had taken place, the baronet's nephew + strolled out of the Temple, Blackfriarsward, on his way to the city. He + had in an evil hour obliged some necessitous friend by putting the ancient + name of Audley across a bill of accommodation, which bill not having been + provided for by the drawer, Robert was called upon to pay. For this + purpose he sauntered up Ludgate Hill, with his blue necktie fluttering in + the hot August air, and thence to a refreshingly cool banking-house in a + shady court out of St. Paul's churchyard, where he made arrangements for + selling out a couple of hundred pounds' worth of consols. + </p> + <p> + He had transacted this business, and was loitering at the corner of the + court, waiting for a chance hansom to convey him back to the Temple, when + he was almost knocked down by a man of about his own age, who dashed + headlong into the narrow opening. + </p> + <p> + "Be so good as to look where you're going, my friend!" Robert + remonstrated, mildly, to the impetuous passenger; "you might give a man + warning before you throw him down and trample upon him." + </p> + <p> + The stranger stopped suddenly, looked very hard at the speaker, and then + gasped for breath. + </p> + <p> + "Bob!" he cried, in a tone expressive of the most intense astonishment; "I + only touched British ground after dark last night, and to think that I + should meet you this morning." + </p> + <p> + "I've seen you somewhere before, my bearded friend," said Mr. Audley, + calmly scrutinizing the animated face of the other, "but I'll be hanged if + I can remember when or where." + </p> + <p> + "What!" exclaimed the stranger, reproachfully. "You don't mean to say that + you've forgotten George Talboys?" + </p> + <p> + "<i>No I have not!</i>" said Robert, with an emphasis by no means usual to + him; and then hooking his arm into that of his friend, he led him into the + shady court, saying, with his old indifference, "and now, George tell us + all about it." + </p> + <p> + George Talboys did tell him all about it. He told that very story which he + had related ten days before to the pale governess on board the <i>Argus</i>; + and then, hot and breathless, he said that he had twenty thousand pounds + or so in his pocket, and that he wanted to bank it at Messrs. ——, + who had been his bankers many years before. + </p> + <p> + "If you'll believe me, I've only just left their counting-house," said + Robert. "I'll go back with you, and we'll settle that matter in five + minutes." + </p> + <p> + They did contrive to settle it in about a quarter of an hour; and then + Robert Audley was for starting off immediately for the Crown and Scepter, + at Greenwich, or the Castle, at Richmond, where they could have a bit of + dinner, and talk over those good old times when they were together at + Eton. But George told his friend that before he went anywhere, before he + shaved or broke his fast, or in any way refreshed himself after a night + journey from Liverpool by express train, he must call at a certain + coffee-house in Bridge street, Westminster, where he expected to find a + letter from his wife. + </p> + <p> + As they dashed through Ludgate Hill, Fleet street, and the Strand, in a + fast hansom, George Talboys poured into his friend's ear all those wild + hopes and dreams which had usurped such a dominion over his sanguine + nature. + </p> + <p> + "I shall take a villa on the banks of the Thames, Bob," he said, "for the + little wife and myself; and we'll have a yacht, Bob, old boy, and you + shall lie on the deck and smoke, while my pretty one plays her guitar and + sings songs to us. She's for all the world like one of those + what's-its-names, who got poor old Ulysses into trouble," added the young + man, whose classic lore was not very great. + </p> + <p> + The waiters at the Westminster coffee-house stared at the hollow-eyed, + unshaven stranger, with his clothes of colonial cut, and his boisterous, + excited manner; but he had been an old frequenter of the place in his + military days, and when they heard who he was they flew to do his bidding. + </p> + <p> + He did not want much—only a bottle of soda-water, and to know if + there was a letter at the bar directed to George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + The waiter brought the soda-water before the young men had seated + themselves in a shady box near the disused fire-place. No; there was no + letter for that name. + </p> + <p> + The waiter said it with consummate indifference, while he mechanically + dusted the little mahogany table. + </p> + <p> + George's face blanched to a deadly whiteness. "Talboys," he said; "perhaps + you didn't hear the name distinctly—T, A, L, B, O, Y, S. Go and look + again, there <i>must</i> be a letter." + </p> + <p> + The waiter shrugged his shoulders as he left the room, and returned in + three minutes to say that there was no name at all resembling Talboys in + the letter rack. There was Brown, and Sanderson, and Pinchbeck; only three + letters altogether. + </p> + <p> + The young man drank his soda-water in silence, and then, leaning his + elbows on the table, covered his face with his hands. There was something + in his manner which told Robert Audley that his disappointment, trifling + as it may appear, was in reality a very bitter one. He seated himself + opposite to his friend, but did not attempt to address him. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by George looked up, and mechanically taking a greasy <i>Times</i> + newspaper of the day before from a heap of journals on the table, stared + vacantly at the first page. + </p> + <p> + I cannot tell how long he sat blankly staring at one paragraph among the + list of deaths, before his dazed brain took in its full meaning; but after + considerable pause he pushed the newspaper over to Robert Audley, and with + a face that had changed from its dark bronze to a sickly, chalky grayish + white, and with an awful calmness in his manner, he pointed with his + finger to a line which ran thus: + </p> + <p> + "On the 24th inst., at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, Helen Talboys, aged 22." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. + </h2> + <h3> + THE HEADSTONE AT VENTNOR. + </h3> + <p> + Yes, there it was in black and white—"Helen Talboys, aged 22." + </p> + <p> + When George told the governess on board the <i>Argus</i> that if he heard + any evil tidings of his wife he should drop down dead, he spoke in perfect + good faith; and yet, here were the worst tidings that could come to him, + and he sat rigid, white and helpless, staring stupidly at the shocked face + of his friend. + </p> + <p> + The suddenness of the blow had stunned him. In this strange and bewildered + state of mind he began to wonder what had happened, and why it was that + one line in the <i>Times</i> newspaper could have so horrible an effect + upon him. + </p> + <p> + Then by degrees even this vague consciousness of his misfortune faded + slowly out of his mind, succeeded by a painful consciousness of external + things. + </p> + <p> + The hot August sunshine, the dusty window-panes and shabby-painted blinds, + a file of fly-blown play-bills fastened to the wall, the black and empty + fire-places, a bald-headed old man nodding over the <i>Morning Advertizer</i>, + the slip-shod waiter folding a tumbled table-cloth, and Robert Audley's + handsome face looking at him full of compassionate alarm—he knew + that all these things took gigantic proportions, and then, one by one, + melted into dark blots and swam before his eyes, He knew that there was a + great noise, as of half a dozen furious steam-engines tearing and grinding + in his ears, and he knew nothing more—except that somebody or + something fell heavily to the ground. + </p> + <p> + He opened his eyes upon the dusky evening in a cool and shaded room, the + silence only broken by the rumbling of wheels at a distance. + </p> + <p> + He looked about him wonderingly, but half indifferently. His old friend, + Robert Audley, was seated by his side smoking. George was lying on a low + iron bedstead opposite to an open window, in which there was a stand of + flowers and two or three birds in cages. + </p> + <p> + "You don't mind the pipe, do you, George?" his friend asked, quietly. + </p> + <p> + "No." + </p> + <p> + He lay for some time looking at the flowers and the birds; one canary was + singing a shrill hymn to the setting sun. + </p> + <p> + "Do the birds annoy you, George? Shall I take them out of the room?" + </p> + <p> + "No; I like to hear them sing." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley knocked the ashes out of his pipe, laid the precious + meerschaum tenderly upon the mantelpiece, and going into the next room, + returned presently with a cup of strong tea. + </p> + <p> + "Take this, George," he said, as he placed the cup on a little table close + to George's pillow; "it will do your head good." + </p> + <p> + The young man did not answer, but looked slowly round the room, and then + at his friend's grave face. + </p> + <p> + "Bob," he said, "where are we?" + </p> + <p> + "In my chambers, dear boy, in the Temple. You have no lodgings of your + own, so you may as well stay with me while you're in town." + </p> + <p> + George passed his hand once or twice across his forehead, and then, in a + hesitating manner, said, quietly: + </p> + <p> + "That newspaper this morning, Bob; what was it?" + </p> + <p> + "Never mind just now, old boy; drink some tea." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," cried George, impatiently, raising himself upon the bed, and + staring about him with hollow eyes. "I remember all about it. Helen! my + Helen! my wife, my darling, my only love! Dead, dead!" + </p> + <p> + "George," said Robert Audley, laying his hand gently upon the young man's + arm, "you must remember that the person whose name you saw in the paper + may not be your wife. There may have been some other Helen Talboys." + </p> + <p> + "No, no!" he cried; "the age corresponds with hers, and Talboys is such an + uncommon name." + </p> + <p> + "It may be a misprint for Talbot." + </p> + <p> + "No, no, no; my wife is dead!" + </p> + <p> + He shook off Robert's restraining hand, and rising from the bed, walked + straight to the door. + </p> + <p> + "Where are you going?" exclaimed his friend. + </p> + <p> + "To Ventnor, to see her grave." + </p> + <p> + "Not to-night, George, not to-night. I will go with you myself by the + first train to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + Robert led him back to the bed, and gently forced him to lie down again. + He then gave him an opiate, which had been left for him by the medical man + whom they had called in at the coffee-house in Bridge street, when George + fainted. + </p> + <p> + So George Talboys fell into a heavy slumber, and dreamed that he went to + Ventnor, to find his wife alive and happy, but wrinkled, old, and gray, + and to find his son grown into a young man. + </p> + <p> + Early the next morning he was seated opposite to Robert Audley in the + first-class carriage of an express, whirling through the pretty open + country toward Portsmouth. + </p> + <p> + They landed at Ventnor under the burning heat of the midday sun. As the + two young men came from the steamer, the people on the pier stared at + George's white face and untrimmed beard. + </p> + <p> + "What are we to do, George?" Robert Audley asked. "We have no clew to + finding the people you want to see." + </p> + <p> + The young man looked at him with a pitiful, bewildered expression. The big + dragoon was as helpless as a baby; and Robert Audley, the most vacillating + and unenergetic of men, found himself called upon to act for another. He + rose superior to himself, and equal to the occasion. + </p> + <p> + "Had we not better ask at one of the hotels about a Mrs. Talboys, George?" + he said. + </p> + <p> + "Her father's name was Maldon," George muttered; "he could never have sent + her here to die alone." + </p> + <p> + They said nothing more; but Robert walked straight to a hotel where he + inquired for a Mr. Maldon. + </p> + <p> + Yes, they told him, there was a gentleman of that name stopping at + Ventnor, a Captain Maldon; his daughter was lately dead. The waiter would + go and inquire for the address. + </p> + <p> + The hotel was a busy place at this season; people hurrying in and out, and + a great bustle of grooms and waiters about the halls. + </p> + <p> + George Talboys leaned against the doorpost, with much the same look in his + face, as that which had frightened his friend in the Westminister + coffee-house. + </p> + <p> + The worst was confirmed now. His wife, Captain Maldon's daughter was dead. + </p> + <p> + The waiter returned in about five minutes to say that Captain Maldon was + lodging at Lansdowne Cottage, No. 4. + </p> + <p> + They easily found the house, a shabby, low-windowed cottage, looking + toward the water. + </p> + <p> + Was Captain Maldon at home? No, the landlady said; he had gone out on the + beach with his little grandson. Would the gentleman walk in and sit down a + bit? + </p> + <p> + George mechanically followed his friend into the little front parlor—dusty, + shabbily furnished, and disorderly, with a child's broken toys scattered + on the floor, and the scent of stale tobacco hanging about the muslin + window-curtains. + </p> + <p> + "Look!" said George, pointing to a picture over the mantelpiece. + </p> + <p> + It was his own portrait, painted in the old dragooning days. A pretty good + likeness, representing him in uniform, with his charger in the background. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the most animated of men would have been scarcely so wise a + comforter as Robert Audley. He did not utter a word to the stricken + widower, but quietly seated himself with his back to George, looking out + of the open window. + </p> + <p> + For some time the young man wandered restlessly about the room, looking at + and sometimes touching the nick-nacks lying here and there. + </p> + <p> + Her workbox, with an unfinished piece of work; her album full of extracts + from Byron and Moore, written in his own scrawling hand; some books which + he had given her, and a bunch of withered flowers in a vase they had + bought in Italy. + </p> + <p> + "Her portrait used to hang by the side of mine," he muttered; "I wonder + what they have done with it." + </p> + <p> + By-and-by he said, after about an hour's silence: + </p> + <p> + "I should like to see the woman of the house; I should like to ask her + about—" + </p> + <p> + He broke down, and buried his face in his hands. + </p> + <p> + Robert summoned the landlady. She was a good-natured garrulous creature, + accustomed to sickness and death, for many of her lodgers came to her to + die. + </p> + <p> + She told all the particulars of Mrs. Talboys' last hours; how she had come + to Ventnor only ten days before her death, in the last stage of decline; + and how, day by day, she had gradually, but surely, sunk under the fatal + malady. Was the gentleman any relative? she asked of Robert Audley, as + George sobbed aloud. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, he is the lady's husband." + </p> + <p> + "What!" the woman cried; "him as deserted her so cruel, and left her with + her pretty boy upon her poor old father's hands, which Captain Maldon has + told me often, with the tears in his poor eyes?" + </p> + <p> + "I did not desert her," George cried out; and then he told the history of + his three years' struggle. + </p> + <p> + "Did she speak of me?" he asked; "did she speak of me—at—at + the last?" + </p> + <p> + "No, she went off as quiet as a lamb. She said very little from the first; + but the last day she knew nobody, not even her little boy, nor her poor + old father, who took on awful. Once she went off wild-like, talking about + her mother, and about the cruel shame it was to leave her to die in a + strange place, till it was quite pitiful to hear her." + </p> + <p> + "Her mother died when she was quite a child," said George. "To think that + she should remember her and speak of her, but never once of me." + </p> + <p> + The woman took him into the little bedroom in which his wife had died. He + knelt down by the bed and kissed the pillow tenderly, the landlady crying + as he did so. + </p> + <p> + While he was kneeling, praying, perhaps, with his face buried in this + humble, snow-white pillow, the woman took something from a drawer. She + gave it to him when he rose from his knees; it was a long tress of hair + wrapped in silver paper. + </p> + <p> + "I cut this off when she lay in her coffin," she said, "poor dear?" + </p> + <p> + He pressed the soft lock to his lips. "Yes," he murmured; "this is the + dear hair that I have kissed so often when her head lay upon my shoulder. + But it always had a rippling wave in it then, and now it seems smooth and + straight." + </p> + <p> + "It changes in illness," said the landlady. "If you'd like to see where + they have laid her, Mr. Talboys, my little boy shall show you the way to + the churchyard." + </p> + <p> + So George Talboys and his faithful friend walked to the quiet spot, where, + beneath a mound of earth, to which the patches of fresh turf hardly + adhered, lay that wife of whose welcoming smile George had dreamed so + often in the far antipodes. + </p> + <p> + Robert left the young man by the side of this newly-made grave, and + returning in about a quarter of an hour, found that he had not once + stirred. + </p> + <p> + He looked up presently, and said that if there was a stone-mason's + anywhere near he should like to give an order. + </p> + <p> + They very easily found the stonemason, and sitting down amidst the + fragmentary litter of the man's yard, George Talboys wrote in pencil this + brief inscription for the headstone of his dead wife's grave: + </p> + <p> + <br /> Sacred to the Memory of<br /> HELEN,<br /> THE BELOVED WIFE OF GEORGE + TALBOYS,<br /> "Who departed this life<br /> August 24th, 18—, aged + 22,<br /> Deeply regretted by her sorrowing Husband.<br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. + </h2> + <h3> + ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE OUT OF THE WORLD. + </h3> + <p> + When they returned to Lansdowne Cottage they found the old man had not yet + come in, so they walked down to the beach to look for him. After a brief + search they found him, sitting upon a heap of pebbles, reading a newspaper + and eating filberts. The little boy was at some distance from his + grandfather, digging in the sand with a wooden spade. The crape round the + old man's shabby hat, and the child's poor little black frock, went to + George's heart. Go where he would he met fresh confirmation of this great + grief of his life. His wife was dead. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Maldon," he said, as he approached his father-in-law. + </p> + <p> + The old man looked up, and, dropping his newspaper, rose from the pebbles + with a ceremonious bow. His faded light hair was tinged with gray; he had + a pinched hook nose; watery blue eyes, and an irresolute-looking mouth; he + wore his shabby dress with an affectation of foppish gentility; an + eye-glass dangled over his closely buttoned-up waistcoat, and he carried a + cane in his ungloved hand. + </p> + <p> + "Great Heaven!" cried George, "don't you know me?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maldon started and colored violently, with something of a frightened + look, as he recognized his son-in-law. + </p> + <p> + "My dear boy," he said, "I did not; for the first moment I did not. That + beard makes such a difference. You find the beard makes a great + difference, do you not, sir?" he said, appealing to Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Great heavens!" exclaimed George Talboys, "is this the way you welcome + me? I come to England to find my wife dead within a week of my touching + land, and you begin to chatter to me about my beard—you, her + father!" + </p> + <p> + "True! true!" muttered the old man, wiping his bloodshot eyes; "a sad + shock, a sad shock, my dear George. If you'd only been here a week + earlier." + </p> + <p> + "If I had," cried George, in an outburst of grief and passion, "I scarcely + think that I would have let her die. I would have disputed for her with + death. I would! I would! Oh God! why did not the <i>Argus</i> go down with + every soul on board her before I came to see this day?" + </p> + <p> + He began to walk up and down the beach, his father-in-law looking + helplessly at him, rubbing his feeble eyes with a handkerchief. + </p> + <p> + "I've a strong notion that that old man didn't treat his daughter too + well," thought Robert, as he watched the half-pay lieutenant. "He seems, + for some reason or other, to be half afraid of George." + </p> + <p> + While the agitated young man walked up and down in a fever of regret and + despair, the child ran to his grandfather, and clung about the tails of + his coat. + </p> + <p> + "Come home, grandpa, come home," he said. "I'm tired." + </p> + <p> + George Talboys turned at the sound of the babyish voice, and looked long + and earnestly at the boy. + </p> + <p> + He had his father's brown eyes and dark hair. + </p> + <p> + "My darling! my darling!" said George, taking the child in his arms, "I am + your father, come across the sea to find you. Will you love me?" + </p> + <p> + The little fellow pushed him away. "I don't know you," he said. "I love + grandpa and Mrs. Monks at Southampton." + </p> + <p> + "Georgey has a temper of his own, sir," said the old man. "He has been + spoiled." + </p> + <p> + They walked slowly back to the cottage, and once more George Talboys told + the history of that desertion which had seemed so cruel. He told, too, of + the twenty thousand pounds banked by him the day before. He had not the + heart to ask any questions about the past, and his father-in-law only told + him that a few months after his departure they had gone from the place + where George left them to live at Southampton, where Helen got a few + pupils for the piano, and where they managed pretty well till her health + failed, and she fell into the decline of which she died. Like most sad + stories it was a very brief one. + </p> + <p> + "The boy seems fond of you, Mr. Maldon," said George, after a pause. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," answered the old man, smoothing the child's curling hair; + "yes. Georgey is very fond of his grandfather." + </p> + <p> + "Then he had better stop with you. The interest of my money will be about + six hundred a year. You can draw a hundred of that for Georgey's + education, leaving the rest to accumulate till he is of age. My friend + here will be trustee, and if he will undertake the charge, I will appoint + him guardian to the boy, allowing him for the present to remain under your + care." + </p> + <p> + "But why not take care of him yourself, George?" asked Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Because I shall sail in the very next vessel that leaves Liverpool for + Australia. I shall be better in the diggings or the backwoods than ever I + could be here. I'm broken for a civilized life from this hour, Bob." + </p> + <p> + The old man's weak eyes sparkled as George declared this determination. + </p> + <p> + "My poor boy, I think you're right," he said, "I really think you're + right. The change, the wild life, the—the—" He hesitated and + broke down as Robert looked earnestly at him. + </p> + <p> + "You're in a great hurry to get rid of your son-in-law, I think, Mr. + Maldon," he said, gravely. + </p> + <p> + "Get rid of him, dear boy! Oh, no, no! But for his own sake, my dear sir, + for his own sake, you know." + </p> + <p> + "I think for his own sake he'd much better stay in England and look after + his son," said Robert. + </p> + <p> + "But I tell you I can't," cried George; "every inch of this accursed + ground is hateful to me—I want to run out of it as I would out of a + graveyard. I'll go back to town to-night, get that business about the + money settled early to-morrow morning, and start for Liverpool without a + moment's delay. I shall be better when I've put half the world between me + and her grave." + </p> + <p> + "Before he left the house he stole out to the landlady, and asked some + more questions about his dead wife. + </p> + <p> + "Were they poor?" he asked, "were they pinched for money while she was + ill?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no!" the woman answered; "though the captain dresses shabby, he has + always plenty of sovereigns in his purse. The poor lady wanted for + nothing." + </p> + <p> + George was relieved at this, though it puzzled him to know where the + drunken half-pay lieutenant could have contrived to find money for all the + expenses of his daughter's illness. + </p> + <p> + But he was too thoroughly broken down by the calamity which had befallen + him to be able to think much of anything, so he asked no further + questions, but walked with his father-in-law and Robert Audley down to the + boat by which they were to cross to Portsmouth. + </p> + <p> + The old man bade Robert a very ceremonious adieu. + </p> + <p> + "You did not introduce me to your friend, by-the-bye, my dear boy," he + said. George stared at him, muttered something indistinct, and ran down + the ladder to the boat before Mr. Maldon could repeat his request. The + steamer sped away through the sunset, and the outline of the island melted + in the horizon as they neared the opposite shore. + </p> + <p> + "To think," said George, "that two nights ago, at this time, I was + steaming into Liverpool, full of the hope of clasping her to my heart, and + to-night I am going away from her grave!" + </p> + <p> + The document which appointed Robert Audley as guardian to little George + Talboys was drawn up in a solicitor's office the next morning. + </p> + <p> + "It's a great responsibility," exclaimed Robert; "I, guardian to anybody + or anything! I, who never in my life could take care of myself!" + </p> + <p> + "I trust in your noble heart, Bob," said George. "I know you will take + care of my poor orphan boy, and see that he is well used by his + grandfather. I shall only draw enough from Georgey's fortune to take me + back to Sydney, and then begin my old work again." + </p> + <p> + But it seemed as if George was destined to be himself the guardian of his + son; for when he reached Liverpool, he found that a vessel had just + sailed, and that there would not be another for a month; so he returned to + London, and once more threw himself upon Robert Audley's hospitality. + </p> + <p> + The barrister received him with open arms; he gave him the room with the + birds and flowers, and had a bed put up in his dressing-room for himself. + Grief is so selfish that George did not know the sacrifices his friend + made for his comfort. He only knew that for him the sun was darkened, and + the business of life done. He sat all day long smoking cigars, and staring + at the flowers and canaries, chafing for the time to pass that he might be + far out at sea. + </p> + <p> + But just as the hour was drawing near for the sailing of the vessel, + Robert Audley came in one day, full of a great scheme. + </p> + <p> + A friend of his, another of those barristers whose last thought is of a + brief, was going to St. Petersburg to spend the winter, and wanted Robert + to accompany him. Robert would only go on condition that George went too. + </p> + <p> + For a long time the young man resisted; but when he found that Robert was, + in a quiet way, thoroughly determined upon not going without him, he gave + in, and consented to join the party. What did it matter? he said. One + place was the same to him as another; anywhere out of England; what did he + care where? + </p> + <p> + This was not a very cheerful way of looking at things, but Robert Audley + was quite satisfied with having won his consent. + </p> + <p> + The three young men started under very favorable circumstances, carrying + letters of introduction to the most influential inhabitants of the Russian + capital. + </p> + <p> + Before leaving England, Robert wrote to his cousin Alicia, telling her of + his intended departure with his old friend George Talboys, whom he had + lately met for the first time after a lapse of years, and who had just + lost his wife. + </p> + <p> + Alicia's reply came by return post, and ran thus: + </p> + <p> + "MY DEAR ROBERT—How cruel of you to run away to that horrid St. + Petersburg before the hunting season! I have heard that people lose their + noses in that disagreeable climate, and as yours is rather a long one, I + should advise you to return before the very severe weather sets in. What + sort of person is this Mr. Talboys? If he is very agreeable you may bring + him to the Court as soon as you return from your travels. Lady Audley + tells me to request you to secure her a set of sables. You are not to + consider the price, but to be sure that they are the handsomest that can + be obtained. Papa is perfectly absurd about his new wife, and she and I + cannot get on together at all; not that she is disagreeable to me, for, + as far as that goes, she makes herself agreeable to every one; but she is + so irretrievably childish and silly. + </p> + <p> + "Believe me to be, my dear Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Your affectionate cousin, + </p> + <p> + "ALICIA AUDLEY." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. + </h2> + <h3> + AFTER A YEAR. + </h3> + <p> + The first year of George Talboys' widowhood passed away, the deep band of + crepe about his hat grew brown and dusty, and as the last burning day of + another August faded out, he sat smoking cigars in the quiet chambers of + Figtree Court, much as he had done the year before, when the horror of his + grief was new to him, and every object in life, however trifling or + however important, seemed saturated with his one great sorrow. + </p> + <p> + But the big ex-dragoon had survived his affliction by a twelvemonth, and + hard as it may be to have to tell it, he did not look much the worse for + it. Heaven knows what wasted agonies of remorse and self-reproach may not + have racked George's honest heart, as he lay awake at nights thinking of + the wife he had abandoned in the pursuit of a fortune, which she never + lived to share. + </p> + <p> + Once, while they were abroad, Robert Audley ventured to congratulate him + upon his recovered spirits. He burst into a bitter laugh. + </p> + <p> + "Do you know, Bob," he said, "that when some of our fellows were wounded + in India, they came home, bringing bullets inside them. They did not talk + of them, and they were stout and hearty, and looked as well, perhaps, as + you or I; but every change in the weather, however slight, every variation + of the atmosphere, however trifling, brought back the old agony of their + wounds as sharp as ever they had felt it on the battle-field. I've had my + wound, Bob; I carry the bullet still, and I shall carry it into my + coffin." + </p> + <p> + The travelers returned from St. Petersburg in the spring, and George again + took up his quarters at his old friend's chambers, only leaving them now + and then to run down to Southampton and take a look at his little boy. He + always went loaded with toys and sweetmeats to give to the child; but, for + all this, Georgey would not become very familiar with his papa, and the + young man's heart sickened as he began to fancy that even his child was + lost to him. + </p> + <p> + "What can I do?" he thought. "If I take him away from his grandfather, I + shall break his heart; if I let him remain, he will grow up a stranger to + me, and care more for that drunken old hypocrite than for his own father. + But then, what could an ignorant, heavy dragoon like me do with such a + child? What could I teach him, except to smoke cigars and idle around all + day with his hands in his pockets?" + </p> + <p> + So the anniversary of that 30th of August, upon which George had seen the + advertisement of his wife's death in the <i>Times</i> newspaper, came + round for the first time, and the young man put off his black clothes and + the shabby crape from his hat, and laid his mournful garments in a trunk + in which he kept a packet of his wife's letters, her portrait, and that + lock of hair which had been cut from her head after death. Robert Audley + had never seen either the letters, the portrait, or the long tress of + silky hair; nor, indeed, had George ever mentioned the name of his dead + wife after that one day at Ventnor, on which he learned the full + particulars of her decease. + </p> + <p> + "I shall write to my cousin Alicia to-day, George," the young barrister + said, upon this very 30th of August. "Do you know that the day after + to-morrow is the 1st of September? I shall write and tell her that we will + both run down to the Court for a week's shooting." + </p> + <p> + "No, no, Bob; go by yourself; they don't want me, and I'd rather—" + </p> + <p> + "Bury yourself in Figtree Court, with no company but my dogs and canaries! + No, George, you shall do nothing of the kind." + </p> + <p> + "But I don't care for shooting." + </p> + <p> + "And do you suppose <i>I</i> care for it?" cried Robert, with charming <i>naivete</i>. + "Why, man, I don't know a partridge from a pigeon, and it might be the 1st + of April, instead of the 1st of September, for aught I care. I never hurt + a bird in my life, but I have hurt my own shoulder with the weight of my + gun. I only go down to Essex for the change of air, the good dinners, and + the sight of my uncle's honest, handsome face. Besides, this time I've + another inducement, as I want to see this fair-haired paragon—my new + aunt. You'll go with me, George?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, if you really wish it." + </p> + <p> + The quiet form his grief had taken after its first brief violence, left + him as submissive as a child to the will of his friend; ready to go + anywhere or do anything; never enjoying himself, or originating any + enjoyment, but joining in the pleasures of others with a hopeless, + uncomplaining, unobtrusive resignation peculiar to his simple nature. But + the return of post brought a letter from Alicia Audley, to say that the + two young men could not be received at the Court. + </p> + <p> + "There are seventeen spare bed-rooms," wrote the young lady, in an + indignant running hand, "but for all that, my dear Robert, you can't come; + for my lady has taken it into her silly head that she is too ill to + entertain visitors (there is no more the matter with her than there is + with me), and she cannot have gentlemen (great, rough men, she says) in + the house. Please apologize to your friend Mr. Talboys, and tell him that + papa expects to see you both in the hunting season." + </p> + <p> + "My lady's airs and graces shan't keep us out of Essex for all that," said + Robert, as he twisted the letter into a pipe-light for his big meerschaum. + "I'll tell you what we'll do, George: there's a glorious inn at Audley, + and plenty of fishing in the neighborhood; we'll go there and have a + week's sport. Fishing is much better than shooting; you've only to lie on + a bank and stare at your line; I don't find that you often catch anything, + but it's very pleasant." + </p> + <p> + He held the twisted letter to the feeble spark of fire glimmering in the + grate, as he spoke, and then changing his mind, deliberately unfolded it, + and smoothed the crumpled paper with his hand. + </p> + <p> + "Poor little Alicia!" he said, thoughtfully; "it's rather hard to treat + her letter so cavalierly—I'll keep it;" upon which Mr. Robert Audley + put the note back into its envelope, and afterward thrust it into a + pigeon-hole in his office desk, marked <i>important</i>. Heaven knows what + wonderful documents there were in this particular pigeon-hole, but I do + not think it likely to have contained anything of great judicial value. If + any one could at that moment have told the young barrister that so simple + a thing as his cousin's brief letter would one day come to be a link in + that terrible chain of evidence afterward to be slowly forged in the only + criminal case in which he was ever to be concerned, perhaps Mr. Robert + Audley would have lifted his eyebrows a little higher than usual. + </p> + <p> + So the two young men left London the next day, with one portmanteau and a + rod and tackle between them, and reached the straggling, old-fashioned, + fast-decaying village of Audley, in time to order a good dinner at the Sun + Inn. + </p> + <p> + Audley Court was about three-quarters of a mile from the village, lying, + as I have said, deep down in the hollow, shut in by luxuriant timber. You + could only reach it by a cross-road bordered by trees, and as trimly kept + as the avenues in a gentleman's park. It was a lonely place enough, even + in all its rustic beauty, for so bright a creature as the late Miss Lucy + Graham, but the generous baronet had transformed the interior of the gray + old mansion into a little palace for his young wife, and Lady Audley + seemed as happy as a child surrounded by new and costly toys. + </p> + <p> + In her better fortunes, as in her old days of dependence, wherever she + went she seemed to take sunshine and gladness with her. In spite of Miss + Alicia's undisguised contempt for her step-mother's childishness and + frivolity, Lucy was better loved and more admired than the baronet's + daughter. That very childishness had a charm which few could resist. The + innocence and candor of an infant beamed in Lady Audley's fair face, and + shone out of her large and liquid blue eyes. The rosy lips, the delicate + nose, the profusion of fair ringlets, all contributed to preserve to her + beauty the character of extreme youth and freshness. She owned to twenty + years of age, but it was hard to believe her more than seventeen. Her + fragile figure, which she loved to dress in heavy velvets, and stiff, + rustling silks, till she looked like a child tricked out for a masquerade, + was as girlish as if she had just left the nursery. All her amusements + were childish. She hated reading, or study of any kind, and loved society. + Rather than be alone, she would admit Phoebe Marks into her confidence, + and loll on one of the sofas in her luxurious dressing-room, discussing a + new costume for some coming dinner-party; or sit chattering to the girl + with her jewel-box beside her, upon the satin cushions, and Sir Michael's + presents spread out in her lap, while she counted and admired her + treasures. + </p> + <p> + She had appeared at several public balls at Chelmsford and Colchester, and + was immediately established as the belle of the county. Pleased with her + high position and her handsome house; with every caprice gratified, every + whim indulged; admired and caressed wherever she went; fond of her + generous husband; rich in a noble allowance of pin-money; with no poor + relations to worry her with claims upon her purse or patronage; it would + have been hard to find in the County of Essex a more fortunate creature + than Lucy, Lady Audley. + </p> + <p> + The two young men loitered over the dinner-table in the private + sitting-room at the Sun Inn. The windows were thrown wide open, and the + fresh country air blew in upon them as they dined. The weather was lovely; + the foliage of the woods touched here and there with faint gleams of the + earliest tints of autumn; the yellow corn still standing in some of the + fields, in others just falling under the shining sickle; while in the + narrow lanes you met great wagons drawn by broad-chested cart-horses, + carrying home the rich golden store. To any one who has been, during the + hot summer months, pent up in London, there is in the first taste of + rustic life a kind of sensuous rapture scarcely to be described. George + Talboys felt this, and in this he experienced the nearest approach to + enjoyment that he had ever known since his wife's death. + </p> + <p> + The clock struck five as they finished dinner. + </p> + <p> + "Put on your hat, George," said Robert Audley; "they don't dine at the + Court till seven; we shall have time to stroll down and see the old place + and its inhabitants." + </p> + <p> + The landlord, who had come into the room with a bottle of wine, looked up + as the young man spoke. + </p> + <p> + "I beg your pardon, Mr. Audley," he said, "but if you want to see your + uncle, you'll lose your time by going to the Court just now. Sir Michael + and my lady and Miss Alicia have all gone to the races up at Chorley, and + they won't be back till nigh upon eight o'clock, most likely. They must + pass by here to go home." + </p> + <p> + Under these circumstances of course it was no use going to the Court, so + the two young men strolled through the village and looked at the old + church, and then went and reconnoitered the streams in which they were to + fish the next day, and by such means beguiled the time until after seven + o'clock. At about a quarter past that hour they returned to the inn, and + seating themselves in the open window, lit their cigars and looked out at + the peaceful prospect. + </p> + <p> + We hear every day of murders committed in the country. Brutal and + treacherous murders; slow, protracted agonies from poisons administered by + some kindred hand; sudden and violent deaths by cruel blows, inflicted + with a stake cut from some spreading oak, whose every shadow promised—peace. + In the county of which I write, I have been shown a meadow in which, on a + quiet summer Sunday evening, a young farmer murdered the girl who had + loved and trusted him; and yet, even now, with the stain of that foul deed + upon it, the aspect of the spot is—peace. No species of crime has + ever been committed in the worst rookeries about Seven Dials that has not + been also done in the face of that rustic calm which still, in spite of + all, we look on with a tender, half-mournful yearning, and associate with—peace. + </p> + <p> + It was dusk when gigs and chaises, dog-carts and clumsy farmers' phaetons, + began to rattle through the village street, and under the windows of the + Sun Inn; deeper dusk still when an open carriage and four drew suddenly up + beneath the rocking sign-post. + </p> + <p> + It was Sir Michael Audley's barouche which came to so sudden a stop before + the little inn. The harness of one of the leaders had become out of order, + and the foremost postillion dismounted to set it right. + </p> + <p> + "Why, it's my uncle," cried Robert Audley, as the carriage stopped. "I'll + run down and speak to him." + </p> + <p> + George lit another cigar, and, sheltered by the window-curtains, looked + out at the little party. Alicia sat with her back to the horses, and he + could perceive, even in the dusk, that she was a handsome brunette; but + Lady Audley was seated on the side of the carriage furthest from the inn, + and he could see nothing of the fair-haired paragon of whom he had heard + so much. + </p> + <p> + "Why, Robert," exclaimed Sir Michael, as his nephew emerged from the inn, + "this is a surprise!" + </p> + <p> + "I have not come to intrude upon you at the Court, my dear uncle," said + the young man, as the baronet shook him by the hand in his own hearty + fashion. "Essex is my native county, you know, and about this time of year + I generally have a touch of homesickness; so George and I have come down + to the inn for two or three day's fishing." + </p> + <p> + "George—George who?" + </p> + <p> + "George Talboys." + </p> + <p> + "What, has he come?" cried Alicia. "I'm so glad; for I'm dying to see this + handsome young widower." + </p> + <p> + "Are you, Alicia?" said her cousin, "Then egad, I'll run and fetch him, + and introduce you to him at once." + </p> + <p> + Now, so complete was the dominion which Lady Audley had, in her own + childish, unthinking way, obtained over her devoted husband, that it was + very rarely that the baronet's eyes were long removed from his wife's + pretty face. When Robert, therefore, was about to re-enter the inn, it + needed but the faintest elevation of Lucy's eyebrows, with a charming + expression of weariness and terror, to make her husband aware that she did + not want to be bored by an introduction to Mr. George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + "Never mind to-night, Bob," he said. "My wife is a little tired after our + long day's pleasure. Bring your friend to dinner to-morrow, and then he + and Alicia can make each other's acquaintance. Come round and speak to + Lady Audley, and then we'll drive home." + </p> + <p> + My lady was so terribly fatigued that she could only smile sweetly, and + hold out a tiny gloved hand to her nephew by marriage. + </p> + <p> + "You will come and dine with us to-morrow, and bring your interesting + friend?" she said, in a low and tired voice. She had been the chief + attraction of the race-course, and was wearied out by the exertion of + fascinating half the county. + </p> + <p> + "It's a wonder she didn't treat you to her never-ending laugh," whispered + Alicia, as she leaned over the carriage-door to bid Robert good-night; + "but I dare say she reserves that for your delectation to-morrow. I + suppose <i>you</i> are fascinated as well as everybody else?" added the + young lady, rather snappishly. + </p> + <p> + "She is a lovely creature, certainly," murmured Robert, with placid + admiration. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, of course! Now, she is the first woman of whom I ever heard you say a + civil word, Robert Audley. I'm sorry to find you can only admire wax + dolls." + </p> + <p> + Poor Alicia had had many skirmishes with her cousin upon that particular + temperament of his, which, while it enabled him to go through life with + perfect content and tacit enjoyment, entirely precluded his feeling one + spark of enthusiasm upon any subject whatever. + </p> + <p> + "As to his ever falling in love," thought the young lady sometimes, "the + idea is preposterous. If all the divinities on earth were ranged before + him, waiting for his sultanship to throw the handkerchief, he would only + lift his eyebrows to the middle of his forehead, and tell them to scramble + for it." + </p> + <p> + But, for once in his life, Robert was almost enthusiastic. + </p> + <p> + "She's the prettiest little creature you ever saw in your life, George," + he cried, when the carriage had driven off and he returned to his friend. + "Such blue eyes, such ringlets, such a ravishing smile, such a fairy-like + bonnet—all of a-tremble with heart's-ease and dewy spangles, shining + out of a cloud of gauze. George Talboys, I feel like the hero of a French + novel: I am falling in love with my aunt." + </p> + <p> + The widower only sighed and puffed his cigar fiercely out of the open + window. Perhaps he was thinking of that far-away time—little better + than five years ago, in fact; but such an age gone by to him—when he + first met the woman for whom he had worn crape round his hat three days + before. They returned, all those old unforgotten feelings; they came back, + with the scene of their birth-place. Again he lounged with his brother + officers upon the shabby pier at the shabby watering-place, listening to a + dreary band with a cornet that was a note and a half flat. Again he heard + the old operatic airs, and again <i>she</i> came tripping toward him, + leaning on her old father's arm, and pretending (with such a charming, + delicious, serio-comic pretense) to be listening to the music, and quite + unaware of the admiration of half a dozen open-mouthed cavalry officers. + Again the old fancy came back that she was something too beautiful for + earth, or earthly uses, and that to approach her was to walk in a higher + atmosphere and to breathe a purer air. And since this she had been his + wife, and the mother of his child. She lay in the little churchyard at + Ventnor, and only a year ago he had given the order for her tombstone. A + few slow, silent tears dropped upon his waistcoat as he thought of these + things in the quiet and darkening room. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley was so exhausted when she reached home, that she excused + herself from the dinner-table, and retired at once to her dressing-room, + attended by her maid, Phoebe Marks. + </p> + <p> + She was a little capricious in her conduct to this maid—sometimes + very confidential, sometimes rather reserved; but she was a liberal + mistress, and the girl had every reason to be satisfied with her + situation. + </p> + <p> + This evening, in spite of her fatigue, she was in extremely high spirits, + and gave an animated account of the races, and the company present at + them. + </p> + <p> + "I am tired to death, though, Phoebe," she said, by-and-by. "I am afraid I + must look a perfect fright, after a day in the hot sun." + </p> + <p> + There were lighted candles on each side of the glass before which Lady + Audley was standing unfastening her dress. She looked full at her maid as + she spoke, her blue eyes clear and bright, and the rosy childish lips + puckered into an arch smile. + </p> + <p> + "You are a little pale, my lady," answered the girl, "but you look as + pretty as ever." + </p> + <p> + "That's right, Phoebe," she said, flinging herself into a chair, and + throwing back her curls at the maid, who stood, brush in hand, ready to + arrange the luxuriant hair for the night. "Do you know, Phoebe, I have + heard some people say that you and I are alike?" + </p> + <p> + "I have heard them say so, too, my lady," said the girl, quietly "but they + must be very stupid to say it, for your ladyship is a beauty, and I am a + poor, plain creature." + </p> + <p> + "Not at all, Phoebe," said the little lady, superbly; "you <i>are</i> like + me, and your features are very nice; it is only color that you want. My + hair is pale yellow shot with gold, and yours is drab; my eyebrows and + eyelashes are dark brown, and yours are almost—I scarcely like to + say it, but they're almost white, my dear Phoebe. Your complexion is + sallow, and mine is pink and rosy. Why, with a bottle of hair-dye, such as + we see advertised in the papers, and a pot of rouge, you'd be as + good-looking as I, any day, Phoebe." + </p> + <p> + She prattled on in this way for a long time, talking of a hundred + different subjects, and ridiculing the people she had met at the races, + for her maid's amusement. Her step-daughter came into the dressing-room to + bid her good-night, and found the maid and mistress laughing aloud over + one of the day's adventures. Alicia, who was never familiar with her + servants, withdrew in disgust at my lady's frivolity. + </p> + <p> + "Go on brushing my hair, Phoebe," Lady Audley said, every time the girl + was about to complete her task, "I quite enjoy a chat with you." + </p> + <p> + At last, just as she had dismissed her maid, she suddenly called her back. + "Phoebe Marks," she said, "I want you to do me a favor." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my lady." + </p> + <p> + "I want you to go to London by the first train to-morrow morning to + execute a little commission for me. You may take a day's holiday + afterward, as I know you have friends in town; and I shall give you a + five-pound note if you do what I want, and keep your own counsel about + it." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my lady." + </p> + <p> + "See that that door is securely shut, and come and sit on this stool at my + feet." + </p> + <p> + The girl obeyed. Lady Audley smoothed her maid's neutral-tinted hair with + her plump, white, and bejeweled hand as she reflected for a few moments. + </p> + <p> + "And now listen, Phoebe. What I want you to do is very simple." + </p> + <p> + It was so simple that it was told in five minutes, and then Lady Audley + retired into her bed-room, and curled herself up cozily under the + eider-down quilt. She was a chilly creature, and loved to bury herself in + soft wrappings of satin and fur. + </p> + <p> + "Kiss me, Phoebe," she said, as the girl arranged the curtains. "I hear + Sir Michael's step in the anteroom; you will meet him as you go out, and + you may as well tell him that you are going up by the first train + to-morrow morning to get my dress from Madam Frederick for the dinner at + Morton Abbey." + </p> + <p> + It was late the next morning when Lady Audley went down to breakfast—past + ten o'clock. While she was sipping her coffee a servant brought her a + sealed packet, and a book for her to sign. + </p> + <p> + "A telegraphic message!" she cried; for the convenient word telegram had + not yet been invented. "What can be the matter?" + </p> + <p> + She looked up at her husband with wide-open, terrified eyes, and seemed + half afraid to break the seal. The envelope was addressed to Miss Lucy + Graham, at Mr. Dawson's, and had been sent on from the village. + </p> + <p> + "Read it, my darling," he said, "and do not be alarmed; it may be nothing + of any importance." + </p> + <p> + It came from a Mrs. Vincent, the schoolmistress with whom she had lived + before entering Mr. Dawson's family. The lady was dangerously ill, and + implored her old pupil to go and see her. + </p> + <p> + "Poor soul! she always meant to leave me her money," said Lucy, with a + mournful smile. "She has never heard of the change in my fortunes. Dear + Sir Michael, I must go to her." + </p> + <p> + "To be sure you must, dearest. If she was kind to my poor girl in her + adversity, she has a claim upon her prosperity that shall never be + forgotten. Put on your bonnet, Lucy; we shall be in time to catch the + express." + </p> + <p> + "You will go with me?" + </p> + <p> + "Of course, my darling. Do you suppose I would let you go alone?" + </p> + <p> + "I was sure you would go with me," she said, thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + "Does your friend send any address?" + </p> + <p> + "No; but she always lived at Crescent Villa, West Brompton; and no doubt + she lives there still." + </p> + <p> + There was only time for Lady Audley to hurry on her bonnet and shawl + before she heard the carriage drive round to the door, and Sir Michael + calling to her at the foot of the staircase. + </p> + <p> + Her suite of rooms, as I have said, opened one out of another, and + terminated in an octagon antechamber hung with oil-paintings. Even in her + haste she paused deliberately at the door of this room, double-locked it, + and dropped the key into her pocket. This door once locked cut off all + access to my lady's apartments. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. + </h2> + <h3> + BEFORE THE STORM. + </h3> + <p> + So the dinner at Audley Court was postponed, and Miss Alicia had to wait + still longer for an introduction to the handsome young widower, Mr. George + Talboys. + </p> + <p> + I am afraid, if the real truth is to be told, there was, perhaps, + something of affectation in the anxiety this young lady expressed to make + George's acquaintance; but if poor Alicia for a moment calculated upon + arousing any latent spark of jealousy lurking in her cousin's breast by + this exhibition of interest, she was not so well acquainted with Robert + Audley's disposition as she might have been. Indolent, handsome, and + indifferent, the young barrister took life as altogether too absurd a + mistake for any one event in its foolish course to be for a moment + considered seriously by a sensible man. + </p> + <p> + His pretty, gipsy-faced cousin might have been over head and ears in love + with him; and she might have told him so, in some charming, roundabout, + womanly fashion, a hundred times a day for all the three hundred and + sixty-five days in the year; but unless she had waited for some privileged + 29th of February, and walked straight up to him, saying, "Robert, please + will you marry me?" I very much doubt if he would ever have discovered the + state of her feelings. + </p> + <p> + Again, had he been in love with her himself, I fancy that the tender + passion would, with him, have been so vague and feeble a sentiment that he + might have gone down to his grave with a dim sense of some uneasy + sensation which might be love or indigestion, and with, beyond this, no + knowledge whatever of his state. + </p> + <p> + So it was not the least use, my poor Alicia, to ride about the lanes + around Audley during those three days which the two young men spent in + Essex; it was wasted trouble to wear that pretty cavalier hat and plume, + and to be always, by the most singular of chances, meeting Robert and his + friend. The black curls (nothing like Lady Audley's feathery ringlets, but + heavy clustering locks, that clung about your slender brown throat), the + red and pouting lips, the nose inclined to be <i>retrousse</i>, the dark + complexion, with its bright crimson flush, always ready to glance up like + a signal light in a dusky sky, when you came suddenly upon your apathetic + cousin—all this coquettish <i>espiegle</i>, brunette beauty was + thrown away upon the dull eyes of Robert Audley, and you might as well + have taken your rest in the cool drawing-room at the Court, instead of + working your pretty mare to death under the hot September sun. + </p> + <p> + Now fishing, except to the devoted disciple of Izaak Walton, is not the + most lively of occupations; therefore, it is scarcely, perhaps, to be + wondered that on the day after Lady Audley's departure, the two young men + (one of whom was disabled by that heart wound which he bore so quietly, + from really taking pleasure in anything, and the other of whom looked upon + almost all pleasure as a negative kind of trouble) began to grow weary of + the shade of the willows overhanging the winding streams about Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Figtree Court is not gay in the long vacation," said Robert, + reflectively: "but I think, upon the whole, it's better than this; at any + rate, it's near a tobacconist's," he added, puffing resignedly at an + execrable cigar procured from the landlord of the Sun Inn. + </p> + <p> + George Talboys, who had only consented to the Essex expedition in passive + submission to his friend, was by no means inclined to object to their + immediate return to London. "I shall be glad to get back, Bob," he said, + "for I want to take a run down to Southampton; I haven't seen the little + one for upward of a month." + </p> + <p> + He always spoke of his son as "the little one;" always spoke of him + mournfully rather than hopefully. He accounted for this by saying that he + had a fancy that the child would never learn to love him; and worse even + than this fancy, a dim presentiment that he would not live to see his + little Georgey reach manhood. + </p> + <p> + "I'm not a romantic man, Bob," he would say sometimes, "and I never read a + line of poetry in my life that was any more to me than so many words and + so much jingle; but a feeling has come over me, since my wife's death, + that I am like a man standing upon a long, low shore, with hideous cliffs + frowning down upon him from behind, and the rising tide crawling slowly + but surely about his feet. It seems to grow nearer and nearer every day, + that black, pitiless tide; not rushing upon me with a great noise and a + mighty impetus, but crawling, creeping, stealing, gliding toward me, ready + to close in above my head when I am least prepared for the end." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley stared at his friend in silent amazement; and, after a pause + of profound deliberation, said solemnly, "George Talboys, I could + understand this if you had been eating heavy suppers. Cold pork, now, + especially if underdone, might produce this sort of thing. You want change + of air, my dear boy; you want the refreshing breezes of Figtree Court, and + the soothing air of Fleet street. Or, stay," he added, suddenly, "I have + it! You've been smoking our friend the landlord's cigars; that accounts + for everything." + </p> + <p> + They met Alicia Audley on her mare about half an hour after they had come + to the determination of leaving Essex early the next morning. The young + lady was very much surprised and disappointed at hearing her cousin's + determination, and for that very reason pretended to take the matter with + supreme indifference. + </p> + <p> + "You are very soon tired of Audley, Robert," she said, carelessly; "but of + course you have no friends here, except your relations at the Court; while + in London, no doubt, you have the most delightful society and—" + </p> + <p> + "I get good tobacco," murmured Robert, interrupting his cousin. "Audley is + the dearest old place, but when a man has to smoke dried cabbage leaves, + you know, Alicia—" + </p> + <p> + "Then you are really going to-morrow morning?" + </p> + <p> + "Positively—by the express train that leaves at 10.50." + </p> + <p> + "Then Lady Audley will lose an introduction to Mr. Talboys, and Mr. + Talboys will lose the chance of seeing the prettiest woman in Essex." + </p> + <p> + "Really—" stammered George. + </p> + <p> + "The prettiest woman in Essex would have a poor chance of getting much + admiration out of my friend, George Talboys," said Robert. "His heart is + at Southampton, where he has a curly-headed little urchin, about as high + as his knee, who calls him 'the big gentleman,' and asks him for + sugar-plums." + </p> + <p> + "I am going to write to my step-mother by to-night's post," said Alicia. + "She asked me particularly in her letter how long you were going to stop, + and whether there was any chance of her being back in time to receive + you." + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley took a letter from the pocket of her riding-jacket as she + spoke—a pretty, fairy-like note, written on shining paper of a + peculiar creamy hue. + </p> + <p> + "She says in her postcript, 'Be sure you answer my question about Mr. + Audley and his friend, you volatile, forgetful Alicia!'" + </p> + <p> + "What a pretty hand she writes!" said Robert, as his cousin folded the + note. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, it is pretty, is it not? Look at it, Robert." + </p> + <p> + She put the letter into his hand, and he contemplated it lazily for a few + minutes, while Alicia patted the graceful neck of her chestnut mare, which + was anxious to be off once more. + </p> + <p> + "Presently, Atalanta, presently. Give me back my note, Bob." + </p> + <p> + "It is the prettiest, most coquettish little hand I ever saw. Do you know, + Alicia, I have no great belief in those fellows who ask you for thirteen + postage stamps, and offer to tell you what you have never been able to + find out yourself; but upon my word I think that if I had never seen your + aunt, I should know what she was like by this slip of paper. Yes, here it + all is—the feathery, gold-shot, flaxen curls, the penciled eyebrows, + the tiny, straight nose, the winning, childish smile; all to be guessed in + these few graceful up-strokes and down-strokes. George, look here!" + </p> + <p> + But absent-minded and gloomy George Talboys had strolled away along the + margin of the ditch, and stood striking the bulrushes with his cane, half + a dozen paces away from Robert and Alicia. + </p> + <p> + "Nevermind," said the young lady, impatiently; for she by no means + relished this long disquisition upon my lady's note. "Give me the letter, + and let me go; it's past eight, and I must answer it by to-night's post. + Come, Atalanta! Good-by, Robert—good-by, Mr. Talboys. A pleasant + journey to town." + </p> + <p> + The chestnut mare cantered briskly through the lane, and Miss Audley was + out of sight before those two big, bright tears that stood in her eyes for + one moment, before her pride sent them, back again, rose from her angry + heart. + </p> + <p> + "To have only one cousin in the world," she cried, passionately, "my + nearest relation after papa, and for him to care about as much for me as + he would for a dog!" + </p> + <p> + By the merest of accidents, however, Robert and his friend did not go by + the 10.50 express on the following morning, for the young barrister awoke + with such a splitting headache, that he asked George to send him a cup of + the strongest green tea that had ever been made at the Sun, and to be + furthermore so good as to defer their journey until the next day. Of + course George assented, and Robert Audley spent the forenoon in a darkened + room with a five-days'-old Chelmsford paper to entertain himself withal. + </p> + <p> + "It's nothing but the cigars, George," he said, repeatedly. "Get me out of + the place without my seeing the landlord; for if that man and I meet there + will be bloodshed." + </p> + <p> + Fortunately for the peace of Audley, it happened to be market-day at + Chelmsford; and the worthy landlord had ridden off in his chaise-cart to + purchase supplies for his house—among other things, perhaps, a fresh + stock of those very cigars which had been so fatal in their effect upon + Robert. + </p> + <p> + The young men spent a dull, dawdling, stupid, unprofitable day; and toward + dusk Mr. Audley proposed that they should stroll down to the Court, and + ask Alicia to take them over the house. + </p> + <p> + "It will kill a couple of hours, you know, George: and it seems a great + pity to drag you away from Audley without having shown you the old place, + which, I give you my honor, is very well worth seeing." + </p> + <p> + The sun was low in the skies as they took a short cut through the meadows, + and crossed a stile into the avenue leading to the archway—a lurid, + heavy-looking, ominous sunset, and a deathly stillness in the air, which + frightened the birds that had a mind to sing, and left the field open to a + few captious frogs croaking in the ditches. Still as the atmosphere was, + the leaves rustled with that sinister, shivering motion which proceeds + from no outer cause, but is rather an instinctive shudder of the frail + branches, prescient of a coming storm. That stupid clock, which knew no + middle course, and always skipped from one hour to the other, pointed to + seven as the young men passed under the archway; but, for all that, it was + nearer eight. + </p> + <p> + They found Alicia in the lime-walk, wandering listlessly up and down under + the black shadow of the trees, from which every now and then a withered + leaf flapped slowly to the ground. + </p> + <p> + Strange to say, George Talboys, who very seldom observed anything, took + particular notice of this place. + </p> + <p> + "It ought to be an avenue in a churchyard," he said. "How peacefully the + dead might sleep under this somber shade! I wish the churchyard at Ventnor + was like this." + </p> + <p> + They walked on to the ruined well; and Alicia told them some old legend + connected with the spot—some gloomy story, such as those always + attached to an old house, as if the past were one dark page of sorrow and + crime. + </p> + <p> + "We want to see the house before it is dark, Alicia," said Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Then we must be quick." she answered. "Come." + </p> + <p> + She led the way through an open French window, modernized a few years + before, into the library, and thence to the hall. + </p> + <p> + In the hall they passed my lady's pale-faced maid, who looked furtively + under her white eyelashes at the two young men. + </p> + <p> + They were going up-stairs, when Alicia turned and spoke to the girl. + </p> + <p> + "After we have been in the drawing-room, I should like to show these + gentlemen Lady Audley's rooms. Are they in good order, Phoebe?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, miss; but the door of the anteroom is locked, and I fancy that my + lady has taken the key to London." + </p> + <p> + "Taken the key! Impossible!" cried Alicia. + </p> + <p> + "Indeed, miss, I think she has. I cannot find it, and it always used to be + in the door." + </p> + <p> + "I declare," said Alicia, impatiently, "that is not at all unlike my lady + to have taken this silly freak into her head. I dare say she was afraid we + should go into her rooms, and pry about among her pretty dresses, and + meddle with her jewelry. It is very provoking, for the best pictures in + the house are in that antechamber. There is her own portrait, too, + unfinished but wonderfully like." + </p> + <p> + "Her portrait!" exclaimed Robert Audley. "I would give anything to see it, + for I have only an imperfect notion of her face. Is there no other way of + getting into the room, Alicia?" + </p> + <p> + "Another way?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; is there any door, leading through some of the other rooms, by which + we can contrive to get into hers?" + </p> + <p> + His cousin shook her head, and conducted them into a corridor where there + were some family portraits. She showed them a tapestried chamber, the + large figures upon the faded canvas looking threatening in the dusky + light. + </p> + <p> + "That fellow with the battle-ax looks as if he wanted to split George's + head open," said Mr. Audley, pointing to a fierce warrior, whose uplifted + arm appeared above George Talboys' dark hair. + </p> + <p> + "Come out of this room, Alicia," added the young man, nervously; "I + believe it's damp, or else haunted. Indeed, I believe all ghosts to be the + result of damp or dyspepsia. You sleep in a damp bed—you awake + suddenly in the dead of the night with a cold shiver, and see an old lady + in the court costume of George the First's time, sitting at the foot of + the bed. The old lady's indigestion, and the cold shiver is a damp sheet." + </p> + <p> + There were lighted candles in the drawing-room. No new-fangled lamps had + ever made their appearance at Audley Court. Sir Michael's rooms were + lighted by honest, thick, yellow-looking wax candles, in massive silver + candlesticks, and in sconces against the walls. + </p> + <p> + There was very little to see in the drawing-room; and George Talboys soon + grew tired of staring at the handsome modern furniture, and at a few + pictures of some of the Academicians. + </p> + <p> + "Isn't there a secret passage, or an old oak chest, or something of that + kind, somewhere about the place, Alicia?" asked Robert. + </p> + <p> + "To be sure!" cried Miss Audley, with a vehemence that startled her + cousin; "of course. Why didn't I think of it before? How stupid of me, to + be sure!" + </p> + <p> + "Why stupid?" + </p> + <p> + "Because, if you don't mind crawling upon your hands and knees, you can + see my lady's apartments, for that passage communicates with her + dressing-room. She doesn't know of it herself, I believe. How astonished + she'd be if some black-visored burglar, with a dark-lantern, were to rise + through the floor some night as she sat before her looking-glass, having + her hair dressed for a party!" + </p> + <p> + "Shall we try the secret passage, George?" asked Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, if you wish it." + </p> + <p> + Alicia led them into the room which had once been her nursery. It was now + disused, except on very rare occasions when the house was full of company. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley lifted a corner of the carpet, according to his cousin's + directions, and disclosed a rudely-cut trap-door in the oak flooring. + </p> + <p> + "Now listen to me," said Alicia. "You must let yourself down by the hands + into the passage, which is about four feet high; stoop your head, walk + straight along it till you come to a sharp turn which will take you to the + left, and at the extreme end of it you will find a short ladder below a + trap-door like this, which you will have to unbolt; that door opens into + the flooring of my lady's dressing-room, which is only covered with a + square Persian carpet that you can easily manage to raise. You understand + me?" + </p> + <p> + "Perfectly." + </p> + <p> + "Then take the light; Mr. Talboys will follow you. I give you twenty + minutes for your inspection of the paintings—that is, about a minute + apiece—and at the end of that time I shall expect to see you + return." + </p> + <p> + Robert obeyed her implicitly, and George submissively following his + friend, found himself, in five minutes, standing amidst the elegant + disorder of Lady Audley's dressing-room. + </p> + <p> + She had left the house in a hurry on her unlooked-for journey to London, + and the whole of her glittering toilette apparatus lay about on the marble + dressing-table. The atmosphere of the room was almost oppressive for the + rich odors of perfumes in bottles whose gold stoppers had not been + replaced. A bunch of hot-house flowers was withering upon a tiny + writing-table. Two or three handsome dresses lay in a heap upon the + ground, and the open doors of a wardrobe revealed the treasures within. + Jewelry, ivory-backed hair-brushes, and exquisite china were scattered + here and there about the apartment. George Talboys saw his bearded face + and tall, gaunt figure reflected in the glass, and wondered to see how out + of place he seemed among all these womanly luxuries. + </p> + <p> + They went from the dressing-room to the boudoir, and through the boudoir + into the ante-chamber, in which there were, as Alicia had said, about + twenty valuable paintings, besides my lady's portrait. + </p> + <p> + My lady's portrait stood on an easel, covered with a green baize in the + center of the octagonal chamber. It had been a fancy of the artist to + paint her standing in this very room, and to make his background a + faithful reproduction of the pictured walls. I am afraid the young man + belonged to the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, for he had spent a most + unconscionable time upon the accessories of this picture—upon my + lady's crispy ringlets and the heavy folds of her crimson velvet dress. + </p> + <p> + The two young men looked at the paintings on the walls first, leaving this + unfinished portrait for a <i>bonne bouche</i>. + </p> + <p> + By this time it was dark, the candle carried by Robert only making one + nucleus of light as he moved about holding it before the pictures one by + one. The broad, bare window looked out upon the pale sky, tinged with the + last cold flicker of the twilight. The ivy rustled against the glass with + the same ominous shiver as that which agitated every leaf in the garden, + prophetic of the storm that was to come. + </p> + <p> + "There are our friend's eternal white horses," said Robert, standing + beside a Wouvermans. "Nicholas Poussin—Salvator—ha—hum! + Now for the portrait." + </p> + <p> + He paused with his hand on the baize, and solemnly addressed his friend. + </p> + <p> + "George Talboys," he said, "we have between us only one wax candle, a very + inadequate light with which to look at a painting. Let me, therefore, + request that you will suffer us to look at it one at a time; if there is + one thing more disagreeable than another, it is to have a person dodging + behind your back and peering over your shoulder, when you're trying to see + what a picture's made of." + </p> + <p> + George fell back immediately. He took no more interest in any lady's + picture than in all the other wearinesses of this troublesome world. He + fell back, and leaning his forehead against the window-panes, looked out + at the night. + </p> + <p> + When he turned round he saw that Robert had arranged the easel very + conveniently, and that he had seated himself on a chair before it for the + purpose of contemplating the painting at his leisure. + </p> + <p> + He rose as George turned round. + </p> + <p> + "Now, then, for your turn, Talboys," he said. "It's an extraordinary + picture." + </p> + <p> + He took George's place at the window, and George seated himself in the + chair before the easel. + </p> + <p> + Yes, the painter must have been a pre-Raphaelite. No one but a + pre-Raphaelite would have painted, hair by hair, those feathery masses of + ringlets, with every glimmer of gold, and every shadow of pale brown. No + one but a pre-Raphaelite would have so exaggerated every attribute of that + delicate face as to give a lurid brightness to the blonde complexion, and + a strange, sinister light to the deep blue eyes. No one but a + pre-Raphaelite could have given to that pretty pouting mouth the hard and + almost wicked look it had in the portrait. + </p> + <p> + It was so like, and yet so unlike. It was as if you had burned + strange-colored fires before my lady's face, and by their influence + brought out new lines and new expressions never seen in it before. The + perfection of feature, the brilliancy of coloring, were there; but I + suppose the painter had copied quaint mediaeval monstrosities until his + brain had grown bewildered, for my lady, in his portrait of her, had + something of the aspect of a beautiful fiend. + </p> + <p> + Her crimson dress, exaggerated like all the rest in this strange picture, + hung about her in folds that looked like flames, her fair head peeping out + of the lurid mass of color as if out of a raging furnace. Indeed the + crimson dress, the sunshine on the face, the red gold gleaming in the + yellow hair, the ripe scarlet of the pouting lips, the glowing colors of + each accessory of the minutely painted background, all combined to render + the first effect of the painting by no means an agreeable one. + </p> + <p> + But strange as the picture was, it could not have made any great + impression on George Talboys, for he sat before it for about a quarter of + an hour without uttering a word—only staring blankly at the painted + canvas, with the candlestick grasped in his strong right hand, and his + left arm hanging loosely by his side. He sat so long in this attitude, + that Robert turned round at last. + </p> + <p> + "Why, George, I thought you had gone to sleep!" + </p> + <p> + "I had almost." + </p> + <p> + "You've caught a cold from standing in that damp tapestried room. Mark my + words, George Talboys, you've caught a cold; you're as hoarse as a raven. + But come along." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley took the candle from his friend's hand, and crept back + through the secret passage, followed by George—very quiet, but + scarcely more quiet than usual. + </p> + <p> + They found Alicia in the nursery waiting for them. + </p> + <p> + "Well?" she said, interrogatively. + </p> + <p> + "We managed it capitally. But I don't like the portrait; there's something + odd about it." + </p> + <p> + "There is," said Alicia; "I've a strange fancy on that point. I think that + sometimes a painter is in a manner inspired, and is able to see, through + the normal expression of the face, another expression that is equally a + part of it, though not to be perceived by common eyes. We have never seen + my lady look as she does in that picture; but I think that she <i>could</i> + look so." + </p> + <p> + "Alicia," said Robert Audley, imploringly, "don't be German!" + </p> + <p> + "But, Robert—" + </p> + <p> + "Don't be German, Alicia, if you love me. The picture is—the + picture: and my lady is—my lady. That's my way of taking things, and + I'm not metaphysical; don't unsettle me." + </p> + <p> + He repeated this several times with an air of terror that was perfectly + sincere; and then, having borrowed an umbrella in case of being overtaken + by the coming storm, left the Court, leading passive George Talboys away + with him. The one hand of the stupid clock had skipped to nine by the time + they reached the archway; but before they could pass under its shadow they + had to step aside to allow a carriage to dash past them. It was a fly from + the village, but Lady Audley's fair face peeped out at the window. Dark as + it was, she could see the two figures of the young men black against the + dusk. + </p> + <p> + "Who is that?" she asked, putting out her head. "Is it the gardener?" + </p> + <p> + "No, my dear aunt," said Robert, laughing; "it is your most dutiful + nephew." + </p> + <p> + He and George stopped by the archway while the fly drew up at the door, + and the surprised servants came out to welcome their master and mistress. + </p> + <p> + "I think the storm will hold off to-night," said the baronet looking up at + the sky; "but we shall certainly have it tomorrow." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. + </h2> + <h3> + AFTER THE STORM. + </h3> + <p> + Sir Michael was mistaken in his prophecy upon the weather. The storm did + not hold off until next day, but burst with terrible fury over the village + of Audley about half an hour before midnight. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley took the thunder and lightning with the same composure with + which he accepted all the other ills of life. He lay on a sofa in the + sitting-room, ostensibly reading the five-days-old Chelmsford paper, and + regaling himself occasionally with a few sips from a large tumbler of cold + punch. But the storm had quite a different effect upon George Talboys. His + friend was startled when he looked at the young man's white face as he sat + opposite the open window listening to the thunder, and staring at the + black sky, rent every now and then by forked streaks of steel-blue + lightning. + </p> + <p> + "George," said Robert, after watching him for some time, "are you + frightened of the lightning?" + </p> + <p> + "No," he answered, curtly. + </p> + <p> + "But, dear boy, some of the most courageous men have been frightened of + it. It is scarcely to be called a fear: it is constitutional. I am sure + you are frightened of it." + </p> + <p> + "No, I am not." + </p> + <p> + "But, George, if you could see yourself, white and haggard, with your + great hollow eyes staring out at the sky as if they were fixed upon a + ghost. I tell you I know that you are frightened." + </p> + <p> + "And I tell you that I am not." + </p> + <p> + "George Talboys, you are not only afraid of the lightning, but you are + savage with yourself for being afraid, and with me for telling you of your + fear." + </p> + <p> + "Robert Audley, if you say another word to me, I shall knock you down," + cried George, furiously; having said which, Mr. Talboys strode out of the + room, banging the door after him with a violence that shook the house. + Those inky clouds, which had shut in the sultry earth as if with a roof of + hot iron, poured out their blackness in a sudden deluge as George left the + room; but if the young man was afraid of the lightning, he certainly was + not afraid of the rain; for he walked straight down-stairs to the inn + door, and went out into the wet high road. He walked up and down, up and + down, in the soaking shower for about twenty minutes, and then, + re-entering the inn, strode up to his bedroom. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley met him on the landing, with his hair beaten about his white + face, and his garments dripping wet. + </p> + <p> + "Are you going to bed, George?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "But you have no candle." + </p> + <p> + "I don't want one." + </p> + <p> + "But look at your clothes, man! Do you see the wet streaming down your + coat-sleeves? What on earth made you go out upon such a night?" + </p> + <p> + "I am tired, and want to go to bed—don't bother me." + </p> + <p> + "You'll take some hot brandy-and-water, George?" + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley stood in his friend's way as he spoke, anxious to prevent + his going to bed in the state he was in; but George pushed him fiercely + aside, and, striding past him, said, in the same hoarse voice Robert had + noticed at the Court: + </p> + <p> + "Let me alone, Robert Audley, and keep clear of me if you can." + </p> + <p> + Robert followed George to his bedroom, but the young man banged the door + in his face, so there was nothing for it but to leave Mr. Talboys to + himself, to recover his temper as best he might. + </p> + <p> + "He was irritated at my noticing his terror of the lightning," thought + Robert, as he calmly retired to rest, serenely indifferent to the thunder, + which seemed to shake him in his bed, and the lightning playing fitfully + round the razors in his open dressing-case. + </p> + <p> + The storm rolled away from the quiet village of Audley, and when Robert + awoke the next morning it was to see bright sunshine, and a peep of + cloudless sky between the white curtains of his bedroom window. + </p> + <p> + It was one of those serene and lovely mornings that sometimes succeed a + storm. The birds sung loud and cheerily, the yellow corn uplifted itself + in the broad fields, and waved proudly after its sharp tussle with the + tempest, which had done its best to beat down the heavy ears with cruel + wind and driving rain half the night through. The vine-leaves clustering + round Robert's window fluttered with a joyous rustling, shaking the + rain-drops in diamond showers from every spray and tendril. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley found his friend waiting for him at the breakfast-table. + </p> + <p> + George was very pale, but perfectly tranquil—if anything, indeed, + more cheerful than usual. + </p> + <p> + He shook Robert by the hand with something of that hearty manner for which + he had been distinguished before the one affliction of his life overtook + and shipwrecked him. + </p> + <p> + "Forgive me, Bob," he said, frankly, "for my surly temper of last night. + You were quite correct in your assertion; the thunderstorm <i>did</i> + upset me. It always had the same effect upon me in my youth." + </p> + <p> + "Poor old boy! Shall we go up by the express, or shall we stop here and + dine with my uncle to-night?" asked Robert. + </p> + <p> + "To tell the truth, Bob, I would rather do neither. It's a glorious + morning. Suppose we stroll about all day, take another turn with the rod + and line, and go up to town by the train that leaves here at 6.15 in the + evening?" + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley would have assented to a far more disagreeable proposition + than this, rather than have taken the trouble to oppose his friend, so the + matter was immediately agreed upon; and after they had finished their + breakfast, and ordered a four o'clock dinner, George Talboys took the + fishing-rod across his broad shoulders, and strode out of the house with + his friend and companion. + </p> + <p> + But if the equable temperament of Mr. Robert Audley had been undisturbed + by the crackling peals of thunder that shook the very foundations of the + Sun Inn, it had not been so with the more delicate sensibilties of his + uncle's young wife. Lady Audley confessed herself terribly frightened of + the lightning. She had her bedstead wheeled into a corner of the room, and + with the heavy curtains drawn tightly round her, she lay with her face + buried in the pillow, shuddering convulsively at every sound of the + tempest without. Sir Michael, whose stout heart had never known a fear, + almost trembled for this fragile creature, whom it was his happy privilege + to protect and defend. My lady would not consent to undress till nearly + three o'clock in the morning, when the last lingering peal of thunder had + died away among the distant hills. Until that hour she lay in the handsome + silk dress in which she had traveled, huddled together among the + bedclothes, only looking up now and then with a scared face to ask if the + storm was over. + </p> + <p> + Toward four o'clock her husband, who spent the night in watching by her + bedside, saw her drop off into a deep sleep, from which she did not awake + for nearly five hours. + </p> + <p> + But she came into the breakfast-room, at half-past nine o'clock, singing a + little Scotch melody, her cheeks tinged with as delicate a pink as the + pale hue of her muslin morning dress. Like the birds and the flowers, she + seemed to recover her beauty and joyousness in the morning sunshine. She + tripped lightly out onto the lawn, gathering a last lingering rosebud here + and there, and a sprig or two of geranium, and returning through the dewy + grass, warbling long cadences for very happiness of heart, and looking as + fresh and radiant as the flowers in her hands. The baronet caught her in + his strong arms as she came in through the open window. + </p> + <p> + "My pretty one," he said, "my darling, what happiness to see you your own + merry self again! Do you know, Lucy, that once last night, when you looked + out through the dark-green bed-curtains, with your poor, white face, and + the purple rims round your hollow eyes, I had almost a difficulty to + recognize my little wife in that terrified, agonized-looking creature, + crying out about the storm. Thank God for the morning sun, which has + brought back the rosy cheeks and bright smile! I hope to Heaven, Lucy, I + shall never again see you look as you did last night." + </p> + <p> + She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, and then was only tall enough to reach + his white beard. She told him, laughing, that she had always been a silly, + frightened creature—frightened of dogs, frightened of cattle, + frightened of a thunderstorm, frightened of a rough sea. "Frightened of + everything and everybody but my dear, noble, handsome husband," she said. + </p> + <p> + She had found the carpet in her dressing-room disarranged, and had + inquired into the mystery of the secret passage. She chid Miss Alicia in a + playful, laughing way, for her boldness in introducing two great men into + my lady's rooms. + </p> + <p> + "And they had the audacity to look at my picture, Alicia," she said, with + mock indignation. "I found the baize thrown on the ground, and a great + man's glove on the carpet. Look!" + </p> + <p> + "She held up a thick driving glove as she spoke. It was George's, which he + had dropped looking at the picture. + </p> + <p> + "I shall go up to the Sun, and ask those boys to dinner," Sir Michael + said, as he left the Court upon his morning walk around his farm. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley flitted from room to room in the bright September sunshine—now + sitting down to the piano to trill out a ballad, or the first page of an + Italian bravura, or running with rapid fingers through a brilliant waltz—now + hovering about a stand of hot-house flowers, doing amateur gardening with + a pair of fairy-like, silver-mounted embroidery scissors—now + strolling into her dressing-room to talk to Phoebe Marks, and have her + curls rearranged for the third or fourth time; for the ringlets were + always getting into disorder, and gave no little trouble to Lady Audley's + maid. + </p> + <p> + My dear lady seemed, on this particular September day, restless from very + joyousness of spirit, and unable to stay long in one place, or occupy + herself with one thing. + </p> + <p> + While Lady Audley amused herself in her own frivolous fashion, the two + young men strolled slowly along the margin of the stream until they + reached a shady corner where the water was deep and still, and the long + branches of the willows trailed into the brook. + </p> + <p> + George Talboys took the fishing-rod, while Robert stretched himself at + full length on a railway rug, and balancing his hat upon his nose as a + screen from the sunshine, fell fast asleep. + </p> + <p> + Those were happy fish in the stream on the banks of which Mr. Talboys was + seated. They might have amused themselves to their hearts' content with + timid nibbles at this gentleman's bait without in any manner endangering + their safety; for George only stared vacantly in the water, holding his + rod in a loose, listless hand, and with a strange, far-away look in his + eyes. As the church clock struck two he threw down his rod, and, striding + away along the bank, left Robert Audley to enjoy a nap which, according to + that gentleman's habits, was by no means unlikely to last for two or three + hours. About a quarter of a mile further on George crossed a rustic + bridge, and struck into the meadows which led to Audley Court. + </p> + <p> + The birds had sung so much all the morning, that they had, perhaps, by + this time grown tired; the lazy cattle were asleep in the meadows; Sir + Michael was still away on his morning's ramble; Miss Alicia had scampered + off an hour before on her chestnut mare; the servants were all at dinner + in the back part of the house; and my lady had strolled, book in hand, + into the shadowy lime-walk; so the gray old building had never worn a more + peaceful aspect than on that bright afternoon when George Talboys walked + across the lawn to ring a sonorous peal at the sturdy, iron-bound oak + door. + </p> + <p> + The servant who answered his summons told him that Sir Michael was out, + and my lady walking in the lime-tree avenue. + </p> + <p> + He looked a little disappointed at this intelligence, and muttering + something about wishing to see my lady, or going to look for my lady (the + servant did not clearly distinguish his words), strode away from the door + without leaving either card or message for the family. + </p> + <p> + It was full an hour and a half after this when Lady Audley returned to the + house, not coming from the lime-walk, but from exactly the opposite + direction, carrying her open book in her hand, and singing as she came. + Alicia had just dismounted from her mare, and stood in the low-arched + doorway, with her great Newfoundland dog by her side. + </p> + <p> + The dog, which had never liked my lady, showed his teeth with a suppressed + growl. + </p> + <p> + "Send that horrid animal away, Alicia," Lady Audley said, impatiently. + "The brute knows that I am frightened of him, and takes advantage of my + terror. And yet they call the creatures generous and noble-hearted! Bah, + Caesar! I hate you, and you hate me; and if you met me in the dark in some + narrow passage you would fly at my throat and strangle me, wouldn't you?" + </p> + <p> + My lady, safely sheltered behind her step-daughter, shook her yellow curls + at the angry animal, and defied him maliciously. + </p> + <p> + "Do you know, Lady Audley, that Mr. Talboys, the young widower, has been + here asking for Sir Michael and you?" + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley lifted her penciled eyebrows. "I thought they were coming to + dinner," she said. "Surely we shall have enough of them then." + </p> + <p> + She had a heap of wild autumn flowers in the skirt of her muslin dress. + She had come through the fields at the back of the Court, gathering the + hedge-row blossoms in her way. She ran lightly up the broad staircase to + her own rooms. George's glove lay on her boudoir table. Lady Audley rung + the bell violently, and it was answered by Phoebe Marks. "Take that litter + away," she said, sharply. The girl collected the glove and a few withered + flowers and torn papers lying on the table into her apron. + </p> + <p> + "What have you been doing all this morning?" asked my lady. "Not wasting + your time, I hope?" + </p> + <p> + "No, my lady, I have been altering the blue dress. It is rather dark on + this side of the house, so I took it up to my own room, and worked at the + window." + </p> + <p> + The girl was leaving the room as she spoke, but she turned around and + looked at Lady Audley as if waiting for further orders. + </p> + <p> + Lucy looked up at the same moment, and the eyes of the two women met. + </p> + <p> + "Phoebe Marks," said my lady, throwing herself into an easy-chair, and + trifling with the wild flowers in her lap, "you are a good, industrious + girl, and while I live and am prosperous, you shall never want a firm + friend or a twenty-pound note." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. + </h2> + <h3> + MISSING. + </h3> + <p> + When Robert Audley awoke he was surprised to see the fishing-rod lying on + the bank, the line trailing idly in the water, and the float bobbing + harmlessly up and down in the afternoon sunshine. The young barrister was + a long time stretching his arms and legs in various directions to convince + himself, by means of such exercise, that he still retained the proper use + of those members; then, with a mighty effort, he contrived to rise from + the grass, and having deliberately folded his railway rug into a + convenient shape for carrying over his shoulder, he strolled away to look + for George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + Once or twice he gave a sleepy shout, scarcely loud enough to scare the + birds in the branches above his head, or the trout in the stream at his + feet: but receiving no answer, grew tired of the exertion, and dawdled on, + yawning as he went, and still looking for George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by he took out his watch, and was surprised to find that it was a + quarter past four. + </p> + <p> + "Why, the selfish beggar must have gone home to his dinner!" he muttered, + reflectively; "and yet that isn't much like him, for he seldom remembers + even his meals unless I jog his memory." + </p> + <p> + Even a good appetite, and the knowledge that his dinner would very likely + suffer by this delay, could not quicken Mr. Robert Audley's constitutional + dawdle, and by the time he strolled in at the front door of the Sun, the + clocks were striking five. He so fully expected to find George Talboys + waiting for him in the little sitting-room, that the absence of that + gentleman seemed to give the apartment a dreary look, and Robert groaned + aloud. + </p> + <p> + "This is lively!" he said. "A cold dinner, and nobody to eat it with!" + </p> + <p> + The landlord of the Sun came himself to apologize for his ruined dishes. + </p> + <p> + "As fine a pair of ducks, Mr. Audley, as ever you clapped eyes on, but + burnt up to a cinder, along of being kep' hot." + </p> + <p> + "Never mind the ducks," Robert said impatiently; "where's Mr. Talboys?" + </p> + <p> + "He ain't been in, sir, since you went out together this morning." + </p> + <p> + "What!" cried Robert. "Why, in heaven's name, what has the man done with + himself?" + </p> + <p> + He walked to the window and looked out upon the broad, white high road. + There was a wagon laden with trusses of hay crawling slowly past, the lazy + horses and the lazy wagoner drooping their heads with a weary stoop under + the afternoon's sunshine. There was a flock of sheep straggling about the + road, with a dog running himself into a fever in the endeavor to keep them + decently together. There were some bricklayers just released from work—a + tinker mending some kettles by the roadside; there was a dog-cart dashing + down the road, carrying the master of the Audley hounds to his seven + o'clock dinner; there were a dozen common village sights and sounds that + mixed themselves up into a cheerful bustle and confusion; but there was no + George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + "Of all the extraordinary things that ever happened to me in the whole + course of my life," said Mr. Robert Audley, "this is the most miraculous!" + </p> + <p> + The landlord still in attendance, opened his eyes as Robert made this + remark. What could there be extraordinary in the simple fact of a + gentleman being late for his dinner? + </p> + <p> + "I shall go and look for him," said Robert, snatching up his hat and + walking straight out of the house. + </p> + <p> + But the question was where to look for him. He certainly was not by the + trout stream, so it was no good going back there in search of him. Robert + was standing before the inn, deliberating on what was best to be done, + when the landlord came out after him. + </p> + <p> + "I forgot to tell you, Mr. Audley, as how your uncle called here five + minutes after you was gone, and left a message, asking of you and the + other gentleman to go down to dinner at the Court." + </p> + <p> + "Then I shouldn't wonder," said Robert, "if George Talboys has gone down + to the Court to call upon my uncle. It isn't like him, but it's just + possible that he has done it." + </p> + <p> + It was six o'clock when Robert knocked at the door of his uncle's house. + He did not ask to see any of the family, but inquired at once for his + friend. + </p> + <p> + Yes, the servant told him; Mr. Talboys had been there at two o'clock or a + little after. + </p> + <p> + "And not since?" + </p> + <p> + "No, not since." + </p> + <p> + Was the man sure that it was at two Mr. Talboys called? Robert asked. + </p> + <p> + Yes, perfectly sure. He remembered the hour because it was the servants' + dinner hour, and he had left the table to open the door to Mr. Talboys. + </p> + <p> + "Why, what can have become of the man?" thought Robert, as he turned his + back upon the Court. "From two till six—four good hours—and no + signs of him!" + </p> + <p> + If any one had ventured to tell Mr. Robert Audley that he could possibly + feel a strong attachment to any creature breathing, that cynical gentleman + would have elevated his eyebrows in supreme contempt at the preposterous + notion. Yet here he was, flurried and anxious, bewildering his brain by + all manner of conjectures about his missing friend; and false to every + attribute of his nature, walking fast. + </p> + <p> + "I haven't walked fast since I was at Eton," he murmured, as he hurried + across one of Sir Michael's meadows in the direction of the village; "and + the worst of it is, that I haven't the most remote idea where I am going." + </p> + <p> + Here he crossed another meadow, and then seating himself upon a stile, + rested his elbows upon his knees, buried his face in his hands, and set + himself seriously to think the matter out. + </p> + <p> + "I have it," he said, after a few minutes' thought; "the railway station!" + He sprang over the stile, and started off in the direction of the little + red brick building. + </p> + <p> + There was no train expected for another half hour, and the clerk was + taking his tea in an apartment on one side of the office, on the door of + which was inscribed in large, white letters, "Private." + </p> + <p> + But Mr. Audley was too much occupied with the one idea of looking for his + friend to pay any attention to this warning. He strode at once to the + door, and rattling his cane against it, brought the clerk out of his + sanctum in a perspiration from hot tea, and with his mouth full of bread + and butter. + </p> + <p> + "Do you remember the gentleman that came down to Audley with me, + Smithers?" asked Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Well, to tell you the real truth, Mr. Audley, I can't say that I do. You + came by the four o'clock, if you remember, and there's always a good many + passengers by that train." + </p> + <p> + "You don't remember him, then?" + </p> + <p> + "Not to my knowledge, sir." + </p> + <p> + "That's provoking! I want to know, Smithers, whether he has taken a ticket + for London since two o'clock to-day. He's a tall, broad-chested young + fellow, with a big brown beard. You couldn't well mistake him." + </p> + <p> + "There was four or five gentlemen as took tickets for the 3.30 up," said + the clerk rather vaguely, casting an anxious glance over his shoulder at + his wife, who looked by no means pleased at this interruption to the + harmony of the tea-table. + </p> + <p> + "Four or five gentlemen! But did either of them answer to the description + of my friend?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, I think one of them had a beard, sir." + </p> + <p> + "A dark-brown beard?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, I don't know, but it was brownish-like." + </p> + <p> + "Was he dressed in gray?" + </p> + <p> + "I believe it was gray; a great many gents wear gray. He asked for the + ticket sharp and short-like, and when he'd got it walked straight out onto + the platform whistling." + </p> + <p> + "That's George," said Robert. "Thank you, Smithers; I needn't trouble you + any more. It's as clear as daylight," he muttered, as he left the station; + "he's got one of his gloomy fits on him, and he's gone back to London + without saying a word about it. I'll leave Audley myself to-morrow + morning; and for to-night—why, I may as well go down to the Court + and make the acquaintance of my uncle's young wife. They don't dine till + seven; if I get back across the fields I shall be in time. Bob—otherwise + Robert Audley—this sort of thing will never do; you are falling over + head and ears in love with your aunt." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. + </h2> + <h3> + THE MARK UPON MY LADY'S WRIST. + </h3> + <p> + Robert found Sir Michael and Lady Audley in the drawing-room. My lady was + sitting on a music-stool before the grand piano, turning over the leaves + of some new music. She twirled upon the revolving seat, making a rustling + with her silk flounces, as Mr. Robert Audley's name was announced; then, + leaving the piano, she made her nephew a pretty, mock ceremonious + courtesy. + </p> + <p> + "Thank you so much for the sables," she said, holding out her little + fingers, all glittering and twinkling with the diamonds she wore upon + them; "thank you for those beautiful sables. How good it was of you to get + them for me." + </p> + <p> + Robert had almost forgotten the commission he had executed for Lady Audley + during his Russian expedition. His mind was so full of George Talboys that + he only acknowledged my lady's gratitude by a bow. + </p> + <p> + "Would you believe it, Sir Michael?" he said. "That foolish chum of mine + has gone back to London leaving me in the lurch." + </p> + <p> + "Mr. George Talboys returned to town?" exclaimed my lady, lifting her + eyebrows. "What a dreadful catastrophe!" said Alicia, maliciously, "since + Pythias, in the person of Mr. Robert Audley, cannot exist for half an hour + without Damon, commonly known as George Talboys." + </p> + <p> + "He's a very good fellow," Robert said, stoutly; "and to tell the honest + truth, I'm rather uneasy about him." + </p> + <p> + "Uneasy about him!" My lady was quite anxious to know why Robert was + uneasy about his friend. + </p> + <p> + "I'll tell you why, Lady Audley," answered the young barrister. "George + had a bitter blow a year ago in the death of his wife. He has never got + over that trouble. He takes life pretty quietly—almost as quietly as + I do—but he often talks very strangely, and I sometimes think that + one day this grief will get the better of him, and he will do something + rash." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Robert Audley spoke vaguely, but all three of his listeners knew that + the something rash to which he alluded was that one deed for which there + is no repentance. + </p> + <p> + There was a brief pause, during which Lady Audley arranged her yellow + ringlets by the aid of the glass over the console table opposite to her. + </p> + <p> + "Dear me!" she said, "this is very strange. I did not think men were + capable of these deep and lasting affections. I thought that one pretty + face was as good as another pretty face to them; and that when number one + with blue eyes and fair hair died, they had only to look out for number + two, with dark eyes and black hair, by way of variety." + </p> + <p> + "George Talboys is not one of those men. I firmly believe that his wife's + death broke his heart." + </p> + <p> + "How sad!" murmured Lady Audley. "It seems almost cruel of Mrs. Talboys to + die, and grieve her poor husband so much." + </p> + <p> + "Alicia was right, she is childish," thought Robert as he looked at his + aunt's pretty face. + </p> + <p> + My lady was very charming at the dinner-table; she professed the most + bewitching incapacity for carving the pheasant set before her, and called + Robert to her assistance. + </p> + <p> + "I could carve a leg of mutton at Mr. Dawson's," she said, laughing; "but + a leg of mutton is so easy, and then I used to stand up." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael watched the impression my lady made upon his nephew with a + proud delight in her beauty and fascination. + </p> + <p> + "I am so glad to see my poor little woman in her usual good spirits once + more," he said. "She was very down-hearted yesterday at a disappointment + she met with in London." + </p> + <p> + "A disappointment!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Mr. Audley, a very cruel one," answered my lady. "I received the + other morning a telegraphic message from my dear old friend and + school-mistress, telling me that she was dying, and that if I wanted to + see her again, I must hasten to her immediately. The telegraphic dispatch + contained no address, and of course, from that very circumstance, I + imagined that she must be living in the house in which I left her three + years ago. Sir Michael and I hurried up to town immediately, and drove + straight to the old address. The house was occupied by strange people, who + could give me no tidings of my friend. It is in a retired place, where + there are very few tradespeople about. Sir Michael made inquiries at the + few shops there are, but, after taking an immense deal of trouble, could + discover nothing whatever likely to lead to the information we wanted. I + have no friends in London, and had therefore no one to assist me except my + dear, generous husband, who did all in his power, but in vain, to find my + friend's new residence." + </p> + <p> + "It was very foolish not to send the address in the telegraphic message," + said Robert. + </p> + <p> + "When people are dying it is not so easy to think of all these things," + murmured my lady, looking reproachfully at Mr. Audley with her soft blue + eyes. + </p> + <p> + In spite of Lady Audley's fascination, and in spite of Robert's very + unqualified admiration of her, the barrister could not overcome a vague + feeling of uneasiness on this quiet September evening. + </p> + <p> + As he sat in the deep embrasure of a mullioned window, talking to my lady, + his mind wandered away to shady Figtree Court, and he thought of poor + George Talboys smoking his solitary cigar in the room with the birds and + canaries. + </p> + <p> + "I wish I'd never felt any friendliness for the fellow," he thought. "I + feel like a man who has an only son whose life has gone wrong with him. I + wish to Heaven I could give him back his wife, and send him down to + Ventnor to finish his days in peace." + </p> + <p> + Still my lady's pretty musical prattle ran on as merrily and continuously + as the babble in some brook; and still Robert's thoughts wandered, in + spite of himself, to George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + He thought of him hurrying down to Southampton by the mail train to see + his boy. He thought of him as he had often seen him spelling over the + shipping advertisements in the <i>Times</i>, looking for a vessel to take + him back to Australia. Once he thought of him with a shudder, lying cold + and stiff at the bottom of some shallow stream with his dead face turned + toward the darkening sky. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley noticed his abstraction, and asked him what he was thinking + of. + </p> + <p> + "George Talboys," he answered abruptly. + </p> + <p> + She gave a little nervous shudder. + </p> + <p> + "Upon my word," she said, "you make me quite uncomfortable by the way in + which you talk of Mr. Talboys. One would think that something + extraordinary had happened to him." + </p> + <p> + "God forbid! But I cannot help feeling uneasy about him." + </p> + <p> + Later in the evening Sir Michael asked for some music, and my lady went to + the piano. Robert Audley strolled after her to the instrument to turn over + the leaves of her music; but she played from memory, and he was spared the + trouble his gallantry would have imposed upon him. + </p> + <p> + He carried a pair of lighted candles to the piano, and arranged them + conveniently for the pretty musician. She struck a few chords, and then + wandered into a pensive sonata of Beethoven's. It was one of the many + paradoxes in her character, that love of somber and melancholy melodies, + so opposite to her gay nature. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley lingered by her side, and as he had no occupation in turning + over the leaves of her music, he amused himself by watching her jeweled, + white hands gliding softly over the keys, with the lace sleeves dropping + away from, her graceful, arched wrists. He looked at her pretty fingers + one by one; this one glittering with a ruby heart; that encircled by an + emerald serpent; and about them all a starry glitter of diamonds. From the + fingers his eyes wandered to the rounded wrists: the broad, flat, gold + bracelet upon her right wrist dropped over her hand, as she executed a + rapid passage. She stopped abruptly to rearrange it; but before she could + do so Robert Audley noticed a bruise upon her delicate skin. + </p> + <p> + "You have hurt your arm, Lady Audley!" he exclaimed. She hastily replaced + the bracelet. + </p> + <p> + "It is nothing," she said. "I am unfortunate in having a skin which the + slightest touch bruises." + </p> + <p> + She went on playing, but Sir Michael came across the room to look into the + matter of the bruise upon his wife's pretty wrist. + </p> + <p> + "What is it, Lucy?" he asked; "and how did it happen?" + </p> + <p> + "How foolish you all are to trouble yourselves about anything so absurd!" + said Lady Audley, laughing. "I am rather absent in mind, and amused myself + a few days ago by tying a piece of ribbon around my arm so tightly, that + it left a bruise when I removed it." + </p> + <p> + "Hum!" thought Robert. "My lady tells little childish white lies; the + bruise is of a more recent date than a few days ago; the skin has only + just begun to change color." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael took the slender wrist in his strong hand. + </p> + <p> + "Hold the candle, Robert," he said, "and let us look at this poor little + arm." + </p> + <p> + It was not one bruise, but four slender, purple marks, such as might have + been made by the four fingers of a powerful hand, that had grasped the + delicate wrist a shade too roughly. A narrow ribbon, bound tightly, might + have left some such marks, it is true, and my lady protested once more + that, to the best of her recollection, that must have been how they were + made. + </p> + <p> + Across one of the faint purple marks there was a darker tinge, as if a + ring worn on one of those strong and cruel fingers had been ground into + the tender flesh. + </p> + <p> + "I am sure my lady must tell white lies," thought Robert, "for I can't + believe the story of the ribbon." + </p> + <p> + He wished his relations good-night and good-by at about half past ten + o'clock; he should run up to London by the first train to look for George + in Figtree Court. + </p> + <p> + "If I don't find him there I shall go to Southampton," he said; "and if I + don't find him there—" + </p> + <p> + "What then?" asked my lady. + </p> + <p> + "I shall think that something strange has happened." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley felt very low-spirited as he walked slowly home between the + shadowy meadows; more low-spirited still when he re-entered the sitting + room at Sun Inn, where he and George had lounged together, staring out of + the window and smoking their cigars. + </p> + <p> + "To think," he said, meditatively, "that it is possible to care so much + for a fellow! But come what may, I'll go up to town after him the first + thing to-morrow morning; and, sooner than be balked in finding him, I'll + go to the very end of the world." + </p> + <p> + With Mr. Audley's lymphatic nature, determination was so much the + exception rather than the rule, that when he did for once in his life + resolve upon any course of action, he had a certain dogged, iron-like + obstinacy that pushed him on to the fulfillment of his purpose. + </p> + <p> + The lazy bent of his mind, which prevented him from thinking of half a + dozen things at a time, and not thinking thoroughly of any one of them, as + is the manner of your more energetic people, made him remarkably + clear-sighted upon any point to which he ever gave his serious attention. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, after all, though solemn benchers laughed at him, and rising + barristers shrugged their shoulders under rustling silk gowns, when people + spoke of Robert Audley, I doubt if, had he ever taken the trouble to get a + brief, he might not have rather surprised the magnates who underrated his + abilities. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. + </h2> + <h3> + STILL MISSING. + </h3> + <p> + The September sunlight sparkled upon the fountain in the Temple Gardens + when Robert Audley returned to Figtree Court early the following morning. + </p> + <p> + He found the canaries singing in the pretty little room in which George + had slept, but the apartment was in the same prim order in which the + laundress had arranged it after the departure of the two young men—not + a chair displaced, or so much as the lid of a cigar-box lifted, to bespeak + the presence of George Talboys. With a last, lingering hope, he searched + upon the mantelpieces and tables of his rooms, on the chance of finding + some letter left by George. + </p> + <p> + "He may have slept here last night, and started for Southampton early this + morning," he thought. "Mrs. Maloney has been here, very likely, to make + everything tidy after him." + </p> + <p> + But as he sat looking lazily around the room, now and then whistling to + his delighted canaries, a slipshod foot upon the staircase without bespoke + the advent of that very Mrs. Maloney who waited upon the two young men. + </p> + <p> + No, Mr. Talboys had not come home; she had looked in as early as six + o'clock that morning, and found the chambers empty. + </p> + <p> + "Had anything happened to the poor, dear gentleman?" she asked, seeing + Robert Audley's pale face. + </p> + <p> + He turned around upon her quite savagely at this question. + </p> + <p> + Happened to him! What should happen to him? They had only parted at two + o'clock the day before. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Maloney would have related to him the history of a poor dear young + engine-driver, who had once lodged with her, and who went out, after + eating a hearty dinner, in the best of spirits, to meet with his death + from the concussion of an express and a luggage train; but Robert put on + his hat again, and walked straight out of the house before the honest + Irishwoman could begin her pitiful story. + </p> + <p> + It was growing dusk when he reached Southampton. He knew his way to the + poor little terrace of houses, in a full street leading down to the water, + where George's father-in-law lived. Little Georgey was playing at the open + parlor window as the young man walked down the street. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps it was this fact, and the dull and silent aspect of the house, + which filled Robert Audley's mind with a vague conviction that the man he + came to look for was not there. The old man himself opened the door, and + the child peeped out of the parlor to see the strange gentleman. + </p> + <p> + He was a handsome boy, with his father's brown eyes and dark waving hair, + and with some latent expression which was not his father's and which + pervaded his whole face, so that although each feature of the child + resembled the same feature in George Talboys, the boy was not actually + like him. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maldon was delighted to see Robert Audley; he remembered having had + the pleasure of meeting him at Ventnor, on the melancholy occasion of—He + wiped his watery old eyes by way of conclusion to the sentence. Would Mr. + Audley walk in? Robert strode into the parlor. The furniture was shabby + and dingy, and the place reeked with the smell of stale tobacco and + brandy-and-water. The boy's broken playthings, and the old man's broken + clay pipes and torn, brandy-and-water-stained newspapers were scattered + upon the dirty carpet. Little Georgey crept toward the visitor, watching + him furtively out of his big, brown eyes. Robert took the boy on his knee, + and gave him his watch-chain to play with while he talked to the old man. + </p> + <p> + "I need scarcely ask the question that I come to ask," he said; "I was in + hopes I should have found your son-in-law here." + </p> + <p> + "What! you knew that he was coming to Southampton?" + </p> + <p> + "Knew that he was coming?" cried Robert, brightening up. "He <i>is</i> + here, then?" + </p> + <p> + "No, he is not here now; but he has been here." + </p> + <p> + "When?" + </p> + <p> + "Late last night; he came by the mail." + </p> + <p> + "And left again immediately?" + </p> + <p> + "He stayed little better than an hour." + </p> + <p> + "Good Heaven!" said Robert, "what useless anxiety that man has given me! + What can be the meaning of all this?" + </p> + <p> + "You knew nothing of his intention, then?" + </p> + <p> + "Of what intention?" + </p> + <p> + "I mean of his determination to go to Australia." + </p> + <p> + "I know that it was always in his mind more or less, but not more just now + than usual." + </p> + <p> + "He sails to-night from Liverpool. He came here at one o'clock this + morning to have a look at the boy, he said, before he left England, + perhaps never to return. He told me he was sick of the world, and that the + rough life out there was the only thing to suit him. He stayed an hour, + kissed the boy without awaking him, and left Southampton by the mail that + starts at a quarter-past two." + </p> + <p> + "What can be the meaning of all this?" said Robert. "What could be his + motive for leaving England in this manner, without a word to me, his most + intimate friend—without even a change of clothes; for he has left + everything at my chambers? It is the most extraordinary proceeding!" + </p> + <p> + The old man looked very grave. "Do you know, Mr. Audley," he said, tapping + his forehead significantly, "I sometimes fancy that Helen's death had a + strange effect upon poor George." + </p> + <p> + "Pshaw!" cried Robert, contemptuously; "he felt the blow most cruelly, but + his brain was as sound as yours or mine." + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps he will write to you from Liverpool," said George's + father-in-law. He seemed anxious to smooth over any indignation that + Robert might feel at his friend's conduct. + </p> + <p> + "He ought," said Robert, gravely, "for we've been good friends from the + days when we were together at Eton. It isn't kind of George Talboys to + treat me like this." + </p> + <p> + But even at the moment that he uttered the reproach a strange thrill of + remorse shot through his heart. + </p> + <p> + "It isn't like him," he said, "it isn't like George Talboys." + </p> + <p> + Little Georgey caught at the sound. "That's my name," he said, "and my + papa's name—the big gentleman's name." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, little Georgey, and your papa came last night and kissed you in your + sleep. Do you remember?" + </p> + <p> + "No," said the boy, shaking his curly little head. + </p> + <p> + "You must have been very fast asleep, little Georgey, not to see poor + papa." + </p> + <p> + The child did not answer, but presently, fixing his eyes upon Robert's + face, he said abruptly: + </p> + <p> + "Where's the pretty lady?" + </p> + <p> + "What pretty lady?" + </p> + <p> + "The pretty lady that used to come a long while ago." + </p> + <p> + "He means his poor mamma," said the old man. + </p> + <p> + "No," cried the boy resolutely, "not mamma. Mamma was always crying. I + didn't like mamma—" + </p> + <p> + "Hush, little Georgey!" + </p> + <p> + "But I didn't, and she didn't like me. She was always crying. I mean the + pretty lady; the lady that was dressed so fine, and that gave me my gold + watch." + </p> + <p> + "He means the wife of my old captain—an excellent creature, who took + a great fancy to Georgey, and gave him some handsome presents." + </p> + <p> + "Where's my gold watch? Let me show the gentleman my gold watch," cried + Georgey. + </p> + <p> + "It's gone to be cleaned, Georgey," answered his grandfather. + </p> + <p> + "It's always going to be cleaned," said the boy. + </p> + <p> + "The watch is perfectly safe, I assure you, Mr. Audley," murmured the old + man, apologetically; and taking out a pawnbroker's duplicate, he handed it + to Robert. + </p> + <p> + It was made out in the name of Captain Mortimer: "Watch, set with + diamonds, £11." + </p> + <p> + "I'm often hard pressed for a few shillings, Mr. Audley," said the old + man. "My son-in-law has been very liberal to me; but there are others, + there are others, Mr. Audley—and—and—I've not been + treated well." He wiped away some genuine tears as he said this in a + pitiful, crying voice. "Come, Georgey, it's time the brave little man was + in bed. Come along with grandpa. Excuse me for a quarter of an hour, Mr. + Audley." + </p> + <p> + The boy went very willingly. At the door of the room the old man looked + back at his visitor, and said in the same peevish voice, "This is a poor + place for me to pass my declining years in, Mr. Audley. I've made many + sacrifices, and I make them still, but I've not been treated well." + </p> + <p> + Left alone in the dusky little sitting-room, Robert Audley folded his + arms, and sat absently staring at the floor. + </p> + <p> + George was gone, then; he might receive some letter of explanation + perhaps, when he returned to London; but the chances were that he would + never see his old friend again. + </p> + <p> + "And to think that I should care so much for the fellow!" he said, lifting + his eyebrows to the center of his forehead. + </p> + <p> + "The place smells of stale tobacco like a tap-room," he muttered + presently; "there can be no harm in my smoking a cigar here." + </p> + <p> + He took one from the case in his pocket: there was a spark of fire in the + little grate, and he looked about for something to light his cigar with. + </p> + <p> + A twisted piece of paper lay half burned upon the hearthrug; he picked it + up, and unfolded it, in order to get a better pipe-light by folding it the + other way of the paper. As he did so, absently glancing at the penciled + writing upon the fragment of thin paper, a portion of a name caught his + eye—a portion of the name that was most in his thoughts. He took the + scrap of paper to the window, and examined it by the declining light. + </p> + <p> + It was part of a telegraphic dispatch. The upper portion had been burnt + away, but the more important part, the greater part of the message itself, + remained. + </p> + <p> + "—alboys came to —— last night, and left by the mail for + London, on his way to Liverpool, whence he was to sail for Sydney." + </p> + <p> + The date and the name and address of the sender of the message had been + burnt with the heading. Robert Audley's face blanched to a deathly + whiteness. He carefully folded the scrap of paper, and placed it between + the leaves of his pocket-book. + </p> + <p> + "My God!" he said, "what is the meaning of this? I shall go to Liverpool + to-night, and make inquiries there!" + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. + </h2> + <h3> + TROUBLED DREAMS. + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley left Southampton by the mail, and let himself into his + chambers just as the dawn was creeping cold and gray into the solitary + rooms, and the canaries were beginning to rustle their feathers feebly in + the early morning. + </p> + <p> + There were several letters in the box behind the door, but there was none + from George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + The young barrister was worn out by a long day spent in hurrying from + place to place. The usual lazy monotony of his life had been broken as it + had never been broken before in eight-and-twenty tranquil, easy-going + years. His mind was beginning to grow confused upon the point of time. It + seemed to him months since he had lost sight of George Talboys. It was so + difficult to believe that it was less than forty-eight hours ago that the + young man had left him asleep under the willows by the trout stream. + </p> + <p> + His eyes were painfully weary for want of sleep. He searched about the + room for some time, looking in all sorts of impossible places for a letter + from George Talboys, and then threw himself dressed upon his friend's bed, + in the room with the canaries and geraniums. + </p> + <p> + "I shall wait for to-morrow morning's post," he said; "and if that brings + no letter from George, I shall start for Liverpool without a moment's + delay." + </p> + <p> + He was thoroughly exhausted, and fell into a heavy sleep—a sleep + which was profound without being in any way refreshing, for he was + tormented all the time by disagreeable dreams—dreams which were + painful, not from any horror in themselves, but from a vague and wearying + sense of their confusion and absurdity. + </p> + <p> + At one time he was pursuing strange people and entering strange houses in + the endeavor to unravel the mystery of the telegraphic dispatch; at + another time he was in the church-yard at Ventnor, gazing at the headstone + George had ordered for the grave of his dead wife. Once in the long, + rambling mystery of these dreams he went to the grave, and found this + headstone gone, and on remonstrating with the stonemason, was told that + the man had a reason for removing the inscription; a reason that Robert + would some day learn. + </p> + <p> + In another dream he saw the grave of Helen Talboys open, and while he + waited, with the cold horror lifting up his hair, to see the dead woman + rise and stand before him with her stiff, charnel-house drapery clinging + about her rigid limbs, his uncle's wife tripped gaily out of the open + grave, dressed in the crimson velvet robes in which the artist had painted + her, and with her ringlets flashing like red gold in the unearthly light + that shone about her. + </p> + <p> + But into all these dreams the places he had last been in, and the people + with whom he had last been concerned, were dimly interwoven—sometimes + his uncle; sometimes Alicia; oftenest of all my lady; the trout stream in + Essex; the lime-walk at the Court. Once he was walking in the black + shadows of this long avenue, with Lady Audley hanging on his arm, when + suddenly they heard a great knocking in the distance, and his uncle's wife + wound her slender arms around him, crying out that it was the day of + judgment, and that all wicked secrets must now be told. Looking at her as + she shrieked this in his ear, he saw that her face had grown ghastly + white, and that her beautiful golden ringlets were changing into serpents, + and slowly creeping down her fair neck. + </p> + <p> + He started from his dream to find that there was some one really knocking + at the outer door of his chambers. + </p> + <p> + It was a dreary, wet morning, the rain beating against the windows, and + the canaries twittering dismally to each other—complaining, perhaps, + of the bad weather. Robert could not tell how long the person had been + knocking. He had mixed the sound with his dreams, and when he woke he was + only half conscious of other things. + </p> + <p> + "It's that stupid Mrs. Maloney, I dare say," he muttered. "She may knock + again for all I care. Why can't she use her duplicate key, instead of + dragging a man out of bed when he's half dead with fatigue." + </p> + <p> + The person, whoever it was, did knock again, and then desisted, apparently + tired out; but about a minute afterward a key turned in the door. + </p> + <p> + "She had her key with her all the time, then," said Robert. "I'm very glad + I didn't get up." + </p> + <p> + The door between the sitting-room and bed-room was half open, and he could + see the laundress bustling about, dusting the furniture, and rearranging + things that had never been disarranged. + </p> + <p> + "Is that you, Mrs. Maloney?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir," + </p> + <p> + "Then why, in goodness' name, did you make that row at the door, when you + had a key with you all the time?" + </p> + <p> + "A row at the door, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; that infernal knocking." + </p> + <p> + "Sure I never knocked, Mister Audley, but walked straight in with my kay—" + </p> + <p> + "Then who did knock? There's been some one kicking up a row at that door + for a quarter of an hour, I should think; you must have met him going + down-stairs." + </p> + <p> + "But I'm rather late this morning, sir, for I've been in Mr. Martin's + rooms first, and I've come straight from the floor above." + </p> + <p> + "Then you didn't see any one at the door, or on the stairs?" + </p> + <p> + "Not a mortal soul, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Was ever anything so provoking?" said Robert. "To think that I should + have let this person go away without ascertaining who he was, or what he + wanted! How do I know that it was not some one with a message or a letter + from George Talboys?" + </p> + <p> + "Sure if it was, sir, he'll come again," said Mrs. Maloney, soothingly. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, of course, if it was anything of consequence he'll come again," + muttered Robert. The fact was, that from the moment of finding the + telegraphic message at Southampton, all hope of hearing of George had + faded out of his mind. He felt that there was some mystery involved in the + disappearance of his friend—some treachery toward himself, or toward + George. What if the young man's greedy old father-in-law had tried to + separate them on account of the monetary trust lodged in Robert Audley's + hands? Or what if, since even in these civilized days all kinds of + unsuspected horrors are constantly committed—what if the old man had + decoyed George down to Southampton, and made away with him in order to get + possession of that £20,000, left in Robert's custody for little Georgey's + use? + </p> + <p> + But neither of these suppositions explained the telegraphic message, and + it was the telegraphic message which had filled Robert's mind with a vague + sense of alarm. The postman brought no letter from George Talboys, and the + person who had knocked at the door of the chambers did not return between + seven and nine o'clock, so Robert Audley left Figtree Court once more in + search of his friend. This time he told the cabman to drive to the Euston + Station, and in twenty minutes he was on the platform, making inquiries + about the trains. + </p> + <p> + The Liverpool express had started half an hour before he reached the + station, and he had to wait an hour and a quarter for a slow train to take + him to his destination. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley chafed cruelly at this delay. Half a dozen vessels might + sail for Australia while he roamed up and down the long platform, tumbling + over trucks and porters, and swearing at his ill-luck. + </p> + <p> + He bought the <i>Times</i> newspaper, and looked instinctively at the + second column, with a morbid interest in the advertisements of people + missing—sons, brothers, and husbands who had left their homes, never + to return or to be heard of more. + </p> + <p> + There was one advertisement of a young man found drowned somewhere on the + Lambeth shore. + </p> + <p> + What if that should have been George's fate? No; the telegraphic message + involved his father-in-law in the fact of his disappearance, and every + speculation about him must start from that one point. + </p> + <p> + It was eight o'clock in the evening when Robert got into Liverpool; too + late for anything except to make inquiries as to what vessel had sailed + within the last two days for the antipodes. + </p> + <p> + An emigrant ship had sailed at four o'clock that afternoon—the <i>Victoria + Regia</i>, bound for Melbourne. + </p> + <p> + The result of his inquiries amounted to this—If he wanted to find + out who had sailed in the <i>Victoria Regia</i>, he must wait till the + next morning, and apply for information of that vessel. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley was at the office at nine o'clock the next morning, and was + the first person after the clerks who entered it. + </p> + <p> + He met with every civility from the clerk to whom he applied. The young + man referred to his books, and running his pen down the list of passengers + who had sailed in the <i>Victoria Regia</i>, told Robert that there was no + one among them of the name of Talboys. He pushed his inquiries further. + Had any of the passengers entered their names within a short time of the + vessel's sailing? + </p> + <p> + One of the other clerks looked up from his desk as Robert asked this + question. Yes, he said; he remembered a young man's coming into the office + at half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, and paying his passage money. + His name was the last on the list—Thomas Brown. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley shrugged his shoulders. There could have been no possible + reason for George's taking a feigned name. He asked the clerk who had last + spoken if he could remember the appearance of this Mr. Thomas Brown. + </p> + <p> + No; the office was crowded at the time; people were running in and out, + and he had not taken any particular notice of this last passenger. + </p> + <p> + Robert thanked them for their civility, and wished them good-morning. As + he was leaving the office, one of the young men called after him: + </p> + <p> + "Oh, by-the-by, sir," he said, "I remember one thing about this Mr. Thomas + Brown—his arm was in a sling." + </p> + <p> + There was nothing more for Robert Audley to do but to return to town. He + re-entered his chambers at six o'clock that evening, thoroughly worn out + once more with his useless search. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Maloney brought him his dinner and a pint of wine from a tavern in + the Strand. The evening was raw and chilly, and the laundress had lighted + a good fire in the sitting-room grate. + </p> + <p> + After eating about half a mutton-chop, Robert sat with his wine untasted + upon the table before him, smoking cigars and staring into the blaze. + </p> + <p> + "George Talboys never sailed for Australia," he said, after long and + painful reflection. "If he is alive, he is still in England; and if he is + dead, his body is hidden in some corner of England." + </p> + <p> + He sat for hours smoking and thinking—trouble and gloomy thoughts + leaving a dark shadow upon his moody face, which neither the brilliant + light of the gas nor the red blaze of the fire could dispel. + </p> + <p> + Very late in the evening he rose from his chair, pushed away the table, + wheeled his desk over to the fire-place, took out a sheet of fools-cap, + and dipped a pen in the ink. + </p> + <p> + But after doing this he paused, leaned his forehead upon his hand, and + once more relapsed into thought. + </p> + <p> + "I shall draw up a record of all that has occurred between our going down + to Essex and to-night, beginning at the very beginning." + </p> + <p> + He drew up this record in short, detached sentences, which he numbered as + he wrote. + </p> + <p> + It ran thus: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Journal of Facts connected with the Disappearance of George Talboys, + inclusive of Facts which have no apparent Relation to that Circumstance.</i>" + </p> + <p> + In spite of the troubled state of his mind, he was rather inclined to be + proud of the official appearance of this heading. He sat for some time + looking at it with affection, and with the feather of his pen in his + mouth. "Upon my word," he said, "I begin to think that I ought to have + pursued my profession, instead of dawdling my life away as I have done." + </p> + <p> + He smoked half a cigar before he had got his thoughts in proper train, and + then began to write: + </p> + <p> + "1. I write to Alicia, proposing to take George down to the Court." + </p> + <p> + "2. Alicia writes, objecting to the visit, on the part of Lady Audley." + </p> + <p> + "3. We go to Essex in spite of that objection. I see my lady. My lady + refuses to be introduced to George on that particular evening on the score + of fatigue." + </p> + <p> + "4. Sir Michael invites George and me to dinner for the following + evening." + </p> + <p> + "5. My lady receives a telegraphic dispatch the next morning which summons + her to London." + </p> + <p> + "6. Alicia shows me a letter from my lady, in which she requests to be + told when I and my friend, Mr. Talboys, mean to leave Essex. To this + letter is subjoined a postscript, reiterating the above request." + </p> + <p> + "7. We call at the Court, and ask to see the house. My lady's apartments + are locked." + </p> + <p> + "8. We get at the aforesaid apartments by means of a secret passage, the + existence of which is unknown to my lady. In one of the rooms we find her + portrait." + </p> + <p> + "9. George is frightened at the storm. His conduct is exceedingly strange + for the rest of the evening." + </p> + <p> + "10. George quite himself again the following morning. I propose leaving + Audley Court immediately; he prefers remaining till the evening." + </p> + <p> + "11. We go out fishing. George leaves me to go to the Court." + </p> + <p> + "12. The last positive information I can obtain of him in Essex is at the + Court, where the servant says he thinks Mr. Talboys told him he would go + and look for my lady in the grounds." + </p> + <p> + "13. I receive information about him at the station which may or may not + be correct." + </p> + <p> + "14. I hear of him positively once more at Southampton, where, according + to his father-in-law, he had been for an hour on the previous night." + </p> + <p> + "15. The telegraphic message." + </p> + <p> + When Robert Audley had completed this brief record, which he drew up with + great deliberation, and with frequent pauses for reflection, alterations + and erasures, he sat for a long time contemplating the written page. + </p> + <p> + At last he read it carefully over, stopping at some of the numbered + paragraphs, and marking some of them with a pencil cross; then he folded + the sheet of foolscap, went over to a cabinet on the opposite side of the + room, unlocked it, and placed the paper in that very pigeon-hole into + which he had thrust Alicia's letter—the pigeon-hole marked <i>Important</i>. + </p> + <p> + Having done this, he returned to his easy-chair by the fire, pushed away + his desk, and lighted a cigar. "It's as dark as midnight from first to + last," he said; "and the clew to the mystery must be found either at + Southampton or in Essex. Be it how it may, my mind is made up. I shall + first go to Audley Court, and look for George Talboys in a narrow radius." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. + </h2> + <h3> + PHOEBE'S SUITOR. + </h3> + <p> + "Mr. George Talboys.—Any person who has met this gentleman since the + 7th inst., or who possesses any information respecting him subsequent to + that date, will be liberally rewarded on communicating with A.Z., 14 + Chancery Lane." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley read the above advertisement in the second column of + the <i>Times</i>, as he sat at breakfast with my lady and Alicia two or + three days after Robert's return to town. + </p> + <p> + "Robert's friend has not yet been heard of, then," said the baronet, after + reading the advertisement to his wife and daughter. + </p> + <p> + "As for that," replied my lady, "I cannot help wondering that any one can + be silly enough to advertise for him. The young man was evidently of a + restless, roving disposition—a sort of Bamfyld Moore Carew of modern + life, whom no attraction could ever keep in one spot." + </p> + <p> + Though the advertisement appeared three successive times, the party at the + Court attached very little importance to Mr. Talboys' disappearance; and + after this one occasion his name was never again mentioned by either Sir + Michael, my lady, or Alicia. + </p> + <p> + Alicia Audley and her pretty stepmother were by no means any better + friends after that quiet evening on which the young barrister had dined at + the Court. + </p> + <p> + "She is a vain, frivolous, heartless little coquette," said Alicia, + addressing herself to her Newfoundland dog Caesar, who was the sole + recipient of the young lady's confidences; "she is a practiced and + consummate flirt, Caesar; and not contented with setting her yellow + ringlets and her silly giggle at half the men in Essex, she must needs + make that stupid cousin of mine dance attendance upon her. I haven't + common patience with her." + </p> + <p> + In proof of which last assertion Miss Alicia Audley treated her stepmother + with such very palpable impertinence that Sir Michael felt himself called + upon to remonstrate with his only daughter. + </p> + <p> + "The poor little woman is very sensitive, you know, Alicia," the baronet + said, gravely, "and she feels your conduct most acutely." + </p> + <p> + "I don't believe it a bit, papa," answered Alicia, stoutly. "You think her + sensitive because she has soft little white hands, and big blue eyes with + long lashes, and all manner of affected, fantastical ways, which you + stupid men call fascinating. Sensitive! Why, I've seen her do cruel things + with those slender white fingers, and laugh at the pain she inflicted. I'm + very sorry, papa," she added, softened a little by her father's look of + distress; "though she has come between us, and robbed poor Alicia of the + love of that dear, generous heart, I wish I could like her for your sake; + but I can't, I can't, and no more can Caesar. She came up to him once with + her red lips apart, and her little white teeth glistening between them, + and stroked his great head with her soft hand; but if I had not had hold + of his collar, he would have flown at her throat and strangled her. She + may bewitch every man in Essex, but she'd never make friends with my dog." + </p> + <p> + "Your dog shall be shot," answered Sir Michael angrily, "if his vicious + temper ever endangers Lucy." + </p> + <p> + The Newfoundland rolled his eyes slowly round in the direction of the + speaker, as if he understood every word that had been said. Lady Audley + happened to enter the room at this very moment, and the animal cowered + down by the side of his mistress with a suppressed growl. There was + something in the manner of the dog which was, if anything, more indicative + of terror than of fury; incredible as it appears that Caesar should be + frightened by so fragile a creature as Lucy Audley. + </p> + <p> + Amicable as was my lady's nature, she could not live long at the Court + without discovering Alicia's dislike to her. She never alluded to it but + once; then, shrugging her graceful white shoulders, she said, with a sigh: + </p> + <p> + "It seems very hard that you cannot love me, Alicia, for I have never been + used to make enemies; but since it seems that it must be so, I cannot help + it. If we cannot be friends, let us be neutral. You won't try to injure + me?" + </p> + <p> + "Injure you!" exclaimed Alicia; "how should I injure you?" + </p> + <p> + "You'll not try to deprive me of your father's affection?" + </p> + <p> + "I may not be as amiable as you are, my lady, and I may not have the same + sweet smiles and pretty words for every stranger I meet, but I am not + capable of a contemptible meanness; and even if I were, I think you are so + secure of my father's love, that nothing but your own act will ever + deprive you of it." + </p> + <p> + "What a severe creature you are, Alicia!" said my lady, making a little + grimace. "I suppose you mean to infer by all that, that I'm deceitful. + Why, I can't help smiling at people, and speaking prettily to them. I know + I'm no <i>better</i> than the rest of the world; but I can't help it if + I'm <i>pleasantér</i>. It's constitutional." + </p> + <p> + Alicia having thus entirely shut the door upon all intimacy between Lady + Audley and herself, and Sir Michael being chiefly occupied in agricultural + pursuits and manly sports, which kept him away from home, it was perhaps + natural that my lady, being of an eminently social disposition, should + find herself thrown a good deal upon her white-eyelashed maid for society. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks was exactly the sort of a girl who is generally promoted from + the post of lady's maid to that of companion. She had just sufficient + education to enable her to understand her mistress when Lucy chose to + allow herself to run riot in a species of intellectual tarantella, in + which her tongue went mad to the sound of its own rattle, as the Spanish + dancer at the noise of his castanets. Phoebe knew enough of the French + language to be able to dip into the yellow-paper-covered novels which my + lady ordered from the Burlington Arcade, and to discourse with her + mistress upon the questionable subjects of these romances. The likeness + which the lady's maid bore to Lucy Audley was, perhaps, a point of + sympathy between the two women. It was not to be called a striking + likeness; a stranger might have seen them both together, and yet have + failed to remark it. But there were certain dim and shadowy lights in + which, meeting Phoebe Marks gliding softly through the dark oak passages + of the Court, or under the shrouded avenues in the garden, you might have + easily mistaken her for my lady. + </p> + <p> + Sharp October winds were sweeping the leaves from the limes in the long + avenue, and driving them in withered heaps with a ghostly rustling noise + along the dry gravel walks. The old well must have been half choked up + with the leaves that drifted about it, and whirled in eddying circles into + its black, broken mouth. On the still bosom of the fish-pond the same + withered leaves slowly rotted away, mixing themselves with the tangled + weeds that discolored the surface of the water. All the gardeners Sir + Michael could employ could not keep the impress of autumn's destroying + hand from the grounds about the Court. + </p> + <p> + "How I hate this desolate month!" my lady said, as she walked about the + garden, shivering beneath her sable mantle. "Every thing dropping to ruin + and decay, and the cold flicker of the sun lighting up the ugliness of the + earth, as the glare of gas-lamps lights the wrinkles of an old woman. + Shall I ever grow old, Phoebe? Will my hair ever drop off as the leaves + are falling from those trees, and leave me wan and bare like them? What is + to become of me when I grow old?" + </p> + <p> + She shivered at the thought of this more than she had done at the cold, + wintry breeze, and muffling herself closely in her fur, walked so fast + that her maid had some difficulty in keeping up with her. + </p> + <p> + "Do you remember, Phoebe," she said, presently, relaxing her pace, "do you + remember that French story we read—the story of a beautiful woman + who had committed some crime—I forget what—in the zenith of + her power and loveliness, when all Paris drank to her every night, and + when the people ran away from the carriage of the king to flock about + hers, and get a peep at her face? Do you remember how she kept the secret + of what she had done for nearly half a century, spending her old age in + her family chateau, beloved and honored by all the province as an + uncanonized saint and benefactress to the poor; and how, when her hair was + white, and her eyes almost blind with age, the secret was revealed through + one of those strange accidents by which such secrets always are revealed + in romances, and she was tried, found guilty, and condemned to be burned + alive? The king who had worn her colors was dead and gone; the court of + which she had been a star had passed away; powerful functionaries and + great magistrates, who might perhaps have helped her, were moldering in + the graves; brave young cavaliers, who would have died for her, had fallen + upon distant battle-fields; she had lived to see the age to which she had + belonged fade like a dream; and she went to the stake, followed by only a + few ignorant country people, who forgot all her bounties, and hooted at + her for a wicked sorceress." + </p> + <p> + "I don't care for such dismal stories, my lady," said Phoebe Marks with a + shudder. "One has no need to read books to give one the horrors in this + dull place." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley shrugged her shoulders and laughed at her maid's candor. + </p> + <p> + "It is a dull place, Phoebe," she said, "though it doesn't do to say so to + my dear old husband. Though I am the wife of one of the most influential + men in the county, I don't know that I wasn't nearly as well off at Mr. + Dawson's; and yet it's something to wear sables that cost sixty guineas, + and have a thousand pounds spent on the decoration of one's apartments." + </p> + <p> + Treated as a companion by her mistress, in the receipt of the most liberal + wages, and with perquisites such as perhaps lady's maid never had before, + it was strange that Phoebe Marks should wish to leave her situation; but + it was not the less a fact that she was anxious to exchange all the + advantages of Audley Court for the very unpromising prospect which awaited + her as the wife of her Cousin Luke. + </p> + <p> + The young man had contrived in some manner to associate himself with the + improved fortunes of his sweetheart. He had never allowed Phoebe any peace + till she had obtained for him, by the aid of my lady's interference, a + situation as undergroom of the Court. + </p> + <p> + He never rode out with either Alicia or Sir Michael; but on one of the few + occasions upon which my lady mounted the pretty little gray thoroughbred + reserved for her use, he contrived to attend her in her ride. He saw + enough, in the very first half hour they were out, to discover that, + graceful as Lucy Audley might look in her long blue cloth habit, she was a + timid horsewoman, and utterly unable to manage the animal she rode. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley remonstrated with her maid upon her folly in wishing to marry + the uncouth groom. + </p> + <p> + The two women were seated together over the fire in my lady's + dressing-room, the gray sky closing in upon the October afternoon, and the + black tracery of ivy darkening the casement windows. + </p> + <p> + "You surely are not in love with the awkward, ugly creature are you, + Phoebe?" asked my lady sharply. + </p> + <p> + The girl was sitting on a low stool at her mistress feet. She did not + answer my lady's question immediately, but sat for some time looking + vacantly into the red abyss in the hollow fire. + </p> + <p> + Presently she said, rather as if she had been thinking aloud than + answering Lucy's question: + </p> + <p> + "I don't think I can love him. We have been together from children, and I + promised, when I was little better than fifteen, that I'd be his wife. I + daren't break that promise now. There have been times when I've made up + the very sentence I meant to say to him, telling him that I couldn't keep + my faith with him; but the words have died upon my lips, and I've sat + looking at him, with a choking sensation, in my throat that wouldn't let + me speak. I daren't refuse to marry him. I've often watched and watched + him, as he has sat slicing away at a hedge-stake with his great + clasp-knife, till I have thought that it is just such men as he who have + decoyed their sweethearts into lonely places, and murdered them for being + false to their word. When he was a boy he was always violent and + revengeful. I saw him once take up that very knife in a quarrel with his + mother. I tell you, my lady, I must marry him." + </p> + <p> + "You silly girl, you shall do nothing of the kind!" answered Lucy. "You + think he'll murder you, do you? Do you think, then, if murder is in him, + you would be any safer as his wife? If you thwarted him, or made him + jealous; if he wanted to marry another woman, or to get hold of some poor, + pitiful bit of money of yours, couldn't he murder you then? I tell you you + sha'n't marry him, Phoebe. In the first place I hate the man; and, in the + next place I can't afford to part with you. We'll give him a few pounds + and send him about his business." + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks caught my lady's hand in hers, and clasped them convulsively. + </p> + <p> + "My lady—my good, kind mistress!" she cried, vehemently, "don't try + to thwart me in this—don't ask me to thwart him. I tell you I must + marry him. You don't know what he is. It will be my ruin, and the ruin of + others, if I break my word. I must marry him!" + </p> + <p> + "Very well, then, Phoebe," answered her mistress, "I can't oppose you. + There must be some secret at the bottom of all this." "There is, my lady," + said the girl, with her face turned away from Lucy. + </p> + <p> + "I shall be very sorry to lose you; but I have promised to stand your + friend in all things. What does your cousin mean to do for a living when + you are married?" + </p> + <p> + "He would like to take a public house." + </p> + <p> + "Then he shall take a public house, and the sooner he drinks himself to + death the better. Sir Michael dines at a bachelor's party at Major + Margrave's this evening, and my step-daughter is away with her friends at + the Grange. You can bring your cousin into the drawing-room after dinner, + and I'll tell him what I mean to do for him." + </p> + <p> + "You are very good, my lady," Phoebe answered with a sigh. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley sat in the glow of firelight and wax candles in the luxurious + drawing-room; the amber damask cushions of the sofa contrasting with her + dark violet velvet dress, and her rippling hair falling about her neck in + a golden haze. Everywhere around her were the evidences of wealth and + splendor; while in strange contrast to all this, and to her own beauty; + the awkward groom stood rubbing his bullet head as my lady explained to + him what she intended to do for her confidential maid. Lucy's promises + were very liberal, and she had expected that, uncouth as the man was, he + would, in his own rough manner, have expressed his gratitude. + </p> + <p> + To her surprise he stood staring at the floor without uttering a word in + answer to her offer. Phoebe was standing close to his elbow, and seemed + distressed at the man's rudeness. + </p> + <p> + "Tell my lady how thankful you are, Luke," she said. + </p> + <p> + "But I'm not so over and above thankful," answered her lover, savagely. + "Fifty pound ain't much to start a public. You'll make it a hundred, my + lady?" + </p> + <p> + "I shall do nothing of the kind," said Lady Audley, her clear blue eyes + flashing with indignation, "and I wonder at your impertinence in asking + it." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, yes, you will, though," answered Luke, with quiet insolence that had + a hidden meaning. "You'll make it a hundred, my lady." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley rose from her seat, looked the man steadfastly in the face + till his determined gaze sunk under hers; then walking straight up to her + maid, she said in a high, piercing voice, peculiar to her in moments of + intense agitation: + </p> + <p> + "Phoebe Marks, you have told <i>this man</i>!" + </p> + <p> + The girl fell on her knees at my lady's feet. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, forgive me, forgive me!" she cried. "He forced it from me, or I would + never, never have told!" + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. + </h2> + <h3> + ON THE WATCH. + </h3> + <p> + Upon a lowering morning late in November, with the yellow fog low upon the + flat meadows, and the blinded cattle groping their way through the dim + obscurity, and blundering stupidly against black and leafless hedges, or + stumbling into ditches, undistinguishable in the hazy atmosphere; with the + village church looming brown and dingy through the uncertain light; with + every winding path and cottage door, every gable end and gray old chimney, + every village child and straggling cur seeming strange and weird of aspect + in the semi-darkness, Phoebe Marks and her Cousin Luke made their way + through the churchyard of Audley, and presented themselves before a + shivering curate, whose surplice hung in damp folds, soddened by the + morning mist, and whose temper was not improved by his having waited five + minutes for the bride and bridegroom. + </p> + <p> + Luke Marks, dressed in his ill-fitting Sunday clothes, looked by no means + handsomer than in his every-day apparel; but Phoebe, arrayed in a rustling + silk of delicate gray, that had been worn about half a dozen times by her + mistress, looked, as the few spectators of the ceremony remarked, "quite + the lady." + </p> + <p> + A very dim and shadowy lady, vague of outline, and faint of coloring, with + eyes, hair, complexion and dress all melting into such pale and uncertain + shades that, in the obscure light of the foggy November morning a + superstitious stranger might have mistaken the bride for the ghost of some + other bride, dead and buried in the vault below the church. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Luke Marks, the hero of the occasion, thought very little of all this. + He had secured the wife of his choice, and the object of his life-long + ambition—a public house. My lady had provided the seventy-five + pounds necessary for the purchase of the good-will and fixtures, with the + stock of ales and spirits, of a small inn in the center of a lonely little + village, perched on the summit of a hill, and called Mount Stanning. It + was not a very pretty house to look at; it had something of a tumble-down, + weather-beaten appearance, standing, as it did, upon high ground, + sheltered only by four or five bare and overgrown poplars, that had shot + up too rapidly for their strength, and had a blighted, forlorn look in + consequence. The wind had had its own way with the Castle Inn, and had + sometimes made cruel use of its power. It was the wind that battered and + bent the low, thatched roofs of outhouses and stables, till they hung over + and lurched forward, as a slouched hat hangs over the low forehead of some + village ruffian; it was the wind that shook and rattled the wooden + shutters before the narrow casements, till they hung broken and + dilapidated upon their rusty hinges; it was the wind that overthrew the + pigeon house, and broke the vane that had been imprudently set up to tell + the movements of its mightiness; it was the wind that made light of any + little bit of wooden trellis-work, or creeping plant, or tiny balcony, or + any modest decoration whatsoever, and tore and scattered it in its + scornful fury; it was the wind that left mossy secretions on the + discolored surface of the plaster walls; it was the wind, in short, that + shattered, and ruined, and rent, and trampled upon the tottering pile of + buildings, and then flew shrieking off, to riot and glory in its + destroying strength. The dispirited proprietor grew tired of his long + struggle with this mighty enemy; so the wind was left to work its own + will, and the Castle Inn fell slowly to decay. But for all that it + suffered without, it was not the less prosperous within doors. Sturdy + drovers stopped to drink at the little bar; well-to-do farmers spent their + evenings and talked politics in the low, wainscoted parlor, while their + horses munched some suspicious mixture of moldy hay and tolerable beans in + the tumble-down stables. Sometimes even the members of the Audley hunt + stopped to drink and bait their horses at the Castle Inn; while, on one + grand and never-to-be-forgotten occasion, a dinner had been ordered by the + master of the hounds for some thirty gentlemen, and the proprietor driven + nearly mad by the importance of the demand. + </p> + <p> + So Luke Marks, who was by no means troubled with an eye for the beautiful, + thought himself very fortunate in becoming the landlord of the Castle Inn, + Mount Stanning. + </p> + <p> + A chaise-cart was waiting in the fog to convey the bride and bridegroom to + their new home; and a few of the villagers, who had known Phoebe from a + child, were lingering around the churchyard gate to bid her good-by. Her + pale eyes were still paler from the tears she had shed, and the red rims + which surrounded them. The bridegroom was annoyed at this exhibition of + emotion. + </p> + <p> + "What are you blubbering for, lass?" he said, fiercely. "If you didn't + want to marry me you should have told me so. I ain't going to murder you, + am I?" + </p> + <p> + The lady's maid shivered as he spoke to her, and dragged her little silk + mantle closely around her. + </p> + <p> + "You're cold in all this here finery," said Luke, staring at her costly + dress with no expression of good-will. "Why can't women dress according to + their station? You won't have no silk gownds out of my pocket, I can tell + you." + </p> + <p> + He lifted the shivering girl into the chaise, wrapped a rough great-coat + about her, and drove off through the yellow fog, followed by a feeble + cheer from two or three urchins clustered around the gate. + </p> + <p> + A new maid was brought from London to replace Phoebe Marks about the + person of my lady—a very showy damsel, who wore a black satin gown, + and rose-colored ribbons in her cap, and complained bitterly of the + dullness of Audley Court. + </p> + <p> + But Christmas brought visitors to the rambling old mansion. A country + squire and his fat wife occupied the tapestried chamber; merry girls + scampered up and down the long passages, and young men stared out of the + latticed windows, watching for southerly winds and cloudy skies; there was + not an empty stall in the roomy old stables; an extempore forge had been + set up in the yard for the shoeing of hunters; yelping dogs made the place + noisy with their perpetual clamor; strange servants herded together on the + garret story; and every little casement hidden away under some pointed + gable, and every dormer window in the quaint old roof, glimmered upon the + winter's night with its separate taper, till, coming suddenly upon Audley + Court, the benighted stranger, misled by the light, and noise, and bustle + of the place, might have easily fallen into young Marlowe's error, and + have mistaken the hospitable mansion for a good, old-fashioned inn, such + as have faded from this earth since the last mail coach and prancing tits + took their last melancholy journey to the knacker's yard. + </p> + <p> + Among other visitors Mr. Robert Audley came down to Essex for the hunting + season, with half a dozen French novels, a case of cigars, and three + pounds of Turkish tobacco in his portmanteau. + </p> + <p> + The honest young country squires, who talked all breakfast time of Flying + Dutchman fillies and Voltigeur colts; of glorious runs of seven hours' + hard riding over three counties, and a midnight homeward ride of thirty + miles upon their covert hacks; and who ran away from the well-spread table + with their mouths full of cold sirloin, to look at that off pastern, or + that sprained forearm, or the colt that had just come back from the + veterinary surgeon's, set down Robert Audley, dawdling over a slice of + bread and marmalade, as a person utterly unworthy of any remark + whatsoever. + </p> + <p> + The young barrister had brought a couple of dogs with him; and the country + gentleman who gave fifty pounds for a pointer; and traveled a couple of + hundred miles to look at a leash of setters before he struck a bargain, + laughed aloud at the two miserable curs, one of which had followed Robert + Audley through Chancery Lane, and half the length of Holborn; while his + companion had been taken by the barrister <i>vi et armis</i> from a + coster-monger who was ill-using him. And as Robert furthermore insisted on + having these two deplorable animals under his easy-chair in the + drawing-room, much to the annoyance of my lady, who, as we know, hated all + dogs, the visitors at Audley Court looked upon the baronet's nephew as an + inoffensive species of maniac. + </p> + <p> + During other visits to the Court Robert Audley had made a feeble show of + joining in the sports of the merry assembly. He had jogged across half a + dozen ploughed fields on a quiet gray pony of Sir Michael's, and drawing + up breathless and panting at the door of some farm-house, had expressed + his intention of following the hounds no further <i>that</i> morning. He + had even gone so far as to put on, with great labor, a pair of skates, + with a view to taking a turn on the frozen surface of the fishpond, and + had fallen ignominously at the first attempt, lying placidly extended on + the flat of his back until such time as the bystanders should think fit to + pick him up. He had occupied the back seat in a dog-cart during a pleasant + morning drive, vehemently protesting against being taken up hill, and + requiring the vehicle to be stopped every ten minutes in order to readjust + the cushions. But this year he showed no inclination for any of these + outdoor amusements, and he spent his time entirely in lounging in the + drawing-room, and making himself agreeable, after his own lazy fashion, to + my lady and Alicia. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley received her nephew's attentions in that graceful + half-childish fashion which her admirers found so charming; but Alicia was + indignant at the change in her cousin's conduct. + </p> + <p> + "You were always a poor, spiritless fellow, Bob," said the young lady, + contemptuously, as she bounced into the drawing-room in her riding-habit, + after a hunting breakfast, from which Robert had absented himself, + preferring a cup of tea in my lady's boudoir; "but this year I don't know + what has come to you. You are good for nothing but to hold a skein of silk + or read Tennyson to Lady Audley." + </p> + <p> + "My dear, hasty, impetuous Alicia, don't be violent," said the young man + imploringly. "A conclusion isn't a five-barred gate; and you needn't give + your judgment its head, as you give your mare Atalanta hers, when you're + flying across country at the heels of an unfortunate fox. Lady Audley + interests me, and my uncle's county friends do not. Is that a sufficient + answer, Alicia?" + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley gave her head a little scornful toss. + </p> + <p> + "It's as good an answer as I shall ever get from, you, Bob," she said, + impatiently; "but pray amuse yourself in your own way; loll in an + easy-chair all day, with those two absurd dogs asleep on your knees; spoil + my lady's window-curtains with your cigars and annoy everybody in the + house with your stupid, inanimate countenance." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Robert Audley opened his handsome gray eyes to their widest extent at + this tirade, and looked helplessly at Miss Alicia. + </p> + <p> + The young lady was walking up and down the room, slashing the skirt of her + habit with her riding-whip. Her eyes sparkled with an angry flash, and a + crimson glow burned under her clear brown skin. The young barrister knew + very well, by these diagnostics, that his cousin was in a passion. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," she repeated, "your stupid, inanimate countenance. Do you know, + Robert Audley, that with all your mock amiability, you are brimful of + conceit and superciliousness. You look down upon our amusements; you lift + up your eyebrows, and shrug your shoulders, and throw yourself back in + your chair, and wash your hands of us and our pleasures. You are a + selfish, cold-hearted Sybarite—" + </p> + <p> + "Alicia! Good—gracious—me!" + </p> + <p> + The morning paper dropped out of his hands, and he sat feebly staring at + his assailant. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, <i>selfish</i>, Robert Audley! You take home half-starved dogs, + because you like half-starved dogs. You stoop down, and pat the head of + every good-for-nothing cur in the village street, because you like + good-for-nothing curs. You notice little children, and give them + halfpence, because it amuses you to do so. But you lift your eyebrows a + quarter of a yard when poor Sir Harry Towers tells a stupid story, and + stare the poor fellow out of countenance with your lazy insolence. As to + your amiability, you would let a man hit you, and say 'Thank you' for the + blow, rather than take the trouble to hit him again; but you wouldn't go + half a mile out of your way to serve your dearest friend. Sir Harry is + worth twenty of you, though he <i>did</i> write to ask if my m-a-i-r + Atalanta had recovered from the sprain. He can't spell, or lift his + eyebrows to the roots of his hair; but he would go through fire and water + for the girl he loves; while <i>you</i>—" + </p> + <p> + At this very point, when Robert was most prepared to encounter his + cousin's violence, and when Miss Alicia seemed about to make her strongest + attack, the young lady broke down altogether, and burst into tears. + </p> + <p> + Robert sprang from his easy-chair, upsetting his dogs on the carpet. + </p> + <p> + "Alicia, my darling, what is it?" + </p> + <p> + "It's—it's—it's the feather of my hat that got into my eyes," + sobbed his cousin; and before he could investigate the truth of this + assertion Alicia had darted out of the room. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley was preparing to follow her, when he heard her voice in the + court-yard below, amidst the tramping of horses and the clamor of + visitors, dogs, and grooms. Sir Harry Towers, the most aristocratic young + sportsman in the neighborhood, had just taken her little foot in his hand + as she sprung into her saddle. + </p> + <p> + "Good Heaven!" exclaimed Robert, as he watched the merry party of + equestrians until they disappeared under the archway. "What does all this + mean? How charmingly she sits her horse! What a pretty figure, too, and a + fine, candid, brown, rosy face: but to fly at a fellow like that, without + the least provocation! That's the consequence of letting a girl follow the + hounds. She learns to look at everything in life as she does at six feet + of timber or a sunk fence; she goes through the world as she goes across + country—straight ahead, and over everything. Such a nice girl as she + might have been, too, if she'd been brought up in Figtree Court! If ever I + marry, and have daughters (which remote contingency may Heaven forefend!) + they shall be educated in Paper Buildings, take their sole exercise in the + Temple Gardens, and they shall never go beyond the gates till they are + marriageable, when I will walk them straight across Fleet street to St. + Dunstan's church, and deliver them into the hands of their husbands." + </p> + <p> + With such reflections as these did Mr. Robert Audley beguile the time + until my lady re-entered the drawing-room, fresh and radiant in her + elegant morning costume, her yellow curls glistening with the perfumed + waters in which she had bathed, and her velvet-covered sketch-book in her + arms. She planted a little easel upon a table by the window, seated + herself before it, and began to mix the colors upon her palette, Robert + watching her out of his half-closed eyes. + </p> + <p> + "You are sure my cigar does not annoy you, Lady Audley?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no indeed; I am quite used to the smell of tobacco. Mr. Dawson, the + surgeon, smoked all the evening when I lived in his house." + </p> + <p> + "Dawson is a good fellow, isn't he?" Robert asked, carelessly. + </p> + <p> + My lady burst into her pretty, gushing laugh. + </p> + <p> + "The dearest of good creatures," she said. "He paid me five-and-twenty + pounds a year—only fancy, five-and-twenty pounds! That made six + pounds five a quarter. How well I remember receiving the money—six + dingy old sovereigns, and a little heap of untidy, dirty silver, that came + straight from the till in the surgery! And then how glad I was to get it! + While <i>now</i>—I can't help laughing while I think of it—these + colors I am using cost a guinea each at Winsor & Newton's—the + carmine and ultramarine thirty shillings. I gave Mrs. Dawson one of my + silk dresses the other day, and the poor thing kissed me, and the surgeon + carried the bundle home under his cloak." + </p> + <p> + My lady laughed long and joyously at the thought. Her colors were mixed; + she was copying a water-colored sketch of an impossibly Turneresque + atmosphere. The sketch was nearly finished, and she had only to put in + some critical little touches with the most delicate of her sable pencils. + She prepared herself daintily for the work, looking sideways at the + painting. + </p> + <p> + All this time Mr. Robert Audley's eyes were fixed intently on her pretty + face. + </p> + <p> + "It <i>is</i> a change," he said, after so long a pause that my lady might + have forgotten what she had been talking of, "it <i>is</i> a change! Some + women would do a great deal to accomplish such a change as that." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley's clear blue eyes dilated as she fixed them suddenly on the + young barrister. The wintry sunlight, gleaming full upon her face from a + side window, lit up the azure of those beautiful eyes, till their color + seemed to flicker and tremble betwixt blue and green, as the opal tints of + the sea change upon a summer's day. The small brush fell from her hand, + and blotted out the peasant's face under a widening circle of crimson + lake. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley was tenderly coaxing the crumbled leaf of his cigar with + cautious fingers. + </p> + <p> + "My friend at the corner of Chancery Lane has not given me such good + Manillas as usual," he murmured. "If ever you smoke, my dear aunt (and I + am told that many women take a quiet weed under the rose), be very careful + how you choose your cigars." + </p> + <p> + My lady drew a long breath, picked up her brush, and laughed aloud at + Robert's advice. + </p> + <p> + "What an eccentric creature you are, Mr. Audley I Do you know that you + sometimes puzzle me—" + </p> + <p> + "Not more than you puzzle me, dear aunt." + </p> + <p> + My lady put away her colors and sketch book, and seating herself in the + deep recess of another window, at a considerable distance from Robert + Audley, settled to a large piece of Berlin-wool work—a piece of + embroidery which the Penelopes of ten or twelve years ago were very fond + of exercising their ingenuity upon—the Olden Time at Bolton Abbey. + </p> + <p> + Seated in the embrasure of this window, my lady was separated from Robert + Audley by the whole length of the room, and the young man could only catch + an occasional glimpse of her fair face, surrounded by its bright aureole + of hazy, golden hair. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley had been a week at the Court, but as yet neither he nor my + lady had mentioned the name of George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + This morning, however, after exhausting the usual topics of conversation, + Lady Audley made an inquiry about her nephew's friend; "That Mr. George—George—" + she said, hesitating. + </p> + <p> + "Talboys," suggested Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, to be sure—Mr. George Talboys. Rather a singular name, + by-the-by, and certainly, by all accounts, a very singular person. Have + you seen him lately?" + </p> + <p> + "I have not seen him since the 7th of September last—the day upon + which he left me asleep in the meadows on the other side of the village." + </p> + <p> + "Dear me!" exclaimed my lady, "what a very strange young man this Mr. + George Talboys must be! Pray tell me all about it." + </p> + <p> + Robert told, in a few words, of his visit to Southampton and his journey + to Liverpool, with their different results, my lady listening very + attentively. + </p> + <p> + In order to tell this story to better advantage, the young man left his + chair, and, crossing the room, took up his place opposite to Lady Audley, + in the embrasure of the window. + </p> + <p> + "And what do you infer from all this?" asked my lady, after a pause. + </p> + <p> + "It is so great a mystery to me," he answered, "that I scarcely dare to + draw any conclusion whatever; but in the obscurity I think I can grope my + way to two suppositions, which to me seem almost certainties." + </p> + <p> + "And they are—" + </p> + <p> + "First, that George Talboys never went beyond Southampton. Second, that he + never went to Southampton at all." + </p> + <p> + "But you traced him there. His father-in-law had seen him." + </p> + <p> + "I have reason to doubt his father-in-law's integrity." + </p> + <p> + "Good gracious me!" cried my lady, piteously. "What do you mean by all + this?" + </p> + <p> + "Lady Audley," answered the young man, gravely, "I have never practiced as + a barrister. I have enrolled myself in the ranks of a profession, the + members of which hold solemn responsibilities and have sacred duties to + perform; and I have shrunk from those responsibilities and duties, as I + have from all the fatigues of this troublesome life. But we are sometimes + forced into the very position we have most avoided, and I have found + myself lately compelled to think of these things. Lady Audley, did you + ever study the theory of circumstantial evidence?" + </p> + <p> + "How can you ask a poor little woman about such horrid things?" exclaimed + my lady. + </p> + <p> + "Circumstantial evidence," continued the young man, as if he scarcely + heard Lady Audley's interruption—"that wonderful fabric which is + built out of straws collected at every point of the compass, and which is + yet strong enough to hang a man. Upon what infinitesimal trifles may + sometimes hang the whole secret of some wicked mystery, inexplicable + heretofore to the wisest upon the earth! A scrap of paper, a shred of some + torn garment, the button off a coat, a word dropped incautiously from the + overcautious lips of guilt, the fragment of a letter, the shutting or + opening of a door, a shadow on a window-blind, the accuracy of a moment + tested by one of Benson's watches—a thousand circumstances so slight + as to be forgotten by the criminal, but links of iron in the wonderful + chain forged by the science of the detective officer; and lo! the gallows + is built up; the solemn bell tolls through the dismal gray of the early + morning, the drop creaks under the guilty feet, and the penalty of crime + is paid." + </p> + <p> + Faint shadows of green and crimson fell upon my lady's face from the + painted escutcheons in the mullioned window by which she sat; but every + trace of the natural color of that face had faded out, leaving it a + ghastly ashen gray. + </p> + <p> + Sitting quietly in her chair, her head fallen back upon the amber damask + cushions, and her little hands lying powerless in her lap, Lady Audley had + fainted away. + </p> + <p> + "The radius grows narrower day by day," said Robert Audley. "George + Talboys never reached Southampton." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI. + </h2> + <h3> + ROBERT AUDLEY GETS HIS CONGE. + </h3> + <p> + The Christmas week was over, and one by one the country visitors dropped + away from Audley Court. The fat squire and his wife abandoned the gray, + tapestried chamber, and left the black-browed warriors looming from the + wall to scowl upon and threaten new guests, or to glare vengefully upon + vacancy. The merry girls on the second story packed, or caused to be + packed, their trunks and imperials, and tumbled gauze ball-dresses were + taken home that had been brought fresh to Audley. Blundering old family + chariots, with horses whose untrimmed fetlocks told of rougher work than + even country roads, were brought round to the broad space before the grim + oak door, and laden with chaotic heaps of womanly luggage. Pretty rosy + faces peeped out of carriage windows to smile the last farewell upon the + group at the hall door, as the vehicle rattled and rumbled under the ivied + archway. Sir Michael was in request everywhere. Shaking hands with the + young sportsmen; kissing the rosy-cheeked girls; sometimes even embracing + portly matrons who came to thank him for their pleasant visit; everywhere + genial, hospitable, generous, happy, and beloved, the baronet hurried from + room to room, from the hall to the stables, from the stables to the + court-yard, from the court-yard to the arched gateway to speed the parting + guest. + </p> + <p> + My lady's yellow curls flashed hither and thither like wandering gleams of + sunshine on these busy days of farewell. Her great blue eyes had a pretty, + mournful look, in charming unison with the soft pressure of her little + hand, and that friendly, though perhaps rather stereotyped speech, in + which she told her visitors how she was so sorry to lose them, and how she + didn't know what she should do till they came once more to enliven the + court by their charming society. + </p> + <p> + But however sorry my lady might be to lose her visitors, there was at + least one guest whose society she was not deprived of. Robert Audley + showed no intention of leaving his uncle's house. He had no professional + duties, he said; Figtree Court was delightfully shady in hot weather, but + there was a sharp corner round which the wind came in the summer months, + armed with avenging rheumatisms and influenzas. Everybody was so good to + him at the Court, that really he had no inclination to hurry away. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael had but one answer to this: "Stay, my dear boy; stay, my dear + Bob, as long as ever you like. I have no son, and you stand to me in the + place of one. Make yourself agreeable to Lucy, and make the Court your + home as long as you live." + </p> + <p> + To which Robert would merely reply by grasping his uncle's hand + vehemently, and muttering something about "a jolly old prince." + </p> + <p> + It was to be observed that there was sometimes a certain vague sadness in + the young man's tone when he called Sir Michael "a jolly old prince;" some + shadow of affectionate regret that brought a mist into Robert's eyes, as + he sat in a corner of the room looking thoughtfully at the white-bearded + baronet. + </p> + <p> + Before the last of the young sportsmen departed, Sir Harry Towers demanded + and obtained an interview with Miss Alicia Audley in the oak library—an + interview in which considerable emotion was displayed by the stalwart + young fox-hunter; so much emotion, indeed, and of such a genuine and + honest character, that Alicia fairly broke down as she told him she should + forever esteem and respect him for his true and noble heart, but that he + must never, never, unless he wished to cause her the most cruel distress, + ask more from her than this esteem and respect. + </p> + <p> + Sir Harry left the library by the French window opening into the + pond-garden. He strolled into that very lime-walk which George Talboys had + compared to an avenue in a churchyard, and under the leafless trees fought + the battle of his brave young heart. + </p> + <p> + "What a fool I am to feel it like this!" he cried, stamping his foot upon + the frosty ground. "I always knew it would be so; I always knew that she + was a hundred times too good for me. God bless her! How nobly and tenderly + she spoke; how beautiful she looked with the crimson blushes under her + brown skin, and the tears in her big, gray eyes—almost as handsome + as the day she took the sunk fence, and let me put the brush in her hat as + we rode home! God bless her! I can get over anything as long as she + doesn't care for that sneaking lawyer. But I couldn't stand that." + </p> + <p> + That sneaking lawyer, by which appellation Sir Harry alluded to Mr. Robert + Audley, was standing in the hall, looking at a map of the midland + counties, when Alicia came out of the library, with red eyes, after her + interview with the fox-hunting baronet. + </p> + <p> + Robert, who was short-sighted, had his eyes within half an inch of the + surface of the map as the young lady approached him. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, "Norwich <i>is</i> in Norfolk, and that fool, young + Vincent, said it was in Herefordshire. Ha, Alicia, is that you?" + </p> + <p> + He turned round so as to intercept Miss Audley on her way to the + staircase. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," replied his cousin curtly, trying to pass him. + </p> + <p> + "Alicia, you have been crying." + </p> + <p> + The young lady did not condescend to reply. + </p> + <p> + "You have been crying, Alicia. Sir Harry Towers, of Towers Park, in the + county of Herts, has been making you an offer of his hand, eh?" + </p> + <p> + "Have you been listening at the door, Mr. Audley?" + </p> + <p> + "I have not, Miss Audley. On principle, I object to listen, and in + practice I believe it to be a very troublesome proceeding; but I am a + barrister, Miss Alicia, and able to draw a conclusion by induction. Do you + know what inductive evidence is, Miss Audley?" + </p> + <p> + "No," replied Alicia, looking at her cousin as a handsome young panther + might look at its daring tormentor. + </p> + <p> + "I thought not. I dare say Sir Harry would ask if it was a new kind of + horse-ball. I knew by induction that the baronet was going to make you an + offer; first, because he came downstairs with his hair parted on the wrong + side, and his face as pale as a tablecloth; secondly, because he couldn't + eat any breakfast, and let his coffee go the wrong way; and, thirdly, + because he asked for an interview with you before he left the Court. Well, + how's it to be, Alicia? Do we marry the baronet, and is poor Cousin Bob to + be the best man at the wedding?" + </p> + <p> + "Sir Harry Towers is a noble-hearted young man," said Alicia, still trying + to pass her cousin. + </p> + <p> + "But do we accept him—yes or no? Are we to be Lady Towers, with a + superb estate in Hertfordshire, summer quarters for our hunters, and a + drag with outriders to drive us across to papa's place in Essex? Is it to + be so, Alicia, or not?" + </p> + <p> + "What is that to you, Mr. Robert Audley?" cried Alicia, passionately. + "What do <i>you</i> care what becomes of me, or whom I marry? If I married + a chimney-sweep you'd only lift up your eyebrows and say, 'Bless my soul, + she was always eccentric.' I have refused Sir Harry Towers; but when I + think of his generous and unselfish affection, and compare it with the + heartless, lazy, selfish, supercilious indifference of other men, I've a + good mind to run after him and tell him—" + </p> + <p> + "That you'll retract, and be my Lady Towers?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "Then don't, Alicia, don't," said Robert Audley, grasping his cousin's + slender little wrist, and leading her up-stairs. "Come into the + drawing-room with me, Alicia, my poor little cousin; my charming, + impetuous, alarming little cousin. Sit down here in this mullioned window, + and let us talk seriously and leave off quarreling if we can." + </p> + <p> + The cousins had the drawing-room all to themselves. Sir Michael was out, + my lady in her own apartments, and poor Sir Harry Towers walking up and + down upon the gravel walk, darkened with the flickering shadows of the + leafless branches in the cold winter sunshine. + </p> + <p> + "My poor little Alicia," said Robert, as tenderly as if he had been + addressing some spoiled child, "do you suppose that because people don't + wear vinegar tops, or part their hair on the wrong side, or conduct + themselves altogether after the manner of well-meaning maniacs, by way of + proving the vehemence of their passion—do you suppose because of + this, Alicia Audley, that they may not be just as sensible of the merits + of a dear little warm-hearted and affectionate girl as ever their + neighbors can be? Life is such a very troublesome matter, when all is said + and done, that it's as well even to take its blessings quietly. I don't + make a great howling because I can get good cigars one door from the + corner of Chancery Lane, and have a dear, good girl for my cousin; but I + am not the less grateful to Providence that it is so." + </p> + <p> + Alicia opened her gray eyes to their widest extent, looking her cousin + full in the face with a bewildered stare. Robert had picked up the ugliest + and leanest of his attendant curs, and was placidly stroking the animal's + ears. + </p> + <p> + "Is this all you have to say to me, Robert?" asked Miss Audley, meekly. + </p> + <p> + "Well, yes, I think so," replied her cousin, after considerable + deliberation. "I fancy that what I wanted to say was this—don't + marry the fox-hunting baronet if you like anybody else better; for if + you'll only be patient and take life easily, and try and reform yourself + of banging doors, bouncing in and out rooms, talking of the stables, and + riding across country, I've no doubt the person you prefer will make you a + very excellent husband." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, cousin," said Miss Audley, crimsoning with bright, indignant + blushes up to the roots of her waving brown hair; "but as you may not know + the person I prefer, I think you had better not take upon yourself to + answer for him." + </p> + <p> + Robert pulled the dog's ears thoughtfully for some moments. + </p> + <p> + "No, to be sure," he said, after a pause. "Of course, if I don't know him—I + thought I did." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Did you?</i>" exclaimed Alicia; and opening the door with a violence + that made her cousin shiver, she bounced out of the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + "I only said I thought I knew him," Robert called after her; and, then, as + he sunk into an easy-chair, he murmured thoughtfully: "Such a nice girl, + too, if she didn't bounce." + </p> + <p> + So poor Sir Harry Towers rode away from Audley Court, looking very + crestfallen and dismal. + </p> + <p> + He had very little pleasure in returning to the stately mansion, hidden + among sheltering oaks and venerable beeches. The square, red brick house, + gleaming at the end of a long arcade of leafless trees was to be forever + desolate, he thought, since Alicia would not come to be its mistress. + </p> + <p> + A hundred improvements planned and thought of were dismissed from his mind + as useless now. The hunter that Jim the trainer was breaking in for a + lady; the two pointer pups that were being reared for the next shooting + season; the big black retriever that would have carried Alicia's parasol; + the pavilion in the garden, disused since his mother's death, but which he + had meant to have restored for Miss Audley—all these things were now + so much vanity and vexation of spirit. + </p> + <p> + "What's the good of being rich if one has no one to help spend one's + money?" said the young baronet. "One only grows a selfish beggar, and + takes to drinking too much port. It's a hard thing that a girl can refuse + a true heart and such stables as we've got at the park. It unsettles a man + somehow." + </p> + <p> + Indeed, this unlooked for rejection had very much unsettled the few ideas + which made up the small sum of the baronet's mind. + </p> + <p> + He had been desperately in love with Alicia ever since the last hunting + season, when he had met her at the county ball. His passion, cherished + through the slow monotony of a summer, had broken out afresh in the merry + winter months, and the young man's <i>mauvaise honte</i> alone had delayed + the offer of his hand. But he had never for a moment supposed that he + would be refused; he was so used to the adulation of mothers who had + daughters to marry, and of even the daughters themselves; he had been so + accustomed to feel himself the leading personage in an assembly, although + half the wits of the age had been there, and he could only say "Haw, to be + sure!" and "By Jove—hum!" he had been so spoiled by the flatteries + of bright eyes that looked, or seemed to look, the brighter when he drew + near, that without being possessed of one shadow of personal vanity, he + had yet come to think that he had only to make an offer to the prettiest + girl in Essex to behold himself immediately accepted. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he would say complacently to some admiring satellite, "I know I'm a + good match, and I know what makes the gals so civil. They're very pretty, + and they're very friendly to a fellow; but I don't care about 'em. They're + all alike—they can only drop their eyes and say, 'Lor', Sir Harry, + why do you call that curly black dog a retriever?' or 'Oh Sir Harry, and + did the poor mare really sprain her pastern shoulder-blade?' I haven't got + much brains myself, I know," the baronet would add deprecatingly; "and I + don't want a strong-minded woman, who writes books and wears green + spectacles; but, hang it! I like a gal who knows what she's talking + about." + </p> + <p> + So when Alicia said "No," or rather made that pretty speech about esteem + and respect, which well-bred young ladies substitute for the obnoxious + monosyllable, Sir Harry Towers felt that the whole fabric of the future he + had built so complacently was shivered into a heap of dingy ruins. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael grasped him warmly by the hand just before the young man + mounted his horse in the court-yard. + </p> + <p> + "I'm very sorry, Towers," he said. "You're as good a fellow as ever + breathed, and would have made my girl an excellent husband; but you know + there's a cousin, and I think that—" + </p> + <p> + "Don't say that, Sir Michael," interrupted the fox-hunter, energetically. + "I can get over anything but that. A fellow whose hand upon the curb + weighs half a ton (why, he pulled the Cavalier's mouth to pieces, sir, the + day you let him ride the horse); a fellow who turns his collars down, and + eats bread and marmalade! No, no, Sir Michael; it's a queer world, but I + can't think that of Miss Audley. There must be some one in the background, + sir; it can't be the cousin." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael shook his head as the rejected suitor rode away. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know about that," he muttered. "Bob's a good lad, and the girl + might do worse; but he hangs back as if he didn't care for her. There's + some mystery—there's some mystery!" + </p> + <p> + The old baronet said this in that semi-thoughtful tone with which we speak + of other people's affairs. The shadows of the early winter twilight, + gathering thickest under the low oak ceiling of the hall, and the quaint + curve of the arched doorway, fell darkly round his handsome head; but the + light of his declining life, his beautiful and beloved young wife, was + near him, and he could see no shadows when she was by. + </p> + <p> + She came skipping through the hall to meet him, and, shaking her golden + ringlets, buried her bright head on her husband's breast. + </p> + <p> + "So the last of our visitors is gone, dear, and we're all alone," she + said. "Isn't that nice?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, darling," he answered fondly, stroking her bright hair. + </p> + <p> + "Except Mr. Robert Audley. How long is that nephew of yours going to stay + here?" + </p> + <p> + "As long as he likes, my pet; he's always welcome," said the baronet; and + then, as if remembering himself, he added, tenderly: "But not unless his + visit is agreeable to you, darling; not if his lazy habits, or his + smoking, or his dogs, or anything about him is displeasing to you." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley pursed up her rosy lips and looked thoughtfully at the ground. + </p> + <p> + "It isn't that," she said, hesitatingly. "Mr. Audley is a very agreeable + young man, and a very honorable young man; but you know, Sir Michael, I'm + rather a young aunt for such a nephew, and—" + </p> + <p> + "And what, Lucy?" asked the baronet, fiercely. + </p> + <p> + "Poor Alicia is rather jealous of any attention Mr. Audley pays me, and—and—I + think it would be better for her happiness if your nephew were to bring + his visit to a close." + </p> + <p> + "He shall go to-night, Lucy," exclaimed Sir Michael. "I am a blind, + neglectful fool not to have thought of this before. My lovely little + darling, it was scarcely just to Bob to expose the poor lad to your + fascinations. I know him to be as good and true-hearted a fellow as ever + breathed, but—but—he shall go tonight." + </p> + <p> + "But you won't be too abrupt, dear? You won't be rude?" + </p> + <p> + "Rude! No, Lucy. I left him smoking in the lime-walk. I'll go and tell him + that he must get out of the house in an hour." + </p> + <p> + So in that leafless avenue, under whose gloomy shade George Talboys had + stood on that thunderous evening before the day of his disappearance, Sir + Michael Audley told his nephew that the Court was no home for him, and + that my lady was too young and pretty to accept the attentions of a + handsome nephew of eight-and-twenty. + </p> + <p> + Robert only shrugged his shoulders and elevated his thick, black eyebrows + as Sir Michael delicately hinted all this. + </p> + <p> + "I have been attentive to my lady," he said. "She interests me;" and then, + with a change in his voice, and an emotion not common to him, he turned to + the baronet, and grasping his hand, exclaimed, "God forbid, my dear uncle, + that I should ever bring trouble upon such a noble heart as yours! God + forbid that the slightest shadow of dishonor should ever fall upon your + honored head—least of all through agency of mine." + </p> + <p> + The young man uttered these few words in a broken and disjointed fashion + in which Sir Michael had never heard him speak, before, and then turning + away his head, fairly broke down. + </p> + <p> + He left the court that night, but he did not go far. Instead of taking the + evening train for London, he went straight up to the little village of + Mount Stanning, and walking into the neatly-kept inn, asked Phoebe Marks + if he could be accommodated with apartments. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII. + </h2> + <h3> + AT THE CASTLE INN. + </h3> + <p> + The little sitting-room into which Phoebe Marks ushered the baronet's + nephew was situated on the ground floor, and only separated by a + lath-and-plaster partition from the little bar-parlor occupied by the + innkeeper and his wife. + </p> + <p> + It seemed as though the wise architect who had superintended the building + of the Castle Inn had taken especial care that nothing but the frailest + and most flimsy material should be used, and that the wind, having a + special fancy for this unprotected spot, should have full play for the + indulgence of its caprices. + </p> + <p> + To this end pitiful woodwork had been used instead of solid masonry; + rickety ceilings had been propped up by fragile rafters, and beams that + threatened on every stormy night to fall upon the heads of those beneath + them; doors whose specialty was never to be shut, yet always to be + banging; windows constructed with a peculiar view to letting in the draft + when they were shut, and keeping out the air when they were open. The hand + of genius had devised this lonely country inn; and there was not an inch + of woodwork, or trowelful of plaster employed in all the rickety + construction that did not offer its own peculiar weak point to every + assault of its indefatigable foe. + </p> + <p> + Robert looked about him with a feeble smile of resignation. + </p> + <p> + It was a change, decidedly, from the luxurious comforts of Audley Court, + and it was rather a strange fancy of the young barrister to prefer + loitering at this dreary village hostelry to returning to his snug + chambers in Figtree Court. + </p> + <p> + But he had brought his Lares and Penates with him, in the shape of his + German pipe, his tobacco canister, half a dozen French novels, and his two + ill-conditioned, canine favorites, which sat shivering before the smoky + little fire, barking shortly and sharply now and then, by way of hinting + for some slight refreshment. + </p> + <p> + While Mr. Robert Audley contemplated his new quarters, Phoebe Marks + summoned a little village lad who was in the habit of running errands for + her, and taking him into the kitchen, gave him a tiny note, carefully + folded and sealed. + </p> + <p> + "You know Audley Court?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, mum." + </p> + <p> + "If you'll run there with this letter to-night, and see that it's put + safely in Lady Audley's hands, I'll give you a shilling." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, mum." + </p> + <p> + "You understand? Ask to see my lady; you can say you've a message—not + a note, mind—but a message from Phoebe Marks; and when you see her, + give this into her own hand." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, mum." + </p> + <p> + "You won't forget?" + </p> + <p> + "No, mum." + </p> + <p> + "Then be off with you." + </p> + <p> + The boy waited for no second bidding, but in another moment was scudding + along the lonely high road, down the sharp descent that led to Audley. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks went to the window, and looked out at the black figure of the + lad hurrying through the dusky winter evening. + </p> + <p> + "If there's any bad meaning in his coming here," she thought, "my lady + will know of it in time, at any rate." + </p> + <p> + Phoebe herself brought the neatly arranged tea-tray, and the little + covered dish of ham and eggs which had been prepared for this unlooked-for + visitor. Her pale hair was as smoothly braided, and her light gray dress + fitted as precisely as of old. The same neutral tints pervaded her person + and her dress; no showy rose-colored ribbons or rustling silk gown + proclaimed the well-to-do innkeeper's wife. Phoebe Marks was a person who + never lost her individuality. Silent and self-constrained, she seemed to + hold herself within herself, and take no color from the outer world. + </p> + <p> + Robert looked at her thoughtfully as she spread the cloth, and drew the + table nearer to the fireplace. + </p> + <p> + "That," he thought, "is a woman who could keep a secret." + </p> + <p> + The dogs looked rather suspiciously at the quiet figure of Mrs. Marks + gliding softly about the room, from the teapot to the caddy, and from the + caddy to the kettle singing on the hob. + </p> + <p> + "Will you pour out my tea for me, Mrs. Marks?" said Robert, seating + himself on a horsehair-covered arm-chair, which fitted him as tightly in + every direction as if he had been measured for it. + </p> + <p> + "You have come straight from the Court, sir?" said Phoebe, as she handed + Robert the sugar-basin. + </p> + <p> + "Yes; I only left my uncle's an hour ago." + </p> + <p> + "And my lady, sir, was she quite well?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, quite well." + </p> + <p> + "As gay and light-hearted as ever, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "As gay and light-hearted as ever." + </p> + <p> + Phoebe retired respectfully after having given Mr. Audley his tea, but as + she stood with her hand upon the lock of the door he spoke again. + </p> + <p> + "You knew Lady Audley when she was Miss Lucy Graham, did you not?" he + asked. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir. I lived at Mrs. Dawson's when my lady was governess there." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed! Was she long in the surgeon's family?" + </p> + <p> + "A year and a half, sir." + </p> + <p> + "And she came from London?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir." + </p> + <p> + "And she was an orphan, I believe?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Always as cheerful as she is now?" + </p> + <p> + "Always, sir." + </p> + <p> + Robert emptied his teacup and handed it to Mrs. Marks. Their eyes met—a + lazy look in his, and an active, searching glance in hers. + </p> + <p> + "This woman would be good in a witness-box," he thought; "it would take a + clever lawyer to bother her in a cross-examination." + </p> + <p> + He finished his second cup of tea, pushed away his plate, fed his dogs, + and lighted his pipe, while Phoebe carried off the tea-tray. + </p> + <p> + The wind came whistling up across the frosty open country, and through the + leafless woods, and rattled fiercely at the window-frames. + </p> + <p> + "There's a triangular draught from those two windows and the door that + scarcely adds to the comfort of this apartment," murmured Robert; "and + there certainly are pleasantér sensations than that of standing up to + one's knees in cold water." + </p> + <p> + He poked the fire, patted his dogs, put on his great coat, rolled a + rickety old sofa close to the hearth, wrapped his legs in his railway rug, + and stretching himself at full length upon the narrow horsehair cushion, + smoked his pipe, and watched the bluish-gray wreaths curling upward to the + dingy ceiling. + </p> + <p> + "No," he murmured, again; "that is a woman who can keep a secret. A + counsel for the prosecution could get very little out of her." + </p> + <p> + I have said that the bar-parlor was only separated from the sitting-room + occupied by Robert by a lath-and-plaster partition. The young barrister + could hear the two or three village tradesmen and a couple of farmers + laughing and talking round the bar, while Luke Marks served them from his + stock of liquors. + </p> + <p> + Very often he could even hear their words, especially the landlord's, for + he spoke in a coarse, loud voice, and had a more boastful manner than any + of his customers. + </p> + <p> + "The man is a fool," said Robert, as he laid down his pipe. "I'll go and + talk to him by-and-by." + </p> + <p> + He waited till the few visitors to the Castle had dropped away one by one, + and when Luke Marks had bolted the door upon the last of his customers, he + strolled quietly into the bar-parlor, where the landlord was seated with + his wife. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe was busy at a little table, upon which stood a prim work-box, with + every reel of cotton and glistening steel bodkin in its appointed place. + She was darning the coarse gray stockings that adorned her husband's + awkward feet, but she did her work as daintily as if they had been my + lady's delicate silken hose. + </p> + <p> + I say that she took no color from external things, and that the vague air + of refinement that pervaded her nature clung to her as closely in the + society of her boorish husband at the Castle Inn as in Lady Audley's + boudoir at the Court. + </p> + <p> + She looked up suddenly as Robert entered the bar-parlor. There was some + shade of vexation in her pale gray eyes, which changed to an expression of + anxiety—nay, rather of almost terror—as she glanced from Mr. + Audley to Luke Marks. + </p> + <p> + "I have come in for a few minutes' chat before I go to bed," said Robert, + settling himself very comfortably before the cheerful fire. "Would you + object to a cigar, Mrs. Marks? I mean, of course, to my smoking one," he + added, explanatorily. + </p> + <p> + "Not at all, sir." + </p> + <p> + "It would be a good 'un her objectin' to a bit o' 'bacca," growled Mr. + Marks, "when me and the customers smokes all day." + </p> + <p> + Robert lighted his cigar with a gilt-paper match of Phoebe's making that + adorned the chimney-piece, and took half a dozen reflective puffs before + he spoke. + </p> + <p> + "I want you to tell me all about Mount Stanning, Mr. Marks," he said, + presently. + </p> + <p> + "Then that's pretty soon told," replied Luke, with a harsh, grating laugh. + "Of all the dull holes as ever a man set foot in, this is about the + dullest. Not that the business don't pay pretty tidy; I don't complain of + that; but I should ha' liked a public at Chelmsford, or Brentwood, or + Romford, or some place where there's a bit of life in the streets; and I + might have had it," he added, discontentedly, "if folks hadn't been so + precious stingy." + </p> + <p> + As her husband muttered this complaint in a grumbling undertone, Phoebe + looked up from her work and spoke to him. + </p> + <p> + "We forgot the brew-house door, Luke," she said. "Will you come with me + and help me put up the bar?" + </p> + <p> + "The brew-house door can bide for to-night," said Mr. Marks; "I ain't + agoin' to move now. I've seated myself for a comfortable smoke." + </p> + <p> + He took a long clay pipe from a corner of the fender as he spoke, and + began to fill it deliberately. + </p> + <p> + "I don't feel easy about that brew-house door, Luke," remonstrated his + wife; "there are always tramps about, and they can get in easily when the + bar isn't up." + </p> + <p> + "Go and put the bar up yourself, then, can't you?" answered Mr. Marks. + </p> + <p> + "It's too heavy for me to lift." + </p> + <p> + "Then let it bide, if you're too fine a lady to see to it yourself. You're + very anxious all of a sudden about this here brew-house door. I suppose + you don't want me to open my mouth to this here gent, that's about it. Oh, + you needn't frown at me to stop my speaking! You're always putting in your + tongue and clipping off my words before I've half said 'em; but I won't + stand it." + </p> + <p> + "Do you hear? I won't stand it!" + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks shrugged her shoulders, folded her work, shut her work-box, + and crossing her hands in her lap, sat with her gray eyes fixed upon her + husband's bull-like face. + </p> + <p> + "Then you don't particularly care to live at Mount Stanning?" said Robert, + politely, as if anxious to change the conversation. + </p> + <p> + "No, I don't," answered Luke; "and I don't care who knows it; and, as I + said before, if folks hadn't been so precious stingy, I might have had a + public in a thrivin' market town, instead of this tumble-down old place, + where a man has his hair blowed off his head on a windy day. What's fifty + pound, or what's a hundred pound—" + </p> + <p> + "Luke! Luke!" + </p> + <p> + "No, you're not goin' to stop my mouth with all your 'Luke, Lukes!'" + answered Mr. Marks to his wife's remonstrance. "I say again, what's a + hundred pound?" + </p> + <p> + "No," answered Robert Audley, with wonderful distinctness, and addressing + his words to Luke Marks, but fixing his eyes upon Phoebe's anxious face. + "What, indeed, is a hundred pounds to a man possessed of the power which + you hold, or rather which your wife holds, over the person in question." + </p> + <p> + Phoebe's face, at all times almost colorless, seemed scarcely capable of + growing paler; but as her eyelids drooped under Robert Audley's searching + glance, a visible change came over the pallid hues of her complexion. + </p> + <p> + "A quarter to twelve," said Robert, looking at his watch. + </p> + <p> + "Late hours for such a quiet village as Mount Stanning. Good-night, my + worthy host. Good-night, Mrs. Marks. You needn't send me my shaving water + till nine o'clock to-morrow morning." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII. + </h2> + <h3> + ROBERT RECEIVES A VISITOR WHOM HE HAD SCARCELY EXPECTED. + </h3> + <p> + Eleven o'clock struck the next morning, and found Mr. Robert Audley still + lounging over the well ordered little breakfast table, with one of his + dogs at each side of his arm-chair, regarding him with watchful eyes and + opened mouths, awaiting the expected morsel of ham or toast. Robert had a + county paper on his knees, and made a feeble effort now and then to read + the first page, which was filled with advertisements of farming stock, + quack medicines, and other interesting matter. + </p> + <p> + The weather had changed, and the snow, which had for the last few days + been looming blackly in the frosty sky, fell in great feathery flakes + against the windows, and lay piled in the little bit of garden-ground + without. + </p> + <p> + The long, lonely road leading toward Audley seemed untrodden by a + footstep, as Robert Audley looked out at the wintry landscape. + </p> + <p> + "Lively," he said, "for a man used to the fascinations of Temple Bar." + </p> + <p> + As he watched the snow-flakes falling every moment thicker and faster upon + the lonely road, he was surprised by seeing a brougham driving slowly up + the hill. + </p> + <p> + "I wonder what unhappy wretch has too restless a spirit to stop at home on + such a morning as this," he muttered, as he returned to the arm-chair by + the fire. + </p> + <p> + He had only reseated himself a few moments when Phoebe Marks entered the + room to announce Lady Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Lady Audley! Pray beg her to come in," said Robert; and then, as Phoebe + left the room to usher in this unexpected visitor, he muttered between his + teeth—"A false move, my lady, and one I never looked for from you." + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley was radiant on this cold and snowy January morning. Other + people's noses are rudely assailed by the sharp fingers of the grim + ice-king, but not my lady's; other people's lips turn pale and blue with + the chilling influence of the bitter weather, but my lady's pretty little + rosebud of a mouth retained its brightest coloring and cheeriest + freshness. + </p> + <p> + She was wrapped in the very sables which Robert Audley had brought from + Russia, and carried a muff that the young man thought seemed almost as big + as herself. + </p> + <p> + She looked a childish, helpless, babyfied little creature; and Robert + looked down upon her with some touch of pity in his eyes, as she came up + to the hearth by which he was standing, and warmed her tiny gloved hands + at the blaze. + </p> + <p> + "What a morning, Mr. Audley!" she said, "what a morning!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, indeed! Why did you come out in such weather?" + </p> + <p> + "Because I wished to see you—particularly." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said my lady, with an air of considerable embarrassment, playing + with the button of her glove, and almost wrenching it off in her + restlessness—"yes, Mr. Audley, I felt that you had not been well + treated; that—that you had, in short, reason to complain; and that + an apology was due to you." + </p> + <p> + "I do not wish for any apology, Lady Audley." + </p> + <p> + "But you are entitled to one," answered my lady, quietly. "Why, my dear + Robert, should we be so ceremonious toward each other? You were very + comfortable at Audley; we were very glad to have you there; but, my dear, + silly husband must needs take it into his foolish head that it is + dangerous for his poor little wife's peace of mind to have a nephew of + eight or nine and twenty smoking his cigars in her boudoir, and, behold! + our pleasant little family circle is broken up." + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley spoke with that peculiar childish vivacity which seemed so + natural to her, Robert looking down almost sadly at her bright, animated + face. + </p> + <p> + "Lady Audley," he said, "Heaven forbid that either you or I should ever + bring grief or dishonor upon my uncle's generous heart! Better, perhaps, + that I should be out of the house—better, perhaps, that I had never + entered it!" + </p> + <p> + My lady had been looking at the fire while her nephew spoke, but at his + last words she lifted her head suddenly, and looked him full in the face + with a wondering expression—an earnest, questioning gaze, whose full + meaning the young barrister understood. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, pray do not be alarmed, Lady Audley," he said, gravely. "You have no + sentimental nonsense, no silly infatuation, borrowed from Balzac or Dumas + <i>fils</i>, to fear from me. The benchers of the Inner Temple will tell + you that Robert Audley is troubled with none of the epidemics whose + outward signs are turn-down collars and Byronic neckties. I say that I + wish I had never entered my uncle's house during the last year; but I say + it with a far more solemn meaning than any sentimental one." + </p> + <p> + My lady shrugged her shoulders. + </p> + <p> + "If you insist on talking in enigmas, Mr. Audley," she said, "you must + forgive a poor little woman if she declines to answer them." + </p> + <p> + Robert made no reply to this speech. + </p> + <p> + "But tell me," said my lady, with an entire change of tone, "what could + have induced you to come up to this dismal place?" + </p> + <p> + "Curiosity." + </p> + <p> + "Curiosity?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; I felt an interest in that bull-necked man, with the dark-red hair + and wicked gray eyes. A dangerous man, my lady—a man in whose power + I should not like to be." + </p> + <p> + A sudden change came over Lady Audley's face; the pretty, roseate flush + faded out from her cheeks, and left them waxen white, and angry flashes + lightened in her blue eyes. + </p> + <p> + "What have I done to you, Robert Audley," she cried, passionately—"what + have I done to you that you should hate me so?" + </p> + <p> + He answered her very gravely: + </p> + <p> + "I had a friend, Lady Audley, whom I loved very dearly, and since I have + lost him I fear that my feelings toward other people are strangely + embittered." + </p> + <p> + "You mean the Mr. Talboys who went to Australia?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I mean the Mr. Talboys who I was told set out for Liverpool with the + idea of going to Australia." + </p> + <p> + "And you do not believe in his having sailed for Australia?" + </p> + <p> + "I do not." + </p> + <p> + "But why not?" + </p> + <p> + "Forgive me, Lady Audley, if I decline to answer that question." + </p> + <p> + "As you please," she said, carelessly. + </p> + <p> + "A week after my friend disappeared," continued Robert, "I posted an + advertisement to the Sydney and Melbourne papers, calling upon him if he + was in either city when the advertisement appeared, to write and tell me + of his whereabouts, and also calling on any one who had met him, either in + the colonies or on the voyage out, to give me any information respecting + him. George Talboys left Essex, or disappeared from Essex, on the 6th of + September last. I ought to receive some answer to this advertisement by + the end of this month. To-day is the 27th; the time draws very near." + </p> + <p> + "And if you receive no answer?" asked Lady Audley. + </p> + <p> + "If I receive no answer I shall think that my fears have been not + unfounded, and I shall do my best to act." + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean by that?" + </p> + <p> + "Ah, Lady Audley, you remind me how very powerless I am in this matter. My + friend might have been made away with in this very inn, and I might stay + here for a twelvemonth, and go away at the last as ignorant of his fate as + if I had never crossed the threshold. What do we know of the mysteries + that may hang about the houses we enter? If I were to go to-morrow into + that commonplace, plebeian, eight-roomed house in which Maria Manning and + her husband murdered their guest, I should have no awful prescience of + that bygone horror. Foul deeds have been done under the most hospitable + roofs; terrible crimes have been committed amid the fairest scenes, and + have left no trace upon the spot where they were done. I do not believe in + mandrake, or in bloodstains that no time can efface. I believe rather that + we may walk unconsciously in an atmosphere of crime, and breathe none the + less freely. I believe that we may look into the smiling face of a + murderer, and admire its tranquil beauty." + </p> + <p> + My lady laughed at Robert's earnestness. + </p> + <p> + "You seem to have quite a taste for discussing these horrible subjects," + she said, rather scornfully; "you ought to have been a detective police + officer." + </p> + <p> + "I sometimes think I should have been a good one." + </p> + <p> + "Why?" + </p> + <p> + "Because I am patient." + </p> + <p> + "But to return to Mr. George Talboys, whom we lost sight of in your + eloquent discussion. What if you receive no answer to your + advertisements?" + </p> + <p> + "I shall then consider myself justified in concluding my friend is dead." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, and then—?" + </p> + <p> + "I shall examine the effects he left at my chambers." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed! and what are they? Coats, waistcoats, varnished boots, and + meerschaum pipes, I suppose," said Lady Audley, laughing. + </p> + <p> + "No; letters—letters from his friends, his old schoolfellows, his + father, his brother officers." + </p> + <p> + "Yes?" + </p> + <p> + "Letters, too, from his wife." + </p> + <p> + My lady was silent for some few moments, looking thoughtfully at the fire. + </p> + <p> + "Have you ever seen any of the letters written by the late Mrs. Talboys?" + she asked presently. + </p> + <p> + "Never. Poor soul! her letters are not likely to throw much light upon my + friend's fate. I dare say she wrote the usual womanly scrawl. There are + very few who write so charming and uncommon a hand as yours, Lady Audley." + </p> + <p> + "Ah, you know my hand, of course." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I know it very well indeed." + </p> + <p> + My lady warmed her hands once more, and then taking up the big muff which + she had laid aside upon a chair, prepared to take her departure. + </p> + <p> + "You have refused to accept my apology, Mr. Audley," she said; "but I + trust you are not the less assured of my feelings toward you." + </p> + <p> + "Perfectly assured, Lady Audley." + </p> + <p> + "Then good-by, and let me recommend you not to stay long in this miserable + draughty place, if you do not wish to take rheumatism back to Figtree + Court." + </p> + <p> + "I shall return to town to-morrow morning to see after my letters." + </p> + <p> + "Then once more good-by." + </p> + <p> + She held out her hand; he took it loosely in his own. It seemed such a + feeble little hand that he might have crushed it in his strong grasp, had + he chosen to be so pitiless. + </p> + <p> + He attended her to her carriage, and watched it as it drove off, not + toward Audley, but in the direction of Brentwood, which was about six + miles from Mount Stanning. + </p> + <p> + About an hour and a half after this, as Robert stood at the door of the + inn, smoking a cigar and watching the snow falling in the whitened fields + opposite, he saw the brougham drive back, empty this time, to the door of + the inn. + </p> + <p> + "Have you taken Lady Audley back to the Court?" he said to the coachman, + who had stopped to call for a mug of hot spiced ale. + </p> + <p> + "No, sir; I've just come from the Brentwood station. My lady started for + London by the 12.40 train." + </p> + <p> + "For town?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir." + </p> + <p> + "My lady gone to London!" said Robert, as he returned to the little + sitting-room. "Then I'll follow her by the next train; and if I'm not very + much mistaken, I know where to find her." + </p> + <p> + He packed his portmanteau, paid his bill, fastened his dogs together with + a couple of leathern collars and a chain, and stepped into the rumbling + fly kept by the Castle Inn for the convenience of Mount Stanning. He + caught an express that left Brentwood at three o'clock, and settled + himself comfortably in a corner of an empty first-class carriage, coiled + up in a couple of railway rugs, and smoking a cigar in mild defiance of + the authorities. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX. + </h2> + <h3> + THE WRITING IN THE BOOK. + </h3> + <p> + It was exactly five minutes past four as Mr. Robert Audley stepped out + upon the platform at Shoreditch, and waited placidly until such time as + his dogs and his portmanteau should be delivered up to the attendant + porter who had called his cab, and undertaken the general conduct of his + affairs, with that disinterested courtesy which does such infinite credit + to a class of servitors who are forbidden to accept the tribute of a + grateful public. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley waited with consummate patience for a considerable time; but + as the express was generally a long train, and as there were a great many + passengers from Norfolk carrying guns and pointers, and other + paraphernalia of a critical description, it took a long while to make + matters agreeable to all claimants, and even the barrister's seraphic + indifference to mundane affairs nearly gave way. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps, when that gentleman who is making such a noise about a pointer + with liver-colored spots, has discovered the particular pointer and spots + that he wants—which happy combination of events scarcely seems + likely to arrive—they'll give me my luggage and let me go. The + designing wretches knew at a glance that I was born to be imposed upon; + and that if they were to trample the life out of me upon this very + platform, I should never have the spirit to bring an action against the + company." + </p> + <p> + Suddenly an idea seemed to strike him, and he left the porter to struggle + for the custody of his goods, and walked round to the other side of the + station. + </p> + <p> + He heard a bell ring, and looking at the clock, had remembered that the + down train for Colchester started at this time. He had learned what it was + to have an earnest purpose since the disappearance of George Talboys; and + he reached the opposite platform in time to see the passengers take their + seats. + </p> + <p> + There was one lady who had evidently only just arrived at the station; for + she hurried on to the platform at the very moment that Robert approached + the train, and almost ran against that gentleman in her haste and + excitement. + </p> + <p> + "I beg your pardon," she began, ceremoniously; then raising her eyes from + Mr. Audley's waistcoat, which was about on a level with her pretty face, + she exclaimed, "Robert, you in London already?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Lady Audley; you were quite right; the Castle Inn is a dismal place, + and—" + </p> + <p> + "You got tired of it—I knew you would. Please open the carriage door + for me: the train will start in two minutes." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley was looking at his uncle's wife with rather a puzzled + expression of countenance. + </p> + <p> + "What does it mean?" he thought. "She is altogether a different being to + the wretched, helpless creature who dropped her mask for a moment, and + looked at me with her own pitiful face, in the little room at Mount + Stanning, four hours ago. What has happened to cause the change?" + </p> + <p> + He opened the door for her while he thought this, and helped her to settle + herself in her seat, spreading her furs over her knees, and arranging the + huge velvet mantle in which her slender little figure was almost hidden. + </p> + <p> + "Thank you very much; how good you are to me," she said, as he did this. + "You will think me very foolish to travel upon such a day, without my dear + darling's knowledge too; but I went up to town to settle a very terrific + milliner's bill, which I did not wish my best of husbands to see; for, + indulgent as he is, he might think me extravagant; and I cannot bear to + suffer even in his thoughts." + </p> + <p> + "Heaven forbid that you ever should, Lady Audley," Robert said, gravely. + </p> + <p> + She looked at him for a moment with a smile, which had something defiant + in its brightness. + </p> + <p> + "Heaven forbid it, indeed," she murmured. "I don't think I ever shall." + </p> + <p> + The second bell rung, and the train moved as she spoke. The last Robert + Audley saw of her was that bright defiant smile. + </p> + <p> + "Whatever object brought her to London has been successfully + accomplished," he thought. "Has she baffled me by some piece of womanly + jugglery? Am I never to get any nearer to the truth, but am I to be + tormented all my life by vague doubts, and wretched suspicions, which may + grow upon me till I become a monomaniac? Why did she come to London?" + </p> + <p> + He was still mentally asking himself this question as he ascended the + stairs in Figtree Court, with one of his dogs under each arm, and his + railway rugs over his shoulder. + </p> + <p> + He found his chambers in their accustomed order. The geraniums had been + carefully tended, and the canaries had retired for the night under cover + of a square of green baize, testifying to the care of honest Mrs. Maloney. + Robert cast a hurried glance round the sitting-room; then setting down the + dogs upon the hearth-rug, he walked straight into the little inner chamber + which served as his dressing-room. + </p> + <p> + It was in this room that he kept disused portmanteaus, battered japanned + cases, and other lumber; and it was in this room that George Talboys had + left his luggage. Robert lifted a portmanteau from the top of a large + trunk, and kneeling down before it with a lighted candle in his hand, + carefully examined the lock. + </p> + <p> + To all appearance it was exactly in the same condition in which George had + left it, when he laid his mourning garments aside and placed them in this + shabby repository with all other memorials of his dead wife. Robert + brushed his coat sleeve across the worn, leather-covered lid, upon which + the initials G. T. were inscribed with big brass-headed nails; but Mrs. + Maloney, the laundress, must have been the most precise of housewives, for + neither the portmanteau nor the trunk were dusty. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley dispatched a boy to fetch his Irish attendant, and paced up and + down his sitting-room waiting anxiously for her arrival. + </p> + <p> + She came in about ten minutes, and, after expressing her delight in the + return of "the master," humbly awaited his orders. + </p> + <p> + "I only sent for you to ask if anybody has been here; that is to say, if + anybody has applied to you for the key of my rooms to-day—any lady?" + </p> + <p> + "Lady? No, indeed, yer honor; there's been no lady for the kay; barrin' + it's the blacksmith." + </p> + <p> + "The blacksmith!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; the blacksmith your honor ordered to come to-day." + </p> + <p> + "I order a blacksmith!" exclaimed Robert. "I left a bottle of French + brandy in the cupboard," he thought, "and Mrs. M. has been evidently + enjoying herself." + </p> + <p> + "Sure, and the blacksmith your honor tould to see to the locks," replied + Mrs. Maloney. "It's him that lives down in one of the little streets by + the bridge," she added, giving a very lucid description of the man's + whereabouts. + </p> + <p> + Robert lifted his eyebrows in mute despair. + </p> + <p> + "If you'll sit down and compose yourself, Mrs. M.," he said—he + abbreviated her name thus on principle, for the avoidance of unnecessary + labor—"perhaps we shall be able by and by to understand each other. + You say a blacksmith has been here?" + </p> + <p> + "Sure and I did, sir." + </p> + <p> + "To-day?" + </p> + <p> + "Quite correct, sir." + </p> + <p> + Step by step Mr. Audley elicited the following information. A locksmith + had called upon Mrs. Maloney that afternoon at three o'clock, and had + asked for the key of Mr. Audley's chambers, in order that he might look to + the locks of the doors, which he stated were all out of repair. He + declared that he was acting upon Mr. Audley's own orders, conveyed to him + by a letter from the country, where the gentleman was spending his + Christmas. Mrs. Maloney, believing in the truth of this statement, had + admitted the man to the chambers, where he stayed about half an hour. + </p> + <p> + "But you were with him while he examined the locks, I suppose?" Mr. Audley + asked. + </p> + <p> + "Sure I was, sir, in and out, as you may say, all the time, for I've been + cleaning the stairs this afternoon, and I took the opportunity to begin my + scouring while the man was at work." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, you were in and out all the time. If you <i>could</i> conveniently + give me a plain answer, Mrs. M., I should be glad to know what was the + longest time that you were <i>out</i> while the locksmith was in my + chambers?" + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Maloney could not give a plain answer. It might have been ten + minutes; though she didn't think it was as much. It might have been a + quarter of an hour; but she was sure it wasn't more. It didn't <i>seem</i> + to her more than five minutes, but "thim stairs, your honor;" and here she + rambled off into a disquisition upon the scouring of stairs in general, + and the stairs outside Robert's chambers in particular. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley sighed the weary sigh of mournful resignation. + </p> + <p> + "Never mind, Mrs. M.," he said; "the locksmith had plenty of time to do + anything he wanted to do, I dare say, without your being any the wiser." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Maloney stared at her employer with mingled surprise and alarm. + </p> + <p> + "Sure, there wasn't anything for him to stale, your honor, barrin' the + birds and the geran'ums, and—" + </p> + <p> + "No, no, I understand. There, that'll do, Mrs. M. Tell me where the man + lives, and I'll go and see him." + </p> + <p> + "But you'll have a bit of dinner first, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "I'll go and see the locksmith before I have my dinner." + </p> + <p> + He took up his hat as he announced his determination, and walked toward + the door. + </p> + <p> + "The man's address, Mrs. M?" + </p> + <p> + The Irishwoman directed him to a small street at the back of St. Bride's + Church, and thither Mr. Robert Audley quietly strolled, through the miry + slush which simple Londoners call <i>snow</i>. + </p> + <p> + He found the locksmith, and, at the sacrifice of the crown of his hat, + contrived to enter the low, narrow doorway of a little open shop. A jet of + gas was flaring in the unglazed window, and there was a very merry party + in the little room behind the shop; but no one responded to Robert's + "Hulloa!" The reason of this was sufficiently obvious. The merry party was + so much absorbed in its own merriment as to be deaf to all commonplace + summonses from the outer world; and it was only when Robert, advancing + further into the cavernous little shop, made so bold as to open the + half-glass door which separated him from the merry-makers, that he + succeeded in obtaining their attention. + </p> + <p> + A very jovial picture of the Teniers school was presented to Mr. Robert + Audley upon the opening of this door. + </p> + <p> + The locksmith, with his wife and family, and two or three droppers-in of + the female sex, were clustered about a table, which was adorned by two + bottles; not vulgar bottles of that colorless extract of the juniper + berry, much affected by the masses; but of <i>bona fide</i> port and + sherry—fiercely strong sherry, which left a fiery taste in the + mouth, nut-brown sherry—rather unnaturally brown, if anything—and + fine old port; no sickly vintage, faded and thin from excessive age: but a + rich, full-bodied wine, sweet and substantial and high colored. + </p> + <p> + The locksmith was speaking as Robert Audley opened the door. + </p> + <p> + "And with that," he said, "she walked off, as graceful as you please." + </p> + <p> + The whole party was thrown into confusion by the appearance of Mr. Audley, + but it was to be observed that the locksmith was more embarrassed than his + companions. He set down his glass so hurriedly, that he spilt his wine, + and wiped his mouth nervously with the back of his dirty hand. + </p> + <p> + "You called at my chambers to-day," Robert said, quietly. "Don't let me + disturb you, ladies." This to the droppers-in. "You called at my chambers + to-day, Mr. White, and—" + </p> + <p> + The man interrupted him. + </p> + <p> + "I hope, sir, you will be so good as to look over the mistake," he + stammered. "I'm sure, sir, I'm very sorry it should have occurred. I was + sent for to another gentleman's chambers, Mr. Aulwin, in Garden Court; and + the name slipped my memory; and havin' done odd jobs before for you, I + thought it must be you as wanted me to-day; and I called at Mrs. Maloney's + for the key accordin'; but directly I see the locks in your chambers, I + says to myself, the gentleman's locks ain't out of order; the gentleman + don't want all his locks repaired." + </p> + <p> + "But you stayed half an hour." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir; for there was <i>one</i> lock out of order—the door + nighest the staircase—and I took it off and cleaned it and put it on + again. I won't charge you nothin' for the job, and I hope as you'll be as + good as to look over the mistake as has occurred, which I've been in + business thirteen years come July, and—" + </p> + <p> + "Nothing of this kind ever happened before, I suppose," said Robert, + gravely. "No, it's altogether a singular kind of business, not likely to + come about every day. You've been enjoying yourself this evening I see, + Mr. White. You've done a good stroke of work to-day, I'll wager—made + a lucky hit, and you're what you call 'standing treat,' eh?" + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley looked straight into the man's dingy face as he spoke. The + locksmith was not a bad-looking fellow, and there was nothing that he need + have been ashamed of in his face, except the dirt, and that, as Hamlet's + mother says, "is common;" but in spite of this, Mr. White's eyelids + dropped under the young barrister's calm scrutiny, and he stammered out + some apologetic sort of speech about his "missus," and his missus' + neighbors, and port wine and sherry wine, with as much confusion as if he, + an honest mechanic in a free country, were called upon to excuse himself + to Robert Audley for being caught in the act of enjoying himself in his + own parlor. + </p> + <p> + Robert cut him short with a careless nod. + </p> + <p> + "Pray don't apologize," he said; "I like to see people enjoy themselves. + Good-night, Mr. White good-night, ladies." + </p> + <p> + He lifted his hat to "the missus," and the missus' neighbors, who were + much fascinated by his easy manner and his handsome face, and left the + shop. + </p> + <p> + "And so," he muttered to himself as he went back to his chambers, "'with + that she walked off as graceful as you please.'Who was it that walked off; + and what was the story which the locksmith was telling when I interrupted + him at that sentence? Oh, George Talboys, George Talboys, am I ever to + come any nearer to the secret of your fate? Am I coming nearer to it now, + slowly but surely? Is the radius to grow narrower day by day until it + draws a dark circle around the home of those I love? How is it all to + end?" + </p> + <p> + He sighed wearily as he walked slowly back across the flagged quadrangles + in the Temple to his own solitary chambers. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Maloney had prepared for him that bachelor's dinner, which, however + excellent and nutritious in itself, has no claim to the special charm of + novelty. She had cooked for him a mutton-chop, which was soddening itself + between two plates upon the little table near the fire. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley sighed as he sat down to the familiar meal, remembering his + uncle's cook with a fond, regretful sorrow. + </p> + <p> + "Her cutlets a la Maintenon made mutton seem more than mutton; a + sublimated meat that could scarcely have grown upon any mundane sheep," he + murmured sentimentally, "and Mrs. Maloney's chops are apt to be tough; but + such is life—what does it matter?" + </p> + <p> + He pushed away his plate impatiently after eating a few mouthfuls. + </p> + <p> + "I have never eaten a good dinner at this table since I lost George + Talboys," he said. "The place seems as gloomy as if the poor fellow had + died in the next room, and had never been taken away to be buried. How + long ago that September afternoon appears as I look back at it—that + September afternoon upon which I parted with him alive and well; and lost + him as suddenly and unaccountably as if a trap-door had opened in the + solid earth and let him through to the antipodes!" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley rose from the dinner-table and walked over to the cabinet in + which he kept the document he had drawn up relating to George Talboys. He + unlocked the doors of his cabinet, took the paper from the pigeon-hole + marked important, and seated himself at his desk to write. He added + several paragraphs to those in the document, numbering the fresh + paragraphs as carefully as he had numbered the old ones. + </p> + <p> + "Heaven help us all," he muttered once; "is this paper with which no + attorney has had any hand to be my first brief?" + </p> + <p> + He wrote for about half an hour, then replaced the document in the + pigeon-hole, and locked the cabinet. When he had done this, he took a + candle in his hand, and went into the room in which were his own + portmanteaus and the trunk belonging to George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + He took a bunch of keys from his pocket, and tried them one by one. The + lock of the shabby old trunk was a common one, and at the fifth trial the + key turned easily. + </p> + <p> + "There'd be no need for any one to break open such a lock as this," + muttered Robert, as he lifted the lid of the trunk. + </p> + <p> + He slowly emptied it of its contents, taking out each article separately, + and laying it carefully upon a chair by his side. He handled the things + with a respectful tenderness, as if he had been lifting the dead body of + his lost friend. One by one he laid the neatly folded mourning garments on + the chair. He found old meerschaum pipes, and soiled, crumpled gloves that + had once been fresh from the Parisian maker; old play-bills, whose biggest + letters spelled the names of actors who were dead and gone; old + perfume-bottles, fragrant with essences, whose fashion had passed away; + neat little parcels of letters, each carefully labeled with the name of + the writer; fragments of old newspapers; and a little heap of shabby, + dilapidated books, each of which tumbled into as many pieces as a pack of + cards in Robert's incautious hand. But among all the mass of worthless + litter, each scrap of which had once had its separate purpose, Robert + Audley looked in vain for that which he sought—the packet of letters + written to the missing man by his dead wife Helen Talboys. He had heard + George allude more than once to the existence of these letters. He had + seen him once sorting the faded papers with a reverent hand; and he had + seen him replace them, carefully tied together with a faded ribbon which + had once been Helen's, among the mourning garments in the trunk. Whether + he had afterward removed them, or whether they had been removed since his + disappearance by some other hand, it was not easy to say; but they were + gone. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley sighed wearily as he replaced the things in the empty box, + one by one, as he had taken them out. He stopped with the little heap of + tattered books in his hand, and hesitated for a moment. + </p> + <p> + "I will keep these out," he muttered, "there may be something to help me + in one of them." + </p> + <p> + George's library was no very brilliant collection of literature. There was + an old Greek Testament and the Eton Latin Grammar; a French pamphlet on + the cavalry sword-exercise; an odd volume of Tom Jones with one half of + its stiff leather cover hanging to it by a thread; Byron's Don Juan, + printed in a murderous type, which must have been invented for the special + advantage of oculists and opticians; and a fat book in a faded gilt and + crimson cover. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley locked the trunk and took the books under his arm. Mrs. + Maloney was clearing away the remains of his repast when he returned to + the sitting-room. He put the books aside on a little table in a corner of + the fire-place, and waited patiently while the laundress finished her + work. He was in no humor even for his meerschaum consoler; the + yellow-papered fictions on the shelves above his head seemed stale and + profitless—he opened a volume of Balzac, but his uncle's wife's + golden curls danced and trembled in a glittering haze, alike upon the + metaphysical diablerie of the <i>Peau de Chagrin</i>, and the hideous + social horrors of "<i>Cousine Bette</i>." The volume dropped from his + hand, and he sat wearily watching Mrs. Maloney as she swept up the ashes + on the hearth, replenished the fire, drew the dark damask curtains, + supplied the simple wants of the canaries, and put on her bonnet in the + disused clerk's office, prior to bidding her employer good-night. As the + door closed upon the Irishwoman, he arose impatiently from his chair, and + paced up and down the room. + </p> + <p> + "Why do I go on with this," he said, "when I know that it is leading me, + step by step, day by day, hour by hour, nearer to that conclusion which, + of all others, I should avoid? Am I tied to a wheel, and must I go with + its every revolution, let it take me where it will? Or can I sit down here + to-night and say I have done my duty to my missing friend, I have searched + for him patiently, but I have searched in vain? Should I be justified in + doing this? Should I be justified in letting the chain which I have slowly + put together, link by link, drop at this point, or must I go on adding + fresh links to that fatal chain until the last rivet drops into its place + and the circle is complete? I think, and I believe, that I shall never see + my friend's face again; and that no exertion of mine can ever be of any + benefit to him. In plainer, crueler words I believe him to be dead. Am I + bound to discover how and where he died? or being, as I think, on the road + to that discovery, shall I do a wrong to the memory of George Talboys by + turning back or stopping still? What am I to do?—what am I to do?" + </p> + <p> + He rested his elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his hands. The + one purpose which had slowly grown up in his careless nature until it had + become powerful enough to work a change in that very nature, made him what + he had never been before—a Christian; conscious of his own weakness; + anxious to keep to the strict line of duty; fearful to swerve from the + conscientious discharge of the strange task that had been forced upon him; + and reliant on a stronger hand than his own to point the way which he was + to go. Perhaps he uttered his first earnest prayer that night, seated by + his lonely fireside, thinking of George Talboys. When he raised his head + from that long and silent revery, his eyes had a bright, determined + glance, and every feature in his face seemed to wear a new expression. + </p> + <p> + "Justice to the dead first," he said; "mercy to the living afterward." + </p> + <p> + He wheeled his easy-chair to the table, trimmed the lamp, and settled + himself to the examination of the books. + </p> + <p> + He took them up, one by one, and looked carefully through them, first + looking at the page on which the name of the owner is ordinarily written, + and then searching for any scrap of paper which might have been left + within the leaves. On the first page of the Eton Latin Grammar the name of + Master Talboys was written in a prim, scholastic hand; the French pamphlet + had a careless G.T. scrawled on the cover in pencil, in George's big, + slovenly calligraphy: the Tom Jones had evidently been bought at a + book-stall, and bore an inscription, dated March 14th, 1788, setting forth + that the book was a tribute of respect to Mr. Thos. Scrowton, from his + obedient servant, James Anderley; the Don Juan and the Testament were + blank. Robert Audley breathed more freely; he had arrived at the last but + one of the books without any result whatever, and there only remained the + fat gilt-and-crimson-bound volume to be examined before his task was + finished. + </p> + <p> + It was an annual of the year 1845. The copper-plate engravings of lovely + ladies, who had flourished in that day, were yellow and spotted with + mildew; the costumes grotesque and outlandish; the simpering beauties + faded and commonplace. Even the little clusters of verses (in which the + poet's feeble candle shed its sickly light upon the obscurities of the + artist's meaning) had an old-fashioned twang; like music on a lyre, whose + strings are slackened by the damps of time. Robert Audley did not stop to + read any of the mild productions. He ran rapidly through the leaves, + looking for any scrap of writing or fragment of a letter which might have + been used to mark a place. He found nothing but a bright ring of golden + hair, of that glittering hue which is so rarely seen except upon the head + of a child—a sunny lock, which curled as naturally as the tendril of + a vine; and was very opposite in texture, if not different in hue, to the + soft, smooth tresses which the landlady at Ventnor had given to George + Talboys after his wife's death. Robert Audley suspended his examination of + the book, and folded this yellow lock in a sheet of letter paper, which he + sealed with his signet-ring, and laid aside, with the memorandum about + George Talboys and Alicia's letter, in the pigeon-hole marked important. + He was going to replace the fat annual among the other books, when he + discovered that the two blank leaves at the beginning were stuck together. + He was so determined to prosecute his search to the very uttermost, that + he took the trouble to part these leaves with the sharp end of his + paper-knife, and he was rewarded for his perseverance by finding an + inscription upon one of them. This inscription was in three parts, and in + three different hands. The first paragraph was dated as far back as the + year in which the annual had been published, and set forth that the book + was the property of a certain Miss Elizabeth Ann Bince, who had obtained + the precious volume as a reward for habits of order, and for obedience to + the authorities of Camford House Seminary, Torquay. The second paragraph + was dated five years later, and was in the handwriting of Miss Bince + herself, who presented the book, as a mark of undying affection and + unfading esteem (Miss Bince was evidently of a romantic temperament) to + her beloved friend, Helen Maldon. The third paragraph was dated September, + 1853, and was in the hand of Helen Maldon, who gave the annual to George + Talboys; and it was at the sight of this third paragraph that Mr. Robert + Audley's face changed from its natural hue to a sickly, leaden pallor. + </p> + <p> + "I thought it would be so," said the young man, shutting the book with a + weary sigh. "God knows I was prepared for the worst, and the worst has + come. I can understand all now. My next visit must be to Southampton. I + must place the boy in better hands." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX. + </h2> + <h3> + MRS. PLOWSON. + </h3> + <p> + Among the packet of letters which Robert Audley had found in George's + trunk, there was one labeled with the name of the missing man's father—the + father, who had never been too indulgent a friend to his younger son, and + who had gladly availed himself of the excuse afforded by George's + imprudent marriage to abandon the young man to his own resources. Robert + Audley had never seen Mr. Harcourt Talboys; but George's careless talk of + his father had given his friend some notion of that gentleman's character. + He had written to Mr. Talboys immediately after the disappearance of + George, carefully wording his letter, which vaguely hinted at the writer's + fear of some foul play in the mysterious business; and, after the lapse of + several weeks, he had received a formal epistle, in which Mr. Harcourt + Talboys expressly declared that he had washed his hands of all + responsibility in his son George's affairs upon the young man's + wedding-day; and that his absurd disappearance was only in character with + his preposterous marriage. The writer of this fatherly letter added in a + postscript that if George Talboys had any low design of alarming his + friends by this pretended disappearance, and thereby playing on their + feelings with a view to pecuniary advantage, he was most egregiously + deceived in the character of those persons with whom he had to deal. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley had answered this letter by a few indignant lines, informing + Mr. Talboys that his son was scarcely likely to hide himself for the + furtherance of any deep-laid design on the pockets of his relatives, as he + had left twenty thousand pounds in his bankers' hands at the time of his + disappearance. After dispatching this letter, Robert had abandoned all + thought of assistance from the man who, in the natural course of things, + should have been most interested in George's fate; but now that he found + himself advancing every day some step nearer to the end that lay so darkly + before him, his mind reverted to this heartlessly indifferent Mr. Harcourt + Talboys. + </p> + <p> + "I will run into Dorsetshire after I leave Southampton," he said, "and see + this man. If <i>he</i> is content to let his son's fate rest a dark and + cruel mystery to all who knew him—if he is content to go down to his + grave uncertain to the last of this poor fellow's end—why should I + try to unravel the tangled skein, to fit the pieces of the terrible + puzzle, and gather together the stray fragments which, when collected, may + make such a hideous whole? I will go to him and lay my darkest doubts + freely before him. It will be for him to say what I am to do." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley started by an early express for Southampton. The snow lay + thick and white upon the pleasant country through which he went; and the + young barrister had wrapped himself in so many comforters and railway rugs + as to appear a perambulating mass of woollen goods, rather than a living + member of a learned profession. He looked gloomily out of the misty + window, opaque with the breath of himself and an elderly Indian officer, + who was his only companion, and watched the fleeting landscape, which had + a certain phantom-like appearance in its shroud of snow. He wrapped + himself in the vast folds of his railway rug, with a peevish shiver, and + felt inclined to quarrel with the destiny which compelled him to travel by + an early train upon a pitiless winter's day. + </p> + <p> + "Who would have thought that I could have grown so fond of the fellow," he + muttered, "or feel so lonely without him? I've a comfortable little + fortune in the three per cents.; I'm heir presumptive to my uncle's title; + and I know of a certain dear little girl who, as I think, would do her + best to make me happy; but I declare that I would freely give up all, and + stand penniless in the world to-morrow, if this mystery could be + satisfactorily cleared away, and George Talboys could stand by my side." + </p> + <p> + He reached Southampton between eleven and twelve o'clock, and walked + across the platform, with the snow drifting in his face, toward the pier + and the lower end of the town. The clock of St. Michael's Church was + striking twelve as he crossed the quaint old square in which that edifice + stands, and groped his way through the narrow streets leading down to the + water. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Maldon had established his slovenly household gods in one of those + dreary thoroughfares which speculative builders love to raise upon some + miserable fragment of waste ground hanging to the skirts of a prosperous + town. Brigsome's Terrace was, perhaps, one of the most dismal blocks of + building that was ever composed of brick and mortar since the first mason + plied his trowel and the first architect drew his plan. The builder who + had speculated in the ten dreary eight-roomed prison-houses had hung + himself behind the parlor door of an adjacent tavern while the carcases + were yet unfinished. The man who had bought the brick and mortar skeletons + had gone through the bankruptcy court while the paper-hangers were still + busy in Brigsome's Terrace, and had whitewashed his ceilings and himself + simultaneously. Ill luck and insolvency clung to the wretched habitations. + The bailiff and the broker's man were as well known as the butcher and the + baker to the noisy children who played upon the waste ground in front of + the parlor windows. Solvent tenants were disturbed at unhallowed hours by + the noise of ghostly furniture vans creeping stealthily away in the + moonless night. Insolvent tenants openly defied the collector of the + water-rate from their ten-roomed strongholds, and existed for weeks + without any visible means of procuring that necessary fluid. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley looked about him with a shudder as he turned from the + waterside into this poverty-stricken locality. A child's funeral was + leaving one of the houses as he approached, and he thought with a thrill + of horror that if the little coffin had held George's son, he would have + been in some measure responsible for the boy's death. + </p> + <p> + "The poor child shall not sleep another night in this wretched hovel," he + thought, as he knocked at the door of Mr. Maldon's house. "He is the + legacy of my best friend, and it shall be my business to secure his + safety." + </p> + <p> + A slipshod servant girl opened the door and looked at Mr. Audley rather + suspiciously as she asked him, very much through her nose, what he pleased + to want. The door of the little sitting room was ajar, and Robert could + hear the clattering of knives and forks and the childish voice of little + George prattling gayly. He told the servant that he had come from London, + that he wanted to see Master Talboys, and that he would announce himself; + and walking past her, without further ceremony he opened the door of the + parlor. The girl stared at him aghast as he did this; and as if struck by + some sudden and terrible conviction, threw her apron over her head and ran + out into the snow. She darted across the waste ground, plunged into a + narrow alley, and never drew breath till she found herself upon the + threshold of a certain tavern called the Coach and Horses, and much + affected by Mr. Maldon. The lieutenant's faithful retainer had taken + Robert Audley for some new and determined collector of poor's rates—rejecting + that gentleman's account of himself as an artful fiction devised for the + destruction of parochial defaulters—and had hurried off to give her + master timely warning of the enemy's approach. + </p> + <p> + When Robert entered the sitting-room he was surprised to find little + George seated opposite to a woman who was doing the honors of a shabby + repast, spread upon a dirty table-cloth, and flanked by a pewter beer + measure. The woman rose as Robert entered, and courtesied very humbly to + the young barrister. She looked about fifty years of age, and was dressed + in rusty widow's weeds. Her complexion was insipidly fair, and the two + smooth bands of hair beneath her cap were of that sunless, flaxen hue + which generally accompanies pink cheeks and white eyelashes. She had been + a rustic beauty, perhaps, in her time, but her features, although + tolerably regular in their shape, had a mean, pinched look, as if they had + been made too small for her face. This defect was peculiarly noticeable in + her mouth, which was an obvious misfit for the set of teeth it contained. + She smiled as she courtesied to Mr. Robert Audley, and her smile, which + laid bare the greater part of this set of square, hungry-looking teeth, by + no means added to the beauty of her personal appearance. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Maldon is not at home, sir," she said, with insinuating civility; + "but if it's for the water-rate, he requested me to say that—" + </p> + <p> + She was interrupted by little George Talboys, who scrambled down from the + high chair upon which he had been perched, and ran to Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + "I know you," he said; "you came to Ventnor with the big gentleman, and + you came here once, and you gave me some money, and I gave it to gran'pa + to take care of, and gran'pa kept it, and he always does." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley took the boy in his arms, and carried him to a little table + in the window. + </p> + <p> + "Stand there, Georgey," he said, "I want to have a good look at you." + </p> + <p> + He turned the boy's face to the light, and pushed the brown curls off his + forehead with both hands. + </p> + <p> + "You are growing more like your father every day, Georgey; and you're + growing quite a man, too," he said; "would you like to go to school?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, yes, please, I should like it very much," the boy answered, eagerly. + "I went to school at Miss Pevins' once—day-school, you know—round + the corner in the next street; but I caught the measles, and gran'pa + wouldn't let me go any more, for fear I should catch the measles again; + and gran'pa won't let me play with the little boys in the street, because + they're rude boys; he said blackguard boys; but he said I mustn't say + blackguard boys, because it's naughty. He says damn and devil, but he says + he may because he's old. I shall say damn and devil when I'm old; and I + should like to go to school, please, and I can go to-day, if you like; + Mrs. Plowson will get my frocks ready, won't you, Mrs. Plowson?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, Master Georgey, if your grandpapa wishes it," the woman + answered, looking rather uneasily at Mr. Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + "What on earth is the matter with this woman," thought Robert as he turned + from the boy to the fair-haired widow, who was edging herself slowly + toward the table upon which little George Talboys stood talking to his + guardian. "Does she still take me for a tax-collector with inimical + intentions toward these wretched goods and chattels; or can the cause of + her fidgety manner lie deeper still. That's scarcely likely, though; for + whatever secrets Lieutenant Maldon may have, it's not very probable that + this woman has any knowledge of them." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Plowson had edged herself close to the little table by this time, and + was making a stealthy descent upon the boy, when Robert turned sharply + round. + </p> + <p> + "What are you going to do with the child?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "I was only going to take him away to wash his pretty face, sir, and + smooth his hair," answered the woman, in the most insinuating tone in + which she had spoken of the water-rate. "You don't see him to any + advantage, sir, while his precious face is dirty. I won't be five minutes + making him as neat as a new pin." + </p> + <p> + She had her long, thin arms about the boy as she spoke, and she was + evidently going to carry him off bodily, when Robert stopped her. + </p> + <p> + "I'd rather see him as he is, thank you," he said. "My time in Southampton + isn't very long, and I want to hear all that the little man can tell me." + </p> + <p> + The little man crept closer to Robert, and looked confidingly into the + barrister's gray eyes. + </p> + <p> + "I like you very much," he said. "I was frightened of you when you came + before, because I was shy. I am not shy now—I am nearly six years + old." + </p> + <p> + Robert patted the boy's head encouragingly, but he was not looking at + little George; he was watching the fair-haired widow, who had moved to the + window, and was looking out at the patch of waste ground. + </p> + <p> + "You're rather fidgety about some one, ma'am, I'm afraid," said Robert. + </p> + <p> + She colored violently as the barrister made this remark, and answered him + in a confused manner. + </p> + <p> + "I was looking for Mr. Maldon, sir," she said; "he'll be so disappointed + if he doesn't see you." + </p> + <p> + "You know who I am, then?" + </p> + <p> + "No, sir, but—" + </p> + <p> + The boy interrupted her by dragging a little jeweled watch from his bosom + and showing it to Robert. + </p> + <p> + "This is the watch the pretty lady gave me," he said. "I've got it now—but + I haven't had it long, because the jeweler who cleans it is an idle man, + gran'pa says, and always keeps it such a long time; and gran'pa says it + will have to be cleaned again, because of the taxes. He always takes it to + be cleaned when there's taxes—but he says if he were to lose it the + pretty lady would give me another. Do you know the pretty lady?" + </p> + <p> + "No, Georgey, but tell me about her." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Plowson made another descent upon the boy. She was armed with a + pocket-handkerchief this time, and displayed great anxiety about the state + of little George's nose, but Robert warded off the dreaded weapon, and + drew the child away from his tormentor. + </p> + <p> + "The boy will do very well, ma'am," he said, "if you'll be good enough to + let him alone for five minutes. Now, Georgey, suppose you sit on my knee, + and tell me all about the pretty lady." + </p> + <p> + The child clambered from the table onto Mr. Audley's knees, assisting his + descent by a very unceremonious manipulation of his guardian's + coat-collar. + </p> + <p> + "I'll tell you all about the pretty lady," he said, "because I like you + very much. Gran'pa told me not to tell anybody, but I'll tell you, you + know, because I like you, and because you're going to take me to school. + The pretty lady came here one night—long ago—oh, so long ago," + said the boy, shaking his head, with a face whose solemnity was expressive + of some prodigious lapse of time. "She came when I was not nearly so big + as I am now—and she came at night—after I'd gone to bed, and + she came up into my room, and sat upon the bed, and cried—and she + left the watch under my pillow, and she—Why do you make faces at me, + Mrs. Plowson? I may tell this gentleman," Georgey added, suddenly + addressing the widow, who was standing behind Robert's shoulder. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Plowson mumbled some confused apology to the effect that she was + afraid Master George was troublesome. + </p> + <p> + "Suppose you wait till I say so, ma'am, before you stop the little + fellow's mouth," said Robert Audley, sharply. "A suspicious person might + think from your manner that Mr. Maldon and you had some conspiracy between + you, and that you were afraid of what the boy's talk may let slip." + </p> + <p> + He rose from his chair, and looked full at Mrs. Plowson as he said this. + The fair-haired widow's face was as white as her cap when she tried to + answer him, and her pale lips were so dry that she was compelled to wet + them with her tongue before the words would come. + </p> + <p> + The little boy relieved her embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + "Don't be cross to Mrs. Plowson," he said. "Mrs. Plowson is very kind to + me. Mrs. Plowson is Matilda's mother. You don't know Matilda. Poor Matilda + was always crying; she was ill, she—" + </p> + <p> + The boy was stopped by the sudden appearance of Mr. Maldon, who stood on + the threshold of the parlor door staring at Robert Audley with a + half-drunken, half-terrified aspect, scarcely consistent with the dignity + of a retired naval officer. The servant girl, breathless and panting, + stood close behind her master. Early in the day though it was, the old + man's speech was thick and confused, as he addressed himself fiercely to + Mrs. Plowson. + </p> + <p> + "You're a prett' creature to call yoursel' sensible woman?" he said. "Why + don't you take th' chile 'way, er wash 's face? D'yer want to ruin me? + D'yer want to 'stroy me? Take th' chile 'way! Mr. Audley, sir, I'm ver' + glad to see yer; ver' 'appy to 'ceive yer in m' humbl' 'bode," the old man + added with tipsy politeness, dropping into a chair as he spoke, and trying + to look steadily at his unexpected visitor. + </p> + <p> + "Whatever this man's secrets are," thought Robert, as Mrs. Plowson hustled + little George Talboys out of the room, "that woman has no unimportant + share of them. Whatever the mystery may be, it grows darker and thicker at + every step; but I try in vain to draw back or to stop short upon the road, + for a stronger hand than my own is pointing the way to my lost friend's + unknown grave." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI. + </h2> + <h3> + LITTLE GEORGEY LEAVES HIS OLD HOME. + </h3> + <p> + "I am going to take your grandson away with me, Mr. Maldon," Robert said + gravely, as Mrs. Plowson retired with her young charge. + </p> + <p> + The old man's drunken imbecility was slowly clearing away like the heavy + mists of a London fog, through which the feeble sunshine struggles dimly + to appear. The very uncertain radiance of Lieutenant Maldon's intellect + took a considerable time in piercing the hazy vapors of rum-and-water; but + the flickering light at last faintly glimmered athwart the clouds, and the + old man screwed his poor wits to the sticking-point. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," he said, feebly; "take the boy away from his poor old + grandfather; I always thought so." + </p> + <p> + "You always thought that I should take him away?" scrutinizing the + half-drunken countenance with a searching glance. "Why did you think so, + Mr. Maldon?" + </p> + <p> + The fogs of intoxication got the better of the light of sobriety for a + moment, and the lieutenant answered vaguely: + </p> + <p> + "Thought so—'cause I thought so." + </p> + <p> + Meeting the young barrister's impatient frown, he made another effort, and + the light glimmered again. + </p> + <p> + "Because I thought you or his father would fetch 'm away." + </p> + <p> + "When I was last in this house, Mr. Maldon, you told me that George + Talboys had sailed for Australia." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes—I know, I know," the old man answered, confusedly, + shuffling his scanty limp gray hairs with his two wandering hands—"I + know; but he might have come back—mightn't he? He was restless, and—and—queer + in his mind, perhaps, sometimes. He might have come back." + </p> + <p> + He repeated this two or three times in feeble, muttering tones; groping + about on the littered mantle-piece for a dirty-looking clay pipe, and + filling and lighting it with hands that trembled violently. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley watched those poor, withered, tremulous fingers dropping + shreds of tobacco upon the hearth rug, and scarcely able to kindle a + lucifer for their unsteadiness. Then walking once or twice up and down the + little room, he left the old man to take a few puffs from the great + consoler. + </p> + <p> + Presently he turned suddenly upon the half-pay lieutenant with a dark + solemnity in his handsome face. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Maldon," he said, slowly watching the effect of every syllable as he + spoke, "George Talboys never sailed for Australia—that I know. More + than this, he never came to Southampton; and the lie you told me on the + 8th of last September was dictated to you by the telegraphic message which + you received on that day." + </p> + <p> + The dirty clay pipe dropped from the tremulous hand, and shivered against + the iron fender, but the old man made no effort to find a fresh one; he + sat trembling in every limb, and looking, Heaven knows how piteously, at + Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + "The lie was dictated to you, and you repeated your lesson. But you no + more saw George Talboys here on the 7th of September than I see him in + this room now. You thought you had burnt the telegraphic message, but you + had only burnt a part of it—the remainder is in my possession." + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Maldon was quite sober now. + </p> + <p> + "What have I done?" he murmured, hopelessly. "Oh, my God! what have I + done?" + </p> + <p> + "At two o'clock on the 7th of September last," continued the pitiless, + accusing voice, "George Talboys was seen alive and well at a house in + Essex." + </p> + <p> + Robert paused to see the effect of these words. They had produced no + change in the old man. He still sat trembling from head to foot, and + staring with the fixed and solid gaze of some helpless wretch whose every + sense is gradually becoming numbed by terror. + </p> + <p> + "At two o'clock on that day," remarked Robert Audley, "my poor friend was + seen alive and well at ——, at the house of which I speak. From + that hour to this I have never been able to hear that he has been seen by + any living creature. I have taken such steps as <i>must</i> have resulted + in procuring the information of his whereabouts, were he alive. I have + done this patiently and carefully—at first, even hopefully. Now I + know that he is dead." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley had been prepared to witness some considerable agitation in + the old man's manner, but he was not prepared for the terrible anguish, + the ghastly terror, which convulsed Mr. Maldon's haggard face as he + uttered the last word. + </p> + <p> + "No, no, no, no," reiterated the lieutenant, in a shrill, half-screaming + voice; "no, no! For God's sake, don't say that! Don't think it—don't + let <i>me</i> think it—don't let me dream of it! Not dead—anything + but dead! Hidden away, perhaps—bribed to keep out of the way, + perhaps; but not dead—not dead—not dead!" + </p> + <p> + He cried these words aloud, like one beside himself, beating his hands + upon his gray head, and rocking backward and forward in his chair. His + feeble hands trembled no longer—they were strengthened by some + convulsive force that gave them a new power. + </p> + <p> + "I believe," said Robert, in the same solemn, relentless voice, "that my + friend left Essex; and I believe he died on the 7th of September last." + </p> + <p> + The wretched old man, still beating his hands among his thin gray hair, + slid from his chair to the ground, and groveled at Robert's feet. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! no, no—for God's, no!" he shrieked hoarsely. "No! you don't + know what you say—you don't know what your words mean!" + </p> + <p> + "I know their weight and value only too well—as well as I see you + do, Mr. Maldon. God help us!" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, what am I doing? what am I doing?" muttered the old man, feebly; then + raising himself from the ground with an effort, he drew himself to his + full height, and said, in a manner which was new to him, and which was not + without a certain dignity of his own—that dignity which must be + always attached to unutterable misery, in whatever form it may appear—he + said, gravely: + </p> + <p> + "You have no right to come here and terrify a man who has been drinking, + and who is not quite himself. You have no right to do it, Mr. Audley. Even + the—the officer, sir, who—who—." He did not stammer, but + his lips trembled so violently that his words seemed to be shaken into + pieces by their motion. "The officer, I repeat, sir, who arrests a—thief, + or a—." He stopped to wipe his lips, and to still them if he could + by doing so, which he could not. "A thief or a murderer—" His voice + died suddenly away upon the last word, and it was only by the motion of + those trembling lips that Robert knew what he meant. "Gives him warning, + sir, fair warning, that he may say nothing which shall commit himself—or—or—other + people. The—the—law, sir, has that amount of mercy for a—a—suspected + criminal. But you, sir,—you come to my house, and you come at a time + when—when—contrary to my usual habits—which, as people + will tell you, are sober—you take the opportunity to—terrify + me—and it is not right, sir—it is—" + </p> + <p> + Whatever he would have said died away into inarticulate gasps, which + seemed to choke him, and sinking into a chair, he dropped his face upon + the table, and wept aloud. Perhaps in all the dismal scenes of domestic + misery which had been acted in those spare and dreary houses—in all + the petty miseries, the burning shames, the cruel sorrows, the bitter + disgraces which own poverty for their father—there had never been + such a scene as this. An old man hiding his face from the light of day, + and sobbing aloud in his wretchedness. Robert Audley contemplated the + painful picture with a hopeless and pitying face. + </p> + <p> + "If I had known this," he thought, "I might have spared him. It would have + been better, perhaps, to have spared him." + </p> + <p> + The shabby room, the dirt, the confusion, the figure of the old man, with + his gray head upon the soiled tablecloth, amid the muddled <i>débris</i> + of a wretched dinner, grew blurred before the sight of Robert Audley as he + thought of another man, as old as this one, but, ah! how widely different + in every other quality! who might come by and by to feel the same, or even + a worse anguish, and to shed, perhaps, yet bitterer tears. The moment in + which the tears rose to his eyes and dimmed the piteous scene before him, + was long enough to take him back to Essex, and to show him the image of + his uncle, stricken by agony and shame. + </p> + <p> + "Why do I go on with this?" he thought; "how pitiless I am, and how + relentlessly I am carried on. It is not myself; it is the hand which is + beckoning me further and further upon the dark road, whose end I dare not + dream of." + </p> + <p> + He thought this, and a hundred times more than this, while the old man sat + with his face still hidden, wrestling with his anguish, but without power + to keep it down. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Maldon," Robert Audley said, after a pause, "I do not ask you to + forgive me for what I have brought upon you, for the feeling is strong + within me that it must have come to you sooner or later—if not + through me, through some one else. There are—" he stopped for a + moment hesitating. The sobbing did not cease; it was sometimes low, + sometimes loud, bursting out with fresh violence, or dying away for an + instant, but never ceasing. "There are some things which, as people say, + cannot be hidden. I think there is truth in that common saying which had + its origin in that old worldly wisdom which people gathered from + experience and not from books. If—if I were content to let my friend + rest in his hidden grave, it is but likely that some stranger who had + never heard the name of George Talboys, might fall by the remotest + accident upon the secret of his death. To-morrow, perhaps; or ten years + hence, or in another generation, when the—the hand that wronged him + is as cold as his own. If I <i>could</i> let the matter rest; if—if + I could leave England forever, and purposely fly from the possibility of + ever coming across another clew to the secret, I would do it—I would + gladly, thankfully do it—but I <i>cannot</i>! A hand which is + stronger than my own beckons me on. I wish to take no base advantage of + you, less than of all other people; but I must go on; I must go on. If + there is any warning you would give to any one, give it. If the secret + toward which I am traveling day by day, hour by hour, involves any one in + whom you have an interest, let that person fly before I come to the end. + Let them leave this country; let them leave all who know them—all + whose peace their wickedness has endangered; let them go away—they + shall not be pursued. But if they slight your warning—if they try to + hold their present position in defiance of what it will be in your power + to tell them—let them beware of me, for, when the hour comes, I + swear that I will not spare them." + </p> + <p> + The old man looked up for the first time, and wiped his wrinkled face upon + a ragged silk handkerchief. + </p> + <p> + "I declare to you that I do not understand you," he said. "I solemnly + declare to you that I cannot understand; and I do not believe that George + Talboys is dead." + </p> + <p> + "I would give ten years of my own life if I could see him alive," answered + Robert, sadly. "I am sorry for you, Mr. Maldon—I am sorry for all of + us." + </p> + <p> + "I do not believe that my son-in-law is dead," said the lieutenant; "I do + not believe that the poor lad is dead." + </p> + <p> + He endeavored in a feeble manner to show to Robert Audley that his wild + outburst of anguish had been caused by his grief for the loss of George; + but the pretense was miserably shallow. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Plowson re-entered the room, leading little Georgey, whose face shone + with that brilliant polish which yellow soap and friction can produce upon + the human countenance. + </p> + <p> + "Dear heart alive!" exclaimed Mrs. Plowson, "what has the poor old + gentleman been taking on about? We could hear him in the passage, sobbin' + awful." + </p> + <p> + Little George crept up to his grandfather, and smoothed the wet and + wrinkled face with his pudgy hand. + </p> + <p> + "Don't cry, gran'pa," he said, "don't cry. You shall have my watch to be + cleaned, and the kind jeweler shall lend you the money to pay the taxman + while he cleans the watch—I don't mind, gran'pa. Let's go to the + jeweler, the jeweler in High street, you know, with golden balls painted + upon his door, to show that he comes from Lombar—Lombardshire," said + the boy, making a dash at the name. "Come, gran'pa." + </p> + <p> + The little fellow took the jeweled toy from his bosom and made for the + door, proud of being possessed of a talisman, which he had seen so often + made useful. + </p> + <p> + "There are wolves at Southampton," he said, with rather a triumphant nod + to Robert Audley. "My gran'pa says when he takes my watch that he does it + to keep the wolf from the door. Are there wolves where you live?" + </p> + <p> + The young barrister did not answer the child's question, but stopped him + as he was dragging his grandfather toward the door. + </p> + <p> + "Your grandpapa does not want the watch to-day, Georgey," he said, + gravely. + </p> + <p> + "Why is he sorry, then?" asked Georgey, naively; "when he wants the watch + he is always sorry, and beats his poor forehead so"—the boy stopped + to pantomime with his small fists—"and says that she—the + pretty lady, I think he means—uses him very hard, and that he can't + keep the wolf from the door; and then I say, 'Gran'pa, have the watch;' + and then he takes me in his arms, and says, 'Oh, my blessed angel! how can + I rob my blessed angel?' and then he cries, but not like to-day—not + loud, you know; only tears running down his poor cheeks, not so that you + could hear him in the passage." + </p> + <p> + Painful as the child's prattle was to Robert Audley, it seemed a relief to + the old man. He did not hear the boy's talk, but walked two or three times + up and down the little room and smoothed his rumpled hair and suffered his + cravat to be arranged by Mrs. Plowson, who seemed very anxious to find out + the cause of his agitation. + </p> + <p> + "Poor dear old gentleman," she said, looking at Robert. + </p> + <p> + "What has happened to upset him so?" + </p> + <p> + "His son-in-law is dead," answered Mr. Audley, fixing his eyes upon Mrs. + Plowson's sympathetic face. "He died, within a year and a half after the + death of Helen Talboys, who lies buried in Ventnor churchyard." + </p> + <p> + The face into which he was looking changed very slightly, but the eyes + that had been looking at him shifted away as he spoke, and Mrs. Plowson + was obliged to moisten her white lips with her tongue before she answered + him. + </p> + <p> + "Poor Mr. Talboys dead!" she said; "that is bad news indeed, sir." + </p> + <p> + Little George looked wistfully up at his guardian's face as this was said. + </p> + <p> + "Who's dead?" he said. "George Talboys is my name. Who's dead?" + </p> + <p> + "Another person whose name is Talboys, Georgey." + </p> + <p> + "Poor person! Will he go to the pit-hole?" + </p> + <p> + The boy had that notion of death which is generally imparted to children + by their wise elders, and which always leads the infant mind to the open + grave and rarely carries it any higher. + </p> + <p> + "I should like to <i>see</i> him put in the pit-hole," Georgey remarked, + after a pause. He had attended several infant funerals in the + neighborhood, and was considered valuable as a mourner on account of his + interesting appearance. He had come, therefore, to look upon the ceremony + of interment as a solemn festivity; in which cake and wine, and a carriage + drive were the leading features. + </p> + <p> + "You have no objection to my taking Georgey away with me, Mr. Maldon?" + asked Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + The old man's agitation had very much subsided by this time. He had found + another pipe stuck behind the tawdry frame of the looking-glass, and was + trying to light it with a bit of twisted newspaper. + </p> + <p> + "You do not object, Mr. Maldon?" + </p> + <p> + "No, sir—no, sir; you are his guardian, and you have a right to take + him where you please. He has been a very great comfort to me in my lonely + old age, but I have been prepared to lose him. I—I may not have + always done my duty to him, sir, in—in the way of schooling, and—and + boots. The number of boots which boys of his age wear out, sir, is not + easily realized by the mind of a young man like yourself; he has been kept + away from school, perhaps, sometimes, and occasionally worn shabby boots + when our funds have got low; but he has not been unkindly treated. No, + sir; if you were to question him for a week, I don't think you'd hear that + his poor old grandfather ever said a harsh word to him." + </p> + <p> + Upon this, Georgie, perceiving the distress of his old protector, set up a + terrible howl, and declared that he would never leave him. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Maldon," said Robert Audley, with a tone which was half-mournful, + half-compassionate, "when I looked at my position last night, I did not + believe that I could ever come to think it more painful than I thought it + then. I can only say—God have mercy upon us all. I feel it my duty + to take the child away, but I shall take him straight from your house to + the best school in Southampton; and I give you my honor that I will extort + nothing from his innocent simplicity which can in any manner—I + mean," he said, breaking off abruptly, "I mean this. I will not seek to + come one step nearer the secret through him. I—I am not a detective + officer, and I do not think the most accomplished detective would like to + get his information from a child." + </p> + <p> + The old man did not answer; he sat with his face shaded by his hand, and + with his extinguished pipe between the listless fingers of the other. + </p> + <p> + "Take the boy away, Mrs. Plowson," he said, after a pause; "take him away + and put his things on. He is going with Mr. Audley." + </p> + <p> + "Which I do say that it's not kind of the gentleman to take his poor + grandpa's pet away," Mrs. Plowson exclaimed, suddenly, with respectful + indignation. + </p> + <p> + "Hush, Mrs. Plowson," the old man answered, piteously; "Mr. Audley is the + best judge. I—I haven't many years to live; I sha'n't trouble + anybody long." + </p> + <p> + The tears oozed slowly through the dirty fingers with which he shaded his + blood-shot eyes, as he said this. + </p> + <p> + "God knows, I never injured your friend, sir," he said, by-and-by, when + Mrs. Plowson and Georgey had returned, "nor even wished him any ill. He + was a good son-in-law to me—better than many a son. I never did him + any wilful wrong, sir. I—I spent his money, perhaps, but I am sorry + for it—I am very sorry for it now. But I don't believe he is dead—no, + sir; no, I don't believe it!" exclaimed the old man, dropping his hand + from his eyes, and looking with new energy at Robert Audley. "I—I + don't believe it, sir! How—how should he be dead?" + </p> + <p> + Robert did not answer this eager questioning. He shook his head + mournfully, and, walking to the little window, looked out across a row of + straggling geraniums at the dreary patch of waste ground on which the + children were at play. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Plowson returned with little Georgey muffled in a coat and comforter, + and Robert took the boy's hand. + </p> + <p> + The little fellow sprung toward the old man, and clinging about him, + kissed the dirty tears from his faded cheeks. + </p> + <p> + "Don't be sorry for me, gran'pa," he said; "I am going to school to learn + to be a clever man, and I shall come home to see you and Mrs. Plowson, + sha'n't I?" he added, turning to Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my dear, by-and-by." + </p> + <p> + "Take him away, sir—take him away," cried Mr. Maldon; "you are + breaking my heart." + </p> + <p> + The little fellow trotted away contentedly at Robert's side. He was very + well pleased at the idea of going to school, though he had been happy + enough with his drunken old grandfather, who had always displayed a + maudlin affection for the pretty child, and had done his best to spoil + Georgey, by letting him have his own way in everything; in consequence of + which indulgence, Master Talboys had acquired a taste for late hours, hot + suppers of the most indigestible nature, and sips of rum-and-water from + his grandfather's glass. + </p> + <p> + He communicated his sentiments upon many subjects to Robert Audley, as + they walked to the Dolphin Hotel; but the barrister did not encourage him + to talk. + </p> + <p> + It was no very difficult matter to find a good school in such a place as + Southampton. Robert Audley was directed to a pretty house between the Bar + and the Avenue, and leaving Georgey to the care of a good-natured waiter, + who seemed to have nothing to do but to look out of the window, and whisk + invisible dust off the brightly polished tables, the barrister walked up + the High street toward Mr. Marchmont's academy for young gentlemen. + </p> + <p> + He found Mr. Marchmont a very sensible man, and he met a file of + orderly-looking young gentlemen walking townward under the escort of a + couple of ushers as he entered the house. + </p> + <p> + He told the schoolmaster that little George Talboys had been left in his + charge by a dear friend, who had sailed for Australia some months before, + and whom he believed to be dead. He confided him to Mr. Marchmont's + especial care, and he further requested that no visitors should be + admitted to see the boy unless accredited by a letter from himself. Having + arranged the matter in a very few business-like words, he returned to the + hotel to fetch Georgey. + </p> + <p> + He found the little man on intimate terms with the idle waiter, who had + been directing Master Georgey's attention to the different objects of + interest in the High street. + </p> + <p> + Poor Robert had about as much notion of the requirements of a child as he + had of those of a white elephant. He had catered for silkworms, + guinea-pigs, dormice, canary-birds, and dogs, without number, during his + boyhood, but he had never been called upon to provide for a young person + of five years old. + </p> + <p> + He looked back five-and-twenty years, and tried to remember his own diet + at the age of five. + </p> + <p> + "I've a vague recollection of getting a good deal of bread and milk and + boiled mutton," he thought; "and I've another vague recollection of not + liking them. I wonder if this boy likes bread and milk and boiled mutton." + </p> + <p> + He stood pulling his thick mustache and staring thoughtfully at the child + for some minutes before he could get any further. + </p> + <p> + "I dare say you're hungry, Georgey?" he said, at last. + </p> + <p> + The boy nodded, and the waiter whisked some more invisible dust from the + nearest table as a preparatory step toward laying a cloth. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps you'd like some lunch?" Mr. Audley suggested, still pulling his + mustache. + </p> + <p> + The boy burst out laughing. + </p> + <p> + "Lunch!" he cried. "Why, it's afternoon, and I've had my dinner." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley felt himself brought to a standstill. What refreshment could + he possibly provide for a boy who called it afternoon at three o'clock? + </p> + <p> + "You shall have some bread and milk, Georgey," he said, presently. + "Waiter, bread and milk, and a pint of hock." + </p> + <p> + Master Talboys made a wry face. + </p> + <p> + "I never have bread and milk," he said, "I don't like it. I like what + gran'pa calls something savory. I should like a veal cutlet. Gran'pa told + me he dined here once, and the veal cutlets were lovely, gran'pa said. + Please may I have a veal cutlet, with egg and bread-crumb, you know, and + lemon-juice you know?" he added to the waiter: "Gran'pa knows the cook + here. The cook's such a nice gentleman, and once gave me a shilling, when + gran'pa brought me here. The cook wears better clothes than gran'pa—better + than yours, even," said Master Georgey, pointing to Robert's rough + great-coat with a depreciating nod. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley stared aghast. How was he to deal with this epicure of five + years old, who rejected bread and milk and asked for veal cutlets? + </p> + <p> + "I'll tell you what I'll do with you, little Georgey," he exclaimed, after + a pause—"<i>I'll give you a dinner!</i>" + </p> + <p> + The waiter nodded briskly. + </p> + <p> + "Upon my word, sir," he said, approvingly, "I think the little gentleman + will know how to eat it." + </p> + <p> + "I'll give you a dinner, Georgey," repeated Robert—"some stewed + eels, a little Julienne, a dish of cutlets, a bird, and a pudding. What do + you say to that, Georgey?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't think the young gentleman will object to it when he sees it, + sir," said the waiter. "Eels, Julienne, cutlets, bird, pudding—I'll + go and tell the cook, sir. What time, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, we'll say six, and Master Georgey will get to his new school by + bedtime. You can contrive to amuse the child for this afternoon, I dare + say. I have some business to settle, and sha'n't be able to take him out. + I shall sleep here to-night. Good-by, Georgey; take care of yourself and + try and get your appetite in order against six o'clock." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley left the boy in charge of the idle waiter, and strolled down + to the water side, choosing that lonely bank which leads away under the + moldering walls of the town toward the little villages beside the + narrowing river. + </p> + <p> + He had purposely avoided the society of the child, and he walked through + the light drifting snow till the early darkness closed upon him. + </p> + <p> + He went back to the town, and made inquiries at the station about the + trains for Dorsetshire. + </p> + <p> + "I shall start early to-morrow morning," he thought, "and see George's + father before nightfall. I will tell him all—all but the interest + which I take in—in the suspected person, and he shall decide what is + next to be done." + </p> + <p> + Master Georgey did very good justice to the dinner which Robert had + ordered. He drank Bass' pale ale to an extent which considerably alarmed + his entertainer, and enjoyed himself amazingly, showing an appreciation of + roast pheasant and bread-sauce which was beyond his years. At eight + o'clock a fly was brought out for his accommodation, and he departed in + the highest spirits, with a sovereign in his pocket, and a letter from + Robert to Mr. Marchmont, inclosing a check for the young gentleman's + outfit. + </p> + <p> + "I'm glad I'm going to have new clothes," he said, as he bade Robert + good-by; "for Mrs. Plowson has mended the old ones ever so many times. She + can have them now, for Billy." + </p> + <p> + "Who's Billy?" Robert asked, laughing at the boy's chatter. + </p> + <p> + "Billy is poor Matilda's little boy. He's a common boy, you know. Matilda + was common, but she—" + </p> + <p> + But the flyman snapping his whip at this moment, the old horse jogged off, + and Robert Audley heard no more of Matilda. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII. + </h2> + <h3> + COMING TO A STANDSTILL. + </h3> + <p> + Mr. Harcourt Talboys lived in a prim, square, red-brick mansion, within a + mile of a little village called Grange Heath, in Dorsetshire. The prim, + square, red-brick mansion stood in the center of prim, square grounds, + scarcely large enough to be called a park, too large to be called anything + else—so neither the house nor the grounds had any name, and the + estate was simply designated Squire Talboys'. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps Mr. Harcourt Talboys was the last person in this world with whom + it was possible to associate the homely, hearty, rural old English title + of squire. He neither hunted nor farmed. He had never worn crimson, pink, + or top-boots in his life. A southerly wind and a cloudy sky were matters + of supreme indifference to him, so long as they did not in any way + interfere with his own prim comforts; and he only cared for the state of + the crops inasmuch as it involved the hazard of certain rents which he + received for the farms upon his estate. He was a man of about fifty years + of age, tall, straight, bony and angular, with a square, pale face, light + gray eyes, and scanty dark hair, brushed from either ear across a bald + crown, and thus imparting to his physiognomy some faint resemblance to + that of a terrier—a sharp, uncompromising, hard-headed terrier—a + terrier not to be taken in by the cleverest dog-stealer who ever + distinguished himself in his profession. + </p> + <p> + Nobody ever remembered getting upon what is popularly called the blind + side of Harcourt Talboys. He was like his own square-built, + northern-fronted, shelterless house. There were no shady nooks in his + character into which one could creep for shelter from his hard daylight. + He was all daylight. He looked at everything in the same broad glare of + intellectual sunlight, and would see no softening shadows that might alter + the sharp outlines of cruel facts, subduing them to beauty. I do not know + if I express what I mean, when I say that there were no curves in his + character—that his mind ran in straight lines, never diverging to + the right or the left to round off their pitiless angles. With him right + was right, and wrong was wrong. He had never in his merciless, + conscientious life admitted the idea that circumstances might mitigate the + blackness of wrong or weaken the force of right. He had cast off his only + son because his only son had disobeyed him, and he was ready to cast off + his only daughter at five minutes' notice for the same reason. + </p> + <p> + If this square-built, hard-headed man could be possessed of such a + weakness as vanity, he was certainly vain of his hardness. He was vain of + that inflexible squareness of intellect, which made him the disagreeable + creature that he was. He was vain of that unwavering obstinacy which no + influence of love or pity had ever been known to bend from its remorseless + purpose. He was vain of the negative force of a nature which had never + known the weakness of the affections, or the strength which may be born of + that very weakness. + </p> + <p> + If he had regretted his son's marriage, and the breach of his own making, + between himself and George, his vanity had been more powerful than his + regret, and had enabled him to conceal it. Indeed, unlikely as it appears + at the first glance that such a man as this could have been vain, I have + little doubt that vanity was the center from which radiated all the + disagreeable lines in the character of Mr. Harcourt Talboys. I dare say + Junius Brutus was vain, and enjoyed the approval of awe-stricken Rome when + he ordered his son off for execution. Harcourt Talboys would have sent + poor George from his presence between the reversed fasces of the lictors, + and grimly relished his own agony. Heaven only knows how bitterly this + hard man may have felt the separation between himself and his only son, or + how much the more terrible the anguish might have been made by that + unflinching self-conceit which concealed the torture. + </p> + <p> + "My son did me an unpardonable wrong by marrying the daughter of a drunken + pauper," Mr. Talboys would answer to any one who had the temerity to speak + to him about George, "and from that hour I had no longer a son. I wish him + no ill. He is simply dead to me. I am sorry for him, as I am sorry for his + mother who died nineteen years ago. If you talk to me of him as you would + talk of the dead, I shall be ready to hear you. If you speak of him as you + would speak of the living, I must decline to listen." + </p> + <p> + I believe that Harcourt Talboys hugged himself upon the gloomy Roman + grandeur of this speech, and that he would like to have worn a toga, and + wrapped himself sternly in its folds, as he turned his back upon poor + George's intercessor. George never in his own person made any effort to + soften his father's verdict. He knew his father well enough to know that + the case was hopeless. + </p> + <p> + "If I write to him, he will fold my letter with the envelope inside, and + indorse it with my name and the date of its arrival," the young man would + say, "and call everybody in the house to witness that it had not moved him + to one softening recollection or one pitiful thought. He will stick to his + resolution to his dying day. I dare say, if the truth was known, he is + glad that his only son has offended him and given him the opportunity of + parading his Roman virtues." + </p> + <p> + George had answered his wife thus when she and her father had urged him to + ask assistance from Harcourt Talboys. + </p> + <p> + "No my darling," he would say, conclusively. "It's very hard, perhaps, to + be poor, but we will bear it. We won't go with pitiful faces to the stern + father, and ask him to give us food and shelter, only to be refused in + long, Johnsonian sentences, and made a classical example for the benefit + of the neighborhood. No, my pretty one; it is easy to starve, but it is + difficult to stoop." + </p> + <p> + Perhaps poor Mrs. George did not agree very heartily to the first of these + two propositions. She had no great fancy for starving, and she whimpered + pitifully when the pretty pint bottles of champagne, with Cliquot's and + Moet's brands upon their corks, were exchanged for sixpenny ale, procured + by a slipshod attendant from the nearest beer-shop. George had been + obliged to carry his own burden and lend a helping hand with that of his + wife, who had no idea of keeping her regrets or disappointments a secret. + </p> + <p> + "I thought dragoons were always rich," she used to say, peevishly. "Girls + always want to marry dragoons; and tradespeople always want to serve + dragoons; and hotel-keepers to entertain dragoons; and theatrical managers + to be patronized by dragoons. Who could have ever expected that a dragoon + would drink sixpenny ale, smoke horrid bird's-eye tobacco, and let his + wife wear a shabby bonnet?" + </p> + <p> + If there were any selfish feelings displayed in such speeches as these, + George Talboys had never discovered it. He had loved and believed in his + wife from the first to the last hour of his brief married life. The love + that is not blind is perhaps only a spurious divinity after all; for when + Cupid takes the fillet from his eyes it is a fatally certain indication + that he is preparing to spread his wings for a flight. George never forgot + the hour in which he had first become bewitched by Lieutenant Maldon's + pretty daughter, and however she might have changed, the image which had + charmed him then, unchanged and unchanging, represented her in his heart. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley left Southampton by a train which started before daybreak, + and reached Wareham station early in the day. He hired a vehicle at + Wareham to take him over to Grange Heath. + </p> + <p> + The snow had hardened upon the ground, and the day was clear and frosty, + every object in the landscape standing in sharp outline against the cold + blue sky. The horses' hoofs clattered upon the ice-bound road, the iron + shoes striking on the ground that was almost as iron as themselves. The + wintry day bore some resemblance to the man to whom Robert was going. Like + him, it was sharp, frigid, and uncompromising: like him, it was merciless + to distress and impregnable to the softening power of sunshine. It would + accept no sunshine but such January radiance as would light up the bleak, + bare country without brightening it; and thus resembled Harcourt Talboys, + who took the sternest side of every truth, and declared loudly to the + disbelieving world that there never had been, and never could be, any + other side. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley's heart sunk within him as the shabby hired vehicle stopped + at a stern-looking barred fence, and the driver dismounted to open a broad + iron gate which swung back with a clanking noise and was caught by a great + iron tooth, planted in the ground, which snapped at the lowest bar of the + gate as if it wanted to bite. + </p> + <p> + This iron gate opened into a scanty plantation of straight-limbed + fir-trees, that grew in rows and shook their sturdy winter foliage + defiantly in the very teeth of the frosty breeze. A straight graveled + carriage-drive ran between these straight trees across a smoothly kept + lawn to a square red-brick mansion, every window of which winked and + glittered in the January sunlight as if it had been that moment cleaned by + some indefatigable housemaid. + </p> + <p> + I don't know whether Junius Brutus was a nuisance in his own house, but + among other of his Roman virtues, Mr. Talboys owned an extreme aversion to + disorder, and was the terror of every domestic in his establishment. + </p> + <p> + The windows winked and the flight of stone steps glared in the sunlight, + the prim garden walks were so freshly graveled that they gave a sandy, + gingery aspect to the place, reminding one unpleasantly of red hair. The + lawn was chiefly ornamented with dark, wintry shrubs of a funereal aspect + which grew in beds that looked like problems in algebra; and the flight of + stone steps leading to the square half-glass door of the hall was adorned + with dark-green wooden tubs containing the same sturdy evergreens. + </p> + <p> + "If the man is anything like his house," Robert thought, "I don't wonder + that poor George and he parted." + </p> + <p> + At the end of a scanty avenue the carriage-drive turned a sharp corner (it + would have been made to describe a curve in any other man's grounds) and + ran before the lower windows of the house. The flyman dismounted at the + steps, ascended them, and rang a brass-handled bell, which flew back to + its socket, with an angry, metallic snap, as if it had been insulted by + the plebeian touch of the man's hand. + </p> + <p> + A man in black trousers and a striped linen jacket, which was evidently + fresh from the hands of the laundress, opened the door. Mr. Talboys was at + home. Would the gentleman send in his card? + </p> + <p> + Robert waited in the hall while his card was taken to the master of the + house. + </p> + <p> + The hall was large and lofty, paved with stone. The panels of the oaken + wainscot shone with the same uncompromising polish which was on every + object within and without the red-bricked mansion. + </p> + <p> + Some people are so weak-minded as to affect pictures and statues. Mr. + Harcourt Talboys was far too practical to indulge in any foolish fancies. + A barometer and an umbrella-stand were the only adornments of his + entrance-hall. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley looked at these while his name was being submitted to + George's father. + </p> + <p> + The linen-jacketed servant returned presently. He was a square, pale-faced + man of almost forty, and had the appearance of having outlived every + emotion to which humanity is subject. + </p> + <p> + "If you will step this way, sir," he said, "Mr. Talboys will see you, + although he is at breakfast. He begged me to state that everybody in + Dorsetshire was acquainted with his breakfast hour." + </p> + <p> + This was intended as a stately reproof to Mr. Robert Audley. It had, + however, very small effect upon the young barrister. He merely lifted his + eyebrows in placid deprecation of himself and everybody else. + </p> + <p> + "I don't belong to Dorsetshire," he said. "Mr. Talboys might have known + that, if he'd done me the honor to exercise his powers of ratiocination. + Drive on, my friend." + </p> + <p> + The emotionless man looked at Robert Audley with a vacant stare of + unmitigated horror, and opening one of the heavy oak doors, led the way + into a large dining-room furnished with the severe simplicity of an + apartment which is meant to be ate in, but never lived in; and at top of a + table which would have accommodated eighteen persons Robert beheld Mr. + Harcourt Talboys. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Talboys was robed in a dressing-gown of gray cloth, fastened about his + waist with a girdle. It was a severe looking garment, and was perhaps the + nearest approach to the toga to be obtained within the range of modern + costume. He wore a buff waistcoat, a stiffly starched cambric cravat, and + a faultless shirt collar. The cold gray of his dressing gown was almost + the same as the cold gray of his eyes, and the pale buff of his waistcoat + was the pale buff of his complexion. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley had not expected to find Harcourt Talboys at all like George + in his manners or disposition, but he had expected to see some family + likeness between the father and the son. There was none. It would have + been impossible to imagine any one more unlike George than the author of + his existence. Robert scarcely wondered at the cruel letter he received + from Mr. Talboys when he saw the writer of it. Such a man could scarcely + have written otherwise. + </p> + <p> + There was a second person in the large room, toward whom Robert glanced + after saluting Harcourt Talboys, doubtful how to proceed. This second + person was a lady, who sat at the last of a range of four windows, + employed with some needlework, the kind which is generally called plain + work, and with a large wicker basket, filled with calicoes and flannels, + standing by her. + </p> + <p> + The whole length of the room divided this lady from Robert, but he could + see that she was young, and that she was like George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + "His sister!" he thought in that one moment, during which he ventured to + glance away from the master of the house toward the female figure at the + window. "His sister, no doubt. He was fond of her, I know. Surely, she is + not utterly indifferent as to his fate?" + </p> + <p> + The lady half rose from her seat, letting her work, which was large and + awkward, fall from her lap as she did so, and dropping a reel of cotton, + which rolled away upon the polished oaken flooring beyond the margin of + the Turkey carpet. + </p> + <p> + "Sit down, Clara," said the hard voice of Mr. Talboys. + </p> + <p> + That gentleman did not appear to address his daughter, nor had his face + been turned toward her when she rose. It seemed as if he had known it by + some social magnetism peculiar to himself; it seemed, as his servants were + apt disrespectfully to observe, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. + </p> + <p> + "Sit down, Clara," he repeated, "and keep your cotton in your workbox." + </p> + <p> + The lady blushed at this reproof, and stooped to look for the cotton. Mr. + Robert Audley, who was unabashed by the stern presence of the master of + the house, knelt on the carpet, found the reel, and restored it to its + owner; Harcourt Talboys staring at the proceeding with an expression of + unmitigated astonishment. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps, Mr. ——, Mr. Robert Audley!" he said, looking at the + card which he held between his finger and thumb, "perhaps when you have + finished looking for reels of cotton, you will be good enough to tell me + to what I owe the honor of this visit?" + </p> + <p> + He waved his well-shaped hand with a gesture which might have been admired + in the stately John Kemble; and the servant, understanding the gesture, + brought forward a ponderous red-morocco chair. + </p> + <p> + The proceeding was so slow and solemn, that Robert had at first thought + that something extraordinary was about to be done; but the truth dawned + upon him at last, and he dropped into the massive chair. + </p> + <p> + "You may remain, Wilson," said Mr. Talboys, as the servant was about to + withdraw; "Mr. Audley would perhaps like coffee." + </p> + <p> + Robert had eaten nothing that morning, but he glanced at the long expanse + of dreary table-cloth, the silver tea and coffee equipage, the stiff + splendor, and the very little appearance of any substantial entertainment, + and he declined Mr. Talboys' invitation. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Audley will not take coffee, Wilson," said the master of the house. + "You may go." + </p> + <p> + The man bowed and retired, opening and shutting the door as cautiously as + if he were taking a liberty in doing it at all, or as if the respect due + to Mr. Talboys demanded his walking straight through the oaken panel like + a ghost in a German story. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Harcourt Talboys sat with his gray eyes fixed severely on his visitor, + his elbows on the red-morocco arms of his chair, and his finger-tips + joined. It was the attitude in which, had he been Junius Brutus, he would + have sat at the trial of his son. Had Robert Audley been easily to be + embarrassed, Mr. Talboys might have succeeded in making him feel so: as he + would have sat with perfect tranquility upon an open gunpowder barrel + lighting his cigar, he was not at all disturbed upon this occasion. The + father's dignity seemed a very small thing to him when he thought of the + possible causes of the son's disappearance. + </p> + <p> + "I wrote to you some time since, Mr. Talboys," he said quietly, when he + saw that he was expected to open the conversation. + </p> + <p> + Harcourt Talboys bowed. He knew that it was of his lost son that Robert + came to speak. Heaven grant that his icy stoicism was the paltry + affectation of a vain man, rather than the utter heartlessness which + Robert thought it. He bowed across his finger-tips at his visitor. The + trial had begun, and Junius Brutus was enjoying himself. + </p> + <p> + "I received your communication, Mr. Audley," he said. "It is among other + business letters: it was duly answered." + </p> + <p> + "That letter concerned your son." + </p> + <p> + There was a little rustling noise at the window where the lady sat, as + Robert said this: he looked at her almost instantaneously, but she did not + seem to have stirred. She was not working, but she was perfectly quiet. + </p> + <p> + "She's as heartless as her father, I expect, though she is like George," + thought Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + "If your letter concerned the person who was once my son, perhaps, sir," + said Harcourt Talboys, "I must ask you to remember that I have no longer a + son." + </p> + <p> + "You have no reason to remind me of that, Mr. Talboys," answered Robert, + gravely; "I remember it only too well. I have fatal reason to believe that + you have no longer a son. I have bitter cause to think that he is dead." + </p> + <p> + It may be that Mr. Talboys' complexion faded to a paler shade of buff as + Robert said this; but he only elevated his bristling gray eyebrows and + shook his head gently. + </p> + <p> + "No," he said, "no, I assure you, no." + </p> + <p> + "I believe that George Talboys died in the month of September." + </p> + <p> + The girl who had been addressed as Clara, sat with work primly folded upon + her lap, and her hands lying clasped together on her work, and never + stirred when Robert spoke of his friend's death. He could not distinctly + see her face, for she was seated at some distance from him, and with her + back to the window. + </p> + <p> + "No, no, I assure you," repeated Mr. Talboys, "you labor under a sad + mistake." + </p> + <p> + "You believe that I am mistaken in thinking your son dead?" asked Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Most certainly," replied Mr. Talboys, with a smile, expressive of the + serenity of wisdom. "Most certainly, my dear sir. The disappearance was a + very clever trick, no doubt, but it was not sufficiently clever to deceive + me. You must permit me to understand this matter a little better than you, + Mr. Audley, and you must also permit me to assure you of three things. In + the first place, your friend is not dead. In the second place, he is + keeping out of the way for the purpose of alarming me, of trifling with my + feelings as a—as a man who was once his father, and of ultimately + obtaining my forgiveness. In the third place, he will not obtain that + forgiveness, however long he may please to keep out of the way; and he + would therefore act wisely by returning to his ordinary residence and + avocations without delay." + </p> + <p> + "Then you imagine him to purposely hide himself from all who know him, for + the purpose of—" + </p> + <p> + "For the purpose of influencing <i>me</i>," exclaimed Mr. Talboys, who, + taking a stand upon his own vanity, traced every event in life from that + one center, and resolutely declined to look at it from any other point of + view. "For the purpose of influencing me. He knew the inflexibility of my + character; to a certain degree he was acquainted with me, and knew that + all attempts at softening my decision, or moving me from the fixed purpose + of my life, would fail. He therefore tried extraordinary means; he has + kept out of the way in order to alarm me, and when after due time he + discovers that he has not alarmed me, he will return to his old haunts. + When he does so," said Mr. Talboys, rising to sublimity, "I will forgive + him. Yes, sir, I will forgive him. I shall say to him: You have attempted + to deceive me, and I have shown you that I am not to be deceived; you have + tried to frighten me, and I have convinced you that I am not to be + frightened; you did not believe in my generosity, I will show you that I + can be generous." + </p> + <p> + Harcourt Talboys delivered himself of these superb periods with a studied + manner, that showed they had been carefully composed long ago. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley sighed as he heard them. + </p> + <p> + "Heaven grant that you may have an opportunity of saying this to your son, + sir," he answered sadly. "I am very glad to find that you are willing to + forgive him, but I fear that you will never see him again upon this earth. + I have a great deal to say to you upon this—this sad subject, Mr. + Talboys; but I would rather say it to you alone," he added, glancing at + the lady in the window. + </p> + <p> + "My daughter knows my ideas upon this subject, Mr. Audley," said Harcourt + Talboys; "there is no reason why she should not hear all you have to say. + Miss Clara Talboys, Mr. Robert Audley," he added, waving his hand + majestically. + </p> + <p> + The young lady bent her head in recognition of Robert's bow. + </p> + <p> + "Let her hear it," he thought. "If she has so little feeling as to show no + emotion upon such a subject, let her hear the worst I have to tell." + </p> + <p> + There was a few minutes' pause, during which Robert took some papers from + his pocket; among them the document which he had written immediately after + George's disappearance. + </p> + <p> + "I shall require all your attention, Mr. Talboys," he said, "for that + which I have to disclose to you is of a very painful nature. Your son was + my very dear friend—dear to me for many reasons. Perhaps most of all + dear, because I had known him and been with him through the great trouble + of his life; and because he stood comparatively alone in the world—cast + off by you who should have been his best friend, bereft of the only woman + he had ever loved." + </p> + <p> + "The daughter of a drunken pauper," Mr. Talboys remarked, parenthetically. + </p> + <p> + "Had he died in his bed, as I sometimes thought he would," continued + Robert Audley, "of a broken heart, I should have mourned for him very + sincerely, even though I had closed his eyes with my own hands, and had + seen him laid in his quiet resting-place. I should have grieved for my old + schoolfellow, and for the companion who had been dear to me. But this + grief would have been a very small one compared to that which I feel now, + believing, as I do only too firmly, that my poor friend has been + murdered." + </p> + <p> + "Murdered!" + </p> + <p> + The father and daughter simultaneously repeated the horrible word. The + father's face changed to a ghastly duskiness of hue; the daughter's face + dropped upon her clasped hands, and was never lifted again throughout the + interview. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Audley, you are mad!" exclaimed Harcourt Talboys; "you are mad, or + else you are commissioned by your friend to play upon my feelings. I + protest against this proceeding as a conspiracy, and I—I revoke my + intended forgiveness of the person who was once my son!" + </p> + <p> + He was himself again as he said this. The blow had been a sharp one, but + its effect had been momentary. + </p> + <p> + "It is far from my wish to alarm you unnecessarily, sir," answered Robert. + "Heaven grant that you may be right and I wrong. I pray for it, but I + cannot think it—I cannot even hope it. I come to you for advice. I + will state to you plainly and dispassionately the circumstances which have + aroused my suspicions. If you say those suspicions are foolish and + unfounded I am ready to submit to your better judgment. I will leave + England; and I abandon my search for the evidence wanting to—to + confirm my fears. If you say go on, I will go on." + </p> + <p> + Nothing could be more gratifying to the vanity of Mr. Harcourt Talboys + than this appeal. He declared himself ready to listen to all that Robert + might have to say, and ready to assist him to the uttermost of his power. + </p> + <p> + He laid some stress upon this last assurance, deprecating the value of his + advice with an affectation that was as transparent as his vanity itself. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley drew his chair nearer to that of Mr. Talboys, and commenced + a minutely detailed account of all that had occurred to George from the + time of his arrival in England to the hour of his disappearance, as well + as all that had occurred since his disappearance in any way touching upon + that particular subject. Harcourt Talboys listened with demonstrative + attention, now and then interrupting the speaker to ask some magisterial + kind of question. Clara Talboys never once lifted her face from her + clasped hands. + </p> + <p> + The hands of the clock pointed to a quarter past eleven when Robert began + his story. The clock struck twelve as he finished. + </p> + <p> + He had carefully suppressed the names of his uncle and his uncle's wife in + relating the circumstances in which they had been concerned. + </p> + <p> + "Now, sir," he said, when the story had been told, "I await your decision. + You have heard my reasons for coming to this terrible conclusion. In what + manner do these reasons influence you?" + </p> + <p> + "They don't in any way turn me from my previous opinion," answered Mr. + Harcourt Talboys, with the unreasoning pride of an obstinate man. "I still + think, as I thought before, that my son is alive, and that his + disappearance is a conspiracy against myself. I decline to become the + victim of that conspiracy." + </p> + <p> + "And you tell me to stop?" asked Robert, solemnly. + </p> + <p> + "I tell you only this: If you go on, you go on for your own satisfaction, + not for mine. I see nothing in what you have told me to alarm me for the + safety of—your friend." + </p> + <p> + "So be it, then!" exclaimed Robert, suddenly; "from this moment I wash my + hands of this business. From this moment the purpose of my life shall be + to forget it." + </p> + <p> + He rose as he spoke, and took his hat from the table on which he had + placed it. He looked at Clara Talboys. Her attitude had never changed + since she had dropped her face upon her hands. "Good morning, Mr. + Talboys," he said, gravely. "God grant that you are right. God grant that + I am wrong. But I fear a day will come when you will have reason to regret + your apathy respecting the untimely fate of your only son." + </p> + <p> + He bowed gravely to Mr. Harcourt Talboys and to the lady, whose face was + hidden by her hands. + </p> + <p> + He lingered for a moment looking at Miss Talboys, thinking that she would + look up, that she would make some sign, or show some desire to detain him. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Talboys rang for the emotionless servant, who led Robert off to the + hall-door with the solemnity of manner which would have been in perfect + keeping had he been leading him to execution. + </p> + <p> + "She is like her father," thought Mr. Audley, as he glanced for the last + time at the drooping head. "Poor George, you had need of one friend in + this world, for you have had very few to love you." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII. + </h2> + <h3> + CLARA. + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley found the driver asleep upon the box of his lumbering + vehicle. He had been entertained with beer of so hard a nature as to + induce temporary strangulation in the daring imbiber thereof, and he was + very glad to welcome the return of his fare. The old white horse, who + looked as if he had been foaled in the year in which the carriage had been + built, and seemed, like the carriage, to have outlived the fashion, was as + fast asleep as his master, and woke up with a jerk as Robert came down the + stony flight of steps, attended by his executioner, who waited + respectfully till Mr. Audley had entered the vehicle and been turned off. + </p> + <p> + The horse, roused by a smack of his driver's whip and a shake of the + shabby reins, crawled off in a semi-somnambulent state; and Robert, with + his hat very much over his eyes, thought of his missing friend. + </p> + <p> + He had played in these stiff gardens, and under these dreary firs, years + ago, perhaps—if it were possible for the most frolicsome youth to be + playful within the range of Mr. Harcourt Talboys' hard gray eyes. He had + played beneath these dark trees, perhaps, with the sister who had heard of + his fate to-day without a tear. Robert Audley looked at the rigid primness + of the orderly grounds, wondering how George could have grown up in such a + place to be the frank, generous, careless friend whom he had known. How + was it that with his father perpetually before his eyes, he had not grown + up after the father's disagreeable model, to be a nuisance to his + fellow-men? How was it? Because we have Some One higher than our parents + to thank for the souls which make us great or small; and because, while + family noses and family chins may descend in orderly sequence from father + to son, from grandsire to grandchild, as the fashion of the fading flowers + of one year is reproduced in the budding blossoms of the next, the spirit, + more subtle than the wind which blows among those flowers, independent of + all earthly rule, owns no order but the harmonious law of God. + </p> + <p> + "Thank God!" thought Robert Audley; "thank God! it is over. My poor friend + must rest in his unknown grave; and I shall not be the means of bringing + disgrace upon those I love. It will come, perhaps, sooner or later, but it + will not come through me. The crisis is past, and I am free." + </p> + <p> + He felt an unutterable relief in this thought. His generous nature + revolted at the office into which he had found himself drawn—the + office of spy, the collector of damning facts that led on to horrible + deductions. + </p> + <p> + He drew a long breath—a sigh of relief at his release. It was all + over now. + </p> + <p> + The fly was crawling out of the gate of the plantation as he thought this, + and he stood up in the vehicle to look back at the dreary fir-trees, the + gravel paths, the smooth grass, and the great desolate-looking, red-brick + mansion. + </p> + <p> + He was startled by the appearance of a woman running, almost flying, along + the carriage-drive by which he had come, and waving a handkerchief in her + uplifted hand. + </p> + <p> + He stared at this singular apparition for some moments in silent wonder + before he was able to reduce his stupefaction into words. + </p> + <p> + "Is it <i>me</i> the flying female wants?" he exclaimed, at last. "You'd + better stop, perhaps," he added, to the flyman. "It is an age of + eccentricity, an abnormal era of the world's history. She may want me. + Very likely I left my pocket-handkerchief behind me, and Mr. Talboys has + sent this person with it. Perhaps I'd better get out and go and meet her. + It's civil to send my handkerchief." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Robert Audley deliberately descended from the fly and walked slowly + toward the hurrying female figure, which gained upon him rapidly. + </p> + <p> + He was rather short sighted, and it was not until she came very near to + him that he saw who she was. + </p> + <p> + "Good Heaven!" he exclaimed, "it's Miss Talboys." + </p> + <p> + It was Miss Talboys, flushed and breathless, with a woolen shawl thrown + over her head. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley now saw her face clearly for the first time, and he saw that + she was very handsome. She had brown eyes, like George's, a pale + complexion (she had been flushed when she approached him, but the color + faded away as she recovered her breath), regular features, with a mobility + of expression which bore record of every change of feeling. He saw all + this in a few moments, and he wondered only the more at the stoicism of + her manner during his interview with Mr. Talboys. There were no tears in + her eyes, but they were bright with a feverish luster—terribly + bright and dry—and he could see that her lips trembled as she spoke + to him. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Talboys," he said, "what can I—why—" + </p> + <p> + She interrupted him suddenly, catching at his wrist with her disengaged + hand—she was holding her shawl in the other. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, let me speak to you," she cried—"let me speak to you, or I + shall go mad. I heard it all. I believe what you believe, and I shall go + mad unless I can do something—something toward avenging his death." + </p> + <p> + For a few moments Robert Audley was too much bewildered to answer her. Of + all things possible upon earth he had least expected to behold her thus. + </p> + <p> + "Take my arm, Miss Talboys," he said. "Pray calm yourself. Let us walk a + little way back toward the house, and talk quietly. I would not have + spoken as I did before you had I known—" + </p> + <p> + "Had you known that I loved my brother?" she said, quickly. "How should + you know that I loved him? How should any one think that I loved him, when + I have never had power to give him a welcome beneath that roof, or a + kindly word from his father? How should I dare to betray my love for him + in that house when I knew that even a sister's affection would be turned + to his disadvantage? You do not know my father, Mr. Audley. I do. I knew + that to intercede for George would have been to ruin his cause. I knew + that to leave matters in my father's hands, and to trust to time, was my + only chance of ever seeing that dear brother again. And I waited—waited + patiently, always hoping for the best; for I knew that my father loved his + only son. I see your contemptuous smile, Mr. Audley, and I dare say it is + difficult for a stranger to believe that underneath his affected stoicism + my father conceals some degree of affection for his children—no very + warm attachment perhaps, for he has always ruled his life by the strict + law of duty. Stop," she said, suddenly, laying her hand upon his arm, and + looking back through the straight avenue of pines; "I ran out of the house + by the back way. Papa must not see me talking to you, Mr. Audley, and he + must not see the fly standing at the gate. Will you go into the high-road + and tell the man to drive on a little way? I will come out of the + plantation by a little gate further on, and meet you in the road." + </p> + <p> + "But you will catch cold, Miss Talboys," remonstrated Robert, looking at + her anxiously, for he saw that she was trembling. "You are shivering now." + </p> + <p> + "Not with cold," she answered. "I am thinking of my brother George. If you + have any pity for the only sister of your lost friend, do what I ask you, + Mr. Audley. I must speak to you—I must speak to you—calmly, if + I can." + </p> + <p> + She put her hand to her head as if trying to collect her thoughts, and + then pointed to the gate. Robert bowed and left her. He told the man to + drive slowly toward the station, and walked on by the side of the tarred + fence surrounding Mr. Talboys' grounds. About a hundred yards beyond the + principal entrance he came to a little wooden gate in the fence, and + waited at it for Miss Talboys. + </p> + <p> + She joined him presently, with her shawl still over her head, and her eyes + still bright and tearless. + </p> + <p> + "Will you walk with me inside the plantation?" she said. "We might be + observed on the high-road." + </p> + <p> + He bowed, passed through the gate, and shut it behind him. + </p> + <p> + When she took his offered arm he found that she was still trembling—trembling + very violently. + </p> + <p> + "Pray, pray calm yourself, Miss Talboys," he said; "I may have been + deceived in the opinion which I have formed; I may—" + </p> + <p> + "No, no, no," she exclaimed, "you are not deceived. My brother has been + murdered. Tell me the name of that woman—the woman whom you suspect + of being concerned in his disappearance—in his murder." + </p> + <p> + "That I cannot do until—" + </p> + <p> + "Until when?" + </p> + <p> + "Until I know that she is guilty." + </p> + <p> + "You told my father that you would abandon all idea of discovering the + truth—that you would rest satisfied to leave my brother's fate a + horrible mystery never to be solved upon this earth; but you will not do + so, Mr. Audley—you will not be false to the memory of your friend. + You will see vengeance done upon those who have destroyed him. You will do + this, will you not?" + </p> + <p> + A gloomy shadow spread itself like a dark veil over Robert Audley's + handsome face. + </p> + <p> + He remembered what he had said the day before at Southampton: + </p> + <p> + "A hand that is stronger than my own is beckoning me onward, upon the dark + road." + </p> + <p> + A quarter of an hour before, he had believed that all was over, and that + he was released from the dreadful duty of discovering the secret of + George's death. Now this girl, this apparently passionless girl, had found + a voice, and was urging him on toward his fate. + </p> + <p> + "If you knew what misery to me may be involved in discovering the truth, + Miss Talboys," he said, "you would scarcely ask me to pursue this business + any farther?" + </p> + <p> + "But I do ask you," she answered, with suppressed passion—"I do ask + you. I ask you to avenge my brother's untimely death. Will you do so? Yes + or no?" + </p> + <p> + "What if I answer no?" + </p> + <p> + "Then I will do it myself," she exclaimed, looking at him with her bright + brown eyes. "I myself will follow up the clew to this mystery; I will find + this woman—though you refuse to tell me in what part of England my + brother disappeared. I will travel from one end of the world to the other + to find the secret of his fate, if you refuse to find it for me. I am of + age; my own mistress; rich, for I have money left me by one of my aunts; I + shall be able to employ those who will help me in my search, and I will + make it to their interest to serve me well. Choose between the two + alternatives, Mr. Audley. Shall you or I find my brother's murderer?" + </p> + <p> + He looked in her face, and saw that her resolution was the fruit of no + transient womanish enthusiasm which would give way under the iron hand of + difficulty. Her beautiful features, naturally statuesque in their noble + outlines, seemed transformed into marble by the rigidity of her + expression. The face in which he looked was the face of a woman whom death + only could turn from her purpose. + </p> + <p> + "I have grown up in an atmosphere of suppression," she said, quietly; "I + have stifled and dwarfed the natural feelings of my heart, until they have + become unnatural in their intensity; I have been allowed neither friends + nor lovers. My mother died when I was very young. My father has always + been to me what you saw him to-day. I have had no one but my brother. All + the love that my heart can hold has been centered upon him. Do you wonder, + then, that when I hear that his young life has been ended by the hand of + treachery, that I wish to see vengeance done upon the traitor? Oh, my + God," she cried, suddenly clasping her hands, and looking up at the cold + winter sky, "lead me to the murderer of my brother, and let mine be the + hand to avenge his untimely death." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley stood looking at her with awe-stricken admiration. Her + beauty was elevated into sublimity by the intensity of her suppressed + passion. She was different to all other women that he had ever seen. His + cousin was pretty, his uncle's wife was lovely, but Clara Talboys was + beautiful. Niobe's face, sublimated by sorrow, could scarcely have been + more purely classical than hers. Even her dress, puritan in its gray + simplicity, became her beauty better than a more beautiful dress would + have become a less beautiful woman. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Talboys," said Robert, after a pause, "your brother shall not be + unavenged. He shall not be forgotten. I do not think that any professional + aid which you could procure would lead you as surely to the secret of this + mystery as I can lead you, if you are patient and trust me." + </p> + <p> + "I will trust you," she answered, "for I see that you will help me." + </p> + <p> + "I believe that it is my destiny to do so," he said, solemnly. + </p> + <p> + In the whole course of his conversation with Harcourt Talboys, Robert + Audley had carefully avoided making any deductions from the circumstances + which he had submitted to George's father. He had simply told the story of + the missing man's life, from the hour of his arriving in London to that of + his disappearance; but he saw that Clara Talboys had arrived at the same + conclusion as himself, and that it was tacitly understood between them. + </p> + <p> + "Have you any letters of your brother's, Miss Talboys?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Two. One written soon after his marriage, the other written at Liverpool, + the night before he sailed for Australia." + </p> + <p> + "Will you let me see them?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I will send them to you if you will give me your address. You will + write to me from time to time, will you not, to tell me whether you are + approaching the truth. I shall be obliged to act secretly here, but I am + going to leave home in two or three months, and I shall be perfectly free + then to act as I please." + </p> + <p> + "You are not going to leave England?" Robert asked. + </p> + <p> + "Oh no! I am only going to pay a long-promised visit to some friends in + Essex." + </p> + <p> + Robert started so violently as Clara Talboys said this, that she looked + suddenly at his face. The agitation visible there, betrayed a part of his + secret. + </p> + <p> + "My brother George disappeared in Essex," she said. + </p> + <p> + He could not contradict her. + </p> + <p> + "I am sorry you have discovered so much," he replied. "My position becomes + every day more complicated, every day more painful. Good-bye." + </p> + <p> + She gave him her hand mechanically, when he held out his; but it was cold + as marble, and lay listlessly in his own, and fell like a log at her side + when he released it. + </p> + <p> + "Pray lose no time in returning to the house," he said earnestly. "I fear + you will suffer from this morning's work." + </p> + <p> + "Suffer!" she exclaimed, scornfully. "You talk to me of suffering, when + the only creature in this world who ever loved me has been taken from it + in the bloom of youth. What can there be for me henceforth but suffering? + What is the cold to me?" she said, flinging back her shawl and baring her + beautiful head to the bitter wind. "I would walk from here to London + barefoot through the snow, and never stop by the way, if I could bring him + back to life. What would I not do to bring him back? What would I not do?" + </p> + <p> + The words broke from her in a wail of passionate sorrow; and clasping her + hands before her face, she wept for the first time that day. The violence + of her sobs shook her slender frame, and she was obliged to lean against + the trunk of a tree for support. + </p> + <p> + Robert looked at her with a tender compassion in his face; she was so like + the friend whom he had loved and lost, that it was impossible for him to + think of her as a stranger; impossible to remember that they had met that + morning for the first time. + </p> + <p> + "Pray, pray be calm," he said: "hope even against hope. We may both be + deceived; your brother may still live." + </p> + <p> + "Oh! if it were so," she murmured, passionately; "if it could be so." + </p> + <p> + "Let us try and hope that it may be so." + </p> + <p> + "No," she answered, looking at him through her tears, "let us hope for + nothing but revenge. Good-by, Mr. Audley. Stop; your address." + </p> + <p> + He gave her a card, which she put into the pocket of her dress. + </p> + <p> + "I will send you George's letters," she said; "they may help you. + Good-by." + </p> + <p> + She left him half bewildered by the passionate energy of her manner, and + the noble beauty of her face. He watched her as she disappeared among the + straight trunks of the fir-trees, and then walked slowly out of the + plantation. + </p> + <p> + "Heaven help those who stand between me and the secret," he thought, "for + they will be sacrificed to the memory of George Talboys." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV. + </h2> + <h3> + GEORGE'S LETTERS. + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley did not return to Southampton, but took a ticket for the + first up town train that left Wareham, and reached Waterloo Bridge an hour + or two after dark. The snow, which had been hard and crisp in Dorsetshire, + was a black and greasy slush in the Waterloo Road, thawed by the flaring + lamps of the gin-palaces and the glaring gas in the butchers' shops. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the dingy streets + through which the Hansom carried him, the cab-man choosing—with that + delicious instinct which seems innate in the drivers of hackney vehicles—all + those dark and hideous thoroughfares utterly unknown to the ordinary + pedestrian. + </p> + <p> + "What a pleasant thing life is," thought the barrister. "What an + unspeakable boon—what an overpowering blessing! Let any man make a + calculation of his existence, subtracting the hours in which he has been + <i>thoroughly</i> happy—really and entirely at his ease, without one + <i>arriere pensée</i> to mar his enjoyment—without the most + infinitesimal cloud to overshadow the brightness of his horizon. Let him + do this, and surely he will laugh in utter bitterness of soul when he sets + down the sum of his felicity, and discovers the pitiful smallness of the + amount. He will have enjoyed himself for a week or ten days in thirty + years, perhaps. In thirty years of dull December, and blustering March, + and showery April, and dark November weather, there may have been seven or + eight glorious August days, through which the sun has blazed in cloudless + radiance, and the summer breezes have breathed perpetual balm. How fondly + we recollect these solitary days of pleasure, and hope for their + recurrence, and try to plan the circumstances that made them bright; and + arrange, and predestinate, and diplomatize with fate for a renewal of the + remembered joy. As if any joy could ever be built up out of such and such + constituent parts! As if happiness were not essentially accidental—a + bright and wandering bird, utterly irregular in its migrations; with us + one summer's day, and forever gone from us on the next! Look at marriages, + for instance," mused Robert, who was as meditative in the jolting vehicle, + for whose occupation he was to pay sixpence a mile, as if he had been + riding a mustang on the wild loneliness of the prairies. "Look at + marriage! Who is to say which shall be the one judicious selection out of + nine hundred and ninety-nine mistakes! Who shall decide from the first + aspect of the slimy creature, which is to be the one eel out of the + colossal bag of snakes? That girl on the curbstone yonder, waiting to + cross the street when my chariot shall have passed, may be the one woman + out of every female creature in this vast universe who could make me a + happy man. Yet I pass her by—bespatter her with the mud from my + wheels, in my helpless ignorance, in my blind submission to the awful hand + of fatality. If that girl, Clara Talboys, had been five minutes later, I + should have left Dorsetshire thinking her cold, hard, and unwomanly, and + should have gone to my grave with that mistake part and parcel of my mind. + I took her for a stately and heartless automaton; I know her now to be a + noble and beautiful woman. What an incalculable difference this may make + in my life. When I left that house, I went out into the winter day with + the determination of abandoning all further thought of the secret of + George's death. I see her, and she forces me onward upon the loathsome + path—the crooked by-way of watchfulness and suspicion. How can I say + to this sister of my dead friend, 'I believe that your brother has been + murdered! I believe that I know by whom, but I will take no step to set my + doubts at rest, or to confirm my fears'? I cannot say this. This woman + knows half my secret; she will soon possess herself of the rest, and then—and + then—" + </p> + <p> + The cab stopped in the midst of Robert Audley's meditation, and he had to + pay the cabman, and submit to all the dreary mechanism of life, which is + the same whether we are glad or sorry—whether we are to be married + or hung, elevated to the woolsack, or disbarred by our brother benchers on + some mysterious technical tangle of wrong-doing, which is a social enigma + to those outside the <i>forum domesticum</i> of the Middle Temple. + </p> + <p> + We are apt to be angry with this cruel hardness in our life—this + unflinching regularity in the smaller wheels and meaner mechanism of the + human machine, which knows no stoppage or cessation, though the mainspring + be forever hollow, and the hands pointing to purposeless figures on a + shattered dial. + </p> + <p> + Who has not felt, in the first madness of sorrow, an unreasoning rage + against the mute propriety of chairs and tables, the stiff squareness of + Turkey carpets, the unbending obstinacy of the outward apparatus of + existence? We want to root up gigantic trees in a primeval forest, and to + tear their huge branches asunder in our convulsive grasp; and the utmost + that we can do for the relief of our passion is to knock over an + easy-chair, or smash a few shillings' worth of Mr. Copeland's manufacture. + </p> + <p> + Madhouses are large and only too numerous; yet surely it is strange they + are not larger, when we think of how many helpless wretches must beat + their brains against this hopeless persistency of the orderly outward + world, as compared with the storm and tempest, the riot and confusion + within—when we remember how many minds must tremble upon the narrow + boundary between reason and unreason, mad to-day and sane to-morrow, mad + yesterday and sane to-day. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley had directed the cabman to drop him at the corner of + Chancery Lane, and he ascended the brilliantly-lighted staircase leading + to the dining-saloon of The London, and seated himself at one of the snug + tables with a confused sense of emptiness and weariness, rather than any + agreeable sensation of healthy hunger. He had come to the luxurious + eating-house to dine, because it was absolutely necessary to eat something + somewhere, and a great deal easier to get a very good dinner from Mr. + Sawyer than a very bad one from Mrs. Maloney, whose mind ran in one narrow + channel of chops and steaks, only variable by small creeks and outlets in + the way of "broiled sole" or "boiled mack'-<i>rill</i>." The solicitous + waiter tried in vain to rouse poor Robert to a proper sense of the + solemnity of the dinner question. He muttered something to the effect that + the man might bring him anything he liked, and the friendly waiter, who + knew Robert as a frequent guest at the little tables, went back to his + master with a doleful face, to say that Mr. Audley, from Figtree Court, + was evidently out of spirits. Robert ate his dinner, and drank a pint of + Moselle; but he had poor appreciation of the excellence of the viands or + the delicate fragrance of the wine. The mental monologue still went on, + and the young philosopher of the modern school was arguing the favorite + modern question of the nothingness of everything, and the folly of taking + too much trouble to walk upon a road that went nowhere, or to compass a + work that meant nothing. + </p> + <p> + "I accept the dominion of that pale girl, with the statuesque features and + the calm brown eyes," he thought. "I recognize the power of a mind + superior to my own, and I yield to it, and bow down to it. I've been + acting for myself, and thinking for myself, for the last few months, and + I'm tired of the unnatural business. I've been false to the leading + principle of my life, and I've suffered for the folly. I found two gray + hairs in my head the week before last, and an impertinent crow has planted + a delicate impression of his foot under my right eye. Yes, I'm getting old + upon the right side; and why—why should it be so?" + </p> + <p> + He pushed away his plate and lifted his eyebrows, staring at the crumbs + upon the glistening damask, as he pondered the question. + </p> + <p> + "What the devil am I doing in this <i>galere</i>?" he asked. "But I am in + it, and I can't get out of it; so I better submit myself to the brown-eyed + girl, and do what she tells me patiently and faithfully. What a wonderful + solution to life's enigma there is in petticoat government! Man might lie + in the sunshine, and eat lotuses, and fancy it 'always afternoon,' if his + wife would let him! But she won't, bless her impulsive heart and active + mind! She knows better than that. Who ever heard of a woman taking life as + it ought to be taken? Instead of supporting it as an unavoidable nuisance, + only redeemable by its brevity, she goes through it as if it were a + pageant or a procession. She dresses for it, and simpers and grins, and + gesticulates for it. She pushes her neighbors, and struggles for a good + place in the dismal march; she elbows, and writhes, and tramples, and + prances to the one end of making the most of the misery. She gets up early + and sits up late, and is loud, and restless, and noisy, and unpitying. She + drags her husband on to the woolsack, or pushes him into Parliament. She + drives him full butt at the dear, lazy machinery of government, and knocks + and buffets him about the wheels, and cranks, and screws, and pulleys; + until somebody, for quiet's sake, makes him something that she wanted him + to be made. That's why incompetent men sometimes sit in high places, and + interpose their poor, muddled intellects between the things to be done and + the people that can do them, making universal confusion in the helpless + innocence of well-placed incapacity. The square men in the round holes are + pushed into them by their wives. The Eastern potentate who declared that + women were at the bottom of all mischief, should have gone a little + further and seen why it is so. It is because women are <i>never lazy</i>. + They don't know what it is to be quiet. They are Semiramides, and + Cleopatras, and Joans of Arc, Queen Elizabeths, and Catharines the Second, + and they riot in battle, and murder, and clamor and desperation. If they + can't agitate the universe and play at ball with hemispheres, they'll make + mountains of warfare and vexation out of domestic molehills, and social + storms in household teacups. Forbid them to hold forth upon the freedom of + nations and the wrongs of mankind, and they'll quarrel with Mrs. Jones + about the shape of a mantle or the character of a small maid-servant. To + call them the weaker sex is to utter a hideous mockery. They are the + stronger sex, the noisier, the more persevering, the most self-assertive + sex. They want freedom of opinion, variety of occupation, do they? Let + them have it. Let them be lawyers, doctors, preachers, teachers, soldiers, + legislators—anything they like—but let them be quiet—if + they can." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley pushed his hands through the thick luxuriance of his straight + brown hair, and uplifted the dark mass in his despair. + </p> + <p> + "I hate women," he thought, savagely. "They're bold, brazen, abominable + creatures, invented for the annoyance and destruction of their superiors. + Look at this business of poor George's! It's all woman's work from one end + to the other. He marries a woman, and his father casts him off penniless + and professionless. He hears of the woman's death and he breaks his heart—his + good honest, manly heart, worth a million of the treacherous lumps of + self-interest and mercenary calculation which beats in women's breasts. He + goes to a woman's house and he is never seen alive again. And now I find + myself driven into a corner by another woman, of whose existence I had + never thought until this day. And—and then," mused Mr. Audley, + rather irrelevantly, "there's Alicia, too; <i>she's</i> another nuisance. + She'd like me to marry her I know; and she'll make me do it, I dare say, + before she's done with me. But I'd much rather not; though she is a dear, + bouncing, generous thing, bless her poor little heart." + </p> + <p> + Robert paid his bill and rewarded the waiter liberally. The young + barrister was very willing to distribute his comfortable little income + among the people who served him, for he carried his indifference to all + things in the universe, even to the matter of pounds, shillings and pence. + Perhaps he was rather exceptional in this, as you may frequently find that + the philosopher who calls life an empty delusion is pretty sharp in the + investment of his moneys, and recognizes the tangible nature of India + bonds, Spanish certificates, and Egyptian scrip—as contrasted with + the painful uncertainty of an Ego or a non-Ego in metaphysics. + </p> + <p> + The snug rooms in Figtree Court seemed dreary in their orderly quiet to + Robert Audley upon this particular evening. He had no inclination for his + French novels, though there was a packet of uncut romances, comic and + sentimental, ordered a month before, waiting his pleasure upon one of the + tables. He took his favorite meerschaum and dropped into his favorite + chair with a sigh. + </p> + <p> + "It's comfortable, but it seems so deuced lonely to-night. If poor George + were sitting opposite to me, or—or even George's sister—she's + very like him—existence might be a little more endurable. But when a + fellow's lived by himself for eight or ten years he begins to be bad + company." + </p> + <p> + He burst out laughing presently as he finished his first pipe. + </p> + <p> + "The idea of my thinking of George's sister," he thought; "what a + preposterous idiot I am!" + </p> + <p> + The next day's post brought him a letter in a firm but feminine hand, + which was strange to him. He found the little packet lying on his + breakfast-table, beside the warm French roll wrapped in a napkin by Mrs. + Maloney's careful but rather dirty hands. He contemplated the envelope for + some minutes before opening it—not in any wonder as to his + correspondent, for the letter bore the postmark of Grange Heath, and he + knew that there was only one person who was likely to write to him from + that obscure village, but in that lazy dreaminess which was a part of his + character. + </p> + <p> + "From Clara Talboys," he murmured slowly, as he looked critically at the + clearly-shaped letters of his name and address. "Yes, from Clara Talboys, + most decidedly; I recognized a feminine resemblance to poor George's hand; + neater than his, and more decided than his, but very like, very like." + </p> + <p> + He turned the letter over and examined the seal, which bore his friend's + familiar crest. + </p> + <p> + "I wonder what she says to me?" he thought. "It's a long letter, I dare + say; she's the kind of woman who would write a long letter—a letter + that will urge me on, drive me forward, wrench me out of myself, I've no + doubt. But that can't be helped—so here goes!" + </p> + <p> + He tore open the envelope with a sigh of resignation. It contained nothing + but George's two letters, and a few words written on the flap: "I send the + letters; please preserve and return them—C.T." + </p> + <p> + The letter, written from Liverpool, told nothing of the writer's life + except his sudden determination of starting for a new world, to redeem the + fortunes that had been ruined in the old. The letter written almost + immediately after George's marriage, contained a full description of his + wife—such a description as a man could only write within three weeks + of a love match—a description in which every feature was minutely + catalogued, every grace of form or beauty of expression fondly dwelt upon, + every charm of manner lovingly depicted. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley read the letter three times before he laid it down. + </p> + <p> + "If George could have known for what a purpose this description would + serve when he wrote it," thought the young barrister, "surely his hand + would have fallen paralyzed by horror, and powerless to shape one syllable + of these tender words." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV. + </h2> + <h3> + RETROGRADE INVESTIGATION. + </h3> + <p> + The dreary London January dragged its dull length slowly out. The last + slender records of Christmas time were swept away, and Robert Audley still + lingered in town—still spent his lonely evenings in his quiet + sitting-room in Figtree Court—still wandered listlessly in the + Temple Gardens on sunny mornings, absently listening to the children's + babble, idly watching their play. He had many friends among the + inhabitants of the quaint old buildings round him; he had other friends + far away in pleasant country places, whose spare bedrooms were always at + Bob's service, whose cheerful firesides had snugly luxurious chairs + specially allotted to him. But he seemed to have lost all taste for + companionship, all sympathy with the pleasures and occupations of his + class, since the disappearance of George Talboys. Elderly benchers + indulged in facetious observations upon the young man's pale face and + moody manner. They suggested the probability of some unhappy attachment, + some feminine ill-usage as the secret cause of the change. They told him + to be of good cheer, and invited him to supper-parties, at which "lovely + woman, with all her faults, God bless her," was drunk by gentlemen who + shed tears as they proposed the toast, and were maudlin and unhappy in + their cups toward the close of the entertainment. Robert had no + inclination for the wine-bibbing and the punch-making. The one idea of his + life had become his master. He was the bonden slave of one gloomy thought—one + horrible presentiment. A dark cloud was brooding above his uncle's house, + and it was his hand which was to give the signal for the thunder-clap, and + the tempest that was to ruin that noble life. + </p> + <p> + "If she would only take warning and run away," he said to himself + sometimes. "Heaven knows, I have given her a fair chance. Why doesn't she + take it and run away?" + </p> + <p> + He heard sometimes from Sir Michael, sometimes from Alicia. The young + lady's letter rarely contained more than a few curt lines informing him + that her papa was well; and that Lady Audley was in very high spirits, + amusing herself in her usual frivolous manner, and with her usual + disregard for other people. + </p> + <p> + A letter from Mr. Marchmont, the Southampton schoolmaster, informed Robert + that little Georgey was going on very well, but that he was behindhand in + his education, and had not yet passed the intellectual Rubicon of words of + two syllables. Captain Maldon had called to see his grandson, but that + privilege had been withheld from him, in accordance with Mr. Audley's + instructions. The old man had furthermore sent a parcel of pastry and + sweetmeats to the little boy, which had also been rejected on the ground + of indigestible and bilious tendencies in the edibles. + </p> + <p> + Toward the close of February, Robert received a letter from his cousin + Alicia, which hurried him one step further forward toward his destiny, by + causing him to return to the house from which he had become in a manner + exiled at the instigation of his uncle's wife. + </p> + <p> + "Papa is very ill," Alicia wrote; "not dangerously ill, thank God; but + confined to his room by an attack of low fever which has succeeded a + violent cold. Come and see him, Robert, if you have any regard for your + nearest relations. He has spoken about you several times; and I know he + will be glad to have you with him. Come at once, but say nothing about + this letter. + </p> + <p> + "From your affectionate cousin, ALICIA." + </p> + <p> + A sick and deadly terror chilled Robert Audley's heart, as he read this + letter—a vague yet hideous fear, which he dared not shape into any + definite form. + </p> + <p> + "Have I done right?" he thought, in the first agony of this new horror—"have + I done right to tamper with justice; and to keep the secret of my doubts + in the hope that I was shielding those I love from sorrow and disgrace? + What shall I do if I find him ill, very ill, dying perhaps, dying upon her + breast! What shall I do?" + </p> + <p> + One course lay clear before him; and the first step of that course was a + rapid journey to Audley Court. He packed his portmanteau, jumped into a + cab, and reached the railway station within an hour of his receipt of + Alicia's letter, which had come by the afternoon post. + </p> + <p> + The dim village lights flickered faintly through the growing dusk when + Robert reached Audley. He left his portmanteau with the station-master, + and walked at a leisurely pace through the quiet lanes that led away to + the still loneliness of the Court. The over-arching trees stretched their + leafless branches above his head, bare and weird in the dusky light. A low + moaning wind swept across the flat meadow land, and tossed those rugged + branches hither and thither against the dark gray sky. They looked like + the ghostly arms of shrunken and withered giants, beckoning Robert to his + uncle's house. They looked like threatening phantoms in the chill winter + twilight, gesticulating to him to hasten upon his journey. The long avenue + so bright and pleasant when the perfumed limes scattered their light bloom + upon the pathway, and the dog-rose leaves floated on the summer air, was + terribly bleak and desolate in the cheerless interregnum that divides the + homely joys of Christmas from the pale blush of coming spring—a dead + pause in the year, in which Nature seems to lie in a tranced sleep, + awaiting the wondrous signal for the budding of the flower. + </p> + <p> + A mournful presentiment crept into Robert Audley's heart as he drew nearer + to his uncle's house. Every changing outline in the landscape was familiar + to him; every bend of the trees; every caprice of the untrammeled + branches; every undulation in the bare hawthorn hedge, broken by dwarf + horse-chestnuts, stunted willows, blackberry and hazel bushes. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael had been a second father to the young man, a generous and + noble friend, a grave and earnest adviser; and perhaps the strongest + sentiment of Robert's heart was his love for the gray-bearded baronet. But + the grateful affection was so much a part of himself, that it seldom found + an outlet in words, and a stranger would never have fathomed the depth of + feeling which lay, a deep and powerful current, beneath the stagnant + surface of the barrister's character. + </p> + <p> + "What would become of this place if my uncle were to die?" he thought, and + he drew nearer to the ivied archway, and the still water-pools, coldly + gray in the twilight. "Would other people live in the old house, and sit + under the low oak ceilings in the homely familiar rooms?" + </p> + <p> + That wonderful faculty of association, so interwoven with the inmost + fibers of even the hardest nature, filled the young man's breast with a + prophetic pain as he remembered that, however long or late, the day must + come on which the oaken shutters would be closed for awhile, and the + sunshine shut out of the house he loved. It was painful to him even to + remember this; as it must always be painful to think of the narrow lease + the greatest upon this earth can ever hold of its grandeurs. Is it so + wonderful that some wayfarers drop asleep under the hedges, scarcely + caring to toil onward on a journey that leads to no abiding habitation? Is + it wonderful that there have been quietists in the world ever since + Christ's religion was first preached upon earth. Is it strange that there + is a patient endurance and tranquil resignation, calm expectation of that + which is to come on the further shore of the dark flowing river? Is it not + rather to be wondered that anybody should ever care to be great for + greatness' sake; for any other reason than pure conscientiousness; the + simple fidelity of the servant who fears to lay his talents by in a + napkin, knowing that indifference is near akin to dishonesty? If Robert + Audley had lived in the time of Thomas à Kempis, he would very likely have + built himself a narrow hermitage amid some forest loneliness, and spent + his life in tranquil imitation of the reputed author of <i>The Imitation</i>. + As it was, Figtree Court was a pleasant hermitage in its way, and for + breviaries and Books of Hours, I am ashamed to say the young barrister + substituted Paul de Kock and Dumas, fils. But his sins were of so simply + negative an order, that it would have been very easy for him to have + abandoned them for negative virtues. + </p> + <p> + Only one solitary light was visible in the long irregular range of windows + facing the archway, as Robert passed under the gloomy shade of the + rustling ivy, restless in the chill moaning of the wind. He recognized + that lighted window as the large oriel in his uncle's room. When last he + had looked at the old house it had been gay with visitors, every window + glittering like a low star in the dusk; now, dark and silent, it faced the + winter's night like some dismal baronial habitation, deep in a woodland + solitude. + </p> + <p> + The man who opened the door to the unlooked-for visitor, brightened as he + recognized his master's nephew. + </p> + <p> + "Sir Michael will be cheered up a bit, sir, by the sight of you," he said, + as he ushered Robert Audley into the fire-lit library, which seemed + desolate by reason of the baronet's easy-chair standing empty on the broad + hearth-rug. "Shall I bring you some dinner here, sir, before you go + up-stairs?" the servant asked. "My lady and Miss Audley have dined early + during my master's illness, but I can bring you anything you would please + to take, sir." + </p> + <p> + "I'll take nothing until I have seen my uncle," Robert answered, + hurriedly; "that is to say, if I can see him at once. He is not too ill to + receive me, I suppose?" he added, anxiously. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no, sir—not too ill; only a little low, sir. This way, if you + please." + </p> + <p> + He conducted Robert up the short flight of shallow oaken stairs to the + octagon chamber in which George Talboys had sat long five months before, + staring absently at my lady's portrait. The picture was finished now, and + hung in the post of honor opposite the window, amidst Claudes, Poussins + and Wouvermans, whose less brilliant hues were killed by the vivid + coloring of the modern artist. The bright face looked out of that tangled + glitter of golden hair, in which the Pre-Raphaelites delight, with a + mocking smile, as Robert paused for a moment to glance at the + well-remembered picture. Two or three moments afterward he had passed + through my lady's boudoir and dressing-room and stood upon the threshold + of Sir Michael's room. The baronet lay in a quiet sleep, his arm laying + outside the bed, and his strong hand clasped in his young wife's delicate + fingers. Alicia sat in a low chair beside the broad open hearth, on which + the huge logs burned fiercely in the frosty atmosphere. The interior of + this luxurious bedchamber might have made a striking picture for an + artist's pencil. The massive furniture, dark and somber, yet broken up and + relieved here and there by scraps of gilding, and masses of glowing color; + the elegance of every detail, in which wealth was subservient to purity of + taste; and last, but greatest in importance, the graceful figures of the + two women, and the noble form of the old man would have formed a worthy + study for any painter. + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley, with her disordered hair in a pale haze of yellow gold about + her thoughtful face, the flowing lines of her soft muslin dressing-gown + falling in straight folds to her feet, and clasped at the waist by a + narrow circlet of agate links might have served as a model for a mediaeval + saint, in one of the tiny chapels hidden away in the nooks and corners of + a gray old cathedral, unchanged by Reformation or Cromwell; and what + saintly martyr of the Middle Ages could have borne a holier aspect than + the man whose gray beard lay upon the dark silken coverlet of the stately + bed? + </p> + <p> + Robert paused upon the threshold, fearful of awaking his uncle. The two + ladies had heard his step, cautious though he had been, and lifted their + heads to look at him. My lady's face, quietly watching the sick man, had + worn an anxious earnestness which made it only more beautiful; but the + same face recognizing Robert Audley, faded from its delicate brightness, + and looked scared and wan in the lamplight. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Audley!" she cried, in a faint, tremulous voice. + </p> + <p> + "Hush!" whispered Alicia, with a warning gesture; "you will wake papa. How + good of you to come, Robert," she added, in the same whispered tones, + beckoning to her cousin to take an empty chair near the bed. + </p> + <p> + The young man seated himself in the indicated seat at the bottom of the + bed, and opposite to my lady, who sat close beside the pillows. He looked + long and earnestly at the face of the sleeper; still longer, still more + earnestly at the face of Lady Audley, which was slowly recovering its + natural hues. + </p> + <p> + "He has not been very ill, has he?" Robert asked, in the same key as that + in which Alicia had spoken. + </p> + <p> + My lady answered the question. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no, not dangerously ill," she said, without taking her eyes from her + husband's face; "but still we have been anxious, very, very anxious." + </p> + <p> + Robert never relaxed his scrutiny of that pale face. + </p> + <p> + "She shall look at me," he thought; "I will make her meet my eyes, and I + will read her as I have read her before. She shall know how useless her + artifices are with me." + </p> + <p> + He paused for a few minutes before he spoke again. The regular breathing + of the sleeper the ticking of a gold hunting-watch at the head of the bed, + and the crackling of the burning logs, were the only sounds that broke the + stillness. + </p> + <p> + "I have no doubt you have been anxious, Lady Audley," Robert said, after a + pause, fixing my lady's eyes as they wandered furtively to his face. + "There is no one to whom my uncle's life can be of more value than to you. + Your happiness, your prosperity, your <i>safety</i> depend alike upon his + existence." + </p> + <p> + The whisper in which he uttered these words was too low to reach the other + side of the room, where Alicia sat. + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley's eyes met those of the speaker with some gleam of triumph in + their light. + </p> + <p> + "I know that," she said. "Those who strike me must strike through him." + </p> + <p> + She pointed to the sleeper as she spoke, still looking at Robert Audley. + She defied him with her blue eyes, their brightness intensified by the + triumph in their glance. She defied him with her quiet smile—a smile + of fatal beauty, full of lurking significance and mysterious meaning—the + smile which the artist had exaggerated in his portrait of Sir Michael's + wife. + </p> + <p> + Robert turned away from the lovely face, and shaded his eyes with his + hand; putting a barrier between my lady and himself; a screen which + baffled her penetration and provoked her curiosity. Was he still watching + her or was he thinking? and of what was he thinking? + </p> + <p> + Robert had been seated at the bedside for upward of an hour before his + uncle awoke. The baronet was delighted at his nephew's coming. + </p> + <p> + "It was very good of you to come to me, Bob," he said. "I have been + thinking of you a good deal since I have been ill. You and Lucy must be + good friends, you know, Bob; and you must learn to think of her as your + aunt, sir; though she is young and beautiful; and—and—you + understand, eh?" + </p> + <p> + Robert grasped his uncle's hand, but he looked down as he answered: "I do + understand you, sir," he said, quietly; "and I give you my word of honor + that I am steeled against my lady's fascinations. She knows that as well + as I do." + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley made a little grimace with her pretty little lips. "Bah, you + silly Robert," she exclaimed; "you take everything <i>au serieux</i>. If I + thought you were rather too young for a nephew, it was only in my fear of + other people's foolish gossip; not from any—" + </p> + <p> + She hesitated for a moment, and escaped any conclusion to her sentence by + the timely intervention of Mr. Dawson, her late employer, who entered the + room upon his evening visit while she was speaking. + </p> + <p> + He felt the patient's pulse; asked two or three questions; pronounced the + baronet to be steadily improving; exchanged a few commonplace remarks with + Alicia and Lady Audley, and prepared to leave the room. Robert rose and + accompanied him to the door. + </p> + <p> + "I will light you to the staircase," he said, taking a candle from one of + the tables, and lighting it at the lamp. + </p> + <p> + "No, no, Mr. Audley, pray do not trouble yourself," expostulated the + surgeon; "I know my way very well indeed." + </p> + <p> + Robert insisted, and the two men left the room together. As they entered + the octagon ante-chamber the barrister paused and shut the door behind + him. + </p> + <p> + "Will you see that the door is closed, Mr. Dawson?" he said, pointing to + that which opened upon the staircase. "I wish to have a few moments' + private conversation with you." + </p> + <p> + "With much pleasure," replied the surgeon, complying with Robert's + request; "but if you are at all alarmed about your uncle, Mr. Audley, I + can set your mind at rest. There is no occasion for the least uneasiness. + Had his illness been at all serious I should have telegraphed immediately + for the family physician." + </p> + <p> + "I am sure that you would have done your duty, sir," answered Robert, + gravely. "But I am not going to speak of my uncle. I wish to ask you two + or three questions about another person." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed." + </p> + <p> + "The person who once lived in your family as Miss Lucy Graham; the person + who is now Lady Audley." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Dawson looked up with an expression of surprise upon his quiet face. + </p> + <p> + "Pardon me, Mr. Audley," he answered; "you can scarcely expect me to + answer any questions about your uncle's wife without Sir Michael's express + permission. I can understand no motive which can prompt you to ask such + questions—no worthy motive, at least." He looked severely at the + young man, as much as to say: "You have been falling in love with your + uncle's pretty wife, sir, and you want to make me a go-between in some + treacherous flirtation; but it won't do, sir, it won't do." + </p> + <p> + "I always respected the lady as Miss Graham, sir," he said, "and I esteem + her doubly as Lady Audley—not on account of her altered position, + but because she is the wife of one of the noblest men in Christendom." + </p> + <p> + "You cannot respect my uncle or my uncle's honor more sincerely than I + do," answered Robert. "I have no unworthy motive for the questions I am + about to ask; and you must answer them." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Must!</i>" echoed Mr. Dawson, indignantly. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, you are my uncle's friend. It was at your house he met the woman who + is now his wife. She called herself an orphan, I believe, and enlisted his + pity as well as his admiration in her behalf. She told him that she stood + alone in the world, did she not?—without a friend or relative. This + was all I could ever learn of her antecedents." + </p> + <p> + "What reason have you to wish to know more?" asked the surgeon. + </p> + <p> + "A very terrible reason," answered Robert Audley. "For some months past I + have struggled with doubts and suspicions which have embittered my life. + They have grown stronger every day; and they will not be set at rest by + the commonplace sophistries and the shallow arguments with which men try + to deceive themselves rather than believe that which of all things upon + earth they most fear to believe. I do not think that the woman who bears + my uncle's name, is worthy to be his wife. I may wrong her. Heaven grant + that it is so. But if I do, the fatal chain of circumstantial evidence + never yet linked itself so closely about an innocent person. I wish to set + my doubts at rest or—or to confirm my fears. There is but one manner + in which I can do this. I must trace the life of my uncle's wife backward, + minutely and carefully, from this night to a period of six years ago. This + is the twenty-fourth of February, fifty-nine. I want to know every record + of her life between to-night and the February of the year fifty-three." + </p> + <p> + "And your motive is a worthy one?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I wish to clear her from a very dreadful suspicion." + </p> + <p> + "Which exists only in your mind?" + </p> + <p> + "And in the mind of one other person." + </p> + <p> + "May I ask who that person is?" + </p> + <p> + "No, Mr. Dawson," answered Robert, decisively; "I cannot reveal anything + more than what I have already told you. I am a very irresolute, + vacillating man in most things. In this matter I am compelled to be + decided. I repeat once more that I <i>must</i> know the history of Lucy + Graham's life. If you refuse to help me to the small extent in your power, + I will find others who will help me. Painful as it would become, I will + ask my uncle for the information which you would withhold, rather than be + baffled in the first step of my investigation." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Dawson was silent for some minutes. + </p> + <p> + "I cannot express how much you have astonished and alarmed me, Mr. + Audley." he said. "I can tell you so little about Lady Audley's + antecedents, that it would be mere obstinacy to withhold the small amount + of information I possess. I have always considered your uncle's wife one + of the most amiable of women. I <i>cannot</i> bring myself to think her + otherwise. It would be an uprooting of one of the strongest convictions of + my life were I compelled to think her otherwise. You wish to follow her + life backward from the present hour to the year fifty-three?" + </p> + <p> + "I do." + </p> + <p> + "She was married to your uncle last June twelvemonth, in the midsummer of + fifty-seven. She had lived in my house a little more than thirteen months. + She became a member of my household upon the fourteenth of May, in the + year fifty-six." + </p> + <p> + "And she came to you—" + </p> + <p> + "From a school at Brompton, a school kept by a lady of the name of + Vincent. It was Mrs. Vincent's strong recommendation that induced me to + receive Miss Graham into my family without any more special knowledge of + her antecedents." + </p> + <p> + "Did you see this Mrs. Vincent?" + </p> + <p> + "I did not. I advertised for a governess, and Miss Graham answered my + advertisement. In her letter she referred me to Mrs. Vincent, the + proprietress of a school in which she was then residing as junior teacher. + My time is always so fully occupied, that I was glad to escape the + necessity of a day's loss in going from Audley to London to inquire about + the young lady's qualifications. I looked for Mrs. Vincent's name in the + directory, found it, and concluded that she was a responsible person, and + wrote to her. Her reply was perfectly satisfactory;—Miss Lucy Graham + was assiduous and conscientious; as well as fully qualified for the + situation I offered. I accepted this reference, and I had no cause to + regret what may have been an indiscretion. And now, Mr. Audley, I have + told you all that I have the power to tell." + </p> + <p> + "Will you be so kind as to give me the address of this Mrs. Vincent?" + asked Robert, taking out his pocketbook. + </p> + <p> + "Certainly; she was then living at No. 9 Crescent Villas, Brompton." + </p> + <p> + "Ah, to be sure," muttered Mr. Audley, a recollection of last September + flashing suddenly back upon him as the surgeon spoke. + </p> + <p> + "Crescent Villas—yes, I have heard the address before from Lady + Audley herself. This Mrs. Vincent telegraphed to my uncle's wife early in + last September. She was ill—dying, I believe—and sent for my + lady; but had removed from her old house and was not to be found." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed! I never heard Lady Audley mention the circumstance." + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps not. It occurred while I was down here. Thank you, Mr. Dawson, + for the information you have so kindly and honestly given me. It takes me + back two and a-half years in the history of my lady's life; but I have + still a blank of three years to fill up before I can exonerate her from my + terrible suspicion. Good evening." + </p> + <p> + Robert shook hands with the surgeon and returned to his uncle's room. He + had been away about a quarter of an hour. Sir Michael had fallen asleep + once more, and my lady's loving hands had lowered the heavy curtains and + shaded the lamp by the bedside. Alicia and her father's wife were taking + tea in Lady Audley's boudoir, the room next to the antechamber in which + Robert and Mr. Dawson had been seated. + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley looked up from her occupation among the fragile china cups and + watched Robert rather anxiously as he walked softly to his uncle's room + and back again to the boudoir. She looked very pretty and innocent, seated + behind the graceful group of delicate opal china and glittering silver. + Surely a pretty woman never looks prettier than when making tea. The most + feminine and most domestic of all occupations imparts a magic harmony to + her every movement, a witchery to her every glance. The floating mists + from the boiling liquid in which she infuses the soothing herbs; whose + secrets are known to her alone, envelope her in a cloud of scented vapor, + through which she seems a social fairy, weaving potent spells with + Gunpowder and Bohea. At the tea-table she reigns omnipotent, + unapproachable. What do men know of the mysterious beverage? Read how poor + Hazlitt made his tea, and shudder at the dreadful barbarism. How clumsily + the wretched creatures attempt to assist the witch president of the + tea-tray; how hopelessly they hold the kettle, how continually they + imperil the frail cups and saucers, or the taper hands of the priestess. + To do away with the tea-table is to rob woman of her legitimate empire. To + send a couple of hulking men about among your visitors, distributing a + mixture made in the housekeeper's room, is to reduce the most social and + friendly of ceremonies to a formal giving out of rations. Better the + pretty influence of the tea cups and saucers gracefully wielded in a + woman's hand than all the inappropriate power snatched at the point of the + pen from the unwilling sterner sex. Imagine all the women of England + elevated to the high level of masculine intellectuality, superior to + crinoline; above pearl powder and Mrs. Rachael Levison; above taking the + pains to be pretty; above tea-tables and that cruelly scandalous and + rather satirical gossip which even strong men delight in; and what a + drear, utilitarian, ugly life the sterner sex must lead. + </p> + <p> + My lady was by no means strong-minded. The starry diamonds upon her white + fingers flashed hither and thither among the tea-things, and she bent her + pretty head over the marvelous Indian tea-caddy of sandal-wood and silver, + with as much earnestness as if life held no higher purpose than the + infusion of Bohea. + </p> + <p> + "You'll take a cup of tea with us, Mr. Audley?" she asked, pausing with + the teapot in her hand to look up at Robert, who was standing near the + door. + </p> + <p> + "If you please." + </p> + <p> + "But you have not dined, perhaps? Shall I ring and tell them to bring you + something a little more substantial than biscuits and transparent bread + and butter?" + </p> + <p> + "No, thank you, Lady Audley. I took some lunch before I left town. I'll + trouble you for nothing but a cup of tea." + </p> + <p> + He seated himself at the little table and looked across it at his Cousin + Alicia, who sat with a book in her lap, and had the air of being very much + absorbed by its pages. The bright brunette complexion had lost its glowing + crimson, and the animation of the young lady's manner was suppressed—on + account of her father's illness, no doubt, Robert thought. + </p> + <p> + "Alicia, my dear," the barrister said, after a very leisurely + contemplation of his cousin, "you're not looking well." + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley shrugged her shoulders, but did not condescend to lift her + eyes from her book. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps not," she answered, contemptuously. "What does it matter? I'm + growing a philosopher of your school, Robert Audley. What does it matter? + Who cares whether I am well or ill?" + </p> + <p> + "What a spitfire she is," thought the barrister. He always knew his cousin + was angry with him when she addressed him as "Robert Audley." + </p> + <p> + "You needn't pitch into a fellow because he asks you a civil question, + Alicia," he said, reproachfully. "As to nobody caring about your health, + that's nonsense. <i>I</i> care." Miss Audley looked up with a bright + smile. "Sir Harry Towers cares." Miss Audley returned to her book with a + frown. + </p> + <p> + "What are you reading there, Alicia?" Robert asked, after a pause, during + which he had sat thoughtfully stirring his tea. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Changes and Chances</i>." + </p> + <p> + "A novel?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "Who is it by?" + </p> + <p> + "The author of <i>Follies and Faults</i>," answered Alicia, still pursuing + her study of the romance upon her lap. + </p> + <p> + "Is it interesting?" + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley pursed up her mouth and shrugged her shoulders. + </p> + <p> + "Not particularly," she said. + </p> + <p> + "Then I think you might have better manners than to read it while your + first cousin is sitting opposite you," observed Mr. Audley, with some + gravity, "especially as he has only come to pay you a flying visit, and + will be off to-morrow morning." + </p> + <p> + "To-morrow morning!" exclaimed my lady, looking up suddenly. + </p> + <p> + Though the look of joy upon Lady Audley's face was as brief as a flash of + lightning on a summer sky, it was not unperceived by Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said; "I shall be obliged to run up to London to-morrow on + business, but I shall return the next day, if you will allow me, Lady + Audley, and stay here till my uncle recovers." + </p> + <p> + "But you are not seriously alarmed about him, are you?" asked my lady, + anxiously. + </p> + <p> + "You do not think him very ill?" + </p> + <p> + "No," answered Robert. "Thank Heaven, I think there is not the slightest + cause for apprehension." + </p> + <p> + My lady sat silent for a few moments, looking at the empty teacups with a + prettily thoughtful face—a face grave with the innocent seriousness + of a musing child. + </p> + <p> + "But you were closeted such a long time with Mr. Dawson, just now," she + said, after this brief pause. "I was quite alarmed at the length of your + conversation. Were you talking of Sir Michael all the time?" + </p> + <p> + "No; not all the time?" + </p> + <p> + My lady looked down at the teacups once more. + </p> + <p> + "Why, what could you find to say to Mr. Dawson, or he to say to you?" she + asked, after another pause. "You are almost strangers to each other." + </p> + <p> + "Suppose Mr. Dawson wished to consult me about some law business." + </p> + <p> + "Was it that?" cried Lady Audley, eagerly. + </p> + <p> + "It would be rather unprofessional to tell you if it were so, my lady," + answered Robert, gravely. + </p> + <p> + My lady bit her lip, and relapsed into silence. Alicia threw down her + book, and watched her cousin's preoccupied face. He talked to her now and + then for a few minutes, but it was evidently an effort to him to arouse + himself from his revery. + </p> + <p> + "Upon my word, Robert Audley, you are a very agreeable companion," + exclaimed Alicia at length, her rather limited stock of patience quite + exhausted by two or three of these abortive attempts at conversation. + "Perhaps the next time you come to the Court you will be good enough to + bring your <i>mind</i> with you. By your present inanimate appearance, I + should imagine that you had left your intellect, such as it is, somewhere + in the Temple. You were never one of the liveliest of people, but latterly + you have really grown almost unendurable. I suppose you are in love, Mr. + Audley, and are thinking of the honored object of your affections." + </p> + <p> + He was thinking of Clara Talboys' uplifted face, sublime in its + unutterable grief; of her impassioned words still ringing in his ears as + clearly as when they were first spoken. Again he saw her looking at him + with her bright brown eyes. Again he heard that solemn question: "Shall + you or I find my brother's murderer?" And he was in Essex; in the little + village from which he firmly believed George Talboys had never departed. + He was on the spot at which all record of his friend's life ended as + suddenly as a story ends when the reader shuts the book. And could he + withdraw now from the investigation in which he found himself involved? + Could he stop now? For any consideration? No; a thousand times no! Not + with the image of that grief-stricken face imprinted on his mind. Not with + the accents of that earnest appeal ringing on his ear. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI. + </h2> + <h3> + SO FAR AND NO FARTHER. + </h3> + <p> + Robert left Audley the next morning by an early train, and reached + Shoreditch a little after nine o'clock. He did not return to his chambers, + but called a cab and drove straight to Crescent Villas, West Brompton. He + knew that he should fail in finding the lady he went to seek at this + address, as his uncle had failed a few months before, but he thought it + possible to obtain some clew to the schoolmistress' new residence, in + spite of Sir Michael's ill-success. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Vincent was in a dying state, according to the telegraphic message," + Robert thought. "If I do find her, I shall at least succeed in discovering + whether that message was genuine." + </p> + <p> + He found Crescent Villas after some difficulty. The houses were large, but + they lay half imbedded among the chaos of brick and rising mortar around + them. New terraces, new streets, new squares led away into hopeless masses + of stone and plaster on every side. The roads were sticky with damp clay, + which clogged the wheels of the cab and buried the fetlocks of the horse. + The desolations—that awful aspect of incompleteness and discomfort + which pervades a new and unfinished neighborhood—had set its dismal + seal upon the surrounding streets which had arisen about and intrenched + Crescent Villas; and Robert wasted forty minutes by his watch, and an hour + and a quarter by the cabman's reckoning, in driving up and down + uninhabited streets and terraces, trying to find the Villas; whose + chimney-tops were frowning down upon him black and venerable, amid groves + of virgin plaster, undimmed by time or smoke. + </p> + <p> + But having at last succeeded in reaching his destination, Mr. Audley + alighted from the cab, directed the driver to wait for him at a certain + corner, and set out upon his voyage of discovery. + </p> + <p> + "If I were a distinguished Q.C., I could not do this sort of thing," he + thought; "my time would be worth a guinea or so a minute, and I should be + retained in the great case of Hoggs vs. Boggs, going forward this very day + before a special jury at Westminster Hall. As it is, I can afford to be + patient." + </p> + <p> + He inquired for Mrs. Vincent at the number which Mr. Dawson had given him. + The maid who opened the door had never heard that lady's name; but after + going to inquire of her mistress, she returned to tell Robert that Mrs. + Vincent had lived there, but that she had left two months before the + present occupants had entered the house, "and missus has been here fifteen + months," the girl added emphatically. + </p> + <p> + "But you cannot tell where she went on leaving here?" Robert asked, + despondingly. + </p> + <p> + "No, sir; missus says she believes the lady failed, and that she left + sudden like, and didn't want her address to be known in the neighborhood." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley felt himself at a standstill once more. If Mrs. Vincent had + left the place in debt, she had no doubt scrupulously concealed her + whereabouts. There was little hope, then, of learning her address from the + tradespeople; and yet, on the other hand, it was just possible that some + of her sharpest creditors might have made it their business to discover + the defaulter's retreat. + </p> + <p> + He looked about him for the nearest shops, and found a baker's, a + stationer's, and a fruiterer's a few paces from the Crescent. Three + empty-looking, pretentious shops, with plate-glass windows, and a hopeless + air of gentility. + </p> + <p> + He stopped at the baker's, who called himself a pastrycook and + confectioner, and exhibited some specimens of petrified sponge-cake in + glass bottles, and some highly-glazed tarts, covered with green gauze. + </p> + <p> + "She <i>must</i> have bought bread," Robert thought, as he deliberated + before the baker's shop; "and she is likely to have bought it at the + handiest place. I'll try the baker." + </p> + <p> + The baker was standing behind his counter, disputing the items of a bill + with a shabby-genteel young woman. He did not trouble himself to attend to + Robert Audley until he had settled the dispute, but he looked up as he was + receipting the bill, and asked the barrister what he pleased to want. + </p> + <p> + "Can you tell me the address of a Mrs. Vincent, who lived at No. 9 + Crescent Villas a year and a half ago?" Mr. Audley inquired, mildly. + </p> + <p> + "No, I can't," answered the baker, growing very red in the face, and + speaking in an unnecessarily loud voice; "and what's more, I wish I could. + That lady owes me upward of eleven pound for bread, and it's rather more + than I can afford to lose. If anybody can tell me where she lives, I shall + be much obliged to 'em for so doing." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley shrugged his shoulders and wished the man good-morning. He + felt that his discovery of the lady's whereabouts would involve more + trouble than he had expected. He might have looked for Mrs. Vincent's name + in the Post-Office directory, but he thought it scarcely likely that a + lady who was on such uncomfortable terms with her creditors, would afford + them so easy a means of ascertaining her residence. + </p> + <p> + "If the baker can't find her, how should I find her?" he thought, + despairingly. "If a resolute, sanguine, active and energetic creature, + such as the baker, fail to achieve this business, how can a lymphatic + wretch like me hope to accomplish it? Where the baker has been defeated, + what preposterous folly it would be for me to try to succeed." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley abandoned himself to these gloomy reflections as he walked + slowly back toward the corner at which he had left the cab. About half-way + between the baker's shop and this corner he was arrested by hearing a + woman's step close at his side, and a woman's voice asking him to stop. He + turned and found himself face to face with the shabbily-dressed woman whom + he had left settling her account with the baker. + </p> + <p> + "Eh, what?" he asked, vaguely. "Can I do anything for you, ma'am? Does + Mrs. Vincent owe <i>you</i> money, too?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir," the woman answered, with a semi-genteel manner which + corresponded with the shabby gentility of her dress. "Mrs. Vincent is in + my debt; but it isn't that, sir. I—I want to know, please, what your + business may be with her—because—because—" + </p> + <p> + "You can give me her address if you choose, ma'am. That's what you mean to + say, isn't it?" + </p> + <p> + The woman hesitated a little, looking rather suspiciously at Robert. + </p> + <p> + "You're not connected with—with the tally business, are you, sir?" + she asked, after considering Mr. Audley's personal appearance for a few + moments. + </p> + <p> + "The <i>what</i>, ma'am?" asked the young barrister, staring aghast at his + questioner. + </p> + <p> + "I'm sure I beg your pardon, sir," exclaimed the little woman, seeing that + she had made some awful mistake. "I thought you might have been, you know. + Some of the gentlemen who collect for the tally shops do dress so very + handsome; and I know Mrs. Vincent owes a good deal of money." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley laid his hand upon the speaker's arm. + </p> + <p> + "My dear madam," he said, "I want to know nothing of Mrs. Vincent's + affairs. So far from being concerned in what you call <i>the tally + business</i>, I have not the remotest idea what you mean by that + expression. You may mean a political conspiracy; you may mean some new + species of taxes. Mrs. Vincent does not owe <i>me</i> any money, however + badly she may stand with that awful-looking baker. I never saw her in my + life; but I wish to see her to-day for the simple purpose of asking her a + few very plain questions about a young lady who once resided in her house. + If you know where Mrs. Vincent lives and will give me her address, you + will be doing me a great favor." + </p> + <p> + He took out his card-case and handed a card to the woman, who examined the + slip of pasteboard anxiously before she spoke again. + </p> + <p> + "I'm sure you look and speak like a gentleman, sir," she said, after a + brief pause, "and I hope you will excuse me if I've seemed mistrustful + like; but poor Mrs. Vincent has had dreadful difficulties, and I'm the + only person hereabouts that she's trusted with her addresses. I'm a + dressmaker, sir, and I've worked for her for upward of six years, and + though she doesn't pay me regular, you know, sir, she gives me a little + money on account now and then, and I get on as well as I can. I may tell + you where she lives, then, sir? You haven't deceived me, have you?" + </p> + <p> + "On my honor, no." + </p> + <p> + "Well, then sir," said the dressmaker, dropping her voice as if she + thought the pavement beneath her feet, or the iron railings before the + houses by her side, might have ears to hear her, "it's Acacia Cottage, + Peckham Grove. I took a dress there yesterday for Mrs. Vincent." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you," said Robert, writing the address in his pocketbook. "I am + very much obliged to you, and you may rely upon it, Mrs. Vincent shall not + suffer any inconvenience through me." + </p> + <p> + He lifted his hat, bowed to the little dressmaker, and turned back to the + cab. + </p> + <p> + "I have beaten the baker, at any rate," he thought. "Now for the second + stage, traveling backward, in my lady's life." + </p> + <p> + The drive from Brompton to the Peckham Road was a very long one, and + between Crescent Villas and Acacia Cottage, Robert Audley had ample + leisure for reflection. He thought of his uncle lying weak and ill in the + oak-room at Audley Court. He thought of the beautiful blue eyes watching + Sir Michael's slumbers; the soft, white hands tending on his waking + moments; the low musical voice soothing his loneliness, cheering and + consoling his declining years. What a pleasant picture it might have been, + had he been able to look upon it ignorantly, seeing no more than others + saw, looking no further than a stranger could look. But with the black + cloud which he saw brooding over it, what an arch mockery, what a + diabolical delusion it seemed. + </p> + <p> + Peckham Grove—pleasant enough in the summer-time—has rather a + dismal aspect upon a dull February day, when the trees are bare and + leafless, and the little gardens desolate. Acacia Cottage bore small token + of the fitness of its nomenclature, and faced the road with its stuccoed + walls sheltered only by a couple of attenuated poplars. But it announced + that it was Acacia Cottage by means of a small brass plate upon one of the + gate-posts, which was sufficient indication for the sharp-sighted cabman, + who dropped Mr. Audley upon the pavement before the little gate. + </p> + <p> + Acacia Cottage was much lower in the social scale than Crescent Villas, + and the small maid-servant who came to the low wooden gate and parleyed + with Mr. Audley, was evidently well used to the encounter of relentless + creditors across the same feeble barricade. + </p> + <p> + She murmured the familiar domestic fiction of the uncertainty regarding + her mistress's whereabouts; and told Robert that if he would please to + state his name and business, she would go and see if Mrs. Vincent was at + home. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley produced a card, and wrote in pencil under his own name: "a + connection of the late Miss Graham." + </p> + <p> + He directed the small servant to carry his card to her mistress, and + quietly awaited the result. + </p> + <p> + The servant returned in about five minutes with the key of the gate. Her + mistress was at home, she told Robert as she admitted him, and would be + happy to see the gentleman. + </p> + <p> + The square parlor into which Robert was ushered bore in every scrap of + ornament, in every article of furniture, the unmistakable stamp of that + species of poverty which is most comfortless because it is never + stationary. The mechanic who furnishes his tiny sitting-room with + half-a-dozen cane chairs, a Pembroke table, a Dutch clock, a tiny + looking-glass, a crockery shepherd and shepherdess, and a set of + gaudily-japanned iron tea-trays, makes the most of his limited + possessions, and generally contrives to get some degree of comfort out of + them; but the lady who loses the handsome furniture of the house she is + compelled to abandon and encamps in some smaller habitation with the + shabby remainder—bought in by some merciful friend at the sale of + her effects—carries with her an aspect of genteel desolation and + tawdry misery not easily to be paralleled in wretchedness by any other + phase which poverty can assume. + </p> + <p> + The room which Robert Audley surveyed was furnished with the shabbier + scraps snatched from the ruin which had overtaken the imprudent + schoolmistress in Crescent Villas. A cottage piano, a chiffonier, six + sizes too large for the room, and dismally gorgeous in gilded moldings + that were chipped and broken; a slim-legged card-table, placed in the post + of honor, formed the principal pieces of furniture. A threadbare patch of + Brussels carpet covered the center of the room, and formed an oasis of + roses and lilies upon a desert of shabby green drugget. Knitted curtains + shaded the windows, in which hung wire baskets of horrible-looking plants + of the cactus species, that grew downward, like some demented class of + vegetation, whose prickly and spider-like members had a fancy for standing + on their heads. + </p> + <p> + The green-baize covered card-table was adorned with gaudily-bound annuals + or books of beauty, placed at right angles; but Robert Audley did not + avail himself of these literary distractions. He seated himself upon one + of the rickety chairs, and waited patiently for the advent of the + schoolmistress. He could hear the hum of half-a-dozen voices in a room + near him, and the jingling harmonies of a set of variations in <i>Deh + Conte</i>, upon a piano, whose every wire was evidently in the last stage + of attenuation. + </p> + <p> + He had waited for about a quarter of an hour, when the door was opened, + and a lady, very much dressed, and with the setting sunlight of faded + beauty upon her face, entered the room. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Audley, I presume," she said, motioning to Robert to reseat himself, + and placing herself in an easy-chair opposite to him. "You will pardon me, + I hope, for detaining you so long; my duties—" + </p> + <p> + "It is I who should apologize for intruding upon you," Robert answered, + politely; "but my motive for calling upon you is a very serious one, and + must plead my excuse. You remember the lady whose name I wrote upon my + card?" + </p> + <p> + "Perfectly." + </p> + <p> + "May I ask how much you know of that lady's history since her departure + from your house?" + </p> + <p> + "Very little. In point of fact, scarcely anything at all. Miss Graham, I + believe, obtained a situation in the family of a surgeon resident in + Essex. Indeed, it was I who recommended her to that gentleman. I have + never heard from her since she left me." + </p> + <p> + "But you have communicated with her?" Robert asked, eagerly. + </p> + <p> + "No, indeed." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley was silent for a few moments, the shadow of gloomy thoughts + gathering darkly on his face. + </p> + <p> + "May I ask if you sent a telegraphic dispatch to Miss Graham early in last + September, stating that you were dangerously ill, and that you wished to + see her?" + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Vincent smiled at her visitor's question. + </p> + <p> + "I had no occasion to send such a message," she said; "I have never been + seriously ill in my life." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley paused before he asked any further questions, and scrawled a + few penciled words in his note-book. + </p> + <p> + "If I ask you a few straightforward questions about Miss Lucy Graham, + madam," he said. "Will you do me the favor to answer them without asking + my motive in making such inquiries?" + </p> + <p> + "Most certainly," replied Mrs. Vincent. "I know nothing to Miss Graham's + disadvantage, and have no justification for making a mystery of the little + I do know." + </p> + <p> + "Then will you tell me at what date the young lady first came to you?" + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Vincent smiled and shook her head. She had a pretty smile—the + frank smile of a woman who had been admired, and who has too long felt the + certainty of being able to please, to be utterly subjugated by any worldly + misfortune. + </p> + <p> + "It's not the least use to ask me, Mr. Audley," she said. "I'm the most + careless creature in the world; I never did, and never could remember + dates, though I do all in my power to impress upon my girls how important + it is for their future welfare that they should know when William the + Conqueror began to reign, and all that kind of thing. But I haven't the + remotest idea when Miss Graham came to me, although I know it was ages + ago, for it was the very summer I had my peach-colored silk. But we must + consult Tonks—Tonks is sure to be right." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley wondered who or what Tonks could be; a diary, perhaps, or a + memorandum-book—some obscure rival of Letsome. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Vincent rung the bell, which was answered by the maid-servant who had + admitted Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Ask Miss Tonks to come to me," she said. "I want to see her + particularly." + </p> + <p> + In less than five minutes Miss Tonks made her appearance. She was wintry + and rather frost-bitten in aspect, and seemed to bring cold air in the + scanty folds of her somber merino dress. She was no age in particular, and + looked as if she had never been younger, and would never grow older, but + would remain forever working backward and forward in her narrow groove, + like some self-feeding machine for the instruction of young ladies. + </p> + <p> + "Tonks, my dear," said Mrs. Vincent, without ceremony, "this gentleman is + a relative of Miss Graham's. Do you remember how long it is since she came + to us at Crescent Villas?" + </p> + <p> + "She came in August, 1854," answered Miss Tonks; "I think it was the + eighteenth of August, but I'm not quite sure that it wasn't the + seventeenth. I know it was on a Tuesday." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, Tonks; you are a most invaluable darling," exclaimed Mrs. + Vincent, with her sweetest smile. It was, perhaps, because of the + invaluable nature of Miss Tonks' services that she had received no + remuneration whatever from her employer for the last three or four years. + Mrs. Vincent might have hesitated to pay from very contempt for the + pitiful nature of the stipend as compared with the merits of the teacher. + </p> + <p> + "Is there anything else that Tonks or I can tell you, Mr. Audley?" asked + the schoolmistress. "Tonks has a far better memory than I have." + </p> + <p> + "Can you tell me where Miss Graham came from when she entered your + household?" Robert inquired. + </p> + <p> + "Not very precisely," answered Mrs. Vincent. "I have a vague notion that + Miss Graham said something about coming from the seaside, but she didn't + say where, or if she did I have forgotten it. Tonks, did Miss Graham tell + you where she came from?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no!" replied Miss Tonks, shaking her grim little head significantly. + "Miss Graham told me nothing; she was too clever for that. She knows how + to keep her own secrets, in spite of her innocent ways and her curly + hair," Miss Tonks added, spitefully. + </p> + <p> + "You think she had secrets?" Robert asked, rather eagerly. + </p> + <p> + "I know she had," replied Miss Tonks, with frosty decision; "all manner of + secrets. I wouldn't have engaged such a person as junior teacher in a + respectable school, without so much as one word of recommendation from any + living creature." + </p> + <p> + "You had no reference, then, from Miss Graham?" asked Robert, addressing + Mrs. Vincent. + </p> + <p> + "No," the lady answered, with some little embarrassment; "I waived that. + Miss Graham waived the question of salary; I could not do less than waive + the question of reference. She quarreled with her papa, she told me, and + she wanted to find a home away from all the people she had ever known. She + wished to keep herself quite separate from these people. She had endured + so much, she said, young as she was, and she wanted to escape from her + troubles. How could I press her for a reference under these circumstances, + especially when I saw that she was a perfect lady. You know that Lucy + Graham was a perfect lady, Tonks, and it is very unkind for you to say + such cruel things about my taking her without a reference." + </p> + <p> + "When people make favorites, they are apt to be deceived in them," Miss + Tonks answered, with icy sententiousness, and with no very perceptible + relevance to the point in discussion. + </p> + <p> + "I never made her a favorite, you jealous Tonks," Mrs. Vincent answered, + reproachfully. "I never said she was as useful as you, dear. You know I + never did." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no!" replied Miss Tonks, with a chilling accent, "you never said she + was useful. She was only ornamental; a person to be shown off to visitors, + and to play fantasias on the drawing-room piano." + </p> + <p> + "Then you can give me no clew to Miss Graham's previous history?" Robert + asked, looking from the schoolmistress to her teacher. He saw very clearly + that Miss Tonks bore an envious grudge against Lucy Graham—a grudge + which even the lapse of time had not healed. + </p> + <p> + "If this woman knows anything to my lady's detriment, she will tell it," + he thought. "She will tell it only too willingly." + </p> + <p> + But Miss Tonks appeared to know nothing whatever; except that Miss Graham + had sometimes declared herself an ill-used creature, deceived by the + baseness of mankind, and the victim of unmerited sufferings, in the way of + poverty and deprivation. Beyond this, Miss Tonks could tell nothing; and + although she made the most of what she did know, Robert soon sounded the + depth of her small stock of information. + </p> + <p> + "I have only one more question to ask," he said at last. "It is this: Did + Miss Graham leave any books or knick-knacks, or any other kind of property + whatever, behind her, when she left your establishment?" + </p> + <p> + "Not to my knowledge," Mrs. Vincent replied. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," cried Miss Tonks, sharply. "She did leave something. She left a + box. It's up-stairs in my room. I've got an old bonnet in it. Would you + like to see the box?" she asked, addressing Robert. + </p> + <p> + "If you will be so good as to allow me," he answered, "I should very much + like to see it." + </p> + <p> + "I'll fetch it down," said Miss Tonks. "It's not very big." + </p> + <p> + She ran out of the room before Mr. Audley had time to utter any polite + remonstrance. + </p> + <p> + "How pitiless these women are to each other," he thought, while the + teacher was absent. "This one knows intuitively that there is some danger + to the other lurking beneath my questions. She sniffs the coming trouble + to her fellow female creature, and rejoices in it, and would take any + pains to help me. What a world it is, and how these women take life out of + her hands. Helen Maldon, Lady Audley, Clara Talboys, and now Miss Tonks—all + womankind from beginning to end." + </p> + <p> + Miss Tonks re-entered while the young barrister was meditating upon the + infamy of her sex. She carried a dilapidated paper-covered bonnet-box, + which she submitted to Robert's inspection. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley knelt down to examine the scraps of railway labels and + addresses which were pasted here and there upon the box. It had been + battered upon a great many different lines of railway, and had evidently + traveled considerably. Many of the labels had been torn off, but fragments + of some of them remained, and upon one yellow scrap of paper Robert read + the letters, TURI. + </p> + <p> + "The box has been to Italy," he thought. "Those are the first four letters + of the word Turin, and the label is a foreign one." + </p> + <p> + The only direction which had not been either defaced or torn away was the + last, which bore the name of Miss Graham, passenger to London. Looking + very closely at this label, Mr. Audley discovered that it had been pasted + over another. + </p> + <p> + "Will you be so good as to let me have a little water and a piece of + sponge?" he said. "I want to get off this upper label. Believe me that I + am justified in what I am doing." + </p> + <p> + Miss Tonks ran out of the room and returned immediately with a basin of + water and a sponge. + </p> + <p> + "Shall I take off the label?" she asked. + </p> + <p> + "No, thank you," Robert answered, coldly. "I can do it very well myself." + </p> + <p> + He damped the upper label several times before he could loosen the edges + of the paper; but after two or three careful attempts the moistened + surface peeled off, without injury to the underneath address. + </p> + <p> + Miss Tonks could not contrive to read this address across Robert's + shoulder, though she exhibited considerable dexterity in her endeavors to + accomplish that object. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley repeated his operations upon the lower label, which he removed + from the box, and placed very carefully between two blank leaves of his + pocket-book. + </p> + <p> + "I need intrude upon you no longer, ladies," he said, when he had done + this. "I am extremely obliged to you for having afforded me all the + information in your power. I wish you good-morning." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Vincent smiled and bowed, murmuring some complacent conventionality + about the delight she had felt in Mr. Audley's visit. Miss Tonks, more + observant, stared at the white change, which had come over the young man's + face since he had removed the upper label from the box. + </p> + <p> + Robert walked slowly away from Acacia Cottage. "If that which I have found + to-day is no evidence for a jury," he thought, "it is surely enough to + convince my uncle that he has married a designing and infamous woman." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII. + </h2> + <h3> + BEGINNING AT THE OTHER END. + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley walked slowly through the leafless grove, under the bare and + shadowless trees in the gray February atmosphere, thinking as he went of + the discovery he had just made. + </p> + <p> + "I have that in my pocket-book," he pondered, "which forms the connecting + link between the woman whose death George Talboys read of in the <i>Times</i> + newspaper and the woman who rules in my uncle's house. The history of Lucy + Graham ends abruptly on the threshold of Mrs. Vincent's school. She + entered that establishment in August, 1854. The schoolmistress and her + assistant can tell me this but they cannot tell me whence she came. They + cannot give me one clew to the secrets of her life from the day of her + birth until the day she entered that house. I can go no further in this + backward investigation of my lady's antecedents. What am I to do, then, if + I mean to keep my promise to Clara Talboys?" + </p> + <p> + He walked on for a few paces revolving this question in his mind, with a + darker shadow than the shadows of the gathering winter twilight on his + face, and a heavy oppression of mingled sorrow and dread weighing down his + heart. + </p> + <p> + "My duty is clear enough," he thought—"not the less clear because it + leads me step by step, carrying ruin and desolation with me, to the home I + love. I must begin at the other end—I must begin at the other end, + and discover the history of Helen Talboys from the hour of George's + departure until the day of the funeral in the churchyard at Ventnor." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley hailed a passing hansom, and drove back to his chambers. + </p> + <p> + He reached Figtree Court in time to write a few lines to Miss Talboys, and + to post his letter at St. Martin's-le-Grand off before six o'clock. + </p> + <p> + "It will save me a day," he thought, as he drove to the General Post + Office with this brief epistle. + </p> + <p> + He had written to Clara Talboys to inquire the name of the little seaport + town in which George had met Captain Maldon and his daughter; for in spite + of the intimacy between the two young men, Robert Audley knew very few + particulars of his friend's brief married life. + </p> + <p> + From the hour in which George Talboys had read the announcement of his + wife's death in the columns of the <i>Times</i>, he had avoided all + mention of the tender history which had been so cruelly broken, the + familiar record which had been so darkly blotted out. + </p> + <p> + There was so much that was painful in that brief story! There was such + bitter self-reproach involved in the recollection of that desertion which + must have seemed so cruel to her who waited and watched at home! Robert + Audley comprehended this, and he did not wonder at his friend's silence. + The sorrowful story had been tacitly avoided by both, and Robert was as + ignorant of the unhappy history of this one year in his schoolfellow's + life as if they had never lived together in friendly companionship in + those snug Temple chambers. + </p> + <p> + The letter, written to Miss Talboys by her brother George, within a month + of his marriage, was dated Harrowgate. It was at Harrowgate, therefore, + Robert concluded, the young couple spent their honeymoon. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley had requested Clara Talboys to telegraph an answer to his + question, in order to avoid the loss of a day in the accomplishment of the + investigation he had promised to perform. + </p> + <p> + The telegraphic answer reached Figtree Court before twelve o'clock the + next day. + </p> + <p> + The name of the seaport town was Wildernsea, Yorkshire. + </p> + <p> + Within an hour of the receipt of this message, Mr. Audley arrived at the + King's-cross station, and took his ticket for Wildernsea by an express + train that started at a quarter before two. + </p> + <p> + The shrieking engine bore him on the dreary northward journey, whirling + him over desert wastes of flat meadow-land and bare cornfields, faintly + tinted with fresh sprouting green. This northern road was strange and + unfamiliar to the young barrister, and the wide expanse of the wintry + landscape chilled him by its aspect of bare loneliness. The knowledge of + the purpose of his journey blighted every object upon which his absent + glances fixed themselves for a moment, only to wander wearily away; only + to turn inward upon that far darker picture always presenting itself to + his anxious mind. + </p> + <p> + It was dark when the train reached the Hull terminus, but Mr. Audley's + journey was not ended. Amidst a crowd of porters and scattered heaps of + that incongruous and heterogeneous luggage with which travelers incumber + themselves, he was led, bewildered and half asleep, to another train which + was to convey him along the branch line that swept past Wildernsea, and + skirted the border of the German Ocean. + </p> + <p> + Half an hour after leaving Hull, Robert felt the briny freshness of the + sea upon the breeze that blew in at the open window of the carriage, and + an hour afterward the train stopped at a melancholy station, built amid a + sandy desert, and inhabited by two or three gloomy officials, one of whom + rung a terrific peal upon a harshly clanging bell as the train approached. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley was the only passenger who alighted at the dismal station. The + train swept on to the gayer scenes before the barrister had time to + collect his senses, or to pick up the portmanteau which had been + discovered with some difficulty amid a black cavern of baggage only + illuminated by one lantern. + </p> + <p> + "I wonder whether settlers in the backwoods of America feel as solitary + and strange as I feel to-night?" he thought, as he stared hopelessly about + him in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + He called to one of the officials, and pointed to his portmanteau. + </p> + <p> + "Will you carry that to the nearest hotel for me?" he asked—"that is + to say, if I can get a good bed there." + </p> + <p> + The man laughed as he shouldered the portmanteau. + </p> + <p> + "You can get thirty beds, I dare say, sir, if you wanted 'em," he said. + "We ain't over busy at Wildernsea at this time o' year. This way, sir." + </p> + <p> + The porter opened a wooden door in the station wall, and Robert Audley + found himself upon a wide bowling-green of smooth grass, which surrounded + a huge, square building, that loomed darkly on him through the winter's + night, its black solidity only relieved by two lighted windows, far apart + from each other, and glimmering redly like beacons on the darkness. + </p> + <p> + "This is the Victoria Hotel, sir," said the porter. "You wouldn't believe + the crowds of company we have down here in the summer." + </p> + <p> + In the face of the bare grass-plat, the tenantless wooden alcoves, and the + dark windows of the hotel, it was indeed rather difficult to imagine that + the place was ever gay with merry people taking pleasure in the bright + summer weather; but Robert Audley declared himself willing to believe + anything the porter pleased to tell him, and followed his guide meekly to + a little door at the side of the big hotel, which led into a comfortable + bar, where the humbler classes of summer visitors were accommodated with + such refreshments as they pleased to pay for, without running the gantlet + of the prim, white-waistcoated waiters on guard at the principal entrance. + </p> + <p> + But there were very few attendants retained at the hotel in the bleak + February season, and it was the landlord himself who ushered Robert into a + dreary wilderness of polished mahogany tables and horsehair cushioned + chairs, which he called the coffee-room. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley seated himself close to the wide steel fender, and stretched + his cramped legs upon the hearth-rug, while the landlord drove the poker + into the vast pile of coal, and sent a ruddy blaze roaring upward through + the chimney. + </p> + <p> + "If you would prefer a private room, sir—" the man began. + </p> + <p> + "No, thank you," said Robert, indifferently; "this room seems quite + private enough just now. If you will order me a mutton chop and a pint of + sherry, I shall be obliged." + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, sir." + </p> + <p> + "And I shall be still more obliged if you will favor me with a few + minutes' conversation before you do so." + </p> + <p> + "With very great pleasure, sir," the landlord answered, good-naturedly. + "We see so very little company at this season of the year, that we are + only too glad to oblige those gentlemen who do visit us. Any information + which I can afford you respecting the neighborhood of Wildernsea and its + attractions," added the landlord, unconsciously quoting a small hand-book + of the watering-place which he sold in the bar, "I shall be most happy to—" + </p> + <p> + "But I don't want to know anything about the neighborhood of Wildernsea," + interrupted Robert, with a feeble protest against the landlord's + volubility. "I want to ask you a few questions about some people who once + lived here." + </p> + <p> + The landlord bowed and smiled, with an air which implied his readiness to + recite the biographies of all the inhabitants of the little seaport, if + required by Mr. Audley to do so. + </p> + <p> + "How many years have you lived here?" Robert asked, taking his memorandum + book from his pocket. "Will it annoy you if I make notes of your replies + to my questions?" + </p> + <p> + "Not at all, sir," replied the landlord, with a pompous enjoyment of the + air of solemnity and importance which pervaded this business. "Any + information which I can afford that is likely to be of ultimate value—" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, thank you," Robert murmured, interrupting the flow of words. "You + have lived here—" + </p> + <p> + "Six years, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Since the year fifty-three?" + </p> + <p> + "Since November, in the year fifty-two, sir. I was in business at Hull + prior to that time. This house was only completed in the October before I + entered it." + </p> + <p> + "Do you remember a lieutenant in the navy, on half-pay, I believe, at that + time, called Maldon?" + </p> + <p> + "Captain Maldon, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, commonly called Captain Maldon. I see you do remember him." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir. Captain Maldon was one of our best customers. He used to spend + his evenings in this very room, though the walls were damp at that time, + and we weren't able to paper the place for nearly a twelvemonth afterward. + His daughter married a young officer that came here with his regiment, at + Christmas time in fifty-two. They were married here, sir, and they + traveled on the Continent for six months, and came back here again. But + the gentleman ran away to Australia, and left the lady, a week or two + after her baby was born. The business made quite a sensation in + Wildernsea, sir, and Mrs.—Mrs.—I forgot the name—" + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Talboys," suggested Robert. + </p> + <p> + "To be sure, sir, Mrs. Talboys. Mrs. Talboys was very much pitied by the + Wildernsea folks, sir, I was going to say, for she was very pretty, and + had such nice winning ways that she was a favorite with everybody who knew + her." + </p> + <p> + "Can you tell me how long Mr. Maldon and his daughter remained at + Wildernsea after Mr. Talboys left them?" Robert asked. + </p> + <p> + "Well—no, sir," answered the landlord, after a few moments' + deliberation. "I can't say exactly how long it was. I know Mr. Maldon used + to sit here in this very parlor, and tell people how badly his daughter + had been treated, and how he'd been deceived by a young man he'd put so + much confidence in; but I can't say how long it was before he left + Wildernsea. But Mrs. Barkamb could tell you, sir," added the landlord, + briskly. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Barkamb." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Mrs. Barkamb is the person who owns No. 17 North Cottages, the house + in which Mr. Maldon and his daughter lived. She's a nice, civil spoken, + motherly woman, sir, and I'm sure she'll tell you anything you may want to + know." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, I will call upon Mrs. Barkamb to-morrow. Stay—one more + question. Should you recognize Mrs. Talboys if you were to see her?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, sir. As sure as I should recognize one of my own daughters." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley wrote Mrs. Barkamb's address in his pocket-book, ate his + solitary dinner, drank a couple of glasses of sherry, smoked a cigar, and + then retired to the apartment in which a fire had been lighted for his + comfort. + </p> + <p> + He soon fell asleep, worn out with the fatigue of hurrying from place to + place during the last two days; but his slumber was not a heavy one, and + he heard the disconsolate moaning of the wind upon the sandy wastes, and + the long waves rolling in monotonously upon the flat shore. Mingling with + these dismal sounds, the melancholy thoughts engendered by his joyless + journey repeated themselves in never-varying succession in the chaos of + his slumbering brain, and made themselves into visions of things that + never had been and never could be upon this earth, but which had some + vague relation to real events remembered by the sleeper. + </p> + <p> + In those troublesome dreams he saw Audley Court, rooted up from amidst the + green pastures and the shady hedgerows of Essex, standing bare and + unprotected upon that desolate northern shore, threatened by the rapid + rising of a boisterous sea, whose waves seemed gathering upward to descend + and crush the house he loved. As the hurrying waves rolled nearer and + nearer to the stately mansion, the sleeper saw a pale, starry face looking + out of the silvery foam, and knew that it was my lady, transformed into a + mermaid, beckoning his uncle to destruction. Beyond that rising sea great + masses of cloud, blacker than the blackest ink, more dense than the + darkest night, lowered upon the dreamer's eye; but as he looked at the + dismal horizon the storm-clouds slowly parted, and from a narrow rent in + the darkness a ray of light streamed out upon the hideous waves, which + slowly, very slowly, receded, leaving the old mansion safe and firmly + rooted on the shore. + </p> + <p> + Robert awoke with the memory of this dream in his mind, and a sensation of + physical relief, as if some heavy weight, which had oppressed him all the + night, had been lifted from his breast. + </p> + <p> + He fell asleep again, and did not awake until the broad winter sunlight + shone upon the window-blind, and the shrill voice of the chambermaid at + his door announced that it was half-past eight o'clock. At a + quarter-before ten he had left Victoria Hotel, and was making his way + along the lonely platform in front of a row of shadowless houses that + faced the sea. + </p> + <p> + This row of hard, uncompromising, square-built habitations stretched away + to the little harbor, in which two or three merchant vessels and a couple + of colliers were anchored. Beyond the harbor there loomed, gray and cold + upon the wintry horizon, a dismal barrack, parted from the Wildernsea + houses by a narrow creek, spanned by an iron drawbridge. The scarlet coat + of the sentinel who walked backward and forward between two cannons, + placed at remote angles before the barrack wall, was the only scrap of + color that relieved the neutral-tinted picture of the gray stone houses + and the leaden sea. + </p> + <p> + On one side of the harbor a long stone pier stretched out far away into + the cruel loneliness of the sea, as if built for the especial + accommodation of some modern Timon, too misanthropical to be satisfied + even with the solitude of Wildernsea, and anxious to get still further + away from his fellow-creatures. + </p> + <p> + It was on that pier George Talboys had first met his wife, under the + blazing glory of a midsummer sky, and to the music of a braying band. It + was there that the young cornet had first yielded to that sweet delusion, + that fatal infatuation which had exercised so dark an influence upon his + after-life. + </p> + <p> + Robert looked savagely at this solitary watering-place—the shabby + seaport. + </p> + <p> + "It is such a place as this," he thought, "that works a strong man's ruin. + He comes here, heart whole and happy, with no better experience of women + than is to be learned at a flower-show or in a ball-room; with no more + familiar knowledge of the creature than he has of the far-away satellites + or the remoter planets; with a vague notion that she is a whirling + teetotum in pink or blue gauze, or a graceful automaton for the display of + milliners' manufacture. He comes to some place of this kind, and the + universe is suddenly narrowed into about half a dozen acres; the mighty + scheme of creation is crushed into a bandbox. The far-away creatures whom + he had seen floating about him, beautiful and indistinct, are brought + under his very nose; and before he has time to recover his bewilderment, + hey presto, the witchcraft has begun; the magic circle is drawn around + him! the spells are at work, the whole formula of sorcery is in full play, + and the victim is as powerless to escape as the marble-legged prince in + the Eastern story." + </p> + <p> + Ruminating in this wise, Robert Audley reached the house to which he had + been directed as the residence of Mrs. Barkamb. He was admitted + immediately by a prim, elderly servant, who ushered him into a + sitting-room as prim and elderly-looking as herself. Mrs. Barkamb, a + comfortable matron of about sixty years of age, was sitting in an + arm-chair before a bright handful of fire in the shining grate. An elderly + terrier, whose black-and-tan coat was thickly sprinkled with gray, reposed + in Mrs. Barkamb's lap. Every object in the quiet sitting-room had an + elderly aspect of simple comfort and precision, which is the evidence of + outward repose. + </p> + <p> + "I should like to live here," Robert thought, "and watch the gray sea + slowly rolling over the gray sand under the still, gray sky. I should like + to live here, and tell the beads upon my rosary, and repent and rest." + </p> + <p> + He seated himself in the arm-chair opposite Mrs. Barkamb, at that lady's + invitation, and placed his hat upon the ground. The elderly terrier + descended from his mistress' lap to bark at and otherwise take objection + to this hat. + </p> + <p> + "You were wishing, I suppose, sir, to take one—be quiet, Dash—one + of the cottages," suggested Mrs. Barkamb, whose mind ran in one narrow + groove, and whose life during the last twenty years had been an unvarying + round of house-letting. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley explained the purpose of his visit. + </p> + <p> + "I come to ask one simple question," he said, in conclusion, "I wish to + discover the exact date of Mrs. Talboys' departure from Wildernsea. The + proprietor of the Victoria Hotel informed me that you were the most likely + person to afford me that information." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Barkamb deliberated for some moments. + </p> + <p> + "I can give you the date of Captain Maldon's departure," she said, "for he + left No. 17 considerably in my debt, and I have the whole business in + black and white; but with regard to Mrs. Talboys—" + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Barkamb paused for a few moments before resuming. + </p> + <p> + "You are aware that Mrs. Talboys left rather abruptly?" she asked. + </p> + <p> + "I was not aware of that fact." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed! Yes, she left abruptly, poor little woman! She tried to support + herself after her husband's desertion by giving music lessons; she was a + very brilliant pianist, and succeeded pretty well, I believe. But I + suppose her father took her money from her, and spent it in public houses. + However that might be, they had a very serious misunderstanding one night; + and the next morning Mrs. Talboys left Wildernsea, leaving her little boy, + who was out at nurse in the neighborhood." + </p> + <p> + "But you cannot tell me the date of her leaving?" + </p> + <p> + "I'm afraid not," answered Mrs. Barkamb; "and yet, stay. Captain Maldon + wrote to me upon the day his daughter left. He was in very great distress, + poor old gentleman, and he always came to me in his troubles. If I could + find that letter, it might be dated, you know—mightn't it, now?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley said that it was only probable the letter was dated. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Barkamb retired to a table in the window on which stood an + old-fashioned mahogany desk, lined with green baize, and suffering from a + plethora of documents, which oozed out of it in every direction. Letters, + receipts, bills, inventories and tax-papers were mingled in hopeless + confusion; and among these Mrs. Barkamb set to work to search for Captain + Maldon's letter. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley waited very patiently, watching the gray clouds sailing across + the gray sky, the gray vessels gliding past upon the gray sea. + </p> + <p> + After about ten minutes' search, and a great deal of rustling, crackling, + folding and unfolding of the papers, Mrs. Barkamb uttered an exclamation + of triumph. + </p> + <p> + "I've got the letter," she said; "and there's a note inside it from Mrs. + Talboys." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley's pale face flushed a vivid crimson as he stretched out his + hand to receive the papers. + </p> + <p> + "The persons who stole Helen Maldon's love-letters from George's trunk in + my chambers might have saved themselves the trouble," he thought. + </p> + <p> + The letter from the old lieutenant was not long, but almost every other + word was underscored. + </p> + <p> + "My generous friend," the writer began—Mr. Maldon had tried the + lady's generosity pretty severely during his residence in her house, + rarely paying his rent until threatened with the intruding presence of the + broker's man—"I am in the depths of despair. My daughter has left + me! You may imagine my feelings! We had a few words last night upon the + subject of money matters, which subject has always been a disagreeable one + between us, and on rising this morning I found I was deserted! The + enclosed from Helen was waiting for me on the parlor table. + </p> + <p> + "Yours in distraction and despair, + </p> + <p> + "HENRY MALDON. + </p> + <p> + "NORTH COTTAGES, August 16th, 1854." + </p> + <p> + The note from Mrs. Talboys was still more brief. It began abruptly thus: + </p> + <p> + "I am weary of my life here, and wish, if I can, to find a new one. I go + out into the world, dissevered from every link which binds me to the + hateful past, to seek another home and another fortune. Forgive me if I + have been fretful, capricious, changeable. You should forgive me, for you + know why I have been so. You know the secret which is the key to my life. + </p> + <p> + "HELEN TALBOYS." + </p> + <p> + These lines were written in a hand that Robert Audley knew only too well. + </p> + <p> + He sat for a long time pondering silently over the letter written by Helen + Talboys. + </p> + <p> + What was the meaning of those two last sentences—"You should forgive + me, for you know <i>why</i> I have been so. You know the <i>secret</i> + which is the key to my life?" + </p> + <p> + He wearied his brain in endeavoring to find a clew to the signification of + these two sentences. He could remember nothing, nor could he imagine + anything that would throw a light upon their meaning. The date of Helen's + departure, according to Mr. Maldon's letter, was the 16th of August, 1854. + Miss Tonks had declared that Lucy Graham entered the school at Crescent + Villas upon the 17th or 18th of August in the same year. Between the + departure of Helen Talboys from the Yorkshire watering-place and the + arrival of Lucy Graham at the Brompton school, not more than + eight-and-forty hours could have elapsed. This made a very small link in + the chain of circumstantial evidence, perhaps; but it was a link, + nevertheless, and it fitted neatly into its place. + </p> + <p> + "Did Mr. Maldon hear from his daughter after she had left Wildernsea?" + Robert asked. + </p> + <p> + "Well, I believe he did hear from her," Mrs. Barkamb answered; "but I + didn't see much of the old gentleman after that August. I was obliged to + sell him up in November, poor fellow, for he owed me fifteen months' rent; + and it was only by selling his poor little bits of furniture that I could + get him out of my place. We parted very good friends, in spite of my + sending in the brokers; and the old gentleman went to London with the + child, who was scarcely a twelvemonth old." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Barkamb had nothing more to tell, and Robert had no further questions + to ask. He requested permission to retain the two letters written by the + lieutenant and his daughter, and left the house with them in his + pocket-book. + </p> + <p> + He walked straight back to the hotel, where he called for a time-table. An + express for London left Wildernsea at a quarter past one. Robert sent his + portmanteau to the station, paid his bill, and walked up and down the + stone terrace fronting the sea, waiting for the starting of the train. + </p> + <p> + "I have traced the histories of Lucy Graham and Helen Talboys to a + vanishing point," he thought; "my next business is to discover the history + of the woman who lies buried in Ventnor churchyard." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII. + </h2> + <h3> + HIDDEN IN THE GRAVE. + </h3> + <p> + Upon his return from Wildernsea, Robert Audley found a letter from his + Cousin Alicia, awaiting him at his chambers. + </p> + <p> + "Papa is much better," the young lady wrote, "and is very anxious to have + you at the Court. For some inexplicable reason, my stepmother has taken it + into her head that your presence is extremely desirable, and worries me + with her frivolous questions about your movements. So pray come without + delay, and set these people at rest. Your affectionate cousin, A.A." + </p> + <p> + "So my lady is anxious to know my movements," thought Robert Audley, as he + sat brooding and smoking by his lonely fireside. "She is anxious; and she + questions her step-daughter in that pretty, childlike manner which has + such a bewitching air of innocent frivolity. Poor little creature; poor + unhappy little golden-haired sinner; the battle between us seems terribly + unfair. Why doesn't she run away while there is still time? I have given + her fair warning, I have shown her my cards, and worked openly enough in + this business, Heaven knows. Why doesn't she run away?" + </p> + <p> + He repeated this question again and again as he filled and emptied his + meerschaum, surrounding himself with the blue vapor from his pipe until he + looked like some modern magician seated in his laboratory. + </p> + <p> + "Why doesn't she run away? I would bring no needless shame upon that + house, of all other houses upon this wide earth. I would only do my duty + to my missing friend, and to that brave and generous man who has pledged + his faith to a worthless woman. Heaven knows I have no wish to punish. + Heaven knows I was never born to be the avenger of guilt or the persecutor + of the guilty. I only wish to do my duty. I will give her one more + warning, a full and fair one, and then—" + </p> + <p> + His thoughts wandered away to that gloomy prospect in which he saw no + gleam of brightness to relieve the dull, black obscurity that encompassed + the future, shutting in his pathway on every side, and spreading a dense + curtain around and about him, which Hope was powerless to penetrate. He + was forever haunted by the vision of his uncle's anguish, forever tortured + by the thought of that ruin and desolation which, being brought about by + his instrumentality, would seem in a manner his handiwork. But amid all, + and through all, Clara Talboys, with an imperious gesture, beckoned him + onward to her brother's unknown grave. + </p> + <p> + "Shall I go down to Southampton," he thought, "and endeavor to discover + the history of the woman who died at Ventnor? Shall I work underground, + bribing the paltry assistants in that foul conspiracy, until I find my way + to the thrice guilty principal? No! not till I have tried other means of + discovering the truth. Shall I go to that miserable old man, and charge + him with his share in the shameful trick which I believe to have been + played upon my poor friend? No; I will not torture that terror-stricken + wretch as I tortured him a few weeks ago. I will go straight to that + arch-conspirator, and will tear away the beautiful veil under which she + hides her wickedness, and will wring from her the secret of my friend's + fate, and banish her forever from the house which her presence has + polluted." + </p> + <p> + He started early the next morning for Essex, and reached Audley before + eleven o'clock. + </p> + <p> + Early as it was, my lady was out. She had driven to Chelmsford upon a + shopping expedition with her step-daughter. She had several calls to make + in the neighborhood of the town, and was not likely to return until + dinner-time. Sir Michael's health was very much improved, and he would + come down stairs in the afternoon. Would Mr. Audley go to his uncle's + room? + </p> + <p> + No; Robert had no wish to meet that generous kinsman. What could he say to + him? How could he smooth the way to the trouble that was to come?—how + soften the cruel blow of the great grief that was preparing for that noble + and trusting heart? + </p> + <p> + "If I could forgive her the wrong done to my friend," Robert thought, "I + should still abhor her for the misery her guilt must bring upon the man + who has believed in her." + </p> + <p> + He told his uncle's servant that he would stroll into the village, and + return before dinner. He walked slowly away from the Court, wandering + across the meadows between his uncle's house and the village, purposeless + and indifferent, with the great trouble and perplexity of his life stamped + upon his face and reflected in his manner. + </p> + <p> + "I will go into the churchyard," he thought, "and stare at the tombstones. + There is nothing I can do that will make me more gloomy than I am." + </p> + <p> + He was in those very meadows through which he had hurried from Audley + Court to the station upon the September day in which George Talboys had + disappeared. He looked at the pathway by which he had gone upon that day, + and remembered his unaccustomed hurry, and the vague feeling of terror + which had taken possession of him immediately upon losing sight of his + friend. + </p> + <p> + "Why did that unaccountable terror seize upon me," he thought. "Why was it + that I saw some strange mystery in my friend's disappearance? Was it a + monition, or a monomania? What if I am wrong after all? What if this chain + of evidence which I have constructed link by link, is woven out of my own + folly? What if this edifice of horror and suspicion is a mere collection + of crotchets—the nervous fancies of a hypochondriacal bachelor? Mr. + Harcourt Talboys sees no meaning in the events out of which I have made + myself a horrible mystery. I lay the separate links of the chain before + him, and he cannot recognize their fitness. He is unable to put them + together. Oh, my God, if it should be in myself all this time that the + misery lies; if—" he smiled bitterly, and shook his head. "I have + the handwriting in my pocket-book which is the evidence of the + conspiracy," he thought. "It remains for me to discover the darker half of + my lady's secret." + </p> + <p> + He avoided the village, still keeping to the meadows. The church lay a + little way back from the straggling High street, and a rough wooden gate + opened from the churchyard into a broad meadow, that was bordered by a + running stream, and sloped down into a grassy valley dotted by groups of + cattle. + </p> + <p> + Robert slowly ascended the narrow hillside pathway leading up to the gate + in the churchyard. The quiet dullness of the lonely landscape harmonized + with his own gloom. The solitary figure of an old man hobbling toward a + stile at the further end of the wide meadow was the only human creature + visible upon the area over which the young barrister looked. The smoke + slowly ascending from the scattered houses in the long High street was the + only evidence of human life. The slow progress of the hands of the old + clock in the church steeple was the only token by which a traveler could + perceive that a sluggish course of rustic life had not come to a full stop + in the village of Audley. + </p> + <p> + Yes, there was one other sign. As Robert opened the gate of the + churchyard, and strolled listessly into the little inclosure, he became + aware of the solemn music of an organ, audible through a half-open window + in the steeple. + </p> + <p> + He stopped and listened to the slow harmonies of a dreamy melody that + sounded like an extempore composition of an accomplished player. + </p> + <p> + "Who would have believed that Audley church could boast such an organ?" + thought Robert. "When last I was here, the national schoolmaster used to + accompany his children by a primitive performance of common chords. I + didn't think the old organ had such music in it." + </p> + <p> + He lingered at the gate, not caring to break the lazy spell woven about + him by the monotonous melancholy of the organist's performance. The tones + of the instrument, now swelling to their fullest power, now sinking to a + low, whispering softness, floated toward him upon the misty winter + atmosphere, and had a soothing influence, that seemed to comfort him in + his trouble. + </p> + <p> + He closed the gate softly, and crossed the little patch of gravel before + the door of the church. The door had been left ajar—by the organist, + perhaps. Robert Audley pushed it open, and walked into the square porch, + from which a flight of narrow stone steps wound upward to the organ-loft + and the belfry. Mr. Audley took off his hat, and opened the door between + the porch and the body of the church. He stepped softly into the holy + edifice, which had a damp, moldy smell upon week-days. He walked down the + narrow aisle to the altar-rails, and from that point of observation took a + survey of the church. The little gallery was exactly opposite to him, but + the scanty green curtains before the organ were closely drawn, and he + could not get a glimpse of the player. + </p> + <p> + The music still rolled on. The organist had wandered into a melody of + Mendelssohn's, a strain whose dreamy sadness went straight to Robert's + heart. He loitered in the nooks and corners of the church, examining the + dilapidated memorials of the well-nigh forgotten dead, and listening to + the music. + </p> + <p> + "If my poor friend, George Talboys, had died in my arms, and I had buried + him in this quiet church, in one corner of the vaults over which I tread + to-day, how much anguish of mind, vacillation and torment I might have + escaped," thought Robert Audley, as he read the faded inscriptions upon + tablets of discolored marble; "I should have known his fate—I should + have known his fate! Ah, how much there would have been in that. It is + this miserable uncertainty, this horrible suspicion which has poisoned my + very life." + </p> + <p> + He looked at his watch. + </p> + <p> + "Half-past one," he muttered. "I shall have to wait four or five dreary + hours before my lady comes home from her morning calls—her pretty + visits of ceremony or friendliness. Good Heaven! what an actress this + woman is. What an arch trickster—what an all-accomplished deceiver. + But she shall play her pretty comedy no longer under my uncle's roof. I + have diplomatized long enough. She has refused to accept an indirect + warning. To-night I will speak plainly." + </p> + <p> + The music of the organ ceased, and Robert heard the closing of the + instrument. + </p> + <p> + "I'll have a look at this new organist," he thought, "who can afford to + bury his talents at Audley, and play Mendelssohn's finest fugues for a + stipend of sixteen pounds a year." He lingered in the porch, waiting for + the organist to descend the awkward little stair-case. In the weary + trouble of his mind, and with the prospect of getting through the five + hours in the best way he could, Mr. Audley was glad to cultivate any + diversion of thought, however idle. He therefore freely indulged his + curiosity about the new organist. + </p> + <p> + The first person who appeared upon the steep stone steps was a boy in + corduroy trousers and a dark linen smock-frock, who shambled down the + stairs with a good deal of unnecessary clatter of his hobnailed shoes, and + who was red in the face from the exertion of blowing the bellows of the + old organ. Close behind this boy came a young lady, very plainly dressed + in a black silk gown and a large gray shawl, who started and turned pale + at sight of Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + This young lady was Clara Talboys. + </p> + <p> + Of all people in the world she was the last whom Robert either expected or + wished to see. She had told him that she was going to pay a visit to some + friends who lived in Essex; but the county is a wide one, and the village + of Audley one of the most obscure and least frequented spots in the whole + of its extent. That the sister of his lost friend should be here—here + where she could watch his every action, and from those actions deduce the + secret workings of his mind, tracing his doubts home to their object, made + a complication of his difficulties that he could never have anticipated. + It brought him back to that consciousness of his own helplessness, in + which he had exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + "A hand that is stronger than my own is beckoning me onward on the dark + road that leads to my lost friend's unknown grave." + </p> + <p> + Clara Talboys was the first to speak. + </p> + <p> + "You are surprised to see me here, Mr. Audley," she said. + </p> + <p> + "Very much surprised." + </p> + <p> + "I told you that I was coming to Essex. I left home day before yesterday. + I was leaving home when I received your telegraphic message. The friend + with whom I am staying is Mrs. Martyn, the wife of the new rector of Mount + Stanning. I came down this morning to see the village and church, and as + Mrs. Martyn had to pay a visit to the school with the curate and his wife, + I stopped here and amused myself by trying the old organ. I was not aware + till I came here that there was a village called Audley. The place takes + its name from your family, I suppose?" + </p> + <p> + "I believe so," Robert answered, wondering at the lady's calmness, in + contradistinction to his own embarrassment. "I have a vague recollection + of hearing the story of some ancestor who was called Audley of Audley in + the reign of Edward the Fourth. The tomb inside the rails near the altar + belongs to one of the knights of Audley, but I have never taken the + trouble to remember his achievements. Are you going to wait here for your + friends, Miss Talboys?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; they are to return here for me after they have finished their + rounds." + </p> + <p> + "And you go back to Mount Stanning with them this afternoon?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + Robert stood with his hat in his hand, looking absently out at the + tombstones and the low wall of the church yard. Clara Talboys watched his + pale face, haggard under the deepening shadow that had rested upon it so + long. + </p> + <p> + "You have been ill since I saw you last, Mr. Audley," she said, in a low + voice, that had the same melodious sadness as the notes of the old organ + under her touch. + </p> + <p> + "No, I have not been ill; I have been only harassed, wearied by a hundred + doubts and perplexities." + </p> + <p> + He was thinking as he spoke to her: + </p> + <p> + "How much does she guess? How much does she suspect?" + </p> + <p> + He had told the story of George's disappearance and of his own suspicions, + suppressing only the names of those concerned in the mystery; but what if + this girl should fathom this slender disguise, and discover for herself + that which he had chosen to withhold. + </p> + <p> + Her grave eyes were fixed upon his face, and he knew that she was trying + to read the innermost secrets of his mind. + </p> + <p> + "What am I in her hands?" he thought. "What am I in the hands of this + woman, who has my lost friend's face and the manner of Pallas Athene. She + reads my pitiful, vacillating soul, and plucks the thoughts out of my + heart with the magic of her solemn brown eyes. How unequal the fight must + be between us, and how can I ever hope to conquer against the strength of + her beauty and her wisdom?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley was clearing his throat preparatory to bidding his beautiful + companion good-morning, and making his escape from the thraldom of her + presence into the lonely meadow outside the churchyard, when Clara Talboys + arrested him by speaking upon that very subject which he was most anxious + to avoid. + </p> + <p> + "You promised to write to me, Mr. Audley," she said, "if you made any + discovery which carried you nearer to the mystery of my brother's + disappearance. You have not written to me, and I imagine, therefore, that + you have discovered nothing." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley was silent for some moments. How could he answer this direct + question? + </p> + <p> + "The chain of circumstantial evidence which unites the mystery of your + brother's fate with the person whom I suspect," he said, after a pause, + "is formed of very slight links. I think that I have added another link to + that chain since I saw you in Dorsetshire." + </p> + <p> + "And you refuse to tell me what it is that you have discovered?" + </p> + <p> + "Only until I have discovered more." + </p> + <p> + "I thought from your message that you were going to Wildernsea." + </p> + <p> + "I have been there." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed! It was there that you made some discovery, then?" + </p> + <p> + "It was," answered Robert. "You must remember, Miss Talboys that the sole + ground upon which my suspicions rest is the identity of two individuals + who have no apparent connection—the identity of a person who is + supposed to be dead with one who is living. The conspiracy of which I + believe your brother to have been the victim hinges upon this. If his + wife, Helen Talboys, died when the papers recorded her death—if the + woman who lies buried in Ventnor churchyard was indeed the woman whose + name is inscribed on the headstone of the grave—I have no case, I + have no clew to the mystery of your brother's fate. I am about to put this + to the test. I believe that I am now in a position to play a bold game, + and I believe that I shall soon arrive at the truth." + </p> + <p> + He spoke in a low voice, and with a solemn emphasis that betrayed the + intensity of his feeling. Miss Talboys stretched out her ungloved hand, + and laid it in his own. The cold touch of that slender hand sent a + shivering thrill through his frame. + </p> + <p> + "You will not suffer my brother's fate to remain a mystery, Mr. Audley," + she said, quietly. "I know that you will do your duty to your friend." + </p> + <p> + The rector's wife and her two companions entered the churchyard as Clara + Talboys said this. Robert Audley pressed the hand that rested in his own, + and raised it to his lips. + </p> + <p> + "I am a lazy, good-for-nothing fellow, Miss Talboys," he said; "but if I + could restore your brother George to life and happiness, I should care + very little for any sacrifice of my own feeling, fear that the most I can + do is to fathom the secret of his fate and in doing that I must sacrifice + those who are dearer to me than myself." + </p> + <p> + He put on his hat, and hurried through the gateway leading into the field + as Mrs. Martyn came up to the porch. + </p> + <p> + "Who is that handsome young man I caught <i>tête-a-tête</i> with you, + Clara?" she asked, laughing. + </p> + <p> + "He is a Mr. Audley, a friend of my poor brother's." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed! He is some relation of Sir Michael Audley, I suppose?" + </p> + <p> + "Sir Michael Audley!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my dear; the most important personage in the parish of Audley. But + we'll call at the Court in a day or two, and you shall see the baronet and + his pretty young wife." + </p> + <p> + "His young wife!" replied Clara Talboys, looking earnestly at her friend. + "Has Sir Michael Audley lately married, then?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes. He was a widower for sixteen years, and married a penniless young + governess about a year and a half ago. The story is quite romantic, and + Lady Audley is considered the belle of the county. But come, my dear + Clara, the pony is tired of waiting for us, and we've a long drive before + dinner." + </p> + <p> + Clara Talboys took her seat in the little basket-carriage which was + waiting at the principal gate of the churchyard, in the care of the boy + who had blown the organ-bellows. Mrs. Martyn shook the reins, and the + sturdy chestnut cob trotted off in the direction of Mount Stanning. + </p> + <p> + "Will you tell me more about this Lady Audley, Fanny?" Miss Talboys said, + after a long pause. "I want to know all about her. Have you heard her + maiden name?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; she was a Miss Graham." + </p> + <p> + "And she is very pretty?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, very, very pretty. Rather a childish beauty though, with large, + clear blue eyes, and pale golden ringlets, that fall in a feathery shower + over her throat and shoulders." + </p> + <p> + Clara Talboys was silent. She did not ask any further questions about my + lady. + </p> + <p> + She was thinking of a passage in that letter which George had written to + her during his honeymoon—a passage in which he said: "My childish + little wife is watching me as I write this—Ah! how I wish you could + see her, Clara! Her eyes are as blue and as clear as the skies on a bright + summer's day, and her hair falls about her face like the pale golden halo + you see round the head of a Madonna in an Italian picture." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIX. + </h2> + <h3> + IN THE LIME-WALK. + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley was loitering upon the broad grass-plat in front of the + Court as the carriage containing my lady and Alicia drove under the + archway, and drew up at the low turret-door. Mr. Audley presented himself + in time to hand the ladies out of the vehicle. + </p> + <p> + My lady looked very pretty in a delicate blue bonnet and the sables which + her nephew had bought for her at St. Petersburg. She seemed very well + pleased to see Robert, and smiled most bewitchingly as she gave him her + exquisitely gloved little hand. + </p> + <p> + "So you have come back to us, truant?" she said, laughing. "And now that + you have returned, we shall keep you prisoner. We won't let him run away + again, will we, Alicia?" + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley gave her head a scornful toss that shook the heavy curls under + her cavalier hat. + </p> + <p> + "I have nothing to do with the movements of so erratic an individual," she + said. "Since Robert Audley has taken it into his head to conduct himself + like some ghost-haunted hero in a German story, I have given up attempting + to understand him." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley looked at his cousin with an expression of serio-comic + perplexity. "She's a nice girl," he thought, "but she's a nuisance. I + don't know how it is, but she seems more a nuisance than she used to be." + </p> + <p> + He pulled his mustaches reflectively as he considered this question. His + mind wandered away for a few moments from the great trouble of his life to + dwell upon this minor perplexity. + </p> + <p> + "She's a dear girl," he thought; "a generous-hearted, bouncing, noble + English lassie; and yet—" He lost himself in a quagmire of doubt and + difficulty. There was some hitch in his mind which he could not + understand; some change in himself, beyond the change made in him by his + anxiety about George Talboys, which mystified and bewildered him. + </p> + <p> + "And pray where have you been wandering during the last day or two, Mr. + Audley?" asked my lady, as she lingered with her step-daughter upon the + threshold of the turret-door, waiting until Robert should be pleased to + stand aside and allow them to pass. The young man started as she asked + this question and looked up at her suddenly. Something in the aspect of + her bright young beauty, something in the childish innocence of her + expression, seemed to smite him to the heart, and his face grew ghastly + pale as he looked at her. + </p> + <p> + "I have been—in Yorkshire," he said; "at the little watering place + where my poor friend George Talboys lived at the time of his marriage." + </p> + <p> + The white change in my lady's face was the only sign of her having heard + these words. She smiled, a faint, sickly smile, and tried to pass her + husband's nephew. + </p> + <p> + "I must dress for dinner," she said. "I am going to a dinner-party, Mr. + Audley; please let me go in." + </p> + <p> + "I must ask you to spare me half an hour, Lady Audley," Robert answered, + in a low voice. "I came down to Essex on purpose to speak to you." + </p> + <p> + "What about?" asked my lady. + </p> + <p> + She had recovered herself from any shock which she might have sustained a + few moments before, and it was in her usual manner that she asked this + question. Her face expressed the mingled bewilderment and curiosity of a + puzzled child, rather than the serious surprise of a woman. + </p> + <p> + "What can you want to talk to me about, Mr. Audley?" she repeated. + </p> + <p> + "I will tell you when we are alone," Robert said, glancing at his cousin, + who stood a little way behind my lady, watching this confidential little + dialogue. + </p> + <p> + "He is in love with my step-mother's wax-doll beauty," thought Alicia, + "and it is for her sake he has become such a disconsolate object. He's + just the sort of person to fall in love with his aunt." + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley walked away to the grass-plat, turning her back upon Robert + and my lady. + </p> + <p> + "The absurd creature turned as white as a sheet when he saw her," she + thought. "So he can be in love, after all. That slow lump of torpidity he + calls his heart can beat, I suppose, once in a quarter of a century; but + it seems that nothing but a blue-eyed wax-doll can set it going. I should + have given him up long ago if I'd known that his idea of beauty was to be + found in a toy-shop." + </p> + <p> + Poor Alicia crossed the grass-plat and disappeared upon the opposite side + of the quadrangle, where there was a Gothic gate that communicated with + the stables. I am sorry to say that Sir Michael Audley's daughter went to + seek consolation from her dog Caesar and her chestnut mare Atalanta, whose + loose box the young lady was in the habit of visiting every day. + </p> + <p> + "Will you come into the lime-walk, Lady Audley?" said Robert, as his + cousin left the garden. "I wish to talk to you without fear of + interruption or observation. I think we could choose no safer place than + that. Will you come there with me?" + </p> + <p> + "If you please," answered my lady. Mr. Audley could see that she was + trembling, and that she glanced from side to side as if looking for some + outlet by which she might escape him. + </p> + <p> + "You are shivering, Lady Audley," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I am very cold. I would rather speak to you some other day, please. + Let it be to-morrow, if you will. I have to dress for dinner, and I want + to see Sir Michael; I have not seen him since ten o'clock this morning. + Please let it be to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + There was a painful piteousness in her tone. Heaven knows how painful to + Robert's heart. Heaven knows what horrible images arose in his mind as he + looked down at that fair young face and thought of the task that lay + before him. + </p> + <p> + "I <i>must</i> speak to you, Lady Audley," he said. "If I am cruel, it is + you who have made me cruel. You might have escaped this ordeal. You might + have avoided me. I gave you fair warning. But you have chosen to defy me, + and it is your own folly which is to blame if I no longer spare you. Come + with me. I tell you again I must speak to you." + </p> + <p> + There was a cold determination in his tone which silenced my lady's + objections. She followed him submissively to the little iron gate which + communicated with the long garden behind the house—the garden in + which a little rustic wooden bridge led across the quiet fish-pond into + the lime-walk. + </p> + <p> + The early winter twilight was closing in, and the intricate tracery of the + leafless branches that overarched the lonely pathway looked black against + the cold gray of the evening sky. The lime-walk seemed like some cloister + in this uncertain light. + </p> + <p> + "Why do you bring me to this horrible place to frighten me out of my poor + wits?" cried my lady, peevishly. "You ought to know how nervous I am." + </p> + <p> + "You are nervous, my lady?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, dreadfully nervous. I am worth a fortune to poor Mr. Dawson. He is + always sending me camphor, and sal volatile, and red lavender, and all + kinds of abominable mixtures, but he can't cure me." + </p> + <p> + "Do you remember what Macbeth tells his physician, my lady?" asked Robert, + gravely. "Mr. Dawson may be very much more clever than the Scottish leech, + but I doubt if even <i>he</i> can minister to the mind that is diseased." + </p> + <p> + "Who said that my mind was diseased?" exclaimed Lady Audley. + </p> + <p> + "I say so, my lady," answered Robert. "You tell me that you are nervous, + and that all the medicines your doctor can prescribe are only so much + physic that might as well be thrown to the dogs. Let me be the physician + to strike to the root of your malady, Lady Audley. Heaven knows that I + wish to be merciful—that I would spare you as far as it is in my + power to spare you in doing justice to others—but justice must be + done. Shall I tell you why you are nervous in this house, my lady?" + </p> + <p> + "If you can," she answered, with a little laugh. + </p> + <p> + "Because for you this house is haunted." + </p> + <p> + "Haunted?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, haunted by the ghost of George Talboys." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley heard my lady's quickened breathing, he fancied he could + almost hear the loud beating of her heart as she walked by his side, + shivering now and then, and with her sable cloak wrapped tightly around + her. + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean?" she cried suddenly, after a pause of some moments. + "Why do you torment me about this George Talboys, who happens to have + taken it into his head to keep out of your way for a few months? Are you + going mad, Mr. Audley, and do you select me as the victim of your + monomania? What is George Talboys to me that you should worry me about + him?" + </p> + <p> + "He was a stranger to you, my lady, was he not?" + </p> + <p> + "Of course!" answered Lady Audley. "What should he be but a stranger?" + </p> + <p> + "Shall I tell you the story of my friend's disappearance as I read that + story, my lady?" asked Robert. + </p> + <p> + "No," cried Lady Audley; "I wish to know nothing of your friend. If he is + dead, I am sorry for him. If he lives, I have no wish either to see him or + to hear of him. Let me go in to see my husband, if you please, Mr. Audley, + unless you wish to detain me in this gloomy place until I catch my death + of cold." + </p> + <p> + "I wish to detain you until you have heard what I have to say, Lady + Audley," answered Robert, resolutely. "I will detain you no longer than is + necessary, and when you have heard me you shall take your own course of + action." + </p> + <p> + "Very well, then; pray lose no time in saying what you have to say," + replied my lady, carelessly. "I promise you to attend very patiently." + </p> + <p> + "When my friend, George Talboys, returned to England," Robert began, + gravely, "the thought which was uppermost in his mind was the thought of + his wife." + </p> + <p> + "Whom he had deserted," said my lady, quickly. "At least," she added, more + deliberately, "I remember your telling us something to that effect when + you first told us your friend's story." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley did not notice this observation. + </p> + <p> + "The thought that was uppermost in his mind was the thought of his wife," + he repeated. "His fairest hope in the future was the hope of making her + happy, and lavishing upon her the pittance which he had won by the force + of his own strong arm in the gold-fields of Australia. I saw him within a + few hours of his reaching England, and I was a witness to the joyful pride + with which he looked forward to his re-union with his wife. I was also a + witness to the blow which struck him to the very heart—which changed + him from the man he had been to a creature as unlike that former self as + one human being can be unlike another. The blow which made that cruel + change was the announcement of his wife's death in the <i>Times</i> + newspaper. I now believe that that announcement was a black and bitter + lie." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed!" said my lady; "and what reason could any one have for announcing + the death of Mrs. Talboys, if Mrs. Talboys had been alive?" + </p> + <p> + "The lady herself might have had a reason," Robert answered, quietly. + </p> + <p> + "What reason?" + </p> + <p> + "How if she had taken advantage of George's absence to win a richer + husband? How if she had married again, and wished to throw my poor friend + off the scent by this false announcement?" + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley shrugged her shoulders. + </p> + <p> + "Your suppositions are rather ridiculous, Mr. Audley," she said; "it is to + be hoped that you have some reasonable grounds for them." + </p> + <p> + "I have examined a file of each of the newspapers published in Chelmsford + and Colchester," continued Robert, without replying to my lady's last + observation, "and I find in one of the Colchester papers, dated July the + 2d, 1857, a brief paragraph among numerous miscellaneous scraps of + information copied from other newspapers, to the effect that a Mr. George + Talboys, an English gentleman, had arrived at Sydney from the gold-fields, + carrying with him nuggets and gold-dust to the amount of twenty thousand + pounds, and that he had realized his property and sailed for Liverpool in + the fast-sailing clipper <i>Argus</i>. This is a very small fact, of + course, Lady Audley, but it is enough to prove that any person residing in + Essex in the July of the year fifty-seven, was likely to become aware of + George Talboys' return from Australia. Do you follow me?" + </p> + <p> + "Not very clearly," said my lady. "What have the Essex papers to do with + the death of Mrs. Talboys?" + </p> + <p> + "We will come to that by-and-by, Lady Audley. I say that I believe the + announcement in the <i>Times</i> to have been a false announcement, and a + part of the conspiracy which was carried out by Helen Talboys and + Lieutenant Maldon against my poor friend." + </p> + <p> + "A conspiracy!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, a conspiracy concocted by an artful woman, who had speculated upon + the chances of her husband's death, and had secured a splendid position at + the risk of committing a crime; a bold woman, my lady, who thought to play + her comedy out to the end without fear of detection; a wicked woman, who + did not care what misery she might inflict upon the honest heart of the + man she betrayed; but a foolish woman, who looked at life as a game of + chance, in which the best player was likely to hold the winning cards, + forgetting that there is a Providence above the pitiful speculators, and + that wicked secrets are never permitted to remain long hidden. If this + woman of whom I speak had never been guilty of any blacker sin than the + publication of that lying announcement in the <i>Times</i> newspaper, I + should still hold her as the most detestable and despicable of her sex—the + most pitiless and calculating of human creatures. That cruel lie was a + base and cowardly blow in the dark; it was the treacherous dagger-thrust + of an infamous assassin." + </p> + <p> + "But how do you know that the announcement was a false one?" asked my + lady. "You told us that you had been to Ventnor with Mr. Talboys to see + his wife's grave. Who was it who died at Ventnor if it was not Mrs. + Talboys?" + </p> + <p> + "Ah, Lady Audley," said Robert, "that is a question which only two or + three people can answer, and one or other of those persons shall answer it + to me before long. I tell you, my lady, that I am determined to unravel + the mystery of George Talboy's death. Do you think I am to be put off by + feminine prevarication—by womanly trickery? No! Link by link I have + put together the chain of evidence, which wants but a link here and there + to be complete in its terrible strength. Do you think I will suffer myself + to be baffled? Do you think I shall fail to discover those missing links? + No, Lady Audley, I shall not fail, for <i>I know where to look for them!</i> + There is a fair-haired woman at Southampton—a woman called Plowson, + who has some share in the secrets of the father of my friend's wife. I + have an idea that she can help me to discover the history of the woman who + lies buried in Ventnor churchyard, and I will spare no trouble in making + that discovery, unless—" + </p> + <p> + "Unless what?" asked my lady, eagerly. + </p> + <p> + "Unless the woman I wish to save from degradation and punishment accepts + the mercy I offer her, and takes warning while there is still time." + </p> + <p> + My lady shrugged her graceful shoulders, and flashed bright defiance out + of her blue eyes. + </p> + <p> + "She would be a very foolish woman if she suffered herself to be + influenced by any such absurdity," she said. "You are hypochondriacal, Mr. + Audley, and you must take camphor, or red lavender, or sal volatile. What + can be more ridiculous than this idea which you have taken into your head? + You lose your friend George Talboys in rather a mysterious manner—that + is to say, that gentleman chooses to leave England without giving you due + notice. What of that? You confess that he became an altered man after his + wife's death. He grew eccentric and misanthropical; he affected an utter + indifference as to what became of him. What more likely, then, than that + he grew tired of the monotony of civilized life, and ran away to those + savage gold-fields to find a distraction for his grief? It is rather a + romantic story, but by no means an uncommon one. But you are not satisfied + with this simple interpretation of your friend's disappearance, and you + build up some absurd theory of a conspiracy which has no existence except + in your own overheated brain. Helen Talboys is dead. The <i>Times</i> + newspaper declares she is dead. Her own father tells you that she is dead. + The headstone of the grave in Ventnor churchyard bears record of her + death. By what right," cried my lady, her voice rising to that shrill and + piercing tone peculiar to her when affected by any intense agitation—"by + what right, Mr. Audley, do you come to me, and torment me about George + Talboys—by what right do you dare to say that his wife is still + alive?" + </p> + <p> + "By the right of circumstantial evidence, Lady Audley," answered Robert—"by + the right of that circumstantial evidence which will sometimes fix the + guilt of a man's murder upon that person who, on the first hearing of the + case, seems of all other men the most unlikely to be guilty." + </p> + <p> + "What circumstantial evidence?" + </p> + <p> + "The evidence of time and place. The evidence of handwriting. When Helen + Talboys left her father's at Wildernsea, she left a letter behind her—a + letter in which she declared that she was weary of her old life, and that + she wished to seek a new home and a new fortune. That letter is in my + possession." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed." + </p> + <p> + "Shall I tell you whose handwriting resembles that of Helen Talboys so + closely, that the most dexterous expert could perceive no distinction + between the two?" + </p> + <p> + "A resemblance between the handwriting of two women is no very uncommon + circumstance now-a-days," replied my lady carelessly. "I could show you + the caligraphies of half-a-dozen female correspondents, and defy you to + discover any great difference in them." + </p> + <p> + "But what if the handwriting is a very uncommon one, presenting marked + peculiarities by which it may be recognized among a hundred?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, in that case the coincidence is rather curious," answered my lady; + "but it is nothing more than a coincidence. You cannot deny the fact of + Helen Talboys death on the ground that her handwriting resembles that of + some surviving person." + </p> + <p> + "But if a series of such coincidences lead up to the same point," said + Robert. "Helen Talboys left her father's house, according to the + declaration in her own handwriting, because she was weary of her old life, + and wished to begin a new one. Do you know what I infer from this?" + </p> + <p> + My lady shrugged her shoulders. + </p> + <p> + "I have not the least idea," she said; "and as you have detained me in + this gloomy place nearly half-an-hour, I must beg that you will release + me, and let me go and dress for dinner." + </p> + <p> + "No, Lady Audley," answered Robert, with a cold sternness that was so + strange to him as to transform him into another creature—a pitiless + embodiment of justice, a cruel instrument of retribution—"no, Lady + Audley," he repeated, "I have told you that womanly prevarication will not + help you; I tell you now that defiance will not serve you. I have dealt + fairly with you, and have given you fair warning. I gave you indirect + notice of your danger two months ago." + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean?" asked my lady, suddenly. + </p> + <p> + "You did not choose to take that warning, Lady Audley," pursued Robert, + "and the time has come in which I must speak very plainly to you. Do you + think the gifts which you have played against fortune are to hold you + exempt from retribution? No, my lady, your youth and beauty, your grace + and refinement, only make the horrible secret of your life more horrible. + I tell you that the evidence against you wants only one link to be strong + enough for your condemnation, and that link shall be added. Helen Talboys + never returned to her father's house. When she deserted that poor old + father, she went away from his humble shelter with the declared intention + of washing her hands of that old life. What do people generally do when + they wish to begin a new existence—to start for a second time in the + race of life, free from the incumbrances that had fettered their first + journey. <i>They change their names</i>, Lady Audley. Helen Talboys + deserted her infant son—she went away from Wildernsea with the + predetermination of sinking her identity. She disappeared as Helen Talboys + upon the 16th of August, 1854, and upon the 17th of that month she + reappeared as Lucy Graham, the friendless girl who undertook a profitless + duty in consideration of a home in which she was asked no questions." + </p> + <p> + "You are mad, Mr. Audley!" cried my lady. "You are mad, and my husband + shall protect me from your insolence. What if this Helen Talboys ran away + from her home upon one day, and I entered my employer's house upon the + next, what does that prove?" + </p> + <p> + "By itself, very little," replied Robert Audley; "but with the help of + other evidence—" + </p> + <p> + "What evidence?" + </p> + <p> + "The evidence of two labels, pasted one over the other, upon a box left by + you in possession of Mrs. Vincent, the upper label bearing the name of + Miss Graham, the lower that of Mrs. George Talboys." + </p> + <p> + My lady was silent. Robert Audley could not see her face in the dusk, but + he could see that her two small hands were clasped convulsively over her + heart, and he knew that the shot had gone home to its mark. + </p> + <p> + "God help her, poor, wretched creature," he thought. "She knows now that + she is lost. I wonder if the judges of the land feel as I do now when they + put on the black cap and pass sentence of death upon some poor, shivering + wretch, who has never done them any wrong. Do they feel a heroic fervor of + virtuous indignation, or do they suffer this dull anguish which gnaws my + vitals as I talk to this helpless woman?" + </p> + <p> + He walked by my lady's side, silently, for some minutes. They had been + pacing up and down the dim avenue, and they were now drawing near the + leafless shrubbery at one end of the lime-walk—the shrubbery in + which the ruined well sheltered its unheeded decay among the tangled + masses of briery underwood. + </p> + <p> + A winding pathway, neglected and half-choked with weeds, led toward this + well. Robert left the lime-walk, and struck into this pathway. There was + more light in the shrubbery than in the avenue, and Mr. Audley wished to + see my lady's face. + </p> + <p> + He did not speak until they reached the patch of rank grass beside the + well. The massive brickwork had fallen away here and there, and loose + fragments of masonry lay buried amidst weeds and briars. The heavy posts + which had supported the wooden roller still remained, but the iron spindle + had been dragged from its socket and lay a few paces from the well, rusty, + discolored, and forgotten. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley leaned against one of the moss-grown posts and looked down + at my lady's face, very pale in the chill winter twilight. The moon had + newly risen, a feebly luminous crescent in the gray heavens, and a faint, + ghostly light mingled with the misty shadows of the declining day. My + lady's face seemed like that face which Robert Audley had seen in his + dreams looking out of the white foam-flakes on the green sea waves and + luring his uncle to destruction. + </p> + <p> + "Those two labels are in my possession, Lady Audley," he resumed. "I took + them from the box left by you at Crescent Villas. I took them in the + presence of Mrs. Vincent and Miss Tonks. Have you any proofs to offer + against this evidence? You say to me, 'I am Lucy Graham and I have nothing + whatever to do with Helen Talboys.' In that case you will produce + witnesses who will declare your antecedents. Where had you been living + prior to your appearance at Crescent Villas? You must have friends, + relations, connections, who can come forward to prove as much as this for + you? If you were the most desolate creature upon this earth, you would be + able to point to someone who could identify you with the past." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," cried my lady, "if I were placed in a criminal dock I could, no + doubt, bring forward witnesses to refute your absurd accusation. But I am + not in a criminal dock, Mr. Audley, and I do not choose to do anything but + laugh at your ridiculous folly. I tell you that you are mad! If you please + to say that Helen Talboys is not dead, and that I am Helen Talboys, you + may do so. If you choose to go wandering about in the places in which I + have lived, and to the places in which this Mrs. Talboys has lived, you + must follow the bent of your own inclination, but I would warn you that + such fancies have sometimes conducted people, as apparently sane as + yourself, to the life-long imprisonment of a private lunatic-asylum." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley started and recoiled a few paces among the weeds and + brushwood as my lady said this. + </p> + <p> + "She would be capable of any new crime to shield her from the consequences + of the old one," he thought. "She would be capable of using her influence + with my uncle to place me in a mad-house." + </p> + <p> + I do not say that Robert Audley was a coward, but I will admit that a + shiver of horror, something akin to fear, chilled him to the heart as he + remembered the horrible things that have been done by women since that day + upon which Eve was created to be Adam's companion and help-meet in the + garden of Eden. "What if this woman's hellish power of dissimulation + should be stronger than the truth, and crush him? She had not spared + George Talboys when he stood in her way and menaced her with a certain + peril; would she spare him who threatened her with a far greater danger? + Are women merciful, or loving, or kind in proportion to their beauty and + grace? Was there not a certain Monsieur Mazers de Latude, who had the bad + fortune to offend the all-accomplished Madam de Pompadour, who expiated + his youthful indiscretion by a life-long imprisonment; who twice escaped + from prison, to be twice cast back into captivity; who, trusting in the + tardy generosity of his beautiful foe, betrayed himself to an implacable + fiend? Robert Audley looked at the pale face of the woman standing by his + side; that fair and beautiful face, illumined by starry-blue eyes, that + had a strange and surely a dangerous light in them; and remembering a + hundred stories of womanly perfidy, shuddered as he thought how unequal + the struggle might be between himself and his uncle's wife. + </p> + <p> + "I have shown her my cards," he thought, "but she has kept hers hidden + from me. The mask that she wears is not to be plucked away. My uncle would + rather think me mad than believe her guilty." + </p> + <p> + The pale face of Clara Talboys—that grave and earnest face, so + different in its character to my lady's fragile beauty—arose before + him. + </p> + <p> + "What a coward I am to think of myself or my own danger," he thought. "The + more I see of this woman the more reason I have to dread her influence + upon others; the more reason to wish her far away from this house." + </p> + <p> + He looked about him in the dusky obscurity. The lonely garden was as quiet + as some solitary grave-yard, walled in and hidden away from the world of + the living. + </p> + <p> + "It was somewhere in this garden that she met George Talboys upon the day + of his disappearance," he thought. "I wonder where it was they met; I + wonder where it was that he looked into her cruel face and taxed her with + her falsehood?" + </p> + <p> + My lady, with her little hand resting lightly upon the opposite post to + that against which Robert leaned, toyed with her pretty foot among the + long weeds, but kept a furtive watch upon her enemy's face. + </p> + <p> + "It is to be a duel to the death, then, my lady," said Robert Audley, + solemnly. "You refuse to accept my warning. You refuse to run away and + repent of your wickedness in some foreign place, far from the generous + gentleman you have deceived and fooled by your false witcheries. You + choose to remain here and defy me." + </p> + <p> + "I do," answered Lady Audley, lifting her head and looking full at the + young barrister. "It is no fault of mine if my husband's nephew goes mad, + and chooses me for the victim of his monomania." + </p> + <p> + "So be it, then, my lady," answered Robert. "My friend George Talboys was + last seen entering these gardens by the little iron gate by which we came + in to-night. He was last heard inquiring for you. He was seen to enter + these gardens, but he was never seen to leave them. I believe that he met + his death within the boundary of these grounds; and that his body lies + hidden below some quiet water, or in some forgotten corner of this place. + I will have such a search made as shall level that house to the earth and + root up every tree in these gardens, rather than I will fail in finding + the grave of my murdered friend." + </p> + <p> + Lucy Audley uttered a long, low, wailing cry, and threw up her arms above + her head with a wild gesture of despair, but she made no answer to the + ghastly charge of her accuser. Her arms slowly dropped, and she stood + staring at Robert Audley, her white face gleaming through the dusk, her + blue eyes glittering and dilated. + </p> + <p> + "You shall never live to do this," she said. "<i>I will kill you first</i>. + Why have you tormented me so? Why could you not let me alone? What harm + had I ever done you that you should make yourself my persecutor, and dog + my steps, and watch my looks, and play the spy upon me? Do you want to + drive me mad? Do you know what it is to wrestle with a mad-woman? No," + cried my lady, with a laugh, "you do not, or you would never—" + </p> + <p> + She stopped abruptly and drew herself suddenly to her fullest hight. It + was the same action which Robert had seen in the old half-drunken + lieutenant; and it had that same dignity—the sublimity of extreme + misery. + </p> + <p> + "Go away, Mr. Audley," she said. "You are mad, I tell you, you are mad." + </p> + <p> + "I am going, my lady," answered Robert, quietly. "I would have condoned + your crimes out of pity to your wretcheness. You have refused to accept my + mercy. I wished to have pity upon the living. I shall henceforth only + remember my duty to the dead." + </p> + <p> + He walked away from the lonely well under the shadow of the limes. My lady + followed him slowly down that long, gloomy avenue, and across the rustic + bridge to the iron gate. As he passed through the gate, Alicia came out of + a little half-glass door that opened from an oak-paneled breakfast-room at + one angle of the house, and met her cousin upon the threshold of the + gateway. + </p> + <p> + "I have been looking for you everywhere, Robert," she said. "Papa has come + down to the library, and will be glad to see you." + </p> + <p> + The young man started at the sound of his cousin's fresh young voice. + "Good Heaven!" he thought, "can these two women be of the same clay? Can + this frank, generous-hearted girl, who cannot conceal any impulse of her + innocent nature, be of the same flesh and blood as that wretched creature + whose shadow falls upon the path beside me!" + </p> + <p> + He looked from his cousin to Lady Audley, who stood near the gateway, + waiting for him to stand aside and let her pass him. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know what has come to your cousin, my dear Alicia," said my lady. + "He is so absent-minded and eccentric as to be quite beyond my + comprehension." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed," exclaimed Miss Audley; "and yet I should imagine, from the + length of your <i>tête-a-tête</i>, that you had made some effort to + understand him." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, yes," said Robert, quietly, "my lady and I understand each other very + well; but as it is growing late I will wish you good-evening, ladies. I + shall sleep to-night at Mount Stanning, as I have some business to attend + to up there, and I will come down and see my uncle to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + "What, Robert," cried Alicia, "you surely won't go away without seeing + papa?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my dear," answered the young man. "I am a little disturbed by some + disagreeable business in which I am very much concerned, and I would + rather not see my uncle. Good-night, Alicia. I will come or write + to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + He pressed his cousin's hand, bowed to Lady Audley, and walked away under + the black shadows of the archway, and out into the quiet avenue beyond the + Court. + </p> + <p> + My lady and Alicia stood watching him until he was out of sight. + </p> + <p> + "What in goodness' name is the matter with my Cousin Robert?" exclaimed + Miss Audley, impatiently, as the barrister disappeared. "What does he mean + by these absurd goings-on? Some disagreeable business that disturbs him, + indeed! I suppose the unhappy creature has had a brief forced upon him by + some evil-starred attorney, and is sinking into a state of imbecility from + a dim consciousness of his own incompetence." + </p> + <p> + "Have you ever studied your cousin's character, Alicia?" asked my lady, + very seriously, after a pause. + </p> + <p> + "Studied his character! No, Lady Audley. Why should I study his + character?" said Alicia. "There is very little study required to convince + anybody that he is a lazy, selfish Sybarite, who cares for nothing in the + world except his own ease and comfort." + </p> + <p> + "But have you never thought him eccentric?" + </p> + <p> + "Eccentric!" repeated Alicia, pursing up her red lips and shrugging up her + shoulders. "Well, yes—I believe that is the excuse generally made + for such people. I suppose Bob is eccentric." + </p> + <p> + "I have never heard you speak of his father and mother," said my lady, + thoughtfully. "Do you remember them?" + </p> + <p> + "I never saw his mother. She was a Miss Dalrymple, a very dashing girl, + who ran away with my uncle, and lost a very handsome fortune in + consequence. She died at Nice when poor Bob was five years old." + </p> + <p> + "Did you ever hear anything particular about her?" + </p> + <p> + "How do you mean 'particular?'" asked Alicia. + </p> + <p> + "Did you ever hear that she was eccentric—what people call 'odd?'" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no," said Alicia, laughing. "My aunt was a very reasonable woman, I + believe, though she did marry for love. But you must remember that she + died before I was born, and I have not, therefore, felt very much + curiosity about her." + </p> + <p> + "But you recollect your uncle, I suppose." + </p> + <p> + "My Uncle Robert?" said Alicia. "Oh, yes, I remember him very well, + indeed." + </p> + <p> + "Was <i>he</i> eccentric—I mean to say, peculiar in his habits, like + your cousin?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I believe Robert inherits all his absurdities from his father. My + uncle expressed the same indifference for his fellow-creatures as my + cousin, but as he was a good husband, an affectionate father, and a kind + master, nobody ever challenged his opinions." + </p> + <p> + "But he <i>was</i> eccentric?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; I suppose he was generally thought a little eccentric." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," said my lady, gravely, "I thought as much. Do you know, Alicia, that + madness is more often transmitted from father to daughter, and from mother + to daughter than from mother to son? Your cousin, Robert Audley, is a very + handsome young man, and I believe, a very good-hearted young man, but he + must be watched, Alicia, for he is <i>mad</i>!" + </p> + <p> + "Mad!" cried Miss Audley, indignantly; "you are dreaming, my lady, or—or—you + are trying to frighten me," added the young lady, with considerable alarm. + </p> + <p> + "I only wish to put you on your guard, Alicia," answered my lady. "Mr. + Audley may be as you say, merely eccentric; but he has talked to me this + evening in a manner that has filled me with absolute terror, and I believe + that he is going mad. I shall speak very seriously to Sir Michael this + very night." + </p> + <p> + "Speak to papa," exclaimed Alicia; "you surely won't distress papa by + suggesting such a possibility!" + </p> + <p> + "I shall only put him on his guard, my dear Alicia." + </p> + <p> + "But he'll never believe you," said Miss Audley; "he will laugh at such an + idea." + </p> + <p> + "No, Alicia; he will believe anything that I tell him," answered my lady, + with a quiet smile. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXX. + </h2> + <h3> + PREPARING THE GROUND. + </h3> + <p> + Lady Audley went from the garden to the library, a pleasant, oak-paneled, + homely apartment in which Sir Michael liked to sit reading or writing, or + arranging the business of his estate with his steward, a stalwart + countryman, half agriculturalist, half lawyer, who rented a small farm a + few miles from the Court. + </p> + <p> + The baronet was seated in a capacious easy-chair near the hearth. The + bright blaze of the fire rose and fell, flashing now upon the polished + carvings of the black-oak bookcase, now upon the gold and scarlet bindings + of the books; sometimes glimmering upon the Athenian helmet of a marble + Pallas, sometimes lighting up the forehead of Sir Robert Peel. + </p> + <p> + The lamp upon the reading-table had not yet been lighted, and Sir Michael + sat in the firelight waiting for the coming of his young wife. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible for me ever to tell the purity of his generous love—it + is impossible to describe that affection which was as tender as the love + of a young mother for her first born, as brave and chivalrous as the + heroic passion of a Bayard for his liege mistress. + </p> + <p> + The door opened while he was thinking of this fondly-loved wife, and + looking up, the baronet saw the slender form standing in the doorway. + </p> + <p> + "Why, my darling!" he exclaimed, as my lady closed the door behind her, + and came toward his chair, "I have been thinking of you and waiting for + you for an hour. Where have you been, and what have you been doing?" + </p> + <p> + My lady, standing in the shadow rather than the light, paused a few + moments before replying to this question. + </p> + <p> + "I have been to Chelmsford," she said, "shopping; and—" + </p> + <p> + She hesitated—twisting her bonnet strings in her thin white fingers + with an air of pretty embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + "And what, my dear?" asked the baronet—"what have you been doing + since you came from Chelmsford? I heard a carriage stop at the door an + hour ago. It was yours, was it not?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I came home an hour ago," answered my lady, with the same air of + embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + "And what have you been doing since you came home?" + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley asked this question with a slightly reproachful accent. + His young wife's presence made the sunshine of his life; and though he + could not bear to chain her to his side, it grieved him to think that she + could willingly remain unnecessarily absent from him, frittering away her + time in some childish talk or frivolous occupation. + </p> + <p> + "What have you been doing since you came home, my dear?" he repeated. + "What has kept you so long away from me?" + </p> + <p> + "I have been—talking—to—Mr. Robert Audley." + </p> + <p> + She still twisted her bonnet-string round and round her fingers. + </p> + <p> + She still spoke with the same air of embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + "Robert!" exclaimed the baronet; "is Robert here?" + </p> + <p> + "He was here a little while ago." + </p> + <p> + "And is here still, I suppose?" + </p> + <p> + "No, he has gone away." + </p> + <p> + "Gone away!" cried Sir Michael. "What do you mean, my darling?" + </p> + <p> + "I mean that your nephew came to the Court this afternoon. Alicia and I + found him idling about the gardens. He stayed here till about a quarter of + an hour ago talking to me, and then he hurried off without a word of + explanation; except, indeed, some ridiculous excuse about business at + Mount Stanning." + </p> + <p> + "Business at Mount Stanning! Why, what business can he possibly have in + that out-of-the-way place? He has gone to sleep at Mount Stanning, then, I + suppose? + </p> + <p> + "Yes; I think he said something to that effect." + </p> + <p> + "Upon my word," exclaimed the baronet, "I think that boy is half mad." + </p> + <p> + My lady's face was so much in shadow, that Sir Michael Audley was unaware + of the bright change that came over its sickly pallor as he made this very + commonplace observation. A triumphant smile illuminated Lucy Audley's + countenance, a smile that plainly said, "It is coming—it is coming; + I can twist him which way I like. I can put black before him, and if I say + it is white, he will believe me." + </p> + <p> + But Sir Michael Audley in declaring that his nephew's wits were + disordered, merely uttered that commonplace ejaculation which is + well-known to have very little meaning. The baronet had, it is true, no + very great estimate of Robert's faculty for the business of this everyday + life. He was in the habit of looking upon his nephew as a good-natured + nonentity—a man whose heart had been amply stocked by liberal Nature + with all the best things the generous goddess had to bestow, but whose + brain had been somewhat overlooked in the distribution of intellectual + gifts. Sir Michael Audley made that mistake which is very commonly made by + easy-going, well-to-do-observers, who have no occasion to look below the + surface. He mistook laziness for incapacity. He thought because his nephew + was idle, he must necessarily be stupid. He concluded that if Robert did + not distinguish himself, it was because he could not. + </p> + <p> + He forgot the mute inglorious Miltons, who die voiceless and inarticulate + for want of that dogged perseverance, that blind courage, which the poet + must possess before he can find a publisher; he forgot the Cromwells, who + see the noble vessels of the state floundering upon a sea of confusion, + and going down in a tempest of noisy bewilderment, and who yet are + powerless to get at the helm; forbidden even to send out a life-boat to + the sinking ship. Surely it is a mistake to judge of what a man can do by + that which he has done. + </p> + <p> + The world's Valhalla is a close borough, and perhaps the greatest men may + be those who perish silently far away from the sacred portal. Perhaps the + purest and brightest spirits are those who shrink from the turmoil of the + race-course—the tumult and confusion of the struggle. The game of + life is something like the game of <i>écarte</i>, and it may be that the + very best cards are sometimes left in the pack. + </p> + <p> + My lady threw off her bonnet, and seated herself upon a velvet-covered + footstool at Sir Michael's feet. There was nothing studied or affected in + this girlish action. It was so natural to Lucy Audley to be childish, that + no one would have wished to see her otherwise. It would have seemed as + foolish to expect dignified reserve or womanly gravity from this + amber-haired siren, as to wish for rich basses amid the clear treble of a + sky-lark's song. + </p> + <p> + She sat with her pale face turned away from the firelight, and with her + hands locked together upon the arm of her husband's easy-chair. They were + very restless, these slender white hands. My lady twisted the jeweled + fingers in and out of each other as she talked to her husband. + </p> + <p> + "I wanted to come to you, you know, dear," said she—"I wanted to + come to you directly I got home, but Mr. Audley insisted upon my stopping + to talk to him." + </p> + <p> + "But what about, my love?" asked the baronet. "What could Robert have to + say to you?" + </p> + <p> + My lady did not answer this question. Her fair head dropped upon her + husband's knee, her rippling, yellow curls fell over her face. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael lifted that beautiful head with his strong hands, and raised + my lady's face. The firelight shining on that pale face lit up the large, + soft blue eyes and showed them drowned in tears. + </p> + <p> + "Lucy, Lucy!" cried the baronet, "what is the meaning of this? My love, my + love! what has happened to distress you in this manner?" + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley tried to speak, but the words died inarticulately upon her + trembling lips. A choking sensation in her throat seemed to strangle those + false and plausible words, her only armor against her enemies. She could + not speak. The agony she had endured silently in the dismal lime-walk had + grown too strong for her, and she broke into a tempest of hysterical + sobbing. It was no simulated grief that shook her slender frame and tore + at her like some ravenous beast that would have rent her piecemeal with + its horrible strength. It was a storm of real anguish and terror, of + remorse and misery. It was the one wild outcry, in which the woman's + feebler nature got the better of the siren's art. + </p> + <p> + It was not thus that she had meant to fight her terrible duel with Robert + Audley. Those were not the weapons which she had intended to use; but + perhaps no artifice which she could have devised would have served her so + well as this one outburst of natural grief. It shook her husband to the + very soul. It bewildered and terrified him. It reduced the strong + intellect of the man to helpless confusion and perplexity. It struck at + the one weak point in a good man's nature. It appealed straight to Sir + Michael Audley's affection for his wife. + </p> + <p> + Ah, Heaven help a strong man's tender weakness for the woman he loves! + Heaven pity him when the guilty creature has deceived him and comes with + her tears and lamentations to throw herself at his feet in + self-abandonment and remorse; torturing him with the sight of her agony; + rending <i>his</i> heart with her sobs, lacerating <i>his</i> breast with + her groans—multiplying her sufferings into a great anguish for him + to bear! multiplying them by twenty-fold; multiplying them in a ratio of a + brave man's capacity for endurance. Heaven forgive him, if maddened by + that cruel agony, the balance wavers for a moment, and he is ready to + forgive <i>anything</i>; ready to take this wretched one to the shelter of + his breast, and to pardon that which the stern voice of manly honor urges + must not be pardoned. Pity him, pity him! The wife's worst remorse when + she stands without the threshold of the home she may never enter more is + not equal to the agony of the husband who closes the portal on that + familiar and entreating face. The anguish of the mother who may never look + again upon her children is less than the torment of the father who has to + say to those little ones, "My darlings, you are henceforth motherless." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley rose from his chair, trembling with indignation, and + ready to do immediate battle with the person who had caused his wife's + grief. + </p> + <p> + "Lucy," he said, "Lucy, I insist upon your telling me what and who has + distressed you. I insist upon it. Whoever has annoyed you shall answer to + me for your grief. Come, my love, tell me directly what it is." + </p> + <p> + He seated himself and bent over the drooping figure at his feet, calming + his own agitation in his desire to soothe his wife's distress. + </p> + <p> + "Tell me what it is, my dear," he whispered, tenderly. + </p> + <p> + The sharp paroxysm had passed away, and my lady looked up. A glittering + light shone through the tears in her eyes, and the lines about her pretty + rosy mouth, those hard and cruel lines which Robert Audley had observed in + the pre-Raphaelite portrait, were plainly visible in the firelight. + </p> + <p> + "I am very silly," she said; "but really he has made me quite hysterical." + </p> + <p> + "Who—who has made you hysterical?" + </p> + <p> + "Your nephew—Mr. Robert Audley." + </p> + <p> + "Robert," cried the baronet. "Lucy, what do you mean?" + </p> + <p> + "I told you that Mr. Audley insisted upon my going into the lime-walk, + dear," said my lady. "He wanted to talk to me, he said, and I went, and he + said such horrible things that—" + </p> + <p> + "What horrible things, Lucy?" + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley shuddered, and clung with convulsive fingers to the strong + hand that had rested caressingly upon her shoulder. + </p> + <p> + "What did he say, Lucy?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, my dear love, how can I tell you?" cried my lady. "I know that I + shall distress you—or you will laugh at me, and then—" + </p> + <p> + "Laugh at you? no, Lucy." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley was silent for a moment. She sat looking straight before her + into the fire, with her fingers still locked about her husband's hand. + </p> + <p> + "My dear," she said, slowly, hesitating now and then between her words, as + if she almost shrunk from uttering them, "have you ever—I am so + afraid of vexing you—have you ever thought Mr. Audley a little—a + little—" + </p> + <p> + "A little what, my darling?" + </p> + <p> + "A little out of his mind?" faltered Lady Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Out of his mind!" cried Sir Michael. "My dear girl, what are you thinking + of?" + </p> + <p> + "You said just now, dear, that you thought he was half mad." + </p> + <p> + "Did I, my love?" said the baronet, laughing. "I don't remember saying it, + and it was a mere <i>façon de parler</i>, that meant nothing whatever. + Robert may be a little eccentric—a little stupid, perhaps—he + mayn't be overburdened with wits, but I don't think he has brains enough + for madness. I believe it's generally your great intellects that get out + of order." + </p> + <p> + "But madness is sometimes hereditary," said my lady. "Mr. Audley may have + inherited—" + </p> + <p> + "He has inherited no madness from his father's family," interrupted Sir + Michael. "The Audleys have never peopled private lunatic asylums or fed + mad doctors." + </p> + <p> + "Nor from his mother's family?" + </p> + <p> + "Not to my knowledge." + </p> + <p> + "People generally keep these things a secret," said my lady, gravely. + "There may have been madness in your sister-in-law's family." + </p> + <p> + "I don't think so, my dear," replied Sir Michael. "But, Lucy, tell me + what, in Heaven's name, has put this idea into your head." + </p> + <p> + "I have been trying to account for your nephew's conduct. I can account + for it in no other manner. If you had heard the things he said to me + to-night, Sir Michael, you too might have thought him mad." + </p> + <p> + "But what did he say, Lucy?" + </p> + <p> + "I can scarcely tell you. You can see how much he has stupefied and + bewildered me. I believe he has lived too long alone in those solitary + Temple chambers. Perhaps he reads too much, or smokes too much. You know + that some physicians declare madness to be a mere illness of the brain—an + illness to which any one is subject, and which may be produced by given + causes, and cured by given means." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley's eyes were still fixed upon the burning coals in the wide + grate. She spoke as if she had been discussing a subject that she had + often heard discussed before. She spoke as if her mind had almost wandered + away from the thought of her husband's nephew to the wider question of + madness in the abstract. + </p> + <p> + "Why should he not be mad?" resumed my lady. "People are insane for years + and years before their insanity is found out. <i>They</i> know that they + are mad, but they know how to keep their secret; and, perhaps, they may + sometimes keep it till they die. Sometimes a paroxysm seizes them, and in + an evil hour they betray themselves. They commit a crime, perhaps. The + horrible temptation of opportunity assails them; the knife is in their + hand, and the unconscious victim by their side. They may conquer the + restless demon and go away and die innocent of any violent deed; but they + <i>may</i> yield to the horrible temptation—the frightful, + passionate, hungry craving for violence and horror. They sometimes yield + and are lost." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley's voice rose as she argued this dreadful question, The + hysterical excitement from which she had only just recovered had left its + effects upon her, but she controlled herself, and her tone grew calmer as + she resumed: + </p> + <p> + "Robert Audley is mad," she said, decisively. "What is one of the + strangest diagnostics of madness—what is the first appalling sign of + mental aberration? The mind becomes stationary; the brain stagnates; the + even current of reflection is interrupted; the thinking power of the brain + resolves itself into a monotone. As the waters of a tideless pool putrefy + by reason of their stagnation, the mind becomes turbid and corrupt through + lack of action; and the perpetual reflection upon one subject resolves + itself into monomania. Robert Audley is a monomaniac. The disappearance of + his friend, George Talboys, grieved and bewildered him. He dwelt upon this + one idea until he lost the power of thinking of anything else. The one + idea looked at perpetually became distorted to his mental vision. Repeat + the commonest word in the English language twenty times, and before the + twentieth repetition you will have begun to wonder whether the word which + you repeat is really the word you mean to utter. Robert Audley has thought + of his friend's disappearance until the one idea has done its fatal and + unhealthy work. He looks at a common event with a vision that is diseased, + and he distorts it into a gloomy horror engendered of his own monomania. + If you do not want to make me as mad as he is, you must never let me see + him again. He declared to-night that George Talboys was murdered in this + place, and that he will root up every tree in the garden, and pull down + every brick in the house in search for—" + </p> + <p> + My lady paused. The words died away upon her lips. She had exhausted + herself by the strange energy with which she had spoken. She had been + transformed from a frivolous, childish beauty into a woman, strong to + argue her own cause and plead her own defense. + </p> + <p> + "Pull down this house?" cried the baronet. "George Talboys murdered at + Audley Court! Did Robert say this, Lucy?" + </p> + <p> + "He said something of that kind—something that frightened me very + much." + </p> + <p> + "Then he must be mad," said Sir Michael, gravely. "I'm bewildered by what + you tell me. Did he really say this, Lucy, or did you misunderstand him?" + </p> + <p> + "I—I—don't think I did," faltered my lady. "You saw how + frightened I was when I first came in. I should not have been so much + agitated if he hadn't said something horrible." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley had availed herself of the very strongest arguments by which + she could help her cause. + </p> + <p> + "To be sure, my darling, to be sure," answered the baronet. "What could + have put such a horrible fancy into the unhappy boy's head. This Mr. + Talboys—a perfect stranger to all of us—murdered at Audley + Court! I'll go to Mount Stanning to-night, and see Robert. I have known + him ever since he was a baby, and I cannot be deceived in him. If there is + really anything wrong, he will not be able to conceal it from me." + </p> + <p> + My lady shrugged her shoulders. + </p> + <p> + "That is rather an open question," she said. "It is generally a stranger + who is the first to observe any psychological peculiarity." + </p> + <p> + The big words sounded strange from my lady's rosy lips; but her + newly-adopted wisdom had a certain quaint prettiness about it, which + charmed and bewildered her husband. + </p> + <p> + "But you must not go to Mount Stanning, my dear darling," she said, + tenderly. "Remember that you are under strict orders to stay in doors + until the weather is milder, and the sun shines upon this cruel ice-bound + country." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley sank back in his capacious chair with a sigh of + resignation. + </p> + <p> + "That's true, Lucy," he said; "we must obey Mr. Dawson. I suppose Robert + will come to see me to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, dear. I think he said he would." + </p> + <p> + "Then we must wait till to-morrow, my darling. I can't believe that there + really is anything wrong with the poor boy—I can't believe it, + Lucy." + </p> + <p> + "Then how do you account for this extraordinary delusion about this Mr. + Talboys?" asked my lady. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael shook his head. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know, Lucy—I don't know," he answered. "It is always so + difficult to believe that any one of the calamities that continually + befall our fellow-men will ever happen to us. I can't believe that my + nephew's mind is impaired—I can't believe it. I—I'll get him + to stop here, Lucy, and I'll watch him closely. I tell you, my love, if + there is anything wrong I am sure to find it out. I can't be mistaken in a + young man who has always been the same to me as my own son. But, my + darling, why were you so frightened by Robert's wild talk? It could not + affect you." + </p> + <p> + My lady sighed piteously. + </p> + <p> + "You must think me very strong-minded, Sir Michael," she said, with rather + an injured air, "if you imagine I can hear of these sort of things + indifferently. I know I shall never be able to see Mr. Audley again." + </p> + <p> + "And you shall not, my dear—you shall not." + </p> + <p> + "You said just now you would have him here," murmured Lady Audley. + </p> + <p> + "But I will not, my darling girl, if his presence annoys you. Good Heaven! + Lucy, can you imagine for a moment that I have any higher wish than to + promote your happiness? I will consult some London physician about Robert, + and let him discover if there is really anything the matter with my poor + brother's only son. <i>You</i> shall not be annoyed, Lucy." + </p> + <p> + "You must think me very unkind, dear," said my lady, "and I know I <i>ought</i> + not to be annoyed by the poor fellow; but he really seems to have taken + some absurd notion into his head about me." + </p> + <p> + "About <i>you</i>, Lucy!" cried Sir Michael. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, dear. He seems to connect me in some vague manner—which I + cannot quite understand—with the disappearance of this Mr. Talboys." + </p> + <p> + "Impossible, Lucy! You must have misunderstood him." + </p> + <p> + "I don't think so." + </p> + <p> + "Then he must be mad," said the baronet—"he must be mad. I will wait + till he goes back to town, and then send some one to his chambers to talk + to him. Good Heaven! what a mysterious business this is." + </p> + <p> + "I fear I have distressed you, darling," murmured Lady Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my dear, I am very much distressed by what you have told me; but you + were quite right to talk to me frankly about this dreadful business. I + must think it over, dearest, and try and decide what is best to be done." + </p> + <p> + My lady rose from the low ottoman on which she had been seated. The fire + had burned down, and there was only a faint glow of red light in the room. + Lucy Audley bent over her husband's chair, and put her lips to his broad + forehead. + </p> + <p> + "How good you have always been to me, dear," she whispered softly. "You + would never let any one influence you against me, would you, dear?" + </p> + <p> + "Influence me against you?" repeated the baronet. "No, my love." + </p> + <p> + "Because you know, dear," pursued my lady, "there are wicked people as + well as mad people in the world, and there may be some persons to whose + interest it would be to injure me." + </p> + <p> + "They had better not try it, then, my dear," answered Sir Michael; "they + would find themselves in rather a dangerous position if they did." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley laughed aloud, with a gay, triumphant, silvery peal of + laughter that vibrated through the quiet room. + </p> + <p> + "My own dear darling," she said, "I know you love me. And now I must run + away, dear, for it's past seven o'clock. I was engaged to dine at Mrs. + Montford's, but I must send a groom with a message of apology, for Mr. + Audley has made me quite unfit for company. I shall stay at home and nurse + you, dear. You'll go to bed very early, won't you, and take great care of + yourself?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, dear." + </p> + <p> + My lady tripped out of the room to give her orders about the message that + was to be carried to the house at which she was to have dined. She paused + for a moment as she closed the library door—she paused, and laid her + hand upon her breast to check the rapid throbbing of her heart. + </p> + <p> + "I have been afraid of you, Mr. Robert Audley," she thought; "but perhaps + the time may come in which you will have cause to be afraid of me." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXI. + </h2> + <h3> + PHOEBE'S PETITION. + </h3> + <p> + The division between Lady Audley and her step-daughter had not become any + narrower in the two months which had elapsed since the pleasant Christmas + holiday time had been kept at Audley Court. There was no open warfare + between the two women; there was only an armed neutrality, broken every + now and then by brief feminine skirmishes and transient wordy tempests. I + am sorry to say that Alicia would very much have preferred a hearty + pitched battle to this silent and undemonstrative disunion; but it was not + very easy to quarrel with my lady. She had soft answers for the turning + away of wrath. She could smile bewitchingly at her step-daughter's open + petulance, and laugh merrily at the young lady's ill-temper. Perhaps had + she been less amiable, had she been more like Alicia in disposition, the + two ladies might have expended their enmity in one tremendous quarrel, and + might ever afterward have been affectionate and friendly. But Lucy Audley + would not make war. She carried forward the sum of her dislike, and put it + out at a steady rate of interest, until the breach between her + step-daughter and herself, widening a little every day, became a great + gulf, utterly impassable by olive-branch-bearing doves from either side of + the abyss. There can be no reconciliation where there is no open warfare. + There must be a battle, a brave, boisterous battle, with pennants waving + and cannon roaring, before there can be peaceful treaties and enthusiastic + shaking of hands. Perhaps the union between France and England owes its + greatest force to the recollection of Cressy and Waterloo, Navarino and + Trafalgar. We have hated each other and licked each other and <i>had it + out</i>, as the common phrase goes; and we can afford now to fall into + each others' arms and vow eternal friendship and everlasting brotherhood. + Let us hope that when Northern Yankeedom has decimated and been decimated, + blustering Jonathan may fling himself upon his Southern brother's breast, + forgiving and forgiven. + </p> + <p> + Alicia Audley and her father's pretty wife had plenty of room for the + comfortable indulgence of their dislike in the spacious old mansion. My + lady had her own apartments, as we know—luxurious chambers, in which + all conceivable elegancies had been gathered for the comfort of their + occupant. Alicia had her own rooms in another part of the large house. She + had her favorite mare, her Newfoundland dog, and her drawing materials, + and she made herself tolerably happy. She was not very happy, this frank, + generous-hearted girl, for it was scarcely possible that she could be + altogether at ease in the constrained atmosphere of the Court. Her father + was changed; that dear father over whom she had once reigned supreme with + the boundless authority of a spoiled child, had accepted another ruler and + submitted to a new dynasty. Little by little my lady's petty power made + itself felt in that narrow household; and Alicia saw her father gradually + lured across the gulf that divided Lady Audley from her step-daughter, + until he stood at last quite upon the other side of the abyss, and looked + coldly upon his only child across that widening chasm. + </p> + <p> + <br /> Alicia felt that he was lost to her. My lady's beaming smiles, my + lady's winning words, my lady's radiant glances and bewitching graces had + done their work of enchantment, and Sir Michael had grown to look upon his + daughter as a somewhat wilful and capricious young person who had behaved + with determined unkindness to the wife he loved. + </p> + <p> + Poor Alicia saw all this, and bore her burden as well as she could. It + seemed very hard to be a handsome, gray-eyed heiress, with dogs and horses + and servants at her command, and yet to be so much alone in the world as + to know of not one friendly ear into which she might pour her sorrows. + </p> + <p> + "If Bob was good for anything I could have told him how unhappy I am," + thought Miss Audley; "but I may just as well tell Caesar my troubles for + any consolation I should get from Cousin Robert." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley obeyed his pretty nurse, and went to bed a little after + nine o'clock upon this bleak March evening. Perhaps the baronet's bedroom + was about the pleasantést retreat that an invalid could have chosen in + such cold and cheerless weather. The dark-green velvet curtains were drawn + before the windows and about the ponderous bed. The wood fire burned redly + upon the broad hearth. The reading lamp was lighted upon a delicious + little table close to Sir Michael's pillow, and a heap of magazines and + newspapers had been arranged by my lady's own fair hands for the pleasure + of the invalid. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley sat by the bedside for about ten minutes, talking to her + husband, talking very seriously, about this strange and awful question—Robert + Audley's lunacy; but at the end of that time she rose and bade her husband + good-night. + </p> + <p> + She lowered the green silk shade before the reading lamp, adjusting it + carefully for the repose of the baronet's eyes. + </p> + <p> + "I shall leave you, dear," she said. "If you can sleep, so much the + better. If you wish to read, the books and papers are close to you. I will + leave the doors between the rooms open, and I shall hear your voice if you + call me." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley went through her dressing-room into the boudoir, where she had + sat with her husband since dinner. + </p> + <p> + Every evidence of womanly refinement was visible in the elegant chamber. + My lady's piano was open, covered with scattered sheets of music and + exquisitely-bound collections of scenas and fantasias which no master need + have disdained to study. My lady's easel stood near the window, bearing + witness to my lady's artistic talent, in the shape of a water-colored + sketch of the Court and gardens. My lady's fairy-like embroideries of lace + and muslin, rainbow-hued silks, and delicately-tinted wools littered the + luxurious apartment; while the looking-glasses, cunningly placed at angles + and opposite corners by an artistic upholsterer, multiplied my lady's + image, and in that image reflected the most beautiful object in the + enchanted chamber. + </p> + <p> + Amid all this lamplight, gilding, color, wealth, and beauty, Lucy Audley + sat down on a low seat by the fire to think. + </p> + <p> + If Mr. Holman Hunt could have peeped into the pretty boudoir, I think the + picture would have been photographed upon his brain to be reproduced + by-and-by upon a bishop's half-length for the glorification of the + pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. My lady in that half-recumbent attitude, with + her elbow resting on one knee, and her perfect chin supported by her hand, + the rich folds of drapery falling away in long undulating lines from the + exquisite outline of her figure, and the luminous, rose-colored firelight + enveloping her in a soft haze, only broken by the golden glitter of her + yellow hair—beautiful in herself, but made bewilderingly beautiful + by the gorgeous surroundings which adorn the shrine of her loveliness. + Drinking-cups of gold and ivory, chiseled by Benvenuto Cellini; cabinets + of buhl and porcelain, bearing the cipher of Austrian Marie-Antoinette, + amid devices of rosebuds and true-lovers' knots, birds and butterflies, + cupidons and shepherdesses, goddesses, courtiers, cottagers, and + milkmaids; statuettes of Parian marble and biscuit china; gilded baskets + of hothouse flowers; fantastical caskets of Indian filigree-work; fragile + tea-cups of turquoise china, adorned by medallion miniatures of Louis the + Great and Louis the Well-beloved, Louise de la Valliere, Athenais de + Montespan, and Marie Jeanne Gomard de Vaubernier: cabinet pictures and + gilded mirrors, shimmering satin and diaphanous lace; all that gold can + buy or art devise had been gathered together for the beautification of + this quiet chamber in which my lady sat listening to the mourning of the + shrill March wind, and the flapping of the ivy leaves against the + casements, and looking into the red chasms in the burning coals. + </p> + <p> + I should be preaching a very stale sermon, and harping upon a very + familiar moral, if I were to seize this opportunity of declaiming against + art and beauty, because my lady was more wretched in this elegant + apartment than many a half-starved seamstress in her dreary garret. She + was wretched by reason of a wound which lay too deep for the possibility + of any solace from such plasters as wealth and luxury; but her + wretchedness was of an abnormal nature, and I can see no occasion for + seizing upon the fact of her misery as an argument in favor of poverty and + discomfort as opposed to opulence. The Benvenuto Cellini carvings and the + Sevres porcelain could not give her happiness, because she had passed out + of their region. She was no longer innocent; and the pleasure we take in + art and loveliness being an innocent pleasure, had passed beyond her + reach. Six or seven years before, she would have been happy in the + possession of this little Aladdin's palace; but she had wandered out of + the circle of careless, pleasure seeking creatures, she had strayed far + away into a desolate labyrinth of guilt and treachery, terror and crime, + and all the treasures that had been collected for her could have given her + no pleasure but one, the pleasure of flinging them into a heap beneath her + feet and trampling upon them and destroying them in her cruel despair. + </p> + <p> + There were some things that would have inspired her with an awful joy, a + horrible rejoicing. If Robert Audley, her pitiless enemy, her unrelenting + pursuer, had lain dead in the adjoining chamber, she would have exulted + over his bier. + </p> + <p> + What pleasures could have remained for Lucretia Borgia and Catharine de + Medici, when the dreadful boundary line between innocence and guilt was + passed, and the lost creatures stood upon the lonely outer side? Only + horrible, vengeful joys, and treacherous delights were left for these + miserable women. With what disdainful bitterness they must have watched + the frivolous vanities, the petty deceptions, the paltry sins of ordinary + offenders. Perhaps they took a horrible pride in the enormity of their + wickedness; in this "Divinity of Hell," which made them greatest among + sinful creatures. + </p> + <p> + My lady, brooding by the fire in her lonely chamber, with her large, clear + blue eyes fixed upon the yawning gulfs of lurid crimson in the burning + coals, may have thought of many things very far away from the terribly + silent struggle in which she was engaged. She may have thought of long-ago + years of childish innocence, childish follies and selfishness, of + frivolous, feminine sins that had weighed very lightly upon her + conscience. Perhaps in that retrospective revery she recalled that early + time in which she had first looked in the glass and discovered that she + was beautiful; that fatal early time in which she had first begun to look + upon her loveliness as a right divine, a boundless possession which was to + be a set-off against all girlish shortcomings, a counterbalance of every + youthful sin. Did she remember the day in which that fairy dower of beauty + had first taught her to be selfish and cruel, indifferent to the joys and + sorrows of others, cold-hearted and capricious, greedy of admiration, + exacting and tyrannical with that petty woman's tyranny which is the worst + of despotism? Did she trace every sin of her life back to its true source? + and did she discover that poisoned fountain in her own exaggerated + estimate of the value of a pretty face? Surely, if her thoughts wandered + so far along the backward current of her life, she must have repented in + bitterness and despair of that first day in which the master-passions of + her life had become her rulers, and the three demons of Vanity, + Selfishness, and Ambition, had joined hands and said, "This woman is our + slave, let us see what she will become under our guidance." + </p> + <p> + How small those first youthful errors seemed as my lady looked back upon + them in that long revery by the lonely hearth! What small vanities, what + petty cruelties! A triumph over a schoolfellow; a flirtation with the + lover of a friend; an assertion of the right divine invested in blue eyes + and shimmering golden-tinted hair. But how terribly that narrow pathway + had widened out into the broad highroad of sin, and how swift the + footsteps had become upon the now familiar way! + </p> + <p> + My lady twisted her fingers in her loose amber curls, and made as if she + would have torn them from her head. But even in that moment of mute + despair the unyielding dominion of beauty asserted itself, and she + released the poor tangled glitter of ringlets, leaving them to make a halo + round her head in the dim firelight. + </p> + <p> + "I was not wicked when I was young," she thought, as she stared gloomingly + at the fire, "I was only thoughtless. I never did any harm—at least, + wilfully. Have I ever been really <i>wicked</i>, I wonder?" she mused. "My + worst wickednesses have been the result of wild impulses, and not of + deeply-laid plots. I am not like the women I have read of, who have lain + night after night in the horrible darkness and stillness, planning out + treacherous deeds, and arranging every circumstance of an appointed crime. + I wonder whether they suffered—those women—whether they ever + suffered as—" + </p> + <p> + Her thoughts wandered away into a weary maze of confusion. Suddenly she + drew herself up with a proud, defiant gesture, and her eyes glittered with + a light that was not entirely reflected from the fire. + </p> + <p> + "You are mad, Mr. Robert Audley," she said, "you are mad, and your fancies + are a madman's fancies. I know what madness is. I know its signs and + tokens, and I say that you are mad." + </p> + <p> + She put her hand to her head, as if thinking of something which confused + and bewildered her, and which she found it difficult to contemplate with + calmness. + </p> + <p> + "Dare I defy him?" she muttered. "Dare I? dare I? Will he stop, now that + he has once gone so far? Will he stop for fear of me? Will he stop for + fear of me, when the thought of what his uncle must suffer has not stopped + him? Will anything stop him—but death?" + </p> + <p> + She pronounced the last words in an awful whisper; and with her head bent + forward, her eyes dilated, and her lips still parted as they had been + parted in her utterance of that final word "death," she sat blankly + staring at the fire. + </p> + <p> + "I can't plot horrible things," she muttered, presently; "my brain isn't + strong enough, or I'm not wicked enough, or brave enough. If I met Robert + Audley in those lonely gardens, as I—" + </p> + <p> + The current of her thoughts was interrupted by a cautious knocking at her + door. She rose suddenly, startled by any sound in the stillness of her + room. She rose, and threw herself into a low chair near the fire. She + flung her beautiful head back upon the soft cushions, and took a book from + the table near her. Insignificant as this action was, it spoke very + plainly. It spoke very plainly of ever-recurring fears—of fatal + necessities for concealment—of a mind that in its silent agonies was + ever alive to the importance of outward effect. It told more plainly than + anything else could have told how complete an actress my lady had been + made by the awful necessity of her life. + </p> + <p> + The modest rap at the door was repeated. + </p> + <p> + "Come in," cried Lady Audley, in her liveliest tone. + </p> + <p> + The door was opened with that respectful noiselessness peculiar to a + well-bred servant, and a young woman, plainly dressed, and carrying some + of the cold March winds in the folds of her garments, crossed the + threshold of the apartment and lingered near the door, waiting permission + to approach the inner regions of my lady's retreat. + </p> + <p> + It was Phoebe Marks, the pale-faced wife of the Mount Stanning innkeeper. + </p> + <p> + "I beg pardon, my lady, for intruding without leave," she said; "but I + thought I might venture to come straight up without waiting for + permission." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, Phoebe, to be sure. Take off your bonnet, you wretched, + cold-looking creature, and come sit down here." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley pointed to the low ottoman upon which she had herself been + seated a few minutes before. The lady's maid had often sat upon it + listening to her mistress' prattle in the old days, when she had been my + lady's chief companion and <i>confidante</i>. + </p> + <p> + "Sit down here, Phoebe," Lady Audley repeated; "sit down here and talk to + me; I'm very glad you came here to-night. I was horribly lonely in this + dreary place." + </p> + <p> + My lady shivered and looked round at the bright collection of <i>bric-a-brac</i>, + as if the Sevres and bronze, the buhl and ormolu, had been the moldering + adornments of some ruined castle. The dreary wretchedness of her thoughts + had communicated itself to every object about her, and all outer things + took their color from that weary inner life which held its slow course of + secret anguish in her breast. She had spoken the entire truth in saying + that she was glad of her lady's maid's visit. Her frivolous nature clung + to this weak shelter in the hour of her fear and suffering. There were + sympathies between her and this girl, who was like herself, inwardly as + well as outwardly—like herself, selfish, and cold, and cruel, eager + for her own advancement, and greedy of opulence and elegance; angry with + the lot that had been cast her, and weary of dull dependence. My lady + hated Alicia for her frank, passionate, generous, daring nature; she hated + her step-daughter, and clung to this pale-faced, pale-haired girl, whom + she thought neither better nor worse than herself. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks obeyed her late mistress' commands, and took off her bonnet + before seating herself on the ottoman at Lady Audley's feet. Her smooth + bands of light hair were unruffled by the March winds; her trimly-made + drab dress and linen collar were as neatly arranged as they could have + been had she only that moment completed her toilet. + </p> + <p> + "Sir Michael is better, I hope, my lady," she said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Phoebe, much better. He is asleep. You may close that door," added + Lady Audley, with a motion of her head toward the door of communication + between the rooms, which had been left open. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Marks obeyed submissively, and then returned to her seat. + </p> + <p> + "I am very, very unhappy, Phoebe," my lady said, fretfully; "wretchedly + miserable." + </p> + <p> + "About the—secret?" asked Mrs. Marks, in a half whisper. + </p> + <p> + My lady did not notice that question. She resumed in the same complaining + tone. She was glad to be able to complain even to this lady's maid. She + had brooded over her fears, and had suffered in secret so long, that it + was an inexpressible relief to her to bemoan her fate aloud. + </p> + <p> + "I am cruelly persecuted and harassed, Phoebe Marks," she said. "I am + pursued and tormented by a man whom I never injured, whom I have never + wished to injure. I am never suffered to rest by this relentless + tormentor, and—" + </p> + <p> + She paused, staring at the fire again, as she had done in her loneliness. + Lost again in the dark intricacies of thoughts which wandered hither and + thither in a dreadful chaos of terrified bewilderments, she could not come + to any fixed conclusion. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks watched my lady's face, looking upward at her late mistress + with pale, anxious eyes, that only relaxed their watchfulness when Lady + Audley's glance met that of her companion. + </p> + <p> + "I think I know whom you mean, my lady," said the innkeeper's wife, after + a pause; "I think I know who it is who is so cruel to you." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, of course," answered my lady, bitterly; "my secrets are everybody's + secrets. You know all about it, no doubt." + </p> + <p> + "The person is a gentleman—is he not, my lady?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "A gentleman who came to the Castle Inn two months ago, when I warned you—" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," answered my lady, impatiently. + </p> + <p> + "I thought so. The same gentleman is at our place to-night, my lady." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley started up from her chair—started up as if she would + have done something desperate in her despairing fury; but she sank back + again with a weary, querulous sigh. What warfare could such a feeble + creature wage against her fate? What could she do but wind like a hunted + hare till she found her way back to the starting-point of the cruel chase, + to be there trampled down by her pursuers? + </p> + <p> + "At the Castle Inn?" she cried. "I might have known as much. He has gone + there to wring my secrets from your husband. Fool!" she exclaimed, + suddenly turning upon Phoebe Marks in a transport of anger, "do you want + to destroy me that you have left those two men together?" + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Marks clasped her hands piteously. + </p> + <p> + "I didn't come away of my own free will, my lady," she said; "no one could + have been more unwilling to leave the house than I was this night. I was + sent here." + </p> + <p> + "Who sent you here?" + </p> + <p> + "Luke, my lady. You can't tell how hard he can be upon me if I go against + him." + </p> + <p> + "Why did he send you?" + </p> + <p> + The innkeeper's wife dropped her eyelids under Lady Audley's angry + glances, and hesitated confusedly before she answered this question. + </p> + <p> + "Indeed, my lady," she stammered, "I didn't want to come. I told Luke that + it was too bad for us to worry you, first asking this favor, and then + asking that, and never leaving you alone for a month together; but—but—he + bore me down with his loud, blustering talk, and he made me come." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," cried Lady Audley, impatiently. "I know that. I want to know + why you have come." + </p> + <p> + "Why, you know, my lady," answered Phoebe, half reluctantly, "Luke is very + extravagant; and all I can say to him, I can't get him to be careful or + steady. He's not sober; and when he's drinking with a lot of rough + countrymen, and drinking, perhaps even more than they do, it isn't likely + that his head can be very clear for accounts. If it hadn't been for me we + should have been ruined before this; and hard as I've tried, I haven't + been able to keep the ruin off. You remember giving me the money for the + brewer's bill, my lady?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I remember very well," answered Lady Audley, with a bitter laugh, + "for I wanted that money to pay my own bills." + </p> + <p> + "I know you did, my lady, and it was very, very hard for me to have to + come and ask you for it, after all that we'd received from you before. But + that isn't the worst: when Luke sent me down here to beg the favor of that + help he never told me that the Christmas rent was still owing; but it was, + my lady, and it's owing now, and—and there's a bailiff in the house + to-night, and we're to be sold up to-morrow unless—" + </p> + <p> + "Unless I pay your rent, I suppose," cried Lucy Audley. "I might have + guessed what was coming." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed, indeed, my lady, I wouldn't have asked it," sobbed Phoebe Marks, + "but he made me come." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," answered my lady, bitterly, "he made you come; and he will make you + come whenever he pleases, and whenever he wants money for the + gratification of his low vices; and you and he are my pensioners as long + as I live, or as long as I have any money to give; for I suppose when my + purse is empty and my credit ruined, you and your husband will turn upon + me and sell me to the highest bidder. Do you know, Phoebe Marks, that my + jewel-case has been half emptied to meet your claims? Do you know that my + pin-money, which I thought such a princely allowance when my marriage + settlement was made, and when I was a poor governess at Mr. Dawson's, + Heaven help me! my pin-money has been overdrawn half a year to satisfy + your demands? What can I do to appease you? Shall I sell my Marie + Antoinette cabinet, or my pompadour china, Leroy's and Benson's ormolu + clocks, or my Gobelin tapestried chairs and ottomans? How shall I satisfy + you next?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, my lady, my lady," cried Phoebe, piteously, "don't be so cruel to me; + you know, you know that it isn't I who want to impose upon you." + </p> + <p> + "I know nothing," exclaimed Lady Audley, "except that I am the most + miserable of women. Let me think," she cried, silencing Phoebe's + consolatory murmurs with an imperious gesture. "Hold your tongue, girl, + and let me think of this business, if I can." + </p> + <p> + She put her hands to her forehead, clasping her slender fingers across her + brow, as if she would have controlled the action of her brain by their + convulsive pressure. + </p> + <p> + "Robert Audley is with your husband," she said, slowly, speaking to + herself rather than to her companion. "These two men are together, and + there are bailiffs in the house, and your brutal husband is no doubt + brutally drunk by this time, and brutally obstinate and ferocious in his + drunkenness. If I refuse to pay this money his ferocity will be multiplied + by a hundredfold. There's little use in discussing that matter. The money + must be paid." + </p> + <p> + "But if you do pay it," said Phoebe, earnestly, "I hope you will impress + upon Luke that it is the last money you will ever give him while he stops + in that house." + </p> + <p> + "Why?" asked Lady Audley, letting her hands fall on her lap, and looking + inquiringly at Mrs. Marks. + </p> + <p> + "Because I want Luke to leave the Castle." + </p> + <p> + "But why do you want him to leave?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, for ever so many reasons, my lady," answered Phoebe. "He's not fit to + be the landlord of a public-house. I didn't know that when I married him, + or I would have gone against the business, and tried to persuade him to + take to the farming line. Not that I suppose he'd have given up his own + fancy, either; for he's obstinate enough, as you know, my lady. He's not + fit for his present business. He's scarcely ever sober after dark; and + when he's drunk he gets almost wild, and doesn't seem to know what he + does. We've had two or three narrow escapes with him already." + </p> + <p> + "Narrow escapes!" repeated Lady Audley. "What do you mean?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, we've run the risk of being burnt in our beds through his + carelessness." + </p> + <p> + "Burnt in your beds through his carelessness! Why, how was that?" asked my + lady, rather listlessly. She was too selfish, and too deeply absorbed in + her own troubles to take much interest in any danger which had befallen + her some-time lady's-maid. + </p> + <p> + "You know what a queer old place the Castle is, my lady; all tumble-down + wood-work, and rotten rafters, and such like. The Chelmsford Insurance + Company won't insure it; for they say if the place did happen to catch + fire of a windy night it would blaze away like so much tinder, and nothing + in the world could save it. Well, Luke knows this; and the landlord has + warned him of it times and often, for he lives close against us, and he + keeps a pretty sharp eye upon all my husband's goings on; but when Luke's + tipsy he doesn't know what he's about, and only a week ago he left a + candle burning in one of the out-houses, and the flame caught one of the + rafters of the sloping roof, and if it hadn't been for me finding it out + when I went round the house the last thing, we should have all been burnt + to death, perhaps. And that's the third time the same kind of thing has + happened in the six months we've had the place, and you can't wonder that + I'm frightened, can you, my lady?" + </p> + <p> + My lady had not wondered, she had not thought about the business at all. + She had scarcely listened to these commonplace details; why should she + care for this low-born waiting-woman's perils and troubles? Had she not + her own terrors, her own soul-absorbing perplexities to usurp every + thought of which her brain was capable? + </p> + <p> + She did not make any remark upon that which poor Phoebe just told her; she + scarcely comprehended what had been said, until some moments after the + girl had finished speaking, when the words assumed their full meaning, as + some words do after they have been heard without being heeded. + </p> + <p> + "Burnt in your beds," said the young lady, at last. "It would have been a + good thing for me if that precious creature, your husband, had been burnt + in his bed before to-night." + </p> + <p> + A vivid picture had flashed upon her as she spoke. The picture of that + frail wooden tenement, the Castle Inn, reduced to a roofless chaos of lath + and plaster, vomiting flames from its black mouth, and spitting blazing + sparks upward toward the cold night sky. + </p> + <p> + She gave a weary sigh as she dismissed this image from her restless brain. + She would be no better off even if this enemy should be for ever silenced. + She had another and far more dangerous foe—a foe who was not to be + bribed or bought off, though she had been as rich as an empress. + </p> + <p> + "I'll give you the money to send this bailiff away," my lady said, after a + pause. "I must give you the last sovereign in my purse, but what of that? + you know as well as I do that I dare not refuse you." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley rose and took the lighted lamp from her writing-table. "The + money is in my dressing-room," she said; "I will go and fetch it." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, my lady," exclaimed Phoebe, suddenly, "I forgot something; I was in + such a way about this business that I quite forgot it." + </p> + <p> + "Quite forgot what?" + </p> + <p> + "A letter that was given me to bring to you, my lady, just before I left + home." + </p> + <p> + "What letter?" + </p> + <p> + "A letter from Mr. Audley. He heard my husband mention that I was coming + down here, and he asked me to carry this letter." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley set the lamp down upon the table nearest to her, and held out + her hand to receive the letter. Phoebe Marks could scarcely fail to + observe that the little jeweled hand shook like a leaf. + </p> + <p> + "Give it me—give it me," she cried; "let me see what more he has to + say." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley almost snatched the letter from Phoebe's hand in her wild + impatience. She tore open the envelope and flung it from her; she could + scarcely unfold the sheet of note-paper in her eager excitement. + </p> + <p> + The letter was very brief. It contained only these words: + </p> + <p> + "Should Mrs. George Talboys really have survived the date of her supposed + death, as recorded in the public prints, and upon the tombstone in Ventnor + churchyard, and should she exist in the person of the lady suspected and + accused by the writer of this, there can be no great difficulty in finding + some one able and willing to identify her. Mrs. Barkamb, the owner of + North Cottages, Wildernsea, would no doubt consent to throw some light + upon this matter; either to dispel a delusion or to confirm a suspicion. + </p> + <p> + "ROBERT AUDLEY. + </p> + <p> + "March 3, 1859. + </p> + <p> + "The Castle Inn, Mount Stanning." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXII. + </h2> + <h3> + THE RED LIGHT IN THE SKY. + </h3> + <p> + My lady crushed the letter fiercely in her hand, and flung it from her + into the flames. + </p> + <p> + "If he stood before me now, and I could kill him," she muttered in a + strange, inward whisper, "I would do it—I would do it!" She snatched + up the lamp and rushed into the adjoining room. She shut the door behind + her. She could not endure any witness of her horrible despair—she + could endure nothing, neither herself nor her surroundings. + </p> + <p> + The door between my lady's dressing-room and the bed-chamber in which Sir + Michael lay, had been left open. The baronet slept peacefully, his noble + face plainly visible in the subdued lamplight. His breathing was low and + regular, his lips curved into a half smile—a smile of tender + happiness which he often wore when he looked at his beautiful wife, the + smile of an all-indulgent father, who looks admiringly at his favorite + child. + </p> + <p> + Some touch of womanly feeling, some sentiment of compassion softened Lady + Audley's glance as it fell upon that noble, reposing figure. For a moment + the horrible egotism of her own misery yielded to her pitying tenderness + for another. It was perhaps only a semi-selfish tenderness after all, in + which pity for herself was as powerful as pity for her husband; but for + once in a way, her thoughts ran out of the narrow groove of her own + terrors and her own troubles to dwell with prophetic grief upon the coming + sorrows of another. + </p> + <p> + "If they make him believe, how wretched he will be," she thought. But + intermingled with that thought there was another—there was the + thought of her lovely face, her bewitching manner, her arch smile, her + low, musical laugh, which was like a peal of silvery bells ringing across + a broad expanse of flat meadow-land and a rippling river in the misty + summer evening. She thought of all these things with a transient thrill of + triumph, which was stronger even than her terror. + </p> + <p> + If Sir Michael Audley lived to be a hundred years old, whatever he might + learn to believe of her, however he might grow to despise her, would he + ever be able to disassociate her from these attributes? No; a thousand + times no. To the last hour of his life his memory would present her to him + invested with the loveliness that had first won his enthusiastic + admiration, his devoted affection. Her worst enemies could not rob her of + that fairy dower which had been so fatal in its influence upon her + frivolous mind. + </p> + <p> + She paced up and down the dressing-room in the silvery lamplight, + pondering upon the strange letter which she had received from Robert + Audley. She walked backward and forward in that monotonous wandering for + some time before she was able to steady her thoughts—before she was + able to bring the scattered forces of her narrow intellect to bear upon + the one all-important subject of the threat contained in the barrister's + letter. + </p> + <p> + "He will do it," she said, between her set teeth—"he will do it, + unless I get him into a lunatic-asylum first; or unless—" + </p> + <p> + She did not finish the thought in words. She did not even think out the + sentence; but some new and unnatural impulse in her heart seemed to beat + each syllable against her breast. + </p> + <p> + The thought was this: "He will do it, unless some strange calamity befalls + him, and silences him for ever." The red blood flashed up into my lady's + face with as sudden and transient a blaze as the flickering flame of a + fire, and died as suddenly away, leaving her more pale than winter snow. + Her hands, which had before been locked convulsively together, fell apart + and dropped heavily at her sides. She stopped in her rapid pacing to and + fro—stopped as Lot's wife may have stopped, after that fatal + backward glance at the perishing city—with every pulse slackening, + with every drop of blood congealing in her veins, in the terrible process + that was to transform her from a woman into a statue. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley stood still for about five minutes in that strangely + statuesque attitude, her head erect, her eyes staring straight before her—staring + far beyond the narrow boundary of her chamber wall, into dark distances of + peril and horror. + </p> + <p> + But by-and-by she started from that rigid attitude almost as abruptly as + she had fallen into it. She roused herself from that semi-lethargy. She + walked rapidly to her dressing-table, and, seating herself before it, + pushed away the litter of golden-stoppered bottles and delicate china + essence-boxes, and looked at her reflection in the large, oval glass. She + was very pale; but there was no other trace of agitation visible in her + girlish face. The lines of her exquisitely molded lips were so beautiful, + that it was only a very close observer who could have perceived a certain + rigidity that was unusual to them. She saw this herself, and tried to + smile away that statue-like immobility: but to-night the rosy lips refused + to obey her; they were firmly locked, and were no longer the slaves of her + will and pleasure. All the latent forces of her character concentrated + themselves in this one feature. She might command her eyes, but she could + not control the muscles of her mouth. She rose from before her + dressing-table, and took a dark velvet cloak and bonnet from the recesses + of her wardrobe, and dressed herself for walking. The little ormolu clock + on the chimney-piece struck the quarter after eleven while Lady Audley was + employed in this manner; five minutes afterward she re-entered the room in + which she had left Phoebe Marks. + </p> + <p> + The innkeeper's wife was sitting before the low fender very much in the + same attitude as that in which her late mistress had brooded over that + lonely hearth earlier in the evening. Phoebe had replenished the fire, and + had reassumed her bonnet and shawl. She was anxious to get home to that + brutal husband, who was only too apt to fall into some mischief in her + absence. She looked up as Lady Audley entered the room, and uttered an + exclamation of surprise at seeing her late mistress in a walking-costume. + </p> + <p> + "My lady," she cried, "you are not going out to-night?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I am, Phoebe," Lady Audley answered, very quietly. "I am going to + Mount Stanning with you to see this bailiff, and to pay and dismiss him + myself." + </p> + <p> + "But, my lady, you forget what the time is; you can't go out at such an + hour." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley did not answer. She stood with her finger resting lightly upon + the handle of the bell, meditating quietly. + </p> + <p> + "The stables are always locked, and the men in bed by ten o'clock," she + murmured, "when we are at home. It will make a terrible hubbub to get a + carriage ready; but yet I dare say one of the servants could manage the + matter quietly for me." + </p> + <p> + "But why should you go to-night, my lady?" cried Phoebe Marks. "To-morrow + will do quite as well. A week hence will do as well. Our landlord would + take the man away if he had your promise to settle the debt." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley took no notice of this interruption. She went hastily into the + dressing-room, and flung off her bonnet and cloak, and then returned to + the boudoir, in her simple dinner-costume, with her curls brushed + carelessly away from her face. + </p> + <p> + "Now, Phoebe Marks, listen to me," she said, grasping her confidante's + wrist, and speaking in a low, earnest voice, but with a certain imperious + air that challenged contradiction and commanded obedience. "Listen to me, + Phoebe," she repeated. "I am going to the Castle Inn to-night; whether it + is early or late is of very little consequence to me; I have set my mind + upon going, and I shall go. You have asked me why, and I have told you. I + am going in order that I may pay this debt myself; and that I may see for + myself that the money I give is applied to the purpose for which I give + it. There is nothing out of the common course of life in my doing this. I + am going to do what other women in my position very often do. I am going + to assist a favorite servant." + </p> + <p> + "But it's getting on for twelve o'clock, my lady," pleaded Phoebe. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley frowned impatiently at this interruption. + </p> + <p> + "If my going to your house to pay this man should be known," she + continued, still retaining her hold of Phoebe's wrist, "I am ready to + answer for my conduct; but I would rather that the business should be kept + quiet. I think that I can leave this house without being seen by any + living creature, if you will do as I tell you." + </p> + <p> + "I will do anything you wish, my lady," answered Phoebe, submissively. + </p> + <p> + "Then you will wish me good-night presently, when my maid comes into the + room, and you will suffer her to show you out of the house. You will cross + the courtyard and wait for me in the avenue upon the other side of the + archway. It may be half an hour before I am able to join you, for I must + not leave my room till the servants have all gone to bed, but you may wait + for me patiently, for come what may I will join you." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley's face was no longer pale. An unnatural luster gleamed in her + great blue eyes. She spoke with an unnatural rapidity. She had altogether + the appearance and manner of a person who has yielded to the dominant + influence of some overpowering excitement. Phoebe Marks stared at her late + mistress in mute bewilderment. She began to fear that my lady was going + mad. + </p> + <p> + The bell which Lady Audley rang was answered by the smart lady's-maid who + wore rose-colored ribbons, and black silk gowns, and other adornments + which were unknown to the humble people who sat below the salt in the good + old days when servants wore linsey-woolsey. + </p> + <p> + "I did not know that it was so late, Martin," said my lady, in that gentle + tone which always won for her the willing service of her inferiors. "I + have been talking with Mrs. Marks and have let the time slip by me. I + sha'n't want anything to-night, so you may go to bed when you please." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, my lady," answered the girl, who looked very sleepy, and had + some difficulty in repressing a yawn even in her mistress' presence, for + the Audley household usually kept very early hours. "I'd better show Mrs. + Marks out, my lady, hadn't I?" asked the maid, "before I go to bed?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, yes, to be sure; you can let Phoebe out. All the other servants have + gone to bed, then, I suppose?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my lady." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley laughed as she glanced at the timepiece. + </p> + <p> + "We have been terrible dissipated up here, Phoebe," she said. "Good-night. + You may tell your husband that his rent shall be paid." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you very much, my lady, and good-night," murmured Phoebe as she + backed out of the room, followed by the lady's maid. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley listened at the door, waiting till the muffled sounds of their + footsteps died away in the octagon chamber and on the carpeted staircase. + </p> + <p> + "Martin sleeps at the top of the house," she said, "half a mile away from + this room. In ten minutes I may safely make my escape." + </p> + <p> + She went back into her dressing-room, and put on her cloak and bonnet for + the second time. The unnatural color still burnt like a flame in her + cheeks; the unnatural light still glittered in her eyes. The excitement + which she was under held her in so strong a spell that neither her mind + nor her body seemed to have any consciousness of fatigue. However verbose + I may be in my description of her feelings, I can never describe a tithe + of her thoughts or her sufferings. She suffered agonies that would fill + closely printed volumes, bulky with a thousand pages, in that one horrible + night. She underwent volumes of anguish, and doubt, and perplexity; + sometimes repeating the same chapters of her torments over and over again; + sometimes hurrying through a thousand pages of her misery without one + pause, without one moment of breathing time. She stood by the low fender + in her boudoir, watching the minute-hand of the clock, and waiting till it + should be time for her to leave the house in safety. + </p> + <p> + "I will wait ten minutes," she said, "not a moment beyond, before I enter + on my new peril." + </p> + <p> + She listened to the wild roaring of the March wind, which seemed to have + risen with the stillness and darkness of the night. + </p> + <p> + The hand slowly made its inevitable way to the figures which told that the + ten minutes were past. It was exactly a quarter to twelve when my lady + took her lamp in her hand, and stole softly from the room. Her footfall + was as light as that of some graceful wild animal, and there was no fear + of that airy step awakening any echo upon the carpeted stone corridors and + staircase. She did not pause until she reached the vestibule upon the + ground floor. Several doors opened out of the vestibule, which was + octagon, like my lady's ante-chamber. One of these doors led into the + library, and it was this door which Lady Audley opened softly and + cautiously. + </p> + <p> + To have attempted to leave the house secretly by any of the principal + outlets would have been simple madness, for the housekeeper herself + superintended the barricading of the great doors, back and front. The + secrets of the bolts, and bars, and chains, and bells which secured these + doors, and provided for the safety of Sir Michael Audley's plate-room, the + door of which was lined with sheet-iron, were known only to the servants + who had to deal with them. But although all these precautions were taken + with the principal entrances to the citadel, a wooden shutter and a + slender iron bar, light enough to be lifted by a child, were considered + sufficient safeguard for the half-glass door which opened out of the + breakfast-room into the graveled pathway and smooth turf in the courtyard. + </p> + <p> + It was by this outlet that Lady Audley meant to make her escape. She could + easily remove the bar and unfasten the shutter, and she might safely + venture to leave the window ajar while she was absent. There was little + fear of Sir Michael's awaking for some time, as he was a heavy sleeper in + the early part of the night, and had slept more heavily than usual since + his illness. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley crossed the library, and opened the door of the + breakfast-room, which communicated with it. This latter apartment was one + of the later additions to the Court. It was a simple, cheerful chamber, + with brightly papered walls and pretty maple furniture, and was more + occupied by Alicia than any one else. The paraphernalia of that young + lady's favorite pursuits were scattered about the room—drawing-materials, + unfinished scraps of work, tangled skeins of silk, and all the other + tokens of a careless damsel's presence; while Miss Audley's picture—a + pretty crayon sketch of a rosy-faced hoyden in a riding-habit and hat—hung + over the quaint Wedgewood ornaments on the chimneypiece. My lady looked + upon these familiar objects with scornful hatred flaming in her blue eyes. + </p> + <p> + "How glad she will be if any disgrace befalls me," she thought; "how she + will rejoice if I am driven out of this house!" + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley set the lamp upon a table near the fireplace, and went to the + window. She removed the iron-bar and the light wooden shutter, and then + opened the glass-door. The March night was black and moonless, and a gust + of wind blew in upon her as she opened this door, and filled the room with + its chilly breath, extinguishing the lamp upon the table. + </p> + <p> + "No matter," my lady muttered, "I could not have left it burning. I shall + know how to find my way through the house when I come back. I have left + all the doors ajar." + </p> + <p> + She stepped quickly out upon the smooth gravel, and closed the glass-door + behind her. She was afraid lest that treacherous wind should blow-to the + door opening into the library, and thus betray her. + </p> + <p> + She was in the quadrangle now, with that chill wind sweeping against her, + and swirling her silken garments round her with a shrill, rustling noise, + like the whistling of a sharp breeze against the sails of a yacht. She + crossed the quadrangle and looked back—looked back for a moment at + the firelight gleaming between the rosy-tinted curtains in her boudoir, + and the dim gleam of the lamp through the mullioned windows in the room + where Sir Michael Audley lay asleep. + </p> + <p> + "I feel as if I were running away," she thought; "I feel as if I were + running away secretly in the dead of the night, to lose myself and be + forgotten. Perhaps it would be wiser in me to run away, to take this man's + warning, and escape out of his power forever. If I were to run away and + disappear as—as George Talboys disappeared. But where could I go? + what would become of me? I have no money; my jewels are not worth a couple + of hundred pounds, now that I have got rid of the best part of them. What + could I do? I must go back to the old life, the old, hard, cruel, wretched + life—the life of poverty, and humiliation, and vexation, and + discontent. I should have to go back and wear myself out in that long + struggle, and die—as my mother died, perhaps!" + </p> + <p> + My lady stood still for a moment on the smooth lawn between the quadrangle + and the archway, with her head drooping upon her breast and her hands + locked together, debating this question in the unnatural activity of her + mind. Her attitude reflected the state of that mind—it expressed + irresolution and perplexity. But presently a sudden change came over her; + she lifted her head—lifted it with an action of defiance and + determination. + </p> + <p> + "No! Mr. Robert Audley," she said, aloud, in a low, clear voice; "I will + not go back—I will not go back. If the struggle between us is to be + a duel to the death, you shall not find me drop my weapon." + </p> + <p> + She walked with a firm and rapid step under the archway. As she passed + under that massive arch, it seemed as if she disappeared into some black + gulf that had waited open to receive her. The stupid clock struck twelve, + and the whole archway seemed to vibrate under its heavy strokes, as Lady + Audley emerged upon the other side and joined Phoebe Marks, who had waited + for her late mistress very near the gateway of the Court. + </p> + <p> + "Now, Phoebe," she said, "it is three miles from here to Mount Stanning, + isn't it?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my lady." + </p> + <p> + "Then we can walk the distance in an hour and a half." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley had not stopped to say this; she was walking quickly along the + avenue with her humble companion by her side. Fragile and delicate as she + was in appearance, she was a very good walker. She had been in the habit + of taking long country rambles with Mr. Dawson's children in her old days + of dependence, and she thought very little of a distance of three miles. + </p> + <p> + "Your beautiful husband will sit up for you, I suppose, Phoebe?" she said, + as they struck across an open field that was used as a short cut from + Audley Court to the high-road. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, yes, my lady; he's sure to sit up. He'll be drinking with the man, I + dare say." + </p> + <p> + "The man! What man?" + </p> + <p> + "The man that's in possession, my lady." + </p> + <p> + "Ah, to be sure," said Lady Audley, indifferently. + </p> + <p> + It was strange that Phoebe's domestic troubles should seem so very far + away from her thoughts at the time she was taking such an extraordinary + step toward setting things right at the Castle Inn. + </p> + <p> + The two women crossed the field and turned into the high road. The way to + Mount Stanning was all up hill, and the long road looked black and dreary + in the dark night; but my lady walked on with a desperate courage, which + was no common constituent in her selfish sensuous nature, but a strange + faculty born out of her great despair. She did not speak again to her + companion until they were close upon the glimmering lights at the top of + the hill. One of these village lights, glaring redly through a crimson + curtain, marked out the particular window behind which it was likely that + Luke Marks sat nodding drowsily over his liquor, and waiting for the + coming of his wife. + </p> + <p> + "He has not gone to bed, Phoebe," said my lady, eagerly. "But there is no + other light burning at the inn. I suppose Mr. Audley is in bed and + asleep." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my lady, I suppose so." + </p> + <p> + "You are sure he was going to stay at the Castle to night?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, yes, my lady. I helped the girl to get his room ready before I came + away." + </p> + <p> + The wind, boisterous everywhere, was even shriller and more pitiless in + the neighborhood of that bleak hill-top upon which the Castle Inn reared + its rickety walls. The cruel blasts raved wildly round that frail + erection. They disported themselves with the shattered pigeon-house, the + broken weathercock, the loose tiles, and unshapely chimneys; they rattled + at the window-panes, and whistled in the crevices; they mocked the feeble + building from foundation to roof, and battered, and banged, and tormented + it in their fierce gambols, until it trembled and rocked with the force of + their rough play. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Luke Marks had not troubled himself to secure the door of his + dwelling-house before sitting down to booze with the man who held + provisional possession of his goods and chattels. The landlord of the + Castle Inn was a lazy, sensual brute, who had no thought higher than a + selfish concern for his own enjoyments, and a virulent hatred for anybody + who stood in the way of his gratification. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe pushed open the door with her hand, and went into the house, + followed by my lady. The gas was flaring in the bar, and smoking the low + plastered ceiling. The door of the bar-parlor was half open, and Lady + Audley heard the brutal laughter of Mr. Marks as she crossed the threshold + of the inn. + </p> + <p> + "I'll tell him you're here, my lady," whispered Phoebe to her late + mistress. "I know he'll be tipsy. You—you won't be offended, my + lady, if he should say anything rude? You know it wasn't my wish that you + should come." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," answered Lady Audley, impatiently, "I know that. What should I + care for his rudeness! Let him say what he likes." + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks pushed open the parlor door, leaving my lady in the bar close + behind her. + </p> + <p> + Luke sat with his clumsy legs stretched out upon the hearth. He held a + glass of gin-and-water in one hand and the poker in the other. He had just + thrust the poker into a heap of black coals, and was scattering them to + make a blaze, when his wife appeared upon the threshold of the room. + </p> + <p> + He snatched the poker from between the bars, and made a half drunken, half + threatening motion with it as he saw her. + </p> + <p> + "So you've condescended to come home at last, ma'am," he said; "I thought + you was never coming no more." + </p> + <p> + He spoke in a thick and drunken voice, and was by no means too + intelligible. He was steeped to the very lips in alcohol. His eyes were + dim and watery; his hands were unsteady; his voice was choked and muffled + with drink. A brute, even when most sober; a brute, even on his best + behavior, he was ten times more brutal in his drunkenness, when the few + restraints which held his ignorant, every day brutality in check were + flung aside in the indolent recklessness of intoxication. + </p> + <p> + "I—I've been longer than I intended to be, Luke," Phoebe answered, + in her most conciliatory manner; "but I've seen my lady, and she's been + very kind, and—and she'll settle this business for us." + </p> + <p> + "She's been very kind, has she?" muttered Mr. Marks, with a drunken laugh; + "thank her for nothing. I know the vally of her kindness. She'd be + oncommon kind, I dessay, if she warn't obligated to be it." + </p> + <p> + The man in possession, who had fallen into a maudlin and semi-unconscious + state of intoxication upon about a third of the liquor that Mr. Marks had + consumed, only stared in feeble wonderment at his host and hostess. He sat + near the table. Indeed, he had hooked himself on to it with his elbows, as + a safeguard against sliding under it, and he was making imbecile attempts + to light his pipe at the flame of a guttering tallow candle near him. + </p> + <p> + "My lady has promised to settle the business for us, Luke," Phoebe + repeated, without noticing Luke's remarks. She knew her husband's dogged + nature well enough by this time to know that it was worse than useless to + try to stop him from doing or saying anything which his own stubborn will + led him to do or say. "My lady will settle it," she said, "and she's come + down here to see about it to-night," she added. + </p> + <p> + The poker dropped from the landlord's hand, and fell clattering among the + cinders on the hearth. + </p> + <p> + "My Lady Audley come here to-night!" he said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Luke." + </p> + <p> + My lady appeared upon the threshold of the door as Phoebe spoke. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Luke Marks," she said, "I have come to pay this man, and to send him + about his business." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley said these words in a strange, semi-mechanical manner; very + much as if she had learned the sentence by rote, and were repeating it + without knowing what she said. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Marks gave a discontented growl, and set his empty glass down upon the + table with an impatient gesture. + </p> + <p> + "You might have given the money to Phoebe," he said, "as well as have + brought it yourself. We don't want no fine ladies up here, pryin' and + pokin' their precious noses into everythink." + </p> + <p> + "Luke, Luke!" remonstrated Phoebe, "when my lady has been so kind!" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, damn her kindness!" cried Mr. Marks; "it ain't her kindness as we + want, gal, it's her money. She won't get no snivelin' gratitood from me. + Whatever she does for us she does because she is obliged; and if she + wasn't obliged she wouldn't do it—" + </p> + <p> + Heaven knows how much more Luke Marks might have said, had not my lady + turned upon him suddenly and awed him into silence by the unearthly + glitter of her beauty. Her hair had been blown away from her face, and + being of a light, feathery quality, had spread itself into a tangled mass + that surrounded her forehead like a yellow flame. There was another flame + in her eyes—a greenish light, such as might flash from the + changing-hued orbs of an angry mermaid. + </p> + <p> + "Stop," she cried. "I didn't come up here in the dead of night to listen + to your insolence. How much is this debt?" + </p> + <p> + "Nine pound." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley produced her purse—a toy of ivory, silver, and turquoise—she + took from it a note and four sovereigns. She laid these upon the table. + </p> + <p> + "Let that man give me a receipt for the money," she said, "before I go." + </p> + <p> + It was some time before the man could be roused into sufficient + consciousness for the performance of this simple duty, and it was only by + dipping a pen into the ink and pushing it between his clumsy fingers, that + he was at last made to comprehend that his autograph was wanted at the + bottom of the receipt which had been made out by Phoebe Marks. Lady Audley + took the document as soon as the ink was dry, and turned to leave the + parlor. Phoebe followed her. + </p> + <p> + "You mustn't go home alone, my lady," she said. "You'll let me go with + you?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes; you shall go home with me." + </p> + <p> + The two women were standing near the door of the inn as my lady said this. + Phoebe stared wonderingly at her patroness. She had expected that Lady + Audley would be in a hurry to return home after settling this business + which she had capriciously taken upon herself; but it was not so; my lady + stood leaning against the inn door and staring into vacancy, and again + Mrs. Marks began to fear that trouble had driven her late mistress mad. + </p> + <p> + A little Dutch clock in the bar struck two while Lady Audley lingered in + this irresolute, absent manner. She started at the sound and began to + tremble violently. + </p> + <p> + "I think I am going to faint, Phoebe," she said; "where can I get some + cold water?" + </p> + <p> + "The pump is in the wash-house, my lady; I'll run and get you a glass of + cold water." + </p> + <p> + "No, no, no," cried my lady, clutching Phoebe's arm as she was about to + run away upon this errand; "I'll get it myself. I must dip my head in a + basin of water if I want to save myself from fainting. In which room does + Mr. Audley sleep?" + </p> + <p> + There was something so irrelevant in this question that Phoebe Marks + stared aghast at her mistress before she answered it. + </p> + <p> + "It was number three that I got ready, my lady—the front room—the + room next to ours," she replied, after that pause of astonishment. + </p> + <p> + "Give me a candle," said my lady. "I'll go into your room, and get some + water for my head; stay where you are, and see that that brute of a + husband of yours does not follow me!" + </p> + <p> + She snatched the candle which Phoebe had lighted from the girl's hand and + ran up the rickety, winding staircase which led to the narrow corridor + upon the upper floor. Five bed-rooms opened out of this low-ceilinged, + close-smelling corridor; the numbers of these rooms were indicated by + squat black figures painted upon the panels of the doors. Lady Audley had + driven up to Mount Stanning to inspect the house when she bought the + business for her servant's bridegroom, and she knew her way about the + dilapidated old place; she knew where to find Phoebe's bedroom, but she + stopped before the door of that other chamber which had been prepared for + Mr. Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + She stopped and looked at the number on the door. The key was in the lock, + and her hand dropped upon it as if unconsciously. But presently she + suddenly began to tremble again, as she had trembled a few minutes before + at the striking of the clock. She stood for a few moments trembling thus, + with her hand still upon the key; then a horrible expression came over her + face, and she turned the key in the lock. She turned it twice, double + locking the door. + </p> + <p> + There was no sound from within; the occupant of the chamber made no sign + of having heard that ominous creaking of the rusty key in the rusty lock. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley hurried into the next room. She set the candle on the + dressing-table, flung off her bonnet and slung it loosely across her arm; + then she went to the wash-stand and filled the basin with water. She + plunged her golden hair into this water, and then stood for a few moments + in the center of the room looking about her, with a white, earnest face, + and an eager gaze that seemed to take in every object in the poorly + furnished chamber. Phoebe's bedroom was certainly very shabbily furnished; + she had been compelled to select all the most decent things for those best + bedrooms which were set apart for any chance traveler who might stop for a + night's lodging at the Castle Inn; but Phoebe Marks had done her best to + atone for the lack of substantial furniture in her apartment by a + superabundance of drapery. Crisp curtains of cheap chintz hung from the + tent-bedstead; festooned drapery of the same material shrouded the narrow + window shutting out the light of day, and affording a pleasant harbor for + tribes of flies and predatory bands of spiders. Even the looking-glass, a + miserably cheap construction which distorted every face whose owner had + the hardihood to look into it, stood upon a draperied altar of starched + muslin and pink glazed calico, and was adorned with frills of lace and + knitted work. + </p> + <p> + My lady smiled as she looked at the festoons and furbelows which met her + eyes upon every side. She had reason, perhaps, to smile, remembering the + costly elegance of her own apartments; but there was something in that + sardonic smile that seemed to have a deeper meaning than any natural + contempt for Phoebe's attempts at decoration. She went to the + dressing-table and, smoothed her wet hair before the looking-glass, and + then put on her bonnet. She was obliged to place the flaming tallow candle + very close to the lace furbelows about the glass; so close that the + starched muslin seemed to draw the flame toward it by some power of + attraction in its fragile tissue. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe waited anxiously by the inn door for my lady's coming She watched + the minute hand of the little Dutch clock, wondering at the slowness of + its progress. It was only ten minutes past two when Lady Audley came + down-stairs, with her bonnet on and her hair still wet, but without the + candle. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe was immediately anxious about this missing candle. + </p> + <p> + "The light, my lady," she said, "you have left it up-stairs!" + </p> + <p> + "The wind blew it out as I was leaving your room," Lady Audley answered, + quietly. "I left it there." + </p> + <p> + "In my room, my lady?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "And it was quite out?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I tell you; why do you worry me about your candle? It is past two + o'clock. Come." + </p> + <p> + She took the girl's arm, and half led, half dragged her from the house. + The convulsive pressure of her slight hand held her firmly as an iron vise + could have held her. The fierce March wind banged to the door of the + house, and left the two women standing outside it. The long, black road + lay bleak and desolate before them, dimly visible between straight lines + of leafless hedges. + </p> + <p> + A walk of three miles' length upon a lonely country road, between the + hours of two and four on a cold winter's morning, is scarcely a pleasant + task for a delicate woman—a woman whose inclinations lean toward + ease and luxury. But my lady hurried along the hard, dry highway, dragging + her companion with her as if she had been impelled by some horrible + demoniac force which knew no abatement. With the black night above them—with + the fierce wind howling around them, sweeping across a broad expanse of + hidden country, blowing as if it had arisen simultaneously from every + point of the compass, and making those wanderers the focus of its ferocity—the + two women walked through the darkness down the hill upon which Mount + Stanning stood, along a mile and a half of flat road, and then up another + hill, on the western side of which Audley Court lay in that sheltered + valley, which seemed to shut in the old house from all the clamor and + hubbub of the everyday world. + </p> + <p> + My lady stopped upon the summit of this hill to draw breath and to clasp + her hands upon her heart, in the vain hope that she might still its cruel + beating. They were now within three-quarters of a mile of the Court, and + they had been walking for nearly an hour since they had left the Castle + Inn. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley stopped to rest, with her face still turned toward the place + of her destination. Phoebe Marks, stopping also, and very glad of a + moment's pause in that hurried journey, looked back into the far darkness + beneath which lay that dreary shelter that had given her so much + uneasiness. And she did so, she uttered a shrill cry of horror, and + clutched wildly at her companion's cloak. + </p> + <p> + The night sky was no longer all dark. The thick blackness was broken by + one patch of lurid light. + </p> + <p> + "My lady, my lady!" cried Phoebe, pointing to this lurid patch; "do you + see?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, child, I see," answered Lady Audley, trying to shake the clinging + hands from her garments. "What's the matter?" + </p> + <p> + "It's a fire—a fire, my lady!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I am afraid it is a fire. At Brentwood, most likely. Let me go, + Phoebe; it's nothing to us." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, my lady; it's nearer than Brentwood—much nearer; it's at + Mount Stanning." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley did not answer. She was trembling again, with the cold + perhaps, for the wind had torn her heavy cloak from her shoulders, and had + left her slender figure exposed to the blast. + </p> + <p> + "It's at Mount Stanning, my lady!" cried Phoebe Marks. "It's the Castle + that's on fire—I know it is, I know it is! I thought of fire + to-night, and I was fidgety and uneasy, for I knew this would happen some + day. I wouldn't mind if it was only the wretched place, but there'll be + life lost, there'll be life lost!" sobbed the girl, distractedly. "There's + Luke, too tipsy to help himself, unless others help him; there's Mr. + Audley asleep—" + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks stopped suddenly at the mention of Robert's name, and fell + upon her knees, clasping her uplifted hands, and appealing wildly to Lady + Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, my God!" she cried. "Say it's not true, my lady, say it's not true! + It's too horrible, it's too horrible, it's too horrible!" + </p> + <p> + "What's too horrible?" + </p> + <p> + "The thought that's in my mind; the terrible thought that's in my mind." + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean, girl?" cried my lady, fiercely. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, God forgive me if I'm wrong!" the kneeling woman gasped in detached + sentences, "and God grant I may be. Why did you go up to the Castle, my + lady? Why were you so set on going against all I could say—you who + are so bitter against Mr. Audley and against Luke, and who knew they were + both under that roof? Oh, tell me that I do you a cruel wrong, my lady; + tell me so—tell me! for as there is a Heaven above me I think that + you went to that place to-night on purpose to set fire to it. Tell me that + I'm wrong, my lady; tell me that I'm doing you a wicked wrong." + </p> + <p> + "I will tell you nothing, except that you are a mad woman," answered Lady + Audley; in a cold, hard voice. "Get up; fool, idiot, coward! Is your + husband such a precious bargain that you should be groveling there, + lamenting and groaning for him? What is Robert Audley to you, that you + behave like a maniac, because you think he is in danger? How do you know + the fire is at Mount Stanning? You see a red patch in the sky, and you cry + out directly that your own paltry hovel is in flames, as if there were no + place in the world that could burn except that. The fire may be at + Brentwood, or further away—at Romford, or still further away, on the + eastern side of London, perhaps. Get up, mad woman, and go back and look + after your goods and chattels, and your husband and your lodger. Get up + and go: I don't want you." + </p> + <p> + "Oh! my lady, my lady, forgive me," sobbed Phoebe; "there's nothing you + can say to me that's hard enough for having done you such a wrong, even in + my thoughts. I don't mind your cruel words—I don't mind anything if + I'm wrong." + </p> + <p> + "Go back and see for yourself," answered Lady Audley, sternly. "I tell you + again, I don't want you." + </p> + <p> + She walked away in the darkness, leaving Phoebe Marks still kneeling upon + the hard road, where she had cast herself in that agony of supplication. + Sir Michael's wife walked toward the house in which her husband slept with + the red blaze lighting up the skies behind her, and with nothing but the + blackness of the night before. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIII. + </h2> + <h3> + THE BEARER OF THE TIDINGS. + </h3> + <p> + It was very late the next morning when Lady Audley emerged from her + dressing-room, exquisitely dressed in a morning costume of delicate + muslin, delicate laces, and embroideries; but with a very pale face, and + with half-circles of purple shadow under her eyes. She accounted for this + pale face and these hollow eyes by declaring that she had sat up reading + until a very late hour on the previous night. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael and his young wife breakfasted in the library at a comfortable + round table, wheeled close to the blazing fire; and Alicia was compelled + to share this meal with her step-mother, however she might avoid that lady + in the long interval between breakfast and dinner. + </p> + <p> + The March morning was bleak and dull, and a drizzling rain fell + incessantly, obscuring the landscape and blotting out the distance. There + were very few letters by the morning post; the daily newspapers did not + arrive until noon; and such aids to conversation being missing, there was + very little talk at the breakfast table. + </p> + <p> + Alicia looked out at the drizzling rain drifting against the broad + window-panes. + </p> + <p> + "No riding to-day," she said; "and no chance of any callers to enliven us, + unless that ridiculous Bob comes crawling through the wet from Mount + Stanning." + </p> + <p> + Have you ever heard anybody, whom you knew to be dead, alluded to in a + light, easy going manner by another person who did not know of his death—alluded + to as doing that or this, as performing some trivial everyday operation—when + <i>you</i> know that he has vanished away from the face of this earth, and + separated himself forever from all living creatures and their commonplace + pursuits in the awful solemnity of death? Such a chance allusion, + insignificant though it may be, is apt to send a strange thrill of pain + through the mind. The ignorant remark jars discordantly upon the + hyper-sensitive brain; the King of Terrors is desecrated by that unwitting + disrespect. Heaven knows what hidden reason my lady may have had for + experiencing some such revulsion of feeling on the sudden mention of Mr. + Audley's name, but her pale face blanched to a sickly white as Alicia + Audley spoke of her cousin. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, he will come down here in the wet, perhaps," the young lady + continued, "with his hat sleek and shining as if it had been brushed with + a pat of fresh butter, and with white vapors steaming out of his clothes, + and making him look like an awkward genie just let out of his bottle. He + will come down here and print impressions of his muddy boots all over the + carpet, and he'll sit on your Gobelin tapestry, my lady, in his wet + overcoat; and he'll abuse you if you remonstrate, and will ask why people + have chairs that are not to be sat upon, and why you don't live in Figtree + Court, and—" + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley watched his daughter with a thoughtful countenance as + she talked of her cousin. She very often talked of him, ridiculing him and + inveighing against him in no very measured terms. But perhaps the baronet + thought of a certain Signora Beatrice who very cruelly entreated a + gentleman called Benedick, but who was, it may be, heartily in love with + him at the same time. + </p> + <p> + "What do you think Major Melville told me when he called here yesterday, + Alicia?" Sir Michael asked, presently. + </p> + <p> + "I haven't the remotest idea," replied Alicia, rather disdainfully. + "Perhaps he told you that we should have another war before long, by Ged, + sir; or perhaps he told you that we should have a new ministry, by Ged, + sir, for that those fellows are getting themselves into a mess, sir; or + that those other fellows were reforming this, and cutting down that, and + altering the other in the army, until, by Ged, sir, we shall have no army + at all, by-and-by—nothing but a pack of boys, sir, crammed up to the + eyes with a lot of senseless schoolmasters' rubbish, and dressed in + shell-jackets and calico helmets. Yes, sir, they're fighting in Oudh in + calico helmets at this very day, sir." + </p> + <p> + "You're an impertinent minx, miss," answered the baronet. "Major Melville + told me nothing of the kind; but he told me that a very devoted admirer of + you, a certain Sir Harry Towers, has forsaken his place in Hertfordshire, + and his hunting stable, and has gone on the continent for a twelvemonths' + tour." + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley flushed up suddenly at the mention of her old adorer, but + recovered herself very quickly. + </p> + <p> + "He has gone on the continent, has he?" she said indifferently. "He told + me that he meant to do so—if—if he didn't have everything his + own way. Poor fellow! he's a dear, good-hearted, stupid creature, and + twenty times better than that peripatetic, patent refrigerator, Mr. Robert + Audley." + </p> + <p> + "I wish, Alicia, you were not so fond of ridiculing Bob," Sir Michael + said, gravely. "Bob is a good fellow, and I'm as fond of him as if he'd + been my own son; and—and—I've been very uncomfortable about + him lately. He has changed very much within the last few days, and he has + taken all sorts of absurd ideas into his head, and my lady has alarmed me + about him. She thinks—" + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley interrupted her husband with a grave shake of her head. + </p> + <p> + "It is better not to say too much about it as yet awhile," she said; + "Alicia knows what I think." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," replied Miss Audley, "my lady thinks that Bob is going mad, but I + know better than that. He's not at all the sort of person to go mad. How + should such a sluggish ditch-pond of an intellect as his ever work itself + into a tempest? He may move about for the rest of his life, perhaps, in a + tranquil state of semi-idiotcy, imperfectly comprehending who he is, and + where he's going, and what he's doing—but he'll never go mad." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael did not reply to this. He had been very much disturbed by his + conversation with my lady on the previous evening, and had silently + debated the painful question, in his mind ever since. + </p> + <p> + His wife—the woman he best loved and most believed in—had told + him, with all appearance of regret and agitation, her conviction of his + nephew's insanity. He tried in vain to arrive at the conclusion he wished + most ardently to attain; he tried in vain to think that my lady was misled + by her own fancies, and had no foundation for what she said. But then, + again, it suddenly flashed upon him, that to think this was to arrive at a + worse conclusion; it was to transfer the horrible suspicion from his + nephew to his wife. She appeared to be possessed with an actual conviction + of Robert's insanity. To imagine her wrong was to imagine some weakness in + her own mind. The longer he thought of the subject the more it harassed + and perplexed him. It was most certain that the young man had always been + eccentric. He was sensible, he was tolerably clever, he was honorable and + gentlemanlike in feeling, though perhaps a little careless in the + performance of certain minor social duties; but there were some slight + differences, not easily to be defined, that separated him from other men + of his age and position. Then, again, it was equally true that he had very + much changed within the period that had succeeded the disappearance of + George Talboys. He had grown moody and thoughtful, melancholy and + absent-minded. He had held himself aloof from society, had sat for hours + without speaking; had talked at other points by fits and starts; and had + excited himself unusually in the discussion of subjects which apparently + lay far out of the region of his own life and interests. Then there was + even another region which seemed to strengthen my lady's case against this + unhappy young man. He had been brought up in the frequent society of his + cousin, Alicia—his pretty, genial cousin—to whom interest, and + one would have thought affection, naturally pointed as his most fitting + bride. More than this, the girl had shown him, in the innocent + guilelessness of a transparent nature, that on her side at least, + affection was not wanting; and yet, in spite of all this, he had held + himself aloof, and had allowed others to propose for her hand, and to be + rejected by her, and had still made no sign. + </p> + <p> + Now love is so very subtle an essence, such an indefinable metaphysical + marvel, that its due force, though very cruelly felt by the sufferer + himself, is never clearly understood by those who look on at its torments + and wonder why he takes the common fever so badly. Sir Michael argued that + because Alicia was a pretty girl and an amiable girl it was therefore + extraordinary and unnatural in Robert Audley not to have duly fallen in + love with her. This baronet, who close upon his sixtieth birthday, had for + the first time encountered that one woman who out of all the women in the + world had power to quicken the pulses of his heart, wondered why Robert + failed to take the fever from the first breath of contagion that blew + toward him. He forgot that there are men who go their ways unscathed + amidst legions of lovely and generous women, to succumb at last before + some harsh-featured virago, who knows the secret of that only philter + which can intoxicate and bewitch him. He had forgot that there are certain + Jacks who go through life without meeting the Jill appointed for them by + Nemesis, and die old bachelors, perhaps, with poor Jill pining an old maid + upon the other side of the party-wall. He forgot that love, which is a + madness, and a scourge, and a fever, and a delusion, and a snare, is also + a mystery, and very imperfectly understood by everyone except the + individual sufferer who writhes under its tortures. Jones, who is wildly + enamored of Miss Brown, and who lies awake at night until he loathes his + comfortable pillow and tumbles his sheets into two twisted rags of linen + in his agonies, as if he were a prisoner and wanted to wind them into + impromptu ropes; this same Jones who thinks Russell Square a magic place + because his divinity inhabits it, who thinks the trees in that inclosure + and the sky above it greener and bluer than other trees or sky, and who + feels a pang, yes, an actual pang, of mingled hope, and joy, and + expectation, and terror, when he emerges from Guilford street, descending + from the hights of Islington, into those sacred precincts; this very Jones + is hard and callous toward the torments of Smith, who adores Miss + Robinson, and cannot imagine what the infatuated fellow can see in the + girl. So it was with Sir Michael Audley. He looked at his nephew as a + sample of a very large class of young men, and his daughter as a sample of + an equally extensive class of feminine goods, and could not see why the + two samples should not make a very respectable match. He ignored all those + infinitesimal differences in nature which make the wholesome food of one + man the deadly poison of another. How difficult it is to believe sometimes + that a man doesn't like such and such a favorite dish. If at a + dinner-party, a meek looking guest refuses early salmon and cucumbers, or + green peas in February, we set him down as a poor relation whose instincts + warn him off those expensive plates. If an alderman were to declare that + he didn't like green fat, he would be looked upon as a social martyr, a + Marcus Curtius of the dinner-table, who immolated himself for the benefit + of his kind. His fellow-aldermen would believe in anything rather than an + heretical distaste for the city ambrosia of the soup tureen. But there are + people who dislike salmon, and white-bait, and spring ducklings, and all + manner of old-established delicacies, and there are other people who + affect eccentric and despicable dishes, generally stigmatized as nasty. + </p> + <p> + Alas, my pretty Alicia, your cousin did not love you! He admired your rosy + English face, and had a tender affection for you which might perhaps have + expanded by-and-by into something warm enough for matrimony, that + every-day jog-trot species of union which demands no very passionate + devotion, but for a sudden check which it had received in Dorsetshire. + Yes, Robert Audley's growing affection for his cousin, a plant of very + slow growth, I am fain to confess, had been suddenly dwarfed and stunted + upon that bitter February day on which he had stood beneath the pine-trees + talking to Clara Talboys. Since that day the young man had experienced an + unpleasant sensation in thinking of poor Alicia. He looked at her as being + in some vague manner an incumbrance upon the freedom of his thoughts; he + had a haunting fear that he was in some tacit way pledged to her; that she + had a species of claim upon him, which forbade to him the right of + thinking of another woman. I believe it was the image of Miss Audley + presented to him in this light that goaded the young barrister into those + outbursts of splenetic rage against the female sex which he was liable to + at certain times. He was strictly honorable, so honorable that he would + rather have immolated himself upon the altar of truth and Alicia than have + done her the remotest wrong, though by so doing he might have secured his + own comfort and happiness. + </p> + <p> + "If the poor little girl loves me," he thought, "and if she thinks that I + love her, and has been led to think so by any word or act of mine, I'm in + duty bound to let her think so to the end of time, and to fulfill any + tacit promise which I may have unconsciously made. I thought once—I + meant once to—to make her an offer by-and-by when this horrible + mystery about George Talboys should have been cleared up and everything + peacefully settled—but now—" + </p> + <p> + His thoughts would ordinarily wander away at this point of his + reflections, carrying him where he never had intended to go; carrying him + back under the pine-trees in Dorsetshire, and setting him once more face + to face with the sister of his missing friend, and it was generally a very + laborious journey by which he traveled back to the point from which he + strayed. It was so difficult for him to tear himself away from the stunted + turf and the pine-trees. + </p> + <p> + "Poor little girl!" he would think on coming back to Alicia. "How good it + is of her to love me, and how grateful ought I to be for her tenderness. + How many fellows would think such a generous, loving heart the highest + boon that earth could give them. There's Sir Harry Towers stricken with + despair at his rejection. He would give me half his estate, all his + estate, twice his estate, if he had it, to be in the shoes which I am + anxious to shake off my ungrateful feet. Why don't I love her? Why is it + that although I know her to be pretty, and pure, and good, and truthful, I + don't love her? Her image never haunts me, except reproachfully. I never + see her in my dreams. I never wake up suddenly in the dead of the night + with her eyes shining upon me and her warm breath upon my cheek, or with + the fingers of her soft hand clinging to mine. No, I'm not in love with + her, I can't fall in love with her." + </p> + <p> + He raged and rebelled against his ingratitude. He tried to argue himself + into a passionate attachment for his cousin, but he failed ignominiously, + and the more he tried to think of Alicia the more he thought of Clara + Talboys. I am speaking now of his feelings in the period that elapsed + between his return from Dorsetshire and his visit to Grange Heath. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael sat by the library fire after breakfast upon this wretched + rainy morning, writing letters and reading the newspapers. Alicia shut + herself in her own apartment to read the third volume of a novel. Lady + Audley locked the door of the octagon ante-chamber, and roamed up and down + the suite of rooms from the bedroom to the boudoir all through that weary + morning. + </p> + <p> + She had locked the door to guard against the chance of any one coming in + suddenly and observing her before she was aware—before she had had + sufficient warning to enable her to face their scrutiny. Her pale face + seemed to grow paler as the morning advanced. A tiny medicine-chest was + open upon the dressing-table, and little stoppered bottles of red + lavender, sal-volatile, chloroform, chlorodyne, and ether were scattered + about. Once my lady paused before this medicine-chest, and took out the + remaining bottles, half-absently, perhaps, until she came to one which was + filled with a thick, dark liquid, and labeled "opium—poison." + </p> + <p> + She trifled a long time with this last bottle; holding it up to the light, + and even removing the stopper and smelling the sickly liquid. But she put + it from her suddenly with a shudder. "If I could!" she muttered, "if I + could only do it! And yet why should I <i>now</i>?" + </p> + <p> + She clinched her small hands as she uttered the last words, and walked to + the window of the dressing-room, which looked straight toward that ivied + archway under which any one must come who came from Mount Stanning to the + Court. + </p> + <p> + There were smaller gates in the gardens which led into the meadows behind + the Court, but there was no other way of coming from Mount Stanning or + Brentwood than by the principal entrance. + </p> + <p> + The solitary hand of the clock over the archway was midway between one and + two when my lady looked at it. + </p> + <p> + "How slow the time is," she said, wearily; "how slow, how slow! Shall I + grow old like this, I wonder, with every minute of my life seeming like an + hour?" + </p> + <p> + She stood for a few minutes watching the archway, but no one passed under + it while she looked, and she turned impatiently away from the window to + resume her weary wandering about the rooms. + </p> + <p> + Whatever fire that had been which had reflected itself vividly in the + black sky, no tidings of it had as yet come to Audley Court. The day was + miserably wet and windy, altogether the very last day upon which even the + most confirmed idler and gossip would care to venture out. It was not a + market-day, and there were therefore very few passengers upon the road + between Brentwood and Chelmsford, so that as yet no news of the fire, + which had occurred in the dead of the wintry night, had reached the + village of Audley, or traveled from the village to the Court. + </p> + <p> + The girl with the rose-colored ribbons came to the door of the anteroom to + summon her mistress to luncheon, but Lady Audley only opened the door a + little way, and intimated her intention of taking no luncheon. + </p> + <p> + "My head aches terribly, Martin," she said; "I shall go and lie down till + dinner-time. You may come at five to dress me." + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley said this with the predetermination of dressing at four, and + thus dispensing with the services of her attendant. Among all privileged + spies, a lady's-maid has the highest privileges; it is she who bathes Lady + Theresa's eyes with eau-de-cologne after her ladyship's quarrel with the + colonel; it is she who administers sal-volatile to Miss Fanny when Count + Beaudesert, of the Blues, has jilted her. She has a hundred methods for + the finding out of her mistress' secrets. She knows by the manner in which + her victim jerks her head from under the hair-brush, or chafes at the + gentlest administration of the comb, what hidden tortures are racking her + breast—what secret perplexities are bewildering her brain. That + well-bred attendant knows how to interpret the most obscure diagnosis of + all mental diseases that can afflict her mistress; she knows when the + ivory complexion is bought and paid for—when the pearly teeth are + foreign substances fashioned by the dentist—when the glossy plaits + are the relics of the dead, rather than the property of the living; and + she knows other and more sacred secrets than these; she knows when the + sweet smile is more false than Madame Levison's enamel, and far less + enduring—when the words that issue from between gates of borrowed + pearl are more disguised and painted than the lips which help to shape + them—when the lovely fairy of the ball-room re-enters the + dressing-room after the night's long revelry, and throws aside her + voluminous burnous and her faded bouquet, and drops her mask, and like + another Cinderella loses the glass-slipper, by whose glitter she has been + distinguished, and falls back into her rags and dirt, the lady's maid is + by to see the transformation. The valet who took wages from the prophet of + Korazin must have seen his master sometimes unveiled, and must have + laughed in his sleeve at the folly of the monster's worshipers. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley had made no <i>confidante</i> of her new maid, and on this day + of all others she wished to be alone. + </p> + <p> + She did lie down; she cast herself wearily upon the luxurious sofa in the + dressing-room, and buried her face in the down pillows and tried to sleep. + Sleep!—she had almost forgotten what it was, that tender restorer of + tired nature, it seemed so long now since she had slept. It was only about + eight-and-forty hours perhaps, but it appeared an intolerable time. Her + fatigue of the night before, and her unnatural excitement, had worn her + out at last. She did fall asleep; she fell into a heavy slumber that was + almost like stupor. She had taken a few drops out of the opium bottle in a + glass of water before lying down. + </p> + <p> + The clock over the mantelpiece chimed the quarter before four as she woke + suddenly and started up, with the cold perspiration breaking out in icy + drops upon her forehead. She had dreamt that every member of the household + was clamoring at the door, eager to tell her of a dreadful fire that had + happened in the night. + </p> + <p> + There was no sound but the flapping of the ivy-leaves against the glass, + the occasional falling of a cinder, and the steady ticking of the clock. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps I shall be always dreaming these sort of dreams," my lady + thought, "until the terror of them kills me!" + </p> + <p> + The rain had ceased, and the cold spring sunshine was glittering upon the + windows. Lady Audley dressed herself rapidly but carefully. I do not say + that even in her supremest hour of misery she still retained her pride in + her beauty. It was not so; she looked upon that beauty as a weapon, and + she felt that she had now double need to be well armed. She dressed + herself in her most gorgeous silk, a voluminous robe of silvery, + shimmering blue, that made her look as if she had been arrayed in + moonbeams. She shook out her hair into feathery showers of glittering + gold, and, with a cloak of white cashmere about her shoulders, went + down-stairs into the vestibule. + </p> + <p> + She opened the door of the library and looked in. Sir Michael Audley was + asleep in his easy-chair. As my lady softly closed this door Alicia + descended the stairs from her own room. The turret door was open, and the + sun was shining upon the wet grass-plat in the quadrangle. The firm + gravel-walks were already very nearly dry, for the rain had ceased for + upward of two hours. + </p> + <p> + "Will you take a walk with me in the quadrangle?" Lady Audley asked as her + step-daughter approached. The armed neutrality between the two women + admitted of any chance civility such as this. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, if you please, my lady," Alicia answered, rather listlessly. "I have + been yawning over a stupid novel all the morning, and shall be very glad + of a little fresh air." + </p> + <p> + Heaven help the novelist whose fiction Miss Audley had been perusing, if + he had no better critics than that young lady. She had read page after + page without knowing what she had been reading, and had flung aside the + volume half a dozen times to go to the window and watch for that visitor + whom she had so confidently expected. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley led the way through the low doorway and on to the smooth + gravel drive, by which carriages approached the house. She was still very + pale, but the brightness of her dress and of her feathery golden ringlets, + distracted an observer's eyes from her pallid face. All mental distress + is, with some show of reason, associated in our minds with loose, + disordered garments and dishabilled hair, and an appearance in every way + the reverse of my lady's. Why had she come out into the chill sunshine of + that March afternoon to wander up and down that monotonous pathway with + the step-daughter she hated? She came because she was under the dominion + of a horrible restlessness, which, would not suffer her to remain within + the house waiting for certain tidings which she knew must too surely come. + At first she had wished to ward them off—at first she had wished + that strange convulsions of nature might arise to hinder their coming—that + abnormal winter lightnings might wither and destroy the messenger who + carried them—that the ground might tremble and yawn beneath his + hastening feet, and that impassable gulfs might separate the spot from + which the tidings were to come and the place to which they were to be + carried. She wished that the earth might stand still, and the paralyzed + elements cease from their natural functions, that the progress of time + might stop, that the Day of Judgment might come, and that she might thus + be brought before an unearthly tribunal, and so escape the intervening + shame and misery of any earthly judgment. In the wild chaos of her brain, + every one of these thoughts had held its place, and in her short slumber + on the sofa in her dressing-room she had dreamed all these things and a + hundred other things, all bearing upon the same subject. She had dreamed + that a brook, a tiny streamlet when she first saw it, flowed across the + road between Mount Stanning and Audley, and gradually swelled into a + river, and from a river became an ocean, till the village on the hill + receded far away out of sight and only a great waste of waters rolled + where it once had been. She dreamt that she saw the messenger, now one + person, now another, but never any probable person, hindered by a hundred + hinderances, now startling and terrible, now ridiculous and trivial, but + never either natural or probable; and going down into the quiet house with + the memory of these dreams strong upon her, she had been bewildered by the + stillness which had betokened that the tidings had not yet come. + </p> + <p> + And now her mind underwent a complete change. She no longer wished to + delay the dreaded intelligence. She wished the agony, whatever it was to + be, over and done with, the pain suffered, and the release attained. It + seemed to her as if the intolerable day would never come to an end, as if + her mad wishes had been granted, and the progress of time had actually + stopped. + </p> + <p> + "What a long day it has been!" exclaimed Alicia, as if taking up the + burden of my lady's thoughts; "nothing but drizzle and mist and wind! And + now that it's too late for anybody to go out, it must needs be fine," the + young lady added, with an evident sense of injury. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley did not answer. She was looking at the stupid one-handed + clock, and waiting for the news which must come sooner or later, which + could not surely fail to come very speedily. + </p> + <p> + "They have been afraid to come and tell him," she thought; "they have been + afraid to break the news to Sir Michael. Who will come to tell it, at + last, I wonder? The rector of Mount Stanning, perhaps, or the doctor; some + important person at least." + </p> + <p> + If she could have gone out into the leafless avenues, or onto the high + road beyond them; if she could have gone so far as that hill upon which + she had so lately parted with Phoebe, she would have gladly done so. She + would rather have suffered anything than that slow suspense, that + corroding anxiety, that metaphysical dryrot in which heart and mind seemed + to decay under an insufferable torture. She tried to talk, and by a + painful effort contrived now and then to utter some commonplace remark. + Under any ordinary circumstances her companion would have noticed her + embarrassment, but Miss Audley, happening to be very much absorbed by her + own vexations, was quite as well inclined to be silent as my lady herself. + The monotonous walk up and down the graveled pathway suited Alicia's + humor. I think that she even took a malicious pleasure in the idea that + she was very likely catching cold, and that her Cousin Robert was + answerable for her danger. If she could have brought upon herself + inflammation of the lungs, or ruptured blood-vessels, by that exposure to + the chill March atmosphere, I think she would have felt a gloomy + satisfaction in her sufferings. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps Robert might care for me, if I had inflammation of the lungs," + she thought. "He couldn't insult me by calling me a bouncer then. Bouncers + don't have inflammation of the lungs." + </p> + <p> + I believe she drew a picture of herself in the last stage of consumption, + propped up by pillows in a great easy-chair, looking out of a window in + the afternoon sunshine, with medicine bottles, a bunch of grapes and a + Bible upon a table by her side, and with Robert, all contrition and + tenderness, summoned to receive her farewell blessing. She preached a + whole chapter to him in that parting benediction, talking a great deal + longer than was in keeping with her prostrate state, and very much + enjoying her dismal castle in the air. Employed in this sentimental + manner, Miss Audley took very little notice of her step-mother, and the + one hand of the blundering clock had slipped to six by the time Robert had + been blessed and dismissed. + </p> + <p> + "Good gracious me!" she cried, suddenly—"six o'clock, and I'm not + dressed." + </p> + <p> + The half-hour bell rung in a cupola upon the roof while Alicia was + speaking. + </p> + <p> + "I must go in, my lady," she said. "Won't you come?" + </p> + <p> + "Presently," answered Lady Audley. "I'm dressed, you see." + </p> + <p> + Alicia ran off, but Sir Michael's wife still lingered in the quadrangle, + still waited for those tidings which were so long coming. + </p> + <p> + It was nearly dark. The blue mists of evening had slowly risen from the + ground. The flat meadows were filled with a gray vapor, and a stranger + might have fancied Audley Court a castle on the margin of a sea. Under the + archway the shadows of fastcoming night lurked darkly, like traitors + waiting for an opportunity to glide stealthily into the quadrangle. + Through the archway a patch of cold blue sky glimmered faintly, streaked + by one line of lurid crimson, and lighted by the dim glitter of one + wintry-looking star. Not a creature was stirring in the quadrangle but the + restless woman who paced up and down the straight pathways, listening for + a footstep whose coming was to strike terror to her soul. She heard it at + last!—a footstep in the avenue upon the other side of the archway. + But was it the footstep? Her sense of hearing, made unnaturally acute by + excitement, told her that it was a man's footstep—told even more, + that it was the tread of a gentleman, no slouching, lumbering pedestrian + in hobnailed boots, but a gentleman who walked firmly and well. + </p> + <p> + Every sound fell like a lump of ice upon my lady's heart. She could not + wait, she could not contain herself, she lost all self-control, all power + of endurance, all capability of self-restraint, and she rushed toward the + archway. + </p> + <p> + She paused beneath its shadow, for the stranger was close upon her. She + saw him, oh, God! she saw him in that dim evening light. Her brain reeled, + her heart stopped beating. She uttered no cry of surprise, no exclamation + of terror, but staggered backward and clung for support to the ivied + buttress of the archway. With her slender figure crouched into the angle + formed by the buttress and the wall which it supported, she stood staring + at the new-comer. + </p> + <p> + As he approached her more closely her knees sunk under her, and she + dropped to the ground, not fainting, or in any manner unconscious, but + sinking into a crouching attitude, and still crushed into the angle of the + wall, as if she would have made a tomb for herself in the shadow of that + sheltering brickwork. + </p> + <p> + "My lady!" + </p> + <p> + The speaker was Robert Audley. He whose bedroom door she had double-locked + seventeen hours before at the Castle Inn. + </p> + <p> + "What is the matter with you?" he said, in a strange, constrained manner. + "Get up, and let me take you indoors." + </p> + <p> + He assisted her to rise, and she obeyed him very submissively. He took her + arm in his strong hand and led her across the quadrangle and into the + lamp-lit hall. She shivered more violently than he had ever seen any woman + shiver before, but she made no attempt at resistance to his will. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIV. + </h2> + <h3> + MY LADY TELLS THE TRUTH. + </h3> + <p> + "Is there any room in which I can talk to you alone?" Robert Audley asked, + as he looked dubiously round the hall. + </p> + <p> + My lady only bowed her head in answer. She pushed open the door of the + library, which had been left ajar. Sir Michael had gone to his + dressing-room to prepare for dinner after a day of lazy enjoyment, + perfectly legitimate for an invalid. The apartment was quite empty, only + lighted by the blaze of the fire, as it had been upon the previous + evening. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley entered the room, followed by Robert, who closed the door + behind him. The wretched, shivering woman went to the fireplace and knelt + down before the blaze, as if any natural warmth, could have power to check + that unnatural chill. The young man followed her, and stood beside her + upon the hearth, with his arm resting upon the chimney-piece. + </p> + <p> + "Lady Audley," he said, in a voice whose icy sternness held out no hope of + any tenderness or compassion, "I spoke to you last-night very plainly, but + you refused to listen to me. To-night I must speak to you still more + plainly, and you must no longer refuse to listen to me." + </p> + <p> + My lady, crouching before the fire with her face hidden in her hands, + uttered a low, sobbing sound which was almost a moan, but made no other + answer. + </p> + <p> + "There was a fire last night at Mount Stanning, Lady Audley," the pitiless + voice proceeded; "the Castle Inn, the house in which I slept, was burned + to the ground. Do you know how I escaped perishing in that destruction?" + </p> + <p> + "No." + </p> + <p> + "I escaped by a most providential circumstance which seems a very simple + one. I did not sleep in the room which had been prepared for me. The place + seemed wretchedly damp and chilly, the chimney smoked abominably when an + attempt was made at lighting a fire, and I persuaded the servant to make + me up a bed on the sofa in the small ground-floor sitting-room which I had + occupied during the evening." + </p> + <p> + He paused for a moment, watching the crouching figure. The only change in + my lady's attitude was that her head had fallen a little lower. + </p> + <p> + "Shall I tell you by whose agency the destruction of the Castle Inn was + brought about, my lady?" + </p> + <p> + There was no answer. + </p> + <p> + "Shall I tell you?" + </p> + <p> + Still the same obstinate silence. + </p> + <p> + "My Lady Audley," cried Robert, suddenly, "<i>you</i> are the incendiary. + It was you whose murderous hand kindled those flames. It was you who + thought by that thrice-horrible deed to rid yourself of me, your enemy and + denouncer. What was it to you that other lives might be sacrificed? If by + a second massacre of Saint Bartholomew you could have ridded yourself of + <i>me</i> you would have sacrificed an army of victims. The day is past + for tenderness and mercy. For you I can no longer know pity or + compunction. So far as by sparing your shame I can spare others who must + suffer by your shame, I will be merciful, but no further. If there were + any secret tribunal before which you might be made to answer for your + crimes, I would have little scruple in being your accuser, but I would + spare that generous and high-born gentleman upon whose noble name your + infamy would be reflected." + </p> + <p> + His voice softened as he made this allusion, and for a moment he broke + down, but he recovered himself by an effort and continued: + </p> + <p> + "No life was lost in the fire of last night. I slept lightly, my lady, for + my mind was troubled, as it has been for a long time, by the misery which + I knew was lowering upon this house. It was I who discovered the breaking + out of the fire in time to give the alarm and to save the servant girl and + the poor drunken wretch, who was very much burnt in spite of efforts, and + who now lies in a precarious state at his mother's cottage. It was from + him and from his wife that I learned who had visited the Castle Inn in the + dead of the night. The woman was almost distracted when she saw me, and + from her I discovered the particulars of last night. Heaven knows what + other secrets of yours she may hold, my lady, or how easily they might be + extorted from her if I wanted her aid, which I do not. My path lies very + straight before me. I have sworn to bring the murderer of George Talboys + to justice, and I will keep my oath. I say that it was by your agency my + friend met with his death. If I have wondered sometimes, as it was only + natural I should, whether I was not the victim of some horrible + hallucination, whether such an alternative was not more probable than that + a young and lovely woman should be capable of so foul and treacherous a + murder, all wonder is past. After last night's deed of horror, there is no + crime you could commit, however vast and unnatural, which could make me + wonder. Henceforth you must seem to me no longer a woman, a guilty woman + with a heart which in its worst wickedness has yet some latent power to + suffer and feel; I look upon you henceforth as the demoniac incarnation of + some evil principle. But you shall no longer pollute this place by your + presence. Unless you will confess what you are and who you are in the + presence of the man you have deceived so long, and accept from him and + from me such mercy as we may be inclined to extend to you, I will gather + together the witnesses who shall swear to your identity, and at peril of + any shame to myself and those I love, I will bring upon you the just and + awful punishment of your crime." + </p> + <p> + The woman rose suddenly and stood before him erect and resolute, with her + hair dashed away from her face and her eyes glittering. + </p> + <p> + "Bring Sir Michael!" she cried; "bring him here, and I will confess + anything—everything. What do I care? God knows I have struggled hard + enough against you, and fought the battle patiently enough; but you have + conquered, Mr. Robert Audley. It is a great triumph, is it not—a + wonderful victory? You have used your cool, calculating, frigid, luminous + intellect to a noble purpose. You have conquered—a MAD WOMAN!" + </p> + <p> + "A mad woman!" cried Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, a mad woman. When you say that I killed George Talboys, you say the + truth. When you say that I murdered him treacherously and foully, you lie. + I killed him because I AM MAD! because my intellect is a little way upon + the wrong side of that narrow boundary-line between sanity and insanity; + because, when George Talboys goaded me, as you have goaded me, and + reproached me, and threatened me, my mind, never properly balanced, + utterly lost its balance, and <i>I was mad</i>! Bring Sir Michael; and + bring him quickly. If he is to be told one thing let him be told + everything; let him hear the secret of my life!" + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley left the room to look for his uncle. He went in search of + that honored kinsman with God knows how heavy a weight of anguish at his + heart, for he knew he was about to shatter the day-dream of his uncle's + life; and he knew that our dreams are none the less terrible to lose, + because they have never been the realities for which we have mistaken + them. But even in the midst of his sorrow for Sir Michael, he could not + help wondering at my lady's last words—"the secret of my life." He + remembered those lines in the letter written by Helen Talboys upon the eve + of her flight from Wildernsea, which had so puzzled him. He remembered + those appealing sentences—"You should forgive me, for you know <i>why</i> + I have been so. You know the <i>secret</i> of my life." + </p> + <p> + He met Sir Michael in the hall. He made no attempt to prepare the way for + the terrible revelation which the baronet was to hear. He only drew him + into the fire-lit library, and there for the first time addressed him + quietly thus: "Lady Audley has a confession to make to you, sir—a + confession which I know will be a most cruel surprise, a most bitter + grief. But it is necessary for your present honor, and for your future + peace, that you should hear it. She has deceived you, I regret to say, + most basely; but it is only right that you should hear from her own lips + any excuses which she may have to offer for her wickedness. May God soften + this blow for you!" sobbed the young man, suddenly breaking down; "I + cannot!" + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael lifted his hand as if he would command his nephew to be + silent, but that imperious hand dropped feeble and impotent at his side. + He stood in the center of the fire-lit room rigid and immovable. + </p> + <p> + "Lucy!" he cried, in a voice whose anguish struck like a blow upon the + jarred nerves of those who heard it, as the cry of a wounded animal pains + the listener—"Lucy, tell me that this man is a madman! tell me so, + my love, or I shall kill him!" + </p> + <p> + There was a sudden fury in his voice as he turned upon Robert, as if he + could indeed have felled his wife's accuser to the earth with the strength + of his uplifted arm. + </p> + <p> + But my lady fell upon her knees at his feet, interposing herself between + the baronet and his nephew, who stood leaning on the back of an + easy-chair, with his face hidden by his hand. + </p> + <p> + "He has told you the truth," said my lady, "and he is not mad! I have sent + him for you that I may confess everything to you. I should be sorry for + you if I could, for you have been very, very good to me, much better to me + than I ever deserved; but I can't, I can't—I can feel nothing but my + own misery. I told you long ago that I was selfish; I am selfish still—more + selfish than ever in my misery. Happy, prosperous people may feel for + others. I laugh at other people's sufferings; they seem so small compared + to my own." + </p> + <p> + When first my lady had fallen on her knees, Sir Michael had attempted to + raise her, and had remonstrated with her; but as she spoke he dropped into + a chair close to the spot upon which she knelt, and with his hands clasped + together, and with his head bent to catch every syllable of those horrible + words, he listened as if his whole being had been resolved into that one + sense of hearing. + </p> + <p> + "I must tell you the story of my life, in order to tell you why I have + become the miserable wretch who has no better hope than to be allowed to + run away and hide in some desolate corner of the earth. I must tell you + the story of my life," repeated my lady, "but you need not fear that I + shall dwell long upon it. It has not been so pleasant to me that I should + wish to remember it. When I was a very little child I remember asking a + question which it was natural enough that I should ask, God help me! I + asked where my mother was. I had a faint remembrance of a face, like what + my own is now, looking at me when I was very little better than a baby; + but I had missed the face suddenly, and had never seen it since. They told + me that mother was away. I was not happy, for the woman who had charge of + me was a disagreeable woman and the place in which we lived was a lonely + place, a village upon the Hampshire coast, about seven miles from + Portsmouth. My father, who was in the navy, only came now and then to see + me; and I was left almost entirely to the charge of this woman, who was + irregularly paid, and who vented her rage upon me when my father was + behindhand in remitting her money. So you see that at a very early age I + found out what it was to be poor. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps it was more from being discontented with my dreary life than from + any wonderful impulse of affection, that I asked very often the same + question about my mother. I always received the same answer—she was + away. When I asked where, I was told that that was a secret. When I grew + old enough to understand the meaning of the word death, I asked if my + mother was dead, and I was told—'No, she was not dead; she was ill, + and she was away.' I asked how long she had been ill, and I was told that + she had been so some years, ever since I was a baby. + </p> + <p> + "At last the secret came out. I worried my foster-mother with the old + question one day when the remittances had fallen very much in arrear, and + her temper had been unusually tried. She flew into a passion, and told me + that my mother was a mad woman, and that she was in a madhouse forty miles + away. She had scarcely said this when she repented, and told me that it + was not the truth, and that I was not to believe it, or to say that she + had told me such a thing. I discovered afterward that my father had made + her promise most solemnly never to tell me the secret of my mother's fate. + </p> + <p> + "I brooded horribly upon the thought of my mother's madness. It haunted me + by day and night. I was always picturing to myself this mad woman pacing + up and down some prison cell, in a hideous garment that bound her tortured + limbs. I had exaggerated ideas of the horror of her situation. I had no + knowledge of the different degrees of madness, and the image that haunted + me was that of a distraught and violent creature, who would fall upon me + and kill me if I came within her reach. This idea grew upon me until I + used to awake in the dead of night, screaming aloud in an agony of terror, + from a dream in which I had felt my mother's icy grasp upon my throat, and + heard her ravings in my ear. + </p> + <p> + "When I was ten years old my father came to pay up the arrears due to my + protectress, and to take me to school. He had left me in Hampshire longer + than he had intended, from his inability to pay this money; so there again + I felt the bitterness of poverty, and ran the risk of growing up an + ignorant creature among coarse rustic children, because my father was + poor." + </p> + <p> + My lady paused for a moment, but only to take breath, for she had spoken + rapidly, as if eager to tell this hated story, and to have done with it. + She was still on her knees, but Sir Michael made no effort to raise her. + </p> + <p> + He sat silent and immovable. What was this story that he was listening to? + Whose was it, and to what was it to lead? It could not be his wife's; he + had heard her simple account of her youth, and had believed it as he had + believed in the Gospel. She had told him a very brief story of an early + orphanage, and a long, quiet, colorless youth spent in the conventional + seclusion of an English boarding-school. + </p> + <p> + "My father came at last, and I told him what I had discovered. He was very + much affected when I spoke of my mother. He was not what the world + generally calls a good man, but I learned afterward that he had loved his + wife very dearly, and that he would have willingly sacrificed his life to + her, and constituted himself her guardian, had he not been compelled to + earn the daily bread of the mad woman and her child by the exercise of his + profession. So here again I beheld what a bitter thing it is to be poor. + My mother, who might have been tended by a devoted husband, was given over + to the care of hired nurses. + </p> + <p> + "Before my father sent me to school at Torquay, he took me to see my + mother. This visit served at least to dispel the idea which had so often + terrified me. I saw no raving, straight-waist-coated maniac, guarded by + zealous jailers, but a golden-haired, blue-eyed, girlish creature, who + seemed as frivolous as a butterfly, and who skipped toward us with her + yellow curls decorated with natural flowers, and saluted us with radiant + smiles, and gay, ceaseless chatter. + </p> + <p> + "But she didn't know us. She would have spoken in the same manner to any + stranger who had entered the gates of the garden about her prison-house. + Her madness was an hereditary disease transmitted to her from her mother, + who had died mad. She, my mother, had been, or had appeared sane up to the + hour of my birth, but from that hour her intellect had decayed, and she + had become what I saw her. + </p> + <p> + "I went away with the knowledge of this, and with the knowledge that the + only inheritance I had to expect from my mother was—insanity! + </p> + <p> + "I went away with this knowledge in my mind, and with something more—a + secret to keep. I was a child of ten years only, but I felt all the weight + of that burden. I was to keep the secret of my mother's madness; for it + was a secret that might affect me injuriously in after-life. I was to + remember this. + </p> + <p> + "I did remember this; and it was, perhaps, this that made me selfish and + heartless, for I suppose I am heartless. As I grew older I was told that I + was pretty—beautiful—lovely—bewitching. I heard all + these things at first indifferently, but by-and-by I listened to them + greedily, and began to think that in spite of the secret of my life I + might be more successful in the world's great lottery than my companions. + I had learnt that which in some indefinite manner or other every + school-girl learns sooner or later—I learned that my ultimate fate + in life depended upon my marriage, and I concluded that if I was indeed + prettier than my schoolfellows, I ought to marry better than any one of + them. + </p> + <p> + "I left school before I was seventeen years of age, with this thought in + my mind, and I went to live at the other extremity of England with my + father, who had retired upon his half-pay, and had established himself at + Wildernsea, with the idea that the place was cheap and select. + </p> + <p> + "The place was indeed select. I had not been there a month before I + discovered that even the prettiest girl might wait a long time for a rich + husband. I wish to hurry over this part of my life. I dare say I was very + despicable. You and your nephew, Sir Michael, have been rich all your + lives, and can very well afford to despise me; but I knew how far poverty + can affect a life, and I looked forward with a sickening dread to a life + so affected. At last the rich suitor, the wandering prince came." + </p> + <p> + She paused for a moment, and shuddered convulsively. It was impossible to + see any of the changes in her countenance, for her face was obstinately + bent toward the floor. Throughout her long confession she never lifted it; + throughout her long confession her voice was never broken by a tear. What + she had to tell she told in a cold, hard tone, very much the tone in which + some criminal, dogged and sullen to the last, might have confessed to a + jail chaplain. + </p> + <p> + "The wandering prince came," she repeated; "he was called George Talboys." + </p> + <p> + For the first time since his wife's confession had begun, Sir Michael + Audley started. He began to understand it all now. A crowd of unheeded + words and forgotten circumstances that had seemed too insignificant for + remark or recollection, flashed back upon him as vividly as if they had + been the leading incidents of his past life. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. George Talboys was a cornet in a dragoon regiment. He was the only + son of a rich country gentleman. He fell in love with me, and married me + three months after my seventeenth birthday. I think I loved him as much as + it was in my power to love anybody; not more than I have loved you, Sir + Michael—not so much, for when you married me you elevated me to a + position that he could never have given me." + </p> + <p> + The dream was broken. Sir Michael Audley remembered that summer's evening, + nearly two years ago, when he had first declared his love for Mr. Dawson's + governess; he remembered the sick, half-shuddering sensation of regret and + disappointment that had come over him then, and he felt as if it had in + some manner dimly foreshadowed the agony of to-night. + </p> + <p> + But I do not believe that even in his misery he felt that entire and + unmitigated surprise, that utter revulsion of feeling that is felt when a + good woman wanders away from herself and becomes the lost creature whom + her husband is bound in honor to abjure. I do not believe that Sir Michael + Audley had ever <i>really</i> believed in his wife. He had loved her and + admired her; he had been bewitched by her beauty and bewildered by her + charms; but that sense of something wanting, that vague feeling of loss + and disappointment which had come upon him on the summer's night of his + betrothal had been with him more or less distinctly ever since. I cannot + believe that an honest man, however pure and single may be his mind, + however simply trustful his nature, is ever really deceived by falsehood. + There is beneath the voluntary confidence an involuntary distrust, not to + be conquered by any effort of the will. + </p> + <p> + "We were married," my lady continued, "and I loved him very well, quite + well enough to be happy with him as long as his money lasted, and while we + were on the Continent, traveling in the best style and always staying at + the best hotels. But when we came back to Wildernsea and lived with papa, + and all the money was gone, and George grew gloomy and wretched, and was + always thinking of his troubles, and appeared to neglect me, I was very + unhappy, and it seemed as if this fine marriage had only given me a + twelvemonth's gayety and extravagance after all. I begged George to appeal + to his father, but he refused. I persuaded him to try and get employment, + and he failed. My baby was born, and the crisis which had been fatal to my + mother arose for me. I escaped, but I was more irritable perhaps after my + recovery, less inclined to fight the hard battle of the world, more + disposed to complain of poverty and neglect. I did complain one day, + loudly and bitterly; I upbraided George Talboys for his cruelty in having + allied a helpless girl to poverty and misery, and he flew into a passion + with me and ran out of the house. When I awoke the next morning, I found a + letter lying on the table by my bed, telling me that he was going to the + antipodes to seek his fortune, and that he would never see me again until + he was a rich man. + </p> + <p> + "I looked upon this as a desertion, and I resented it bitterly—resented + it by hating the man who had left me with no protector but a weak, tipsy + father, and with a child to support. I had to work hard for my living, and + in every hour of labor—and what labor is more wearisome than the + dull slavery of a governess?—I recognized a separate wrong done me + by George Talboys. His father was rich, his sister was living in luxury + and respectability, and I, his wife, and the mother of his son, was a + slave allied to beggary and obscurity. People pitied me, and I hated them + for their pity. I did not love the child, for he had been left a burden + upon my hands. The hereditary taint that was in my blood had never until + this time showed itself by any one sign or token; but at this time I + became subject to fits of violence and despair. At this time I think my + mind first lost its balance, and for the first time I crossed that + invisible line which separates reason from madness. I have seen my + father's eyes fixed upon me in horror and alarm. I have known him soothe + me as only mad people and children are soothed, and I have chafed against + his petty devices, I have resented even his indulgence. + </p> + <p> + "At last these fits of desperation resolved themselves into a desperate + purpose. I determined to run away from this wretched home which my slavery + supported. I determined to desert this father who had more fear of me than + love for me. I determined to go to London and lose myself in that great + chaos of humanity. + </p> + <p> + "I had seen an advertisement in the <i>Times</i> while I was at + Wildernsea, and I presented myself to Mrs. Vincent, the advertiser, under + a feigned name. She accepted me, waiving all questions as to my + antecedents. You know the rest. I came here, and you made me an offer, the + acceptance of which would lift me at once into the sphere to which my + ambition had pointed ever since I was a school-girl, and heard for the + first time that I was pretty. + </p> + <p> + "Three years had passed, and I had received no token of my husband's + existence; for, I argued, that if he had returned to England, he would + have succeeded in finding me under any name and in any place. I knew the + energy of his character well enough to know this. + </p> + <p> + "I said 'I have a right to think that he is dead, or that he wishes me to + believe him dead, and his shadow shall not stand between me and + prosperity.' I said this, and I became your wife, Sir Michael, with every + resolution to be as good a wife as it was in my nature to be. The common + temptations that assail and shipwreck some women had no terror for me. I + would have been your true and pure wife to the end of time, though I had + been surrounded by a legion of tempters. The mad folly that the world + calls love had never had any part in my madness, and here at least + extremes met, and the vice of heartlessness became the virtue of + constancy. + </p> + <p> + "I was very happy in the first triumph and grandeur of my new position, + very grateful to the hand that had lifted me to it. In the sunshine of my + own happiness I felt, for the first time in my life, for the miseries of + others. I had been poor myself, and I was now rich, and could afford to + pity and relieve the poverty of my neighbors. I took pleasure in acts of + kindness and benevolence. I found out my father's address and sent him + large sums of money, anonymously, for I did not wish him to discover what + had become of me. I availed myself to the full of the privilege your + generosity afforded me. I dispensed happiness on every side. I saw myself + loved as well as admired, and I think I might have been a good woman for + the rest of my life, if fate would have allowed me to be so. + </p> + <p> + "I believe that at this time my mind regained its just balance. I had + watched myself very closely since leaving Wildernsea; I had held a check + upon myself. I had often wondered while sitting in the surgeon's quiet + family circle whether any suspicion of that invisible, hereditary taint + had ever occurred to Mr. Dawson. + </p> + <p> + "Fate would not suffer me to be good. My destiny compelled me to be a + wretch. Within a month of my marriage, I read in one of the Essex papers + of the return of a certain Mr. Talboys, a fortunate gold-seeker, from + Australia. The ship had sailed at the time I read the paragraph. What was + to be done? + </p> + <p> + "I said just now that I knew the energy of George's character. I knew that + the man who had gone to the antipodes and won a fortune for his wife would + leave no stone unturned in his efforts to find her. It was hopeless to + think of hiding myself from him. + </p> + <p> + "Unless he could be induced to believe that I was dead, he would never + cease in his search for me. + </p> + <p> + "My brain was dazed as I thought of my peril. Again the balance trembled, + again the invisible boundary was passed, again I was mad. + </p> + <p> + "I went down to Southampton and found my father, who was living there with + my child. You remember how Mrs. Vincent's name was used as an excuse for + this hurried journey, and how it was contrived I should go with no other + escort than Phoebe Marks, whom I left at the hotel while I went to my + father's house. + </p> + <p> + "I confided to my father the whole secret of my peril. He was not very + much shocked at what I had done, for poverty had perhaps blunted his sense + of honor and principle. He was not very much shocked, but he was + frightened, and he promised to do all in his power to assist me in my + horrible emergency. + </p> + <p> + "He had received a letter addressed to me at Wildernsea, by George, and + forwarded from there to my father. This letter had been written within a + few days of the sailing of the <i>Argus</i>, and it announced the probable + date of the ship's arrival at Liverpool. This letter gave us, therefore, + data upon which to act. + </p> + <p> + "We decided at once upon the first step. This was that on the date of the + probable arrival of the <i>Argus</i>, or a few days later, an + advertisement of my death should be inserted in the <i>Times</i>. + </p> + <p> + "But almost immediately after deciding upon this, we saw that there were + fearful difficulties in the carrying out of such a simple plan. The date + of the death, and the place in which I died, must be announced, as well as + the death itself. George would immediately hurry to that place, however + distant it might be, however comparatively inaccessible, and the shallow + falsehood would be discovered. + </p> + <p> + "I knew enough of his sanguine temperament, his courage and determination, + his readiness to hope against hope, to know that unless he saw the grave + in which I was buried, and the register of my death, he would never + believe that I was lost to him. + </p> + <p> + "My father was utterly dumfounded and helpless. He could only shed + childish tears of despair and terror. He was of no use to me in this + crisis. + </p> + <p> + "I was hopeless of any issue out of my difficulties. I began to think that + I must trust to the chapter of accidents, and hope that among other + obscure corners of the earth, Audley Court might be undreamt of by my + husband. + </p> + <p> + "I sat with my father, drinking tea with him in his miserable hovel, and + playing with the child, who was pleased with my dress and jewels, but + quite unconscious that I was anything but a stranger to him. I had the boy + in my arms, when a woman who attended him came to fetch him that she might + make him more fit to be seen by the lady, as she said. + </p> + <p> + "I was anxious to know how the boy was treated, and I detained this woman + in conversation with me while my father dozed over the tea-table. + </p> + <p> + "She was a pale-faced, sandy-haired woman of about five-and-forty and she + seemed very glad to get the chance of talking to me as long as I pleased + to allow her. She soon left off talking of the boy, however, to tell me of + her own troubles. She was in very great trouble, she told me. Her eldest + daughter had been obliged to leave her situation from ill-health; in fact, + the doctor said the girl was in a decline; and it was a hard thing for a + poor widow who had seen better days to have a sick daughter to support, as + well as a family of young children. + </p> + <p> + "I let the woman run on for a long time in this manner, telling me the + girl's ailments, and the girl's age, and the girl's doctor's stuff, and + piety, and sufferings, and a great deal more. But I neither listened to + her nor heeded her. I heard her, but only in a far-away manner, as I heard + the traffic in the street, or the ripple of the stream at the bottom of + it. What were this woman's troubles to me? I had miseries of my own, and + worse miseries than her coarse nature could ever have to endure. These + sort of people always had sick husbands or sick children, and expected to + be helped in their illness by the rich. It was nothing out of the common. + I was thinking this, and I was just going to dismiss the woman with a + sovereign for her sick daughter, when an idea flashed upon me with such + painful suddenness that it sent the blood surging up to my brain, and set + my heart beating, as it only beats when I am mad. + </p> + <p> + "I asked the woman her name. She was a Mrs. Plowson, and she kept a small + general shop, she said, and only ran in now and then to look after + Georgey, and to see that the little maid-of-all-work took care of him. Her + daughter's name was Matilda. I asked her several questions about this girl + Matilda, and I ascertained that she was four-and-twenty, that she had + always been consumptive, and that she was now, as the doctor said, going + off in a rapid decline. He had declared that she could not last much more + than a fortnight. + </p> + <p> + "It was in three weeks that the ship that carried George Talboys was + expected to anchor in the Mersey. + </p> + <p> + "I need not dwell upon this business. I visited the sick girl. She was + fair and slender. Her description, carelessly given, might tally nearly + enough with my own, though she bore no shadow of resemblance to me, except + in these two particulars. I was received by the girl as a rich lady who + wished to do her a service. I bought the mother, who was poor and greedy, + and who for a gift of money, more money than she had ever before received, + consented to submit to anything I wished. Upon the second day after my + introduction to this Mrs. Plowson, my father went over to Ventnor, and + hired lodgings for his invalid daughter and her little boy. Early the next + morning he carried over the dying girl and Georgey, who had been bribed to + call her 'mamma.' She entered the house as Mrs. Talboys; she was attended + by a Ventnor medical man as Mrs. Talboys; she died, and her death and + burial were registered in that name. + </p> + <p> + "The advertisement was inserted in the <i>Times</i>, and upon the second + day after its insertion George Talboys visited Ventnor, and ordered the + tombstone which at this hour records the death of his wife, Helen + Talboys." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley rose slowly, and with a stiff, constrained action, as + if every physical sense had been benumbed by that one sense of misery. + </p> + <p> + "I cannot hear any more," he said, in a hoarse whisper; "if there is + anything more to be told I cannot hear it. Robert, it is you who have + brought about this discovery, as I understand. I want to know nothing + more. Will you take upon yourself the duty of providing for the safety and + comfort of this lady whom I have thought my wife? I need not ask you to + remember in all you do, that I have loved her very dearly and truly. I + cannot say farewell to her. I will not say it until I can think of her + without bitterness—until I can pity her, as I now pray that God may + pity her this night." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael walked slowly from the room. He did not trust himself to look + at that crouching figure. He did not wish to see the creature whom he had + cherished. He went straight to his dressing-room, rung for his valet, and + ordered him to pack a portmanteau, and make all necessary arrangements for + accompanying his master by the last up-train. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXV. + </h2> + <h3> + THE HUSH THAT SUCCEEDS THE TEMPEST. + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley followed his uncle into the vestibule after Sir Michael had + spoken those few quiet words which sounded the death-knell of his hope and + love. Heaven knows how much the young man had feared the coming of this + day. It had come; and though there had been no great outburst of despair, + no whirlwind of stormy grief, no loud tempest of anguish and tears, Robert + took no comforting thought from the unnatural stillness. He knew enough to + know that Sir Michael Audley went away with the barbed arrow, which his + nephew's hand had sent home to its aim, rankling in his tortured heart; he + knew that this strange and icy calm was the first numbness of a heart + stricken by grief so unexpected as for a time to be rendered almost + incomprehensible by a blank stupor of astonishment; he knew that when this + dull quiet had passed away, when little by little, and one by one, each + horrible feature of the sufferer's sorrow became first dimly apparent and + then terribly familiar to him, the storm would burst in fatal fury, and + tempests of tears and cruel thunder-claps of agony would rend that + generous heart. + </p> + <p> + Robert had heard of cases in which men of his uncle's age had borne some + great grief, as Sir Michael had borne this, with a strange quiet; and had + gone away from those who would have comforted them, and whose anxieties + have been relieved by this patient stillness, to fall down upon the ground + and die under the blow which at first had only stunned him. He remembered + cases in which paralysis and apoplexy had stricken men as strong as his + uncle in the first hour of the horrible affliction; and he lingered in the + lamp-lit vestibule, wondering whether it was not his duty to be with Sir + Michael—to be near him, in case of any emergency, and to accompany + him wherever he went. + </p> + <p> + Yet would it be wise to force himself upon that gray-headed sufferer in + this cruel hour, in which he had been awakened from the one delusion of a + blameless life to discover that he had been the dupe of a false face, and + the fool of a nature which was too coldly mercenary, too cruelly + heartless, to be sensible of its own infamy? + </p> + <p> + "No," thought Robert Audley, "I will not intrude upon the anguish of this + wounded heart. There is humiliation mingled with this bitter grief. It is + better he should fight the battle alone. I have done what I believe to + have been my solemn duty, yet I should scarcely wonder if I had rendered + myself forever hateful to him. It is better he should fight the battle + alone. <i>I</i> can do nothing to make the strife less terrible. Better + that it should be fought alone." + </p> + <p> + While the young man stood with his hand upon the library door, still + half-doubtful whether he should follow his uncle or re-enter the room in + which he had left that more wretched creature whom it had been his + business to unmask, Alicia Audley opened the dining-room door, and + revealed to him the old-fashioned oak-paneled apartment, the long table + covered with showy damask, and bright with a cheerful glitter of glass and + silver. + </p> + <p> + "Is papa coming to dinner?" asked Miss Audley. "I'm so hungry; and poor + Tomlins has sent up three times to say the fish will be spoiled. It must + be reduced to a species of isinglass soup, by this time, I should think," + added the young lady, as she came out into the vestibule with the <i>Times</i> + newspaper in her hand. + </p> + <p> + She had been sitting by the fire reading the paper, and waiting for her + seniors to join her at the dinner table. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, it's you, Mr. Robert Audley." she remarked, indifferently. "You dine + with us of course. Pray go and find papa. It must be nearly eight o'clock, + and we are supposed to dine at six." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley answered his cousin rather sternly. Her frivolous manner jarred + upon him, and he forgot in his irrational displeasure that Miss Audley had + known nothing of the terrible drama which had been so long enacting under + her very nose. + </p> + <p> + "Your papa has just endured a very great grief, Alicia," the young man + said, gravely. + </p> + <p> + The girl's arch, laughing face changed in a moment to a tenderly earnest + look of sorrow and anxiety. Alicia Audley loved her father very dearly. + </p> + <p> + "A grief?" she exclaimed; "papa grieved! Oh! Robert, what has happened?" + </p> + <p> + "I can tell you nothing yet, Alicia," Robert answered in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + He took his cousin by the wrist, and drew her into the dining-room as he + spoke. He closed the door carefully behind him before he continued: + </p> + <p> + "Alicia, can I trust you?" he asked, earnestly. + </p> + <p> + "Trust me to do what?" + </p> + <p> + "To be a comfort and a friend to your poor father under a very heavy + affliction." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Yes</i>!" cried Alicia, passionately. "How can you ask me such a + question? Do you think there is anything I would not do to lighten any + sorrow of my father's? Do you think there is anything I would not suffer + if my suffering could lighten his?" + </p> + <p> + The rushing tears rose to Miss Audley's bright gray eyes as she spoke. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Robert! Robert! could you think so badly of me as to think I would + not try to be a comfort to my father in his grief?" she said, + reproachfully. + </p> + <p> + "No, no, my dear," answered the young man, quietly; "I never doubted your + affection, I only doubted your discretion. May I rely upon that?" + </p> + <p> + "You may, Robert," said Alicia, resolutely. + </p> + <p> + "Very well, then, my dear girl, I will trust you. Your father is going to + leave the Court, for a time at least. The grief which he has just endured—a + sudden and unlooked-for sorrow, remember—has no doubt made this + place hateful to him. He is going away; but he must not go alone, must he, + Alicia?" + </p> + <p> + "Alone? no! no! But I suppose my lady—" + </p> + <p> + "Lady Audley will not go with him," said Robert, gravely; "he is about to + separate himself from her." + </p> + <p> + "For a time?" + </p> + <p> + "No, forever." + </p> + <p> + "Separate himself from her forever!" exclaimed Alicia. "Then this grief—" + </p> + <p> + "Is connected with Lady Audley. Lady Audley is the cause of your father's + sorrow." + </p> + <p> + Alicia's face, which had been pale before, flushed crimson. Sorrow, of + which my lady was the cause—a sorrow which was to separate Sir + Michael forever from his wife! There had been no quarrel between them—there + had never been anything but harmony and sunshine between Lady Audley and + her generous husband. This sorrow must surely then have arisen from some + sudden discovery; it was, no doubt, a sorrow associated with disgrace. + Robert Audley understood the meaning of that vivid blush. + </p> + <p> + "You will offer to accompany your father wherever he may choose to go, + Alicia," he said. "You are his natural comforter at such a time as this, + but you will best befriend him in this hour of trial by avoiding all + intrusion upon his grief. Your very ignorance of the particulars of that + grief will be a security for your discretion. Say nothing to your father + that you might not have said to him two years ago, before he married a + second wife. Try and be to him what you were before the woman in yonder + room came between you and your father's love." + </p> + <p> + "I will," murmured Alicia, "I will." + </p> + <p> + "You will naturally avoid all mention of Lady Audley's name. If your + father is often silent, be patient; if it sometimes seems to you that the + shadow of this great sorrow will never pass away from his life, be patient + still; and remember that there can be no better hope of a cure of his + grief than the hope that his daughter's devotion may lead him to remember + there is one woman upon this earth who will love him truly and purely + until the last." + </p> + <p> + "Yes—yes, Robert, dear cousin, I will remember." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley, for the first time since he had been a schoolboy, took his + cousin in his arms and kissed her broad forehead. + </p> + <p> + "My dear Alicia," he said, "do this and you will make me happy. I have + been in some measure the means of bringing this sorrow upon your father. + Let me hope that it is not an enduring one. Try and restore my uncle to + happiness, Alicia, and I will love you more dearly than brother ever loved + a noble-hearted sister; and a brotherly affection may be worth having, + perhaps, after all, my dear, though it is very different to poor Sir + Harry's enthusiastic worship." + </p> + <p> + Alicia's head was bent and her face hidden from her cousin while he spoke, + but she lifted her head when he had finished, and looked him full in the + face with a smile that was only the brighter for her eyes being filled + with tears. + </p> + <p> + "You are a good fellow, Bob," she said; "and I've been very foolish and + wicked to feel angry with you because—" + </p> + <p> + The young lady stopped suddenly. + </p> + <p> + "Because what, my dear?" asked Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Because I'm silly, Cousin Robert," Alicia said, quickly; "never mind + that, Bob, I'll do all you wish, and it shall not be my fault if my + dearest father doesn't forget his troubles before long. I'd go to the end + of the world with him, poor darling, if I thought there was any comfort to + be found for him in the journey. I'll go and get ready directly. Do you + think papa will go to-night?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my dear; I don't think Sir Michael will rest another night under + this roof yet awhile." + </p> + <p> + "The mail goes at twenty minutes past nine," said Alicia; "we must leave + the house in an hour if we are to travel by it. I shall see you again + before we go, Robert?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, dear." + </p> + <p> + Miss Audley ran off to her room to summon her maid, and make all necessary + preparations for the sudden journey, of whose ultimate destination she was + as yet quite ignorant. + </p> + <p> + She went heart and soul into the carrying out of the duty which Robert had + dictated to her. She assisted in the packing of her portmanteaus, and + hopelessly bewildered her maid by stuffing silk dresses into her + bonnet-boxes and satin shoes into her dressing-case. She roamed about her + rooms, gathering together drawing-materials, music-books, needle-work, + hair-brushes, jewelry, and perfume-bottles, very much as she might have + done had she been about to sail for some savage country, devoid of all + civilized resources. She was thinking all the time of her father's unknown + grief, and perhaps a little of the serious face and earnest voice which + had that night revealed her Cousin Robert to her in a new character. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley went up-stairs after his cousin, and found his way to Sir + Michael's dressing-room. He knocked at the door and listened, Heaven knows + how anxiously, for the expected answer. There was a moment's pause, during + which the young man's heart beat loud and fast, and then the door was + opened by the baronet himself. Robert saw that his uncle's valet was + already hard at work preparing for his master's hurried journey. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael came out into the corridor. + </p> + <p> + "Have you anything more to say to me, Robert?" he asked, quietly. + </p> + <p> + "I only came to ascertain if I could assist in any of your arrangements. + You go to London by the mail?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "Have you any idea of where you will stay." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I shall stop at the Clarendon; I am known there. Is that all you + have to say?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes; except that Alicia will accompany you?" + </p> + <p> + "Alicia!" + </p> + <p> + "She could not very well stay here, you know, just now. It would be best + for her to leave the Court until—" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, I understand," interrupted the baronet; "but is there nowhere + else that she could go—must she be with me?" + </p> + <p> + "She could go nowhere else so immediately, and she would not be happy + anywhere else." + </p> + <p> + "Let her come, then," said Sir Michael, "let her come." + </p> + <p> + He spoke in a strange, subdued voice, and with an apparent effort, as if + it were painful to him to have to speak at all; as if all this ordinary + business of life were a cruel torture to him, and jarred so much upon his + grief as to be almost worse to bear than that grief itself. + </p> + <p> + "Very well, my dear uncle, then all is arranged; Alicia will be ready to + start at nine o'clock." + </p> + <p> + "Very good, very good," muttered the baronet; "let her come if she + pleases, poor child, let her come." + </p> + <p> + He sighed heavily as he spoke in that half pitying tone of his daughter. + He was thinking how comparatively indifferent he had been toward that only + child for the sake of the woman now shut in the fire-lit room below. + </p> + <p> + "I shall see you again before you go, sir," said Robert; "I will leave you + till then." + </p> + <p> + "Stay!" said Sir Michael, suddenly; "have you told Alicia?" + </p> + <p> + "I have told her nothing, except that you are about to leave the Court for + some time." + </p> + <p> + "You are very good, my boy, you are very good," the baronet murmured in a + broken voice. + </p> + <p> + He stretched out his hand. His nephew took it in both his own, and pressed + it to his lips. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, sir! how can I ever forgive myself?" he said; "how can I ever cease + to hate myself for having brought this grief upon you?" + </p> + <p> + "No, no, Robert, you did right; I wish that God had been so merciful to me + as to take my miserable life before this night; but you did right." + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael re-entered his dressing-room, and Robert slowly returned to + the vestibule. He paused upon the threshold of that chamber in which he + had left Lucy—Lady Audley, otherwise Helen Talboys, the wife of his + lost friend. + </p> + <p> + She was lying upon the floor, upon the very spot in which she had crouched + at her husband's feet telling her guilty story. Whether she was in a + swoon, or whether she lay there in the utter helplessness of her misery, + Robert scarcely cared to know. He went out into the vestibule, and sent + one of the servants to look for her maid, the smart, be-ribboned damsel + who was loud in wonder and consternation at the sight of her mistress. + </p> + <p> + "Lady Audley is very ill," he said; "take her to her room and see that she + does not leave it to-night. You will be good enough to remain near her, + but do not either talk to her or suffer her to excite herself by talking." + </p> + <p> + My lady had not fainted; she allowed the girl to assist her, and rose from + the ground upon which she had groveled. Her golden hair fell in loose, + disheveled masses about her ivory throat and shoulders, her face and lips + were colorless, her eyes terrible in their unnatural light. + </p> + <p> + "Take me away," she said, "and let me sleep! Let me sleep, for my brain is + on fire!" + </p> + <p> + As she was leaving the room with her maid, she turned and looked at + Robert. "Is Sir Michael gone?" she asked. + </p> + <p> + "He will leave in half an hour." + </p> + <p> + "There were no lives lost in the fire at Mount Stanning?" + </p> + <p> + "None." + </p> + <p> + "I am glad of that." + </p> + <p> + "The landlord of the house, Marks, was very terribly burned, and lies in a + precarious state at his mother's cottage; but he may recover." + </p> + <p> + "I am glad of that—I am glad no life was lost. Good-night, Mr. + Audley." + </p> + <p> + "I shall ask to see you for half an hour's conversation in the course of + to-morrow, my lady." + </p> + <p> + "Whenever you please. Good night." + </p> + <p> + "Good night." + </p> + <p> + She went away quietly leaning upon her maid's shoulder, and leaving Robert + with a sense of strange bewilderment that was very painful to him. + </p> + <p> + He sat down by the broad hearth upon which the red embers were fading, and + wondered at the change in that old house which, until the day of his + friend's disappearance, had been so pleasant a home for all who sheltered + beneath its hospitable roof. He sat brooding over the desolate hearth, and + trying to decide upon what must be done in this sudden crisis. He sat + helpless and powerless to determine upon any course of action, lost in a + dull revery, from which he was aroused by the sound of carriage-wheels + driving up to the little turret entrance. + </p> + <p> + The clock in the vestibule struck nine as Robert opened the library door. + Alicia had just descended the stairs with her maid; a rosy-faced country + girl. + </p> + <p> + "Good-by, Robert," said Miss Audley, holding out her hand to her cousin; + "good-by, and God bless you! You may trust me to take care of papa." + </p> + <p> + "I am sure I may. God bless you, my dear." + </p> + <p> + For the second time that night Robert Audley pressed his lips to his + cousin's candid forehead, and for the second time the embrace was of a + brotherly or paternal character, rather than the rapturous proceeding + which it would have been had Sir Harry Towers been the privileged + performer. + </p> + <p> + It was five minutes past nine when Sir Michael came down-stairs, followed + by his valet, grave and gray-haired like himself. The baronet was pale, + but calm and self-possessed. The hand which he gave to his nephew was as + cold as ice, but it was with a steady voice that he bade the young man + good-by. + </p> + <p> + "I leave all in your hands, Robert," he said, as he turned to leave the + house in which he had lived so long. "I may not have heard the end, but I + have heard enough. Heaven knows I have no need to hear more. I leave all + to you, but you will not be cruel—you will remember how much I loved—" + </p> + <p> + His voice broke huskily before he could finish the sentence. + </p> + <p> + "I will remember you in everything, sir," the young man answered. "I will + do everything for the best." + </p> + <p> + A treacherous mist of tears blinded him and shut out his uncle's face, and + in another minute the carriage had driven away, and Robert Audley sat + alone in the dark library, where only one red spark glowed among the pale + gray ashes. He sat alone, trying to think what he ought to do, and with + the awful responsibility of a wicked woman's fate upon his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + "Good Heaven!" he thought; "surely this must be God's judgment upon the + purposeless, vacillating life I led up to the seventh day of last + September. Surely this awful responsibility has been forced upon me in + order that I may humble myself to an offended Providence, and confess that + a man cannot choose his own life. He cannot say, 'I will take existence + lightly, and keep out of the way of the wretched, mistaken, energetic + creatures, who fight so heartily in the great battle.' He cannot say, 'I + will stop in the tents while the strife is fought, and laugh at the fools + who are trampled down in the useless struggle.' He cannot do this. He can + only do, humbly and fearfully, that which the Maker who created him has + appointed for him to do. If he has a battle to fight, let him fight it + faithfully; but woe betide him if he skulks when his name is called in the + mighty muster-roll, woe betide him if he hides in the tents when the + tocsin summons him to the scene of war!" + </p> + <p> + One of the servants brought candles into the library and relighted the + fire, but Robert Audley did not stir from his seat by the hearth. He sat + as he had often sat in his chambers in Figtree Court, with his elbows + resting upon the arms of his chair, and his chin upon his hand. + </p> + <p> + But he lifted his head as the servant was about to leave the room. + </p> + <p> + "Can I send a message from here to London?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "It can be sent from Brentwood, sir—not from here." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley looked at his watch thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + "One of the men can ride over to Brentwood, sir, if you wish any message + to be sent." + </p> + <p> + "I do wish to send a message; will you manage it for me, Richards?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, sir." + </p> + <p> + "You can wait, then, while I write the message." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir." + </p> + <p> + The man brought writing materials from one of the side-tables, and placed + them before Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + Robert dipped a pen in the ink, and stared thoughtfully at one of the + candles for a few moments before he began to write. + </p> + <p> + The message ran thus: + </p> + <p> + "From Robert Audley, of Audley Court, Essex, to Francis Wilmington, of + Paper-buildings, Temple. + </p> + <p> + "DEAR WILMINGTON—If you know any physician experienced in cases of + mania, and to be trusted with a secret, be so good as to send me his + address by telegraph." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley sealed this document in a stout envelope, and handed it to the + man, with a sovereign. + </p> + <p> + "You will see that this is given to a trustworthy person, Richards," he + said, "and let the man wait at the station for the return message. He + ought to get it in an hour and a half." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Richards, who had known Robert Audley in jackets and turn-down + collars, departed to execute his commission. Heaven forbid that we should + follow him into the comfortable servants' hall at the Court, where the + household sat round the blazing fire, discussing in utter bewilderment the + events of the day. + </p> + <p> + Nothing could be wider from the truth than the speculations of these + worthy people. What clew had they to the mystery of that firelit room in + which a guilty woman had knelt at their master's feet to tell the story of + her sinful life? They only knew that which Sir Michael's valet had told + them of this sudden journey. How his master was as pale as a sheet, and + spoke in a strange voice that didn't sound like his own, somehow, and how + you might have knocked him—Mr. Parsons, the valet—down with a + feather, if you had been minded to prostrate him by the aid of so feeble a + weapon. + </p> + <p> + The wiseheads of the servants' hall decided that Sir Michael had received + sudden intelligence through Mr. Robert—they were wise enough to + connect the young man with the catastrophe—either of the death of + some near and dear relation—the elder servants decimated the Audley + family in their endeavors to find a likely relation—or of some + alarming fall in the funds, or of the failure of some speculation or bank + in which the greater part of the baronet's money was invested. The general + leaning was toward the failure of a bank, and every member of the assembly + seemed to take a dismal and raven-like delight in the fancy, though such a + supposition involved their own ruin in the general destruction of that + liberal household. + </p> + <p> + Robert sat by the dreary hearth, which seemed dreary even now when the + blaze of a great wood-fire roared in the wide chimney, and listened to the + low wail of the March wind moaning round the house and lifting the + shivering ivy from the walls it sheltered. He was tired and worn out, for + remember that he had been awakened from his sleep at two o'clock that + morning by the hot breath of blazing timber and the sharp crackling of + burning woodwork. But for his presence of mind and cool decision, Mr. Luke + Marks would have died a dreadful death. He still bore the traces of the + night's peril, for the dark hair had been singed upon one side of his + forehead, and his left hand was red and inflamed, from the effect of the + scorching atmosphere out of which he had dragged the landlord of the + Castle Inn. He was thoroughly exhausted with fatigue and excitement, and + he fell into a heavy sleep in his easy-chair before the bright fire, from + which he was only awakened by the entrance of Mr. Richards with the return + message. + </p> + <p> + This return message was very brief. + </p> + <p> + "DEAR AUDLEY—Always glad to oblige. Alwyn Mosgrave, M.D., 12 Saville + Row. Safe." + </p> + <p> + This with names and addresses, was all that it contained. + </p> + <p> + "I shall want another message taken to Brentwood to-morrow morning, + Richards," said Mr. Audley, as he folded the telegram. "I should be glad + if the man would ride over with it before breakfast. He shall have half a + sovereign for his trouble." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Richards bowed. + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, sir—not necessary, sir; but as you please, of course, + sir," he murmured. "At what hour might you wish the man to go?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley might wish the man to go as early as he could, so it was + decided that he should go at six. + </p> + <p> + "My room is ready, I suppose, Richards?" said Robert. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir—your old room." + </p> + <p> + "Very good. I shall go to bed at once. Bring me a glass of brandy and + water as hot as you can make it, and wait for the telegram." + </p> + <p> + This second message was only a very earnest request to Doctor Mosgrave to + pay an immediate visit to Audley Court on a matter of serious moment. + </p> + <p> + Having written this message, Mr. Audley felt that he had done all that he + could do. He drank his brandy and water. He had actual need of the diluted + alcohol, for he had been chilled to the bone by his adventures during the + fire. He slowly sipped the pale golden liquid and thought of Clara + Talboys, of that earnest girl whose brother's memory was now avenged, + whose brother's destroyer was humiliated in the dust. Had she heard of the + fire at the Castle Inn? How could she have done otherwise than hear of it + in such a place as Mount Stanning? But had she heard that <i>he</i> had + been in danger, and that he had distinguished himself by the rescue of a + drunken boor? I fear that, even sitting by that desolate hearth, and + beneath the roof whose noble was an exile from his own house, Robert + Audley was weak enough to think of these things—weak enough to let + his fancy wander away to the dismal fir-trees under the cold March sky, + and the dark-brown eyes that were so like the eyes of his lost friend. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXVI. + </h2> + <h3> + DR. MOSGRAVE'S ADVICE. + </h3> + <p> + My lady slept. Through that long winter night she slept soundly. Criminals + have often so slept their last sleep upon earth; and have been found in + the gray morning slumbering peacefully, by the jailer who came to wake + them. + </p> + <p> + The game had been played and lost. I do not think that my lady had thrown + away a card, or missed the making of a trick which she might by any + possibility have made; but her opponent's hand had been too powerful for + her, and he had won. + </p> + <p> + She looked upon herself as a species of state prisoner, who would have to + be taken good care of. A second Iron Mask, who must be provided for in + some comfortable place of confinement. She abandoned herself to a dull + indifference. She had lived a hundred lives within the space of the last + few days of her existence, and she had worn out her capacity for suffering—for + a time at least. + </p> + <p> + She ate her breakfast, and took her morning bath, and emerged, with + perfumed hair and in the most exquisitely careless of morning toilets, + from her luxurious dressing-room. She looked at herself in the + cheval-glass before she left the room. A long night's rest had brought + back the delicate rose-tints of her complexion, and the natural luster of + her blue eyes. That unnatural light which had burned so fearfully the day + before had gone, and my lady smiled triumphantly as she contemplated the + reflection of her beauty. The days were gone in which her enemies could + have branded her with white-hot irons, and burned away the loveliness + which had done such mischief. Whatever they did to her they must leave her + her beauty, she thought. At the worst, they were powerless to rob her of + that. + </p> + <p> + The March day was bright and sunny, with a cheerless sunshine certainly. + My lady wrapped herself in an Indian shawl; a shawl that had cost Sir + Michael a hundred guineas. I think she had an idea that it would be well + to wear this costly garment; so that if hustled suddenly away, she might + carry at least one of her possessions with her. Remember how much she had + periled for a fine house and gorgeous furniture, for carriages and horses, + jewels and laces; and do not wonder if she clings with a desperate + tenacity to gauds and gew-gaws, in the hour of her despair. If she had + been Judas, she would have held to her thirty pieces of silver to the last + moment of her shameful life. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Robert Audley breakfasted in the library. He sat long over his + solitary cup of tea, smoking his meerschaum pipe, and meditating darkly + upon the task that lay before him. + </p> + <p> + "I will appeal to the experience of this Dr. Mosgrave," he though; + "physicians and lawyers are the confessors of this prosaic nineteenth + century. Surely, he will be able to help me." + </p> + <p> + The first fast train from London arrived at Audley at half-past ten + o'clock, and at five minutes before eleven, Richards, the grave servant, + announced Dr. Alwyn Mosgrave. + </p> + <p> + The physician from Saville Row was a tall man of about fifty years of age. + He was thin and sallow, with lantern jaws, and eyes of a pale, feeble + gray, that seemed as if they had once been blue, and had faded by the + progress of time to their present neutral shade. However powerful the + science of medicine as wielded by Dr. Alwyn Mosgrave, it had not been + strong enough to put flesh upon his bones, or brightness into his face. He + had a strangely expressionless, and yet strangely attentive countenance. + He had the face of a man who had spent the greater part of his life in + listening to other people, and who had parted with his own individuality + and his own passions at the very outset of his career. + </p> + <p> + He bowed to Robert Audley, took the opposite seat indicated by him, and + addressed his attentive face to the young barrister. Robert saw that the + physician's glance for a moment lost its quiet look of attention, and + became earnest and searching. + </p> + <p> + "He is wondering whether I am the patient," thought Mr. Audley, "and is + looking for the diagnoses of madness in my face." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave spoke as if in answer to this thought. + </p> + <p> + "Is it not about your own—health—that you wish to consult me?" + he said, interrogatively. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no!" + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave looked at his watch, a fifty-guinea Benson-made chronometer, + which he carried loose in his waistcoat pocket as carelessly as if it had + been a potato. + </p> + <p> + "I need not remind you that my time is precious," he said; "your telegram + informed me that my services were required in a case of—danger—as + I apprehend, or I should not be here this morning." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley had sat looking gloomily at the fire, wondering how he + should begin the conversation, and had needed this reminder of the + physician's presence. + </p> + <p> + "You are very good, Dr. Mosgrave," he said, rousing himself by an effort, + "and I thank you very much for having responded to my summons. I am about + to appeal to you upon a subject which is more painful to me than words can + describe. I am about to implore your advice in a most difficult case, and + I trust almost blindly to your experience to rescue me, and others who are + very dear to me, from a cruel and complicated position." + </p> + <p> + The business-like attention in Dr. Mosgrave's face grew into a look of + interest as he listened to Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + "The revelation made by the patient to the physician is, I believe, as + sacred as the confession of a penitent to his priest?" Robert asked, + gravely. + </p> + <p> + "Quite as sacred." + </p> + <p> + "A solemn confidence, to be violated under no circumstances?" + </p> + <p> + "Most certainly." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley looked at the fire again. How much should he tell, or how + little, of the dark history of his uncle's second wife? + </p> + <p> + "I have been given to understand, Dr. Mosgrave, that you have devoted much + of your attention to the treatment of insanity." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my practice is almost confined to the treatment of mental diseases." + </p> + <p> + "Such being the case, I think I may venture to conclude that you sometimes + receive strange, and even terrible, revelations." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave bowed. + </p> + <p> + He looked like a man who could have carried, safely locked in his + passionless breast, the secrets of a nation, and who would have suffered + no inconvenience from the weight of such a burden. + </p> + <p> + "The story which I am about to tell you is not my own story," said Robert, + after a pause; "you will forgive me, therefore, if I once more remind you + that I can only reveal it upon the understanding that under no + circumstances, or upon no apparent justification, is that confidence to be + betrayed." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave bowed again. A little sternly, perhaps, this time. + </p> + <p> + "I am all attention, Mr. Audley," he said coldly. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley drew his chair nearer to that of the physician, and in a low + voice began the story which my lady had told upon her knees in that same + chamber upon the previous night. Dr. Mosgrave's listening face, turned + always toward the speaker, betrayed no surprise at that strange + revelation. He smiled once, a grave, quiet smile, when Mr. Audley came to + that part of the story which told of the conspiracy at Ventnor; but he was + not surprised. Robert Audley ended his story at the point at which Sir + Michael Audley had interrupted my lady's confession. He told nothing of + the disappearance of George Talboys, nor of the horrible suspicions that + had grown out of that disappearance. He told nothing of the fire at the + Castle Inn. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave shook his head, gravely, when Mr. Audley came to the end of + his story. + </p> + <p> + "You have nothing further to tell me?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "No. I do not think there is anything more that need be told," Robert + answered, rather evasively. + </p> + <p> + "You would wish to prove that this lady is mad, and therefore + irresponsible for her actions, Mr. Audley?" said the physician. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley stared, wondering at the mad doctor. By what process had he + so rapidly arrived at the young man's secret desire? + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I would rather, if possible, think her mad; I should be glad to find + that excuse for her." + </p> + <p> + "And to save the <i>esclandre</i> of a Chancery suit, I suppose, Mr. + Audley," said Dr. Mosgrave. + </p> + <p> + Robert shuddered as he bowed an assent to this remark. It was something + worse than a Chancery suit that he dreaded with a horrible fear. It was a + trial for murder that had so long haunted his dreams. How often he had + awoke, in an agony of shame, from a vision of a crowded court-house, and + his uncle's wife in a criminal dock, hemmed in on every side by a sea of + eager faces. + </p> + <p> + "I fear that I shall not be of any use to you," the physician said, + quietly; "I will see the lady, if you please, but I do not believe that + she is mad." + </p> + <p> + "Why not?" + </p> + <p> + "Because there is no evidence of madness in anything she has done. She ran + away from her home, because her home was not a pleasant one, and she left + in the hope of finding a better. There is no madness in that. She + committed the crime of bigamy, because by that crime she obtained fortune + and position. There is no madness there. When she found herself in a + desperate position, she did not grow desperate. She employed intelligent + means, and she carried out a conspiracy which required coolness and + deliberation in its execution. There is no madness in that." + </p> + <p> + "But the traits of hereditary insanity—" + </p> + <p> + "May descend to the third generation, and appear in the lady's children, + if she have any. Madness is not necessarily transmitted from mother to + daughter. I should be glad to help you, if I could, Mr. Audley, but I do + not think there is any proof of insanity in the story you have told me. I + do not think any jury in England would accept the plea of insanity in such + a case as this. The best thing you can do with this lady is to send her + back to her first husband; if he will have her." + </p> + <p> + Robert started at this sudden mention of his friend. + </p> + <p> + "Her first husband is dead," he answered, "at least, he has been missing + for some time—and I have reason to believe that he is dead." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave saw the startled movement, and heard the embarrassment in + Robert Audley's voice as he spoke of George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + "The lady's first husband is missing," he said, with a strange emphasis on + the word—"you think that he is dead?" + </p> + <p> + He paused for a few moments and looked at the fire, as Robert had looked + before. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Audley," he said, presently, "there must be no half-confidences + between us. You have not told me all." + </p> + <p> + Robert, looking up suddenly, plainly expressed in his face the surprise he + felt at these words. + </p> + <p> + "I should be very poorly able to meet the contingencies of my professional + experience," said Dr. Mosgrave, "if I could not perceive where confidence + ends and reservation begins. You have only told me half this lady's story, + Mr. Audley. You must tell me more before I can offer you any advice. What + has become of the first husband?" + </p> + <p> + He asked this question in a decisive tone, as if he knew it to be the + key-stone of an arch. + </p> + <p> + "I have already told you, Dr. Mosgrave, that I do not know." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," answered the physician, "but your face has told me what you have + withheld from me; it has told me that you <i>suspect</i>." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley was silent. + </p> + <p> + "If I am to be of use to you, you must trust me, Mr. Audley," said the + physician. "The first husband disappeared—how and when? I want to + know the history of his disappearance." + </p> + <p> + Robert paused for some time before he replied to this speech; but, by and + by, he lifted his head, which had been bent in an attitude of earnest + thought, and addressed the physician. + </p> + <p> + "I will trust you, Dr. Mosgrave," he said. "I will confide entirely in + your honor and goodness. I do not ask you to do any wrong to society; but + I ask you to save our stainless name from degradation and shame, if you + can do so conscientiously." + </p> + <p> + He told the story of George's disappearance, and of his own doubts and + fears, Heaven knows how reluctantly. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave listened as quietly as he had listened before. Robert + concluded with an earnest appeal to the physician's best feelings. He + implored him to spare the generous old man whose fatal confidence in a + wicked woman had brought much misery upon his declining years. + </p> + <p> + It was impossible to draw any conclusion, either favorable or otherwise, + from Dr. Mosgrave's attentive face. He rose, when Robert had finished + speaking, and looked at his watch once more. + </p> + <p> + "I can only spare you twenty minutes," he said. "I will see the lady, if + you please. You say her mother died in a madhouse?" + </p> + <p> + "She did. Will you see Lady Audley alone?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, alone, if you please." + </p> + <p> + Robert rung for my lady's maid, and under convoy of that smart young + damsel the physician found his way to the octagon antechamber, and the + fairy boudoir with which it communicated. + </p> + <p> + Ten minutes afterward, he returned to the library, in which Robert sat + waiting for him. + </p> + <p> + "I have talked to the lady," he said, quietly, "and we understand each + other very well. There is latent insanity! Insanity which might never + appear; or which might appear only once or twice in a lifetime. It would + be a <i>dementia</i> in its worst phase, perhaps; acute mania; but its + duration would be very brief, and it would only arise under extreme mental + pressure. The lady is not mad; but she has the hereditary taint in her + blood. She has the cunning of madness, with the prudence of intelligence. + I will tell you what she is, Mr. Audley. She is dangerous!" + </p> + <p> + Dr. Mosgrave walked up and down the room once or twice before he spoke + again. + </p> + <p> + "I will not discuss the probabilities of the suspicion which distresses + you, Mr. Audley," he said, presently, "but I will tell you this much, I do + not advise any <i>esclandre</i>. This Mr. George Talboys has disappeared, + but you have no evidence of his death. If you could produce evidence of + his death, you could produce no evidence against this lady, beyond the one + fact that she had a powerful motive for getting rid of him. No jury in the + United Kingdom would condemn her upon such evidence as that." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley interrupted Dr. Mosgrave, hastily. + </p> + <p> + "I assure you, my dear sir," he said, "that my greatest fear is the + necessity of any exposure—any disgrace." + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, Mr. Audley," answered the physician, coolly, "but you cannot + expect me to assist you to condone one of the worst offenses against + society. If I saw adequate reason for believing that a murder had been + committed by this woman, I should refuse to assist you in smuggling her + away out of the reach of justice, although the honor of a hundred noble + families might be saved by my doing so. But I do not see adequate reason + for your suspicions; and I will do my best to help you." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley grasped the physician's hands in both his own. + </p> + <p> + "I will thank you when I am better able to do so," he said, with emotion; + "I will thank you in my uncle's name as well as in my own." + </p> + <p> + "I have only five minutes more, and I have a letter to write," said Dr. + Mosgrave, smiling at the young man's energy. + </p> + <p> + He seated himself at a writing-table in the window, dipped his pen in the + ink, and wrote rapidly for about seven minutes. He had filled three sides + of a sheet of note-paper, when he threw down his pen and folded his + letter. + </p> + <p> + He put this letter into an envelope, and delivered it, unsealed, to Robert + Audley. + </p> + <p> + The address which it bore was: + </p> + <p> + "Monsieur Val, + </p> + <p> + "Villebrumeuse, + </p> + <p> + "Belgium." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley looked rather doubtfully from this address to the doctor, who + was putting on his gloves as deliberately as if his life had never known a + more solemn purpose than the proper adjustment of them. + </p> + <p> + "That letter," he said, in answer to Robert Audley's inquiring look, "is + written to my friend Monsieur Val, the proprietor and medical + superintendent of a very excellent <i>maison de santé</i> in the town of + Villebrumeuse. We have known each other for many years, and he will no + doubt willingly receive Lady Audley into his establishment, and charge + himself with the full responsibility of her future life; it will not be a + very eventful one!" + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley would have spoken, he would have once more expressed his + gratitude for the help which had been given to him, but Dr. Mosgrave + checked him with an authoritative gesture. + </p> + <p> + "From the moment in which Lady Audley enters that house," he said, "her + life, so far as life is made up of action and variety, will be finished. + Whatever secrets she may have will be secrets forever! Whatever crimes she + may have committed she will be able to commit no more. If you were to dig + a grave for her in the nearest churchyard and bury her alive in it, you + could not more safely shut her from the world and all worldly + associations. But as a physiologist and as an honest man, I believe you + could do no better service to society than by doing this; for physiology + is a lie if the woman I saw ten minutes ago is a woman to be trusted at + large. If she could have sprung at my throat and strangled me with her + little hands, as I sat talking to her just now, she would have done it." + </p> + <p> + "She suspected your purpose, then!" + </p> + <p> + "She knew it. 'You think I am mad like my mother, and you have come to + question me,' she said. 'You are watching for some sign of the dreadful + taint in my blood.' Good-day to you, Mr. Audley," the physician added + hurriedly, "my time was up ten minutes ago; it is as much as I shall do to + catch the train." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXVII. + </h2> + <h3> + BURIED ALIVE. + </h3> + <p> + Robert Audley sat alone in the library with the physician's letter upon + the table before him, thinking of the work which was still to be done. + </p> + <p> + The young barrister had constituted himself the denouncer of this wretched + woman. He had been her judge; and he was now her jailer. Not until he had + delivered the letter which lay before him to its proper address, not until + he had given up his charge into the safe-keeping of the foreign mad-house + doctor, not until then would the dreadful burden be removed from him and + his duty done. + </p> + <p> + He wrote a few lines to my lady, telling her that he was going to carry + her away from Audley Court to a place from which she was not likely to + return, and requesting her to lose no time in preparing for the journey. + He wished to start that evening, if possible, he told her. + </p> + <p> + Miss Susan Martin, the lady's maid, thought it a very hard thing to have + to pack her mistress' trunks in such a hurry, but my lady assisted in the + task. She toiled resolutely in directing and assisting her servant, who + scented bankruptcy and ruin in all this packing up and hurrying away, and + was therefore rather languid and indifferent in the discharge of her + duties; and at six o'clock in the evening she sent her attendant to tell + Mr. Audley that she was ready to depart as soon as he pleased. + </p> + <p> + Robert had consulted a volume of Bradshaw, and had discovered that + Villebrumeuse lay out of the track of all railway traffic, and was only + approachable by diligence from Brussels. The mail for Dover left London + Bridge at nine o'clock, and could be easily caught by Robert and his + charge, as the seven o'clock up-train from Audley reached Shoreditch at a + quarter past eight. Traveling by the Dover and Calais route, they would + reach Villebrumeuse by the following afternoon or evening. + </p> + <p> + It was late in the afternoon of the next day when the diligence bumped and + rattled over the uneven paving of the principal street in Villebrumeuse. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley and my lady had had the <i>coupé</i> of the diligence to + themselves for the whole of the journey, for there were not many travelers + between Brussels and Villebrumeuse, and the public conveyance was + supported by the force of tradition rather than any great profit attaching + to it as a speculation. + </p> + <p> + My lady had not spoken during the journey, except to decline some + refreshments which Robert had offered her at a halting place upon the + road. Her heart sunk when they left Brussels behind, for she had hoped + that city might have been the end of her journey, and she had turned with + a feeling of sickness and despair from the dull Belgian landscape. + </p> + <p> + She looked up at last as the vehicle jolted into a great stony quadrangle, + which had been the approach to a monastery once, but which was now the + court yard of a dismal hotel, in whose cellars legions of rats skirmished + and squeaked even while the broad sunshine was bright in the chambers + above. + </p> + <p> + Lady Audley shuddered as she alighted from the diligence, and found + herself in that dreary court yard. Robert was surrounded by chattering + porters, who clamored for his "baggages," and disputed among themselves as + to the hotel at which he was to rest. One of these men ran away to fetch a + hackney-coach at Mr. Audley's behest, and reappeared presently, urging on + a pair of horses—which were so small as to suggest the idea that + they had been made out of one ordinary-sized animal—with wild + shrieks and whoops that had a demoniac sound in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley left my lady in a dreary coffee-room in the care of a drowsy + attendant while he drove away to some distant part of the quiet city. + There was official business to be gone through before Sir Michael's wife + could be quietly put away in the place suggested by Dr. Mosgrave. Robert + had to see all manner of important personages; and to take numerous oaths; + and to exhibit the English physician's letter; and to go through much + ceremony of signing and countersigning before he could take his lost + friend's cruel wife to the home which was to be her last upon earth. + Upward of two hours elapsed before all this was arranged, and the young + man was free to return to the hotel, where he found his charge staring + absently at a pair of wax-candles, with a cup of untasted coffee standing + cold and stagnant before her. + </p> + <p> + Robert handed my lady into the hired vehicle, and took his seat opposite + to her once more. + </p> + <p> + "Where are you going to take me?" she asked, at last. "I am tired of being + treated like some naughty child, who is put into a dark cellar as a + punishment for its offenses. Where are you taking me?" + </p> + <p> + "To a place in which you will have ample leisure to repent the past, Mrs. + Talboys," Robert answered, gravely. + </p> + <p> + They had left the paved streets behind them, and had emerged out of a + great gaunt square, in which there appeared to be about half a dozen + cathedrals, into a small boulevard, a broad lamp-lit road, on which the + shadows of the leafless branches went and came tremblingly, like the + shadows of a paralytic skeleton. There were houses here and there upon + this boulevard; stately houses, <i>entre cour et jardin</i>, and with + plaster vases of geraniums on the stone pillars of the ponderous gateways. + The rumbling hackney-carriage drove upward of three-quarters of a mile + along this smooth roadway before it drew up against a gateway, older and + more ponderous than any of those they had passed. + </p> + <p> + My lady gave a little scream as she looked out of the coach-window. The + gaunt gateway was lighted by an enormous lamp; a great structure of iron + and glass, in which one poor little shivering flame struggled with the + March wind. + </p> + <p> + The coachman rang the bell, and a little wooden door at the side of the + gate was opened by a gray-haired man, who looked out at the carriage, and + then retired. He reappeared three minutes afterward behind the folding + iron gates, which he unlocked and threw back to their full extent, + revealing a dreary desert of stone-paved courtyard. + </p> + <p> + The coachman led his wretched horses into the courtyard, and piloted the + vehicle to the principal doorway of the house, a great mansion of gray + stone, with several long ranges of windows, many of which were dimly + lighted, and looked out like the pale eyes of weary watchers upon the + darkness of the night. + </p> + <p> + My lady, watchful and quiet as the cold stars in the wintry sky, looked up + at these casements with an earnest and scrutinizing gaze. One of the + windows was shrouded by a scanty curtain of faded red; and upon this + curtain there went and came a dark shadow, the shadow of a woman with a + fantastic head dress, the shadow of a restless creature, who paced + perpetually backward and forward before the window. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael Audley's wicked wife laid her hand suddenly upon Robert's arm, + and pointed with the other hand to this curtained window. + </p> + <p> + "I know where you have brought me," she said. "This is a MAD-HOUSE." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley did not answer her. He had been standing at the door of the + coach when she addressed him, and he quietly assisted her to alight, and + led her up a couple of shallow stone steps, and into the entrance-hall of + the mansion. He handed Dr. Mosgrave's letter to a neatly-dressed, + cheerful-looking, middle-aged woman, who came tripping out of a little + chamber which opened out of the hall, and was very much like the bureau of + an hotel. This person smilingly welcome Robert and his charge: and after + dispatching a servant with the letter, invited them into her pleasant + little apartment, which was gayly furnished with bright amber curtains and + heated by a tiny stove. + </p> + <p> + "Madam finds herself very much fatigued?" the Frenchwoman said, + interrogatively, with a look of intense sympathy, as she placed an + arm-chair for my lady. + </p> + <p> + "Madam" shrugged her shoulders wearily, and looked round the little + chamber with a sharp glance of scrutiny that betokened no very great + favor. + </p> + <p> + "WHAT is this place, Robert Audley?" she cried fiercely. "Do you think I + am a baby, that you may juggle with and deceive me—what is it? It is + what I said just now, is it not?" + </p> + <p> + "It is a <i>maison de santé</i>, my lady," the young man answered, + gravely. "I have no wish to juggle with or to deceive you." + </p> + <p> + My lady paused for a few moments, looking reflectively at Robert. + </p> + <p> + "A <i>maison de santé</i>," she repeated. "Yes, they manage these things + better in France. In England we should call it a madhouse. This a house + for mad people, this, is it not, madam?" she said in French, turning upon + the woman, and tapping the polished floor with her foot. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, but no, madam," the woman answered with a shrill scream of protest. + "It is an establishment of the most agreeable, where one amuses one's self—" + </p> + <p> + She was interrupted by the entrance of the principal of this agreeable + establishment, who came beaming into the room with a radiant smile + illuminating his countenance, and with Dr. Mosgrave's letter open in his + hand. + </p> + <p> + It was impossible to say <i>how</i> enchanted he was to make the + acquaintance of M'sieu. There was nothing upon earth which he was not + ready to do for M'sieu in his own person, and nothing under heaven which + he would not strive to accomplish for him, as the friend of his + acquaintance, so very much distinguished, the English doctor. Dr. + Mosgrave's letter had given him a brief synopsis of the case, he informed + Robert, in an undertone, and he was quite prepared to undertake the care + of the charming and very interesting "Madam—Madam—" + </p> + <p> + He rubbed his hands politely, and looked at Robert. Mr. Audley remembered, + for the first time, that he had been recommended to introduce his wretched + charge under a feigned name. + </p> + <p> + He affected not to hear the proprietor's question. It might seem a very + easy matter to have hit upon a heap of names, any one of which would have + answered his purpose; but Mr. Audley appeared suddenly to have forgotten + that he had ever heard any mortal appellation except that of himself and + of his lost friend. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the proprietor perceived and understood his embarrassment. He at + any rate relieved it by turning to the woman who had received them, and + muttering something about No. 14, Bis. The woman took a key from a long + range of others, that hung over the mantel-piece, and a wax candle from a + bracket in a corner of the room, and having lighted the candle, led the + way across the stone-paved hall, and up a broad, slippery staircase of + polished wood. + </p> + <p> + The English physician had informed his Belgian colleague that money would + be of minor consequence in any arrangements made for the comfort of the + English lady who was to be committed to his care. Acting upon this hint, + Monsieur Val opened the outer door of a stately suite of apartments, which + included a lobby, paved with alternate diamonds of black and white marble, + but of a dismal and cellar-like darkness; a saloon furnished with gloomy + velvet draperies, and with a certain funereal splendor which is not + peculiarly conducive to the elevation of the spirits; and a bed-chamber, + containing a bed so wondrously made, as to appear to have no opening + whatever in its coverings, unless the counterpane had been split asunder + with a pen-knife. + </p> + <p> + My lady stared dismally round at the range of rooms, which looked dreary + enough in the wan light of a single wax-candle. This solitary flame, pale + and ghost-like in itself, was multiplied by paler phantoms of its + ghostliness, which glimmered everywhere about the rooms; in the shadowy + depths of the polished floors and wainscot, or the window-panes, in the + looking-glasses, or in those great expanses of glimmering something which + adorned the rooms, and which my lady mistook for costly mirrors, but which + were in reality wretched mockeries of burnished tin. + </p> + <p> + Amid all the faded splendor of shabby velvet, and tarnished gilding, and + polished wood, the woman dropped into an arm-chair, and covered her face + with her hands. The whiteness of them, and the starry light of diamonds + trembling about them, glittered in the dimly-lighted chamber. She sat + silent, motionless, despairing, sullen, and angry, while Robert and the + French doctor retired to an outer chamber, and talked together in + undertones. Mr. Audley had very little to say that had not been already + said for him, with a far better grace than he himself could have expressed + it, by the English physician. He had, after great trouble of mind, hit + upon the name of Taylor, as a safe and simple substitute for that other + name, to which alone my lady had a right. He told the Frenchman that this + Mrs. Taylor was distantly related to him—that she had inherited the + seeds of madness from her mother, as indeed Dr. Mosgrave had informed + Monsieur Val; and that she had shown some fearful tokens of the lurking + taint that was latent in her mind; but that she was not to be called + "mad." He begged that she might be treated with all tenderness and + compassion; that she might receive all reasonable indulgences; but he + impressed upon Monsieur Val, that under no circumstances was she to be + permitted to leave the house and grounds without the protection of some + reliable person, who should be answerable for her safe-keeping. He had + only one other point to urge, and that was, that Monsieur Val, who, as he + had understood, was himself a Protestant—the doctor bowed—would + make arrangements with some kind and benevolent Protestant clergyman, + through whom spiritual advice and consolation might be secured for the + invalid lady; who had especial need, Robert added, gravely, of such + advantages. + </p> + <p> + This—with all necessary arrangements as to pecuniary matters, which + were to be settled from time to time between Mr. Audley and the doctor, + unassisted by any agents whatever—was the extent of the conversation + between the two men, and occupied about a quarter of an hour. + </p> + <p> + My lady sat in the same attitude when they re-entered the bedchamber in + which they had left her, with her ringed hands still clasped over her + face. + </p> + <p> + Robert bent over to whisper in her ear. + </p> + <p> + "Your name is Madam Taylor here," he said. "I do not think you would wish + to be known by your real name." + </p> + <p> + She only shook her head in answer to him, and did not even remove her + hands from over her face. + </p> + <p> + "Madam will have an attendant entirely devoted to her service." said + Monsieur Val. "Madam will have all her wishes obeyed; her <i>reasonable</i> + wishes, but that goes without saying," monsieur adds, with a quaint shrug. + "Every effort will be made to render madam's sojourn at Villebrumeuse + agreeable. The inmates dine together when it is wished. I dine with the + inmates sometimes; my subordinate, a clever and a worthy man always. I + reside with my wife and children in a little pavilion in the grounds; my + subordinate resides in the establishment. Madam may rely upon our utmost + efforts being exerted to insure her comfort." + </p> + <p> + Monsieur is saying a great deal more to the same effect, rubbing his hands + and beaming radiantly upon Robert and his charge, when madam rises + suddenly, erect and furious, and dropping her jeweled fingers from before + her face, tells him to hold his tongue. + </p> + <p> + "Leave me alone with the man who has brought me here." she cried, between + her set teeth. "Leave me!" + </p> + <p> + She points to the door with a sharp, imperious gesture; so rapid that the + silken drapery about her arm makes a swooping sound as she lifts her hand. + The sibilant French syllables hiss through her teeth as she utters them, + and seem better fitted to her mood and to herself than the familiar + English she has spoken hitherto. + </p> + <p> + The French doctor shrugs his shoulders as he goes out into the lobby, and + mutters something about a "beautiful devil," and a gesture worthy of "the + Mars." My lady walked with a rapid footstep to the door between the + bed-chamber and the saloon; closed it, and with the handle of the door + still in her hand, turned and looked at Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + "You have brought me to my grave, Mr. Audley," she cried; "you have used + your power basely and cruelly, and have brought me to a living grave." + </p> + <p> + "I have done that which I thought just to others and merciful to you," + Robert answered, quietly. "I should have been a traitor to society had I + suffered you to remain at liberty after—the disappearance of George + Talboys and the fire at Castle Inn. I have brought you to a place in which + you will be kindly treated by people who have no knowledge of your story—no + power to taunt or to reproach you. You will lead a quiet and peaceful + life, my lady; such a life as many a good and holy woman in this Catholic + country freely takes upon herself, and happily endures until the end. The + solitude of your existence in this place will be no greater than that of a + king's daughter, who, flying from the evil of the time, was glad to take + shelter in a house as tranquil as this. Surely, it is a small atonement + which I ask you to render for your sins, a light penance which I call upon + you to perform. Live here and repent; nobody will assail you, nobody will + torment you. I only say to you, repent!" + </p> + <p> + "I <i>cannot!</i>" cried my lady, pushing her hair fiercely from her white + forehead, and fixing her dilated eyes upon Robert Audley, "I <i>cannot!</i> + Has my beauty brought me to <i>this</i>? Have I plotted and schemed to + shield myself and laid awake in the long deadly nights, trembling to think + of my dangers, for <i>this</i>? I had better have given up at once, since + <i>this</i> was to be the end. I had better have yielded to the curse that + was upon me, and given up when George Talboys first came back to England." + </p> + <p> + She plucked at the feathery golden curls as if she would have torn them + from her head. It had served her so little after all, that gloriously + glittering hair, that beautiful nimbus of yellow light that had contrasted + so exquisitely with the melting azure of her eyes. She hated herself and + her beauty. + </p> + <p> + "I would laugh at you and defy you, if I dared," she cried; "I would kill + myself and defy you, if I dared. But I am a poor, pitiful coward, and have + been so from the first. Afraid of my mother's horrible inheritance; afraid + of poverty; afraid of George Talboys; afraid of <i>you</i>." + </p> + <p> + She was silent for a little while, but she held her place by the door, as + if determined to detain Robert as long as it was her pleasure to do so. + </p> + <p> + "Do you know what I am thinking of?" she said, presently. "Do you know + what I am thinking of, as I look at you in the dim light of this room? I + am thinking of the day upon which George Talboys disappeared." + </p> + <p> + Robert started as she mentioned the name of his lost friend; his face + turned pale in the dusky light, and his breathing grew quicker and louder. + </p> + <p> + "He was standing opposite me, as you are standing now," continued my lady. + "You said that you would raze the old house to the ground; that you would + root up every tree in the gardens to find your dead friend. You would have + had no need to do so much: the body of George Talboys lies at the bottom + of the old well, in the shrubbery beyond the lime-walk." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley flung his hands and clasped them above his head, with one + loud cry of horror. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, my God!" he said, after a dreadful pause; "have all the ghastly + things that I have thought prepared me so little for the ghastly truth, + that it should come upon me like this at last?" + </p> + <p> + "He came to me in the lime-walk," resumed my lady, in the same hard, + dogged tone as that in which she had confessed the wicked story of her + life. "I knew that he would come, and I had prepared myself, as well as I + could, to meet him. I was determined to bribe him, to cajole him, to defy + him; to do anything sooner than abandon the wealth and the position I had + won, and go back to my old life. He came, and he reproached me for the + conspiracy at Ventnor. He declared that so long as he lived he would never + forgive me for the lie that had broken his heart. He told me that I had + plucked his heart out of his breast and trampled upon it; and that he had + now no heart in which to feel one sentiment of mercy for me. That he would + have forgiven me any wrong upon earth, but that one deliberate and + passionless wrong that I had done him. He said this and a great deal more, + and he told me that no power on earth should turn him from his purpose, + which was to take me to the man I had deceived, and make me tell my wicked + story. He did not know the hidden taint that I had sucked in with my + mother's milk. He did not know that it was possible to drive me mad. He + goaded me as you have goaded me; he was as merciless as you have been + merciless. We were in the shrubbery at the end of the lime-walk. I was + seated upon the broken masonry at the mouth of the well. George Talboys + was leaning upon the disused windlass, in which the rusty iron spindle + rattled loosely whenever he shifted his position. I rose at last, and + turned upon him to defy him, as I had determined to defy him at the worst. + I told him that if he denounced me to Sir Michael, I would declare him to + be a madman or a liar, and I defied him to convince the man who loved me—blindly, + as I told him—that he had any claim to me. I was going to leave him + after having told him this, when he caught me by the wrist and detained me + by force. You saw the bruises that his fingers made upon my wrist, and + noticed them, and did not believe the account I gave of them. I could see + that, Mr. Robert Audley, and I saw that you were a person I should have to + fear." + </p> + <p> + She paused, as if she had expected Robert to speak; but he stood silent + and motionless, waiting for the end. + </p> + <p> + "George Talboys treated me as you treated me," she said, petulantly. "He + swore that if there was but one witness of my identity, and that witness + was removed from Audley Court by the width of the whole earth, he would + bring him there to swear to my identity, and to denounce me. It was then + that I was mad, it was then that I drew the loose iron spindle from the + shrunken wood, and saw my first husband sink with one horrible cry into + the black mouth of the well. There is a legend of its enormous depth. I do + not know how deep it is. It is dry, I suppose, for I heard no splash, only + a dull thud. I looked down and I saw nothing but black emptiness. I knelt + down and listened, but the cry was not repeated, though I waited for + nearly a quarter of an hour—God knows how long it seemed to me!—by + the mouth of the well." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley uttered a word of horror when the story was finished. He + moved a little nearer toward the door against which Helen Talboys stood. + Had there been any other means of exit from the room, he would gladly have + availed himself of it. He shrank from even a momentary contact with this + creature. + </p> + <p> + "Let me pass you, if you please," he said, in an icy voice. + </p> + <p> + "You see I do not fear to make my confession to you," said Helen Talboys; + "for two reasons. The first is, that you dare not use it against me, + because you know it would kill your uncle to see me in a criminal dock; + the second is, that the law could pronounce no worse sentence than this—a + life-long imprisonment in a mad-house. You see I do not thank you for your + mercy, Mr. Robert Audley, for I know exactly what it is worth." + </p> + <p> + She moved away from the door, and Robert passed her without a word, + without a look. + </p> + <p> + Half an hour afterward he was in one of the principal hotels at + Villebrumeuse, sitting at a neatly-ordered supper-table, with no power to + eat; with no power to distract his mind, even for a moment, from the image + of that lost friend who had been treacherously murdered in the thicket at + Audley Court. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXVIII. + </h2> + <h3> + GHOST-HAUNTED. + </h3> + <p> + No feverish sleeper traveling in a strange dream ever looked out more + wonderingly upon a world that seemed unreal than Robert Audley, as he + stared absently at the flat swamps and dismal poplars between + Villebrumeuse and Brussels. Could it be that he was returning to his + uncle's house without the woman who had reigned in it for nearly two years + as queen and mistress? He felt as if he had carried off my lady, and had + made away with her secretly and darkly, and must now render up an account + to Sir Michael of the fate of that woman, whom the baronet had so dearly + loved. + </p> + <p> + "What shall I tell him?" he thought. "Shall I tell the truth—the + horrible, ghastly truth? No; that would be too cruel. His generous spirit + would sink under the hideous revelation. Yet, in his ignorance of the + extent of this wretched woman's wickedness, he may think, perhaps, that I + have been hard with her." + </p> + <p> + Brooding thus, Mr. Robert Audley absently watched the cheerless landscape + from the seat in the shabby <i>coupé</i> of the diligence, and thought how + great a leaf had been torn out of his life, now that the dark story of + George Talboys was finished. + </p> + <p> + What had he to do next? A crowd of horrible thoughts rushed into his mind + as he remembered the story that he had heard from the white lips of Helen + Talboys. His friend—his murdered friend—lay hidden among the + moldering ruins of the old well at Audley Court. He had lain there for six + long months, unburied, unknown; hidden in the darkness of the old convent + well. What was to be done? + </p> + <p> + To institute a search for the remains of the murdered man was to + inevitably bring about a coroner's inquest. Should such an inquest be + held, it was next to impossible that the history of my lady's crime could + fail to be brought to light. To prove that George Talboys met with his + death at Audley Court, was to prove almost as surely that my lady had been + the instrument of that mysterious death; for the young man had been known + to follow her into the lime-walk upon the day of his disappearance. + </p> + <p> + "My God!" Robert exclaimed, as the full horror of his position became + evident to him; "is my friend to rest in this unhallowed burial-place + because I have condoned the offenses of the woman who murdered him?" + </p> + <p> + He felt that there was no way out of this difficulty. Sometimes he thought + that it little mattered to his dead friend whether he lay entombed beneath + a marble monument, whose workmanship should be the wonder of the universe, + or in that obscure hiding-place in the thicket at Audley Court. At another + time he would be seized with a sudden horror at the wrong that had been + done to the murdered man, and would fain have traveled even more rapidly + than the express between Brussels and Paris could carry him in his + eagerness to reach the end of his journey, that he might set right this + cruel wrong. + </p> + <p> + He was in London at dusk on the second day after that on which he had left + Audley Court, and he drove straight to the Clarendon, to inquire after his + uncle. He had no intention of seeing Sir Michael, as he had not yet + determined how much or how little he should tell him, but he was very + anxious to ascertain how the old man had sustained the cruel shock he had + so lately endured. + </p> + <p> + "I will see Alicia," he thought, "she will tell me all about her father. + It is only two days since he left Audley. I can scarcely expect to hear of + any favorable change." + </p> + <p> + But Mr. Audley was not destined to see his cousin that evening, for the + servants at the Clarendon told him that Sir Michael and his daughter had + left by the morning mail for Paris, on their way to Vienna. + </p> + <p> + Robert was very well pleased to receive this intelligence; it afforded him + a welcome respite, for it would be decidedly better to tell the baronet + nothing of his guilty wife until he returned to England, with health + unimpaired and spirits re-established, it was to be hoped. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley drove to the Temple. The chambers which had seemed dreary to + him ever since the disappearance of George Talboys, were doubly so + to-night. For that which had been only a dark suspicion had now become a + horrible certainty. There was no longer room for the palest ray, the most + transitory glimmer of hope. His worst terrors had been too well founded. + </p> + <p> + George Talboys had been cruelly and treacherously murdered by the wife he + had loved and mourned. + </p> + <p> + There were three letters waiting for Mr. Audley at his chambers. One was + from Sir Michael, and another from Alicia. The third was addressed in a + hand the young barrister knew only too well, though he had seen it but + once before. His face flushed redly at the sight of the superscription, + and he took the letter in his hand, carefully and tenderly, as if it had + been a living thing, and sentient to his touch. He turned it over and over + in his hands, looking at the crest upon the envelope, at the post-mark, at + the color of the paper, and then put it into the bosom of his waistcoat + with a strange smile upon his face. + </p> + <p> + "What a wretched and unconscionable fool I am!" he thought. "Have I + laughed at the follies of weak men all my life, and am I to be more + foolish than the weakest of them at last? The beautiful brown-eyed + creature! Why did I ever see her? Why did my relentless Nemesis ever point + the way to that dreary house in Dorsetshire?" + </p> + <p> + He opened the first two letters. He was foolish enough to keep the last + for a delicious morsel—a fairy-like dessert after the commonplace + substantialities of a dinner. + </p> + <p> + Alicia's letter told him that Sir Michael had borne his agony with such a + persevering tranquility that she had become at last far more alarmed by + his patient calmness than by any stormy manifestation of despair. In this + difficulty she had secretly called upon the physician who attended the + Audley household in any cases of serious illness, and had requested this + gentleman to pay Sir Michael an apparently accidental visit. He had done + so, and after stopping half an hour with the baronet, had told Alicia that + there was no present danger of any serious consequence from this great + grief, but that it was necessary that every effort should be made to + arouse Sir Michael, and to force him, however unwillingly, into action. + </p> + <p> + Alicia had immediately acted upon this advice, had resumed her old empire + as a spoiled child, and reminded her father of a promise he had made of + taking her through Germany. With considerable difficulty she had induced + him to consent to fulfilling this old promise, and having once gained her + point, she had contrived that they should leave England as soon as it was + possible to do so, and she told Robert, in conclusion, that she would not + bring her father back to his old house until she had taught him to forget + the sorrows associated with it. + </p> + <p> + The baronet's letter was very brief. It contained half a dozen blank + checks on Sir Michael Audley's London bankers. + </p> + <p> + "You will require money, my dear Robert," he wrote, "for such arrangements + as you may think fit to make for the future comfort of the person I + committed to your care. I need scarcely tell you that those arrangements + cannot be too liberal. But perhaps it is as well that I should tell you + now, for the first and only time, that it is my earnest wish never again + to hear that person's name. I have no wish to be told the nature of the + arrangements you may make for her. I am sure that you will act + conscientiously and mercifully. I seek to know no more. Whenever you want + money, you will draw upon me for any sums that you may require; but you + will have no occasion to tell me for whose use you want that money." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley breathed a long sigh of relief as he folded this letter. It + released him from a duty which it would have been most painful for him to + perform, and it forever decided his course of action with regard to the + murdered man. + </p> + <p> + George Talboys must lie at peace in his unknown grave, and Sir Michael + Audley must never learn that the woman he had loved bore the red brand of + murder on her soul. + </p> + <p> + Robert had only the third letter to open—the letter which he had + placed in his bosom while he read the others; he tore open the envelope, + handling it carefully and tenderly as he had done before. + </p> + <p> + The letter was as brief as Sir Michael's. It contained only these few + lines: + </p> + <p> + "DEAR MR. AUDLEY—The rector of this place has been twice to see + Marks, the man you saved in the fire at the Castle Inn. He lies in a very + precarious state at his mother's cottage, near Audley Court, and is not + expected to live many days. His wife is attending him, and both he and she + have expressed a most earnest desire that you should see him before he + dies. Pray come without delay. + </p> + <p> + "Yours very sincerely, + </p> + <p> + "CLARA TALBOYS. + </p> + <p> + "Mount Stanning Rectory, March 6." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley folded this letter very reverently, and placed it underneath + that part of his waistcoat which might be supposed to cover the region of + his heart. Having done this, he seated himself in his favorite arm-chair, + filled and lighted a pipe and smoked it out, staring reflectingly at the + fire as long as his tobacco lasted. "What can that man Marks want with + me," thought the barrister. "He is afraid to die until he has made + confession, perhaps. He wishes to tell me that which I know already—the + story of my lady's crime. I knew that he was in the secret. I was sure of + it even upon the night on which I first saw him. He knew the secret, and + he traded on it." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley shrank strangely from returning to Essex. How should he meet + Clara Talboys now that he knew the secret of her brother's fate? How many + lies he should have to tell, or how much equivocation he must use in order + to keep the truth from her? Yet would there be any mercy in telling that + horrible story, the knowledge of which must cast a blight upon her youth, + and blot out every hope she had even secretly cherished? He knew by his + own experience how possible it was to hope against hope, and to hope + unconsciously; and he could not bear that her heart should be crushed as + his had been by the knowledge of the truth. "Better that she should hope + vainly to the last," he thought; "better that she should go through life + seeking the clew to her lost brother's fate, than that I should give that + clew into her hands, and say, 'Our worst fears are realized. The brother + you loved has been foully murdered in the early promise of his youth.'" + </p> + <p> + But Clara Talboys had written to him, imploring him to return to Essex + without delay. Could he refuse to do her bidding, however painful its + accomplishment might be? And again, the man was dying, perhaps, and had + implored to see him. Would it not be cruel to refuse to go—to delay + an hour unnecessarily? He looked at his watch. It wanted only five minutes + to nine. There was no train to Audley after the Ipswich mail, which left + London at half-past eight; but there was a train that left Shoreditch at + eleven, and stopped at Brentwood between twelve and one. Robert decided + upon going by this train, and walking the distance between Brentwood and + Audley, which was upwards of six miles. + </p> + <p> + Fleet street was quiet and lonely at this late hour, and Robert Audley + being in a ghost-seeing mood, would have been scarcely astonished had he + seen Johnson's set come roystering westward in the lamp-light, or blind + John Milton groping his way down the steps before Saint Bride's Church. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley hailed a hansom at the corner of Farrington street, and was + rattled rapidly away across tenantless Smithfield market, and into a + labyrinth of dingy streets that brought him out upon the broad grandeur of + Finsbury Pavement. + </p> + <p> + The hansom rattled up the steep and stony approach to Shoreditch Station, + and deposited Robert at the doors of that unlovely temple. There were very + few people going to travel by this midnight train, and Robert walked up + and down the long wooden platform, reading the huge advertisements whose + gaunt lettering looked wan and ghastly in the dim lamplight. + </p> + <p> + He had the carriage in which he sat all to himself. All to himself did I + say? Had he not lately summoned to his side that ghostly company which of + all companionship is the most tenacious? The shadow of George Talboys + pursued him, even in the comfortable first-class carriage, and was behind + him when he looked out of the window, and was yet far ahead of him and the + rushing engine, in that thicket toward which the train was speeding, by + the side of the unhallowed hiding-place in which the mortal remains of the + dead man lay, neglected and uncared for. + </p> + <p> + "I must give my lost friend decent burial," Robert thought, as the chill + wind swept across the flat landscape, and struck him with such frozen + breath as might have emanated from the lips of the dead. "I must do it; or + I shall die of some panic like this which has seized upon me to-night. I + must do it; at any peril; at any cost. Even at the price of that + revelation which will bring the mad woman back from her safe hiding-place, + and place her in a criminal dock." He was glad when the train stopped at + Brentwood at a few minutes after twelve. + </p> + <p> + It was half-past one o'clock when the night wanderer entered the village + of Audley, and it was only there that he remembered that Clara Talboys had + omitted to give him any direction by which he might find the cottage in + which Luke Marks lay. + </p> + <p> + "It was Dawson who recommended that the poor creature should be taken to + his mother's cottage," Robert thought, by-and-by, "and, I dare say. Dawson + has attended him ever since the fire. He'll be able to tell me the way to + the cottage." + </p> + <p> + Acting upon this idea, Mr. Audley stopped at the house in which Helen + Talboys had lived before her second marriage. The door of the little + surgery was ajar, and there was a light burning within. Robert pushed the + door open and peeped in. The surgeon was standing at the mahogany counter, + mixing a draught in a glass measure, with his hat close beside him. Late + as it was, he had evidently only just come in. The harmonious snoring of + his assistant sounded from a little room within the surgery. + </p> + <p> + "I am sorry to disturb you, Mr. Dawson," Robert said, apologetically, as + the surgeon looked up and recognized him, "but I have come down to see + Marks, who, I hear, is in a very bad way, and I want you to tell me the + way to his mother's cottage." + </p> + <p> + "I'll show you the way, Mr. Audley," answered the surgeon, "I am going + there this minute." + </p> + <p> + "The man is very bad, then?" + </p> + <p> + "So bad that he can be no worse. The change that can happen is that change + which will take him beyond the reach of any earthly suffering." + </p> + <p> + "Strange!" exclaimed Robert. "He did not appear to be much burned." + </p> + <p> + "He was not much burnt. Had he been, I should never have recommended his + being removed from Mount Stanning. It is the shock that has done the + business. He has been in a raging fever for the last two days; but + to-night he is much calmer, and I'm afraid, before to-morrow night, we + shall have seen the last of him." + </p> + <p> + "He has asked to see me, I am told," said Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," answered the surgeon, carelessly. "A sick man's fancy, no doubt. + You dragged him out of the house, and did your best to save his life. I + dare say, rough and boorish as the poor fellow is, he thinks a good deal + of that." + </p> + <p> + They had left the surgery, the door of which Mr. Dawson had locked behind + him. There was money in the till, perhaps, for surely the village + apothecary could not have feared that the most daring housebreaker would + imperil his liberty in the pursuit of blue pill and colocynth, of salts + and senna. + </p> + <p> + The surgeon led the way along the silent street, and presently turned into + a lane at the end of which Robert Audley saw the wan glimmer of a light; a + light which told of the watch that is kept by the sick and dying; a pale, + melancholy light, which always has a dismal aspect when looked upon in + this silent hour betwixt night and morning. It shone from the window of + the cottage in which Luke Marks lay, watched by his wife and mother. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Dawson lifted the latch, and walked into the common room of the little + tenement, followed by Robert Audley. It was empty, but a feeble tallow + candle, with a broken back, and a long, cauliflower-headed wick, sputtered + upon the table. The sick man lay in the room above. + </p> + <p> + "Shall I tell him you are here?" asked Mr. Dawson. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, if you please. But be cautious how you tell him, if you think + the news likely to agitate him. I am in no hurry. I can wait. You can call + me when you think I can safely come up-stairs." + </p> + <p> + The surgeon nodded, and softly ascended the narrow wooden stairs leading + to the upper chamber. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley seated himself in a Windsor chair by the cold hearth-stone, + and stared disconsolately about him. But he was relieved at last by the + low voice of the surgeon, who looked down from the top of the little + staircase to tell him that Luke Marks was awake, and would be glad to see + him. + </p> + <p> + Robert immediately obeyed this summons. He crept softly up the stairs, and + took off his hat before he bent his head to enter at the low doorway of + the humble rustic chamber. He took off his hat in the presence of this + common peasant man, because he knew that there was another and a more + awful presence hovering about the room, and eager to be admitted. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks was sitting at the foot of the bed, with her eyes fixed upon + her husband's face—not with any very tender expression in the pale + light, but with a sharp, terrified anxiety, which showed that it was the + coming of death itself that she dreaded, rather than the loss of her + husband. The old woman was busy at the fire-place, airing linen, and + preparing some mess of broth which it was not likely the patient would + ever eat. The sick man lay with his head propped up by pillows, his coarse + face deadly pale, and his great hands wandering uneasily about the + coverlet. Phoebe had been reading to him, for an open Testament lay among + the medicine and lotion bottles upon the table near the bed. Every object + in the room was neat and orderly, and bore witness of that delicate + precision which had always been a distinguishing characteristic of Phoebe. + </p> + <p> + The young woman rose as Robert Audley crossed the threshold, and hurried + toward him. + </p> + <p> + "Let me speak to you for a moment, sir, before you talk to Luke," she + said, in an eager whisper. "Pray let me speak to you first." + </p> + <p> + "What's the gal a-sayin', there?" asked the invalid in a subdued roar, + which died away hoarsely on his lips. He was feebly savage, even in his + weakness. The dull glaze of death was gathering over his eyes, but they + still watched Phoebe with a sharp glance of dissatisfaction. "What's she + up to there?" he said. "I won't have no plottin' and no hatchin' agen me. + I want to speak to Mr. Audley my own self; and whatever I done I'm goin' + to answer for. If I done any mischief, I'm a-goin' to try and undo it. + What's she a-sayin'?" + </p> + <p> + "She ain't a-sayin' nothin', lovey," answered the old woman, going to the + bedside of her son, who even when made more interesting than usual by + illness, did not seem a very fit subject for this tender appellation. + </p> + <p> + "She's only a-tellin' the gentleman how bad you've been, my pretty." + </p> + <p> + "What I'm a-goin' to tell I'm only a-goin' to tell to him, remember," + growled Mr. Mark; "and ketch me a-tellin' of it to him if it warn't for + what he done for me the other night." + </p> + <p> + "To be sure not, lovey," answered the old woman soothingly. + </p> + <p> + Phoebe Marks had drawn Mr. Audley out of the room and onto the narrow + landing at the top of the little staircase. This landing was a platform of + about three feet square, and it was as much as the two could manage to + stand upon it without pushing each other against the whitewashed wall, or + backward down the stairs. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, sir, I wanted to speak to you so badly," Phoebe answered, eagerly; + "you know what I told you when I found you safe and well upon the night of + the fire?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes." + </p> + <p> + "I told you what I suspected; what I think still." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I remember." + </p> + <p> + "But I never breathed a word of it to anybody but you, sir, and I think + that Luke has forgotten all about that night; I think that what went + before the fire has gone clean out of his head altogether. He was tipsy, + you know, when my la—when she came to the Castle; and I think he was + so dazed and scared like by the fire that it all went out of his memory. + He doesn't suspect what I suspect, at any rate, or he'd have spoken of it + to anybody or everybody; but he's dreadful spiteful against my lady, for + he says if she'd have let him have a place at Brentwood or Chelmsford, + this wouldn't have happened. So what I wanted to beg of you, sir, is not + to let a word drop before Luke." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, I understand; I will be careful." + </p> + <p> + "My lady has left the Court, I hear, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "Never to come back, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "Never to come back." + </p> + <p> + "But she has not gone where she'll be cruelly treated; where she'll be + ill-used?" + </p> + <p> + "No: she will be very kindly treated." + </p> + <p> + "I'm glad of that, sir; I beg your pardon for troubling you with the + question, sir, but my lady was a kind mistress to me." + </p> + <p> + Luke's voice, husky and feeble, was heard within the little chamber at + this period of the conversation, demanding angrily when "that gal would + have done jawing;" upon which Phoebe put her finger to her lips, and led + Mr. Audley back into the sick-room. + </p> + <p> + "I don't want <i>you</i>" said Mr. Marks, decisively, as his wife + re-entered the chamber—"I don't want <i>you</i>; you've no call to + hear what I've got to say—I only want Mr. Audley, and I wants to + speak to him all alone, with none o' your sneakin' listenin' at doors, + d'ye hear? so you may go down-stairs and keep there till you're wanted; + and you may take mother—no, mother may stay, I shall want her + presently." + </p> + <p> + The sick man's feeble hand pointed to the door, through which his wife + departed very submissively. + </p> + <p> + "I've no wish to hear anything, Luke," she said, "but I hope you won't say + anything against those that have been good and generous to you." + </p> + <p> + "I shall say what I like," answered Mr. Marks, fiercely, "and I'm not + a-goin' to be ordered by you. You ain't the parson, as I've ever heerd of; + nor the lawyer neither." + </p> + <p> + The landlord of the Castle Inn had undergone no moral transformation by + his death-bed sufferings, fierce and rapid as they had been. Perhaps some + faint glimmer of a light that had been far off from his life now struggled + feebly through the black obscurities of ignorance that darkened his soul. + Perhaps a half angry, half sullen penitence urged him to make some rugged + effort to atone for a life that had been selfish and drunken and wicked. + Be it how it might he wiped his white lips, and turning his haggard eyes + earnestly upon Robert Audley, pointed to a chair by the bedside. + </p> + <p> + "You made game of me in a general way, Mr. Audley," he said, presently, + "and you've drawed me out, and you've tumbled and tossed me about like in + a gentlemanly way, till I was nothink or anythink in your hands; and + you've looked me through and through, and turned me inside out till you + thought you knowed as much as I knowed. I'd no particular call to be + grateful to you, not before the fire at the Castle t'other night. But I am + grateful to you for that. I'm not grateful to folks in a general way, + p'r'aps, because the things as gentlefolks have give have a'most allus + been the very things I didn't want. They've give me soup, and tracks, and + flannel, and coals; but, Lord, they've made such a precious noise about it + that I'd have been to send 'em all back to 'em. But when a gentleman goes + and puts his own life in danger to save a drunken brute like me, the + drunkenest brute as ever was feels grateful like to that gentleman, and + wishes to say before he dies—which he sees in the doctor's face as + he ain't got long to live—'Thank ye, sir, I'm obliged to you." + </p> + <p> + Luke Marks stretched out his left hand—the right hand had been + injured by the fire, and was wrapped in linen—and groped feebly for + that of Mr. Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + The young man took the coarse but shrunken hand in both his own, and + pressed it cordially. + </p> + <p> + "I need no thanks, Luke Marks," he said; "I was very glad to be of service + to you." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Marks did not speak immediately. He was lying quietly upon his side, + staring reflectingly at Robert Audley. + </p> + <p> + "You was oncommon fond of that gent as disappeared at the Court, warn't + you, sir?" he said at last. + </p> + <p> + Robert started at the mention of his dead friend. + </p> + <p> + "You was oncommon fond of that Mr. Talboys, I've heard say, sir," repeated + Luke. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," answered Robert, rather impatiently, "he was my very dear + friend." + </p> + <p> + "I've heard the servants at the Court say how you took on when you + couldn't find him. I've heered the landlord of the Sun Inn say how cut up + you was when you first missed him. 'If the two gents had been brothers,' + the landlord said, 'our gent,' meanin' you, sir, 'couldn't have been more + cut up when he missed the other.'" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, I know, I know," said Robert; "pray do not speak any more of + this subject. I cannot tell you how much it distresses me." + </p> + <p> + Was he to be haunted forever by the ghost of his unburied friend? He came + here to comfort the sick man, and even here he was pursued by this + relentless shadow; even here he was reminded of the secret crime which had + darkened his life. + </p> + <p> + "Listen to me, Marks," he said, earnestly; "believe me that I appreciate + your grateful words, and that I am very glad to have been of service to + you. But before you say anything more, let me make one most solemn + request. If you have sent for me that you may tell me anything of the fate + of my lost friend, I entreat you to spare yourself and to spare me that + horrible story. You can tell me nothing which I do not already know. The + worst you can tell me of the woman who was once in your power, has already + been revealed to me by her own lips. Pray, then, be silent upon this + subject; I say again, you can tell me nothing which I do not know." + </p> + <p> + Luke Marks looked musingly at the earnest face of his visitor, and some + shadowy expression, which was almost like a smile, flitted feebly across + the sick man's haggard features. + </p> + <p> + "I can't tell you nothin' you don't know?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing." + </p> + <p> + "Then it ain't no good for me to try," said the invalid, thoughtfully. + "Did <i>she</i> tell you?" he asked, after a pause. + </p> + <p> + "I must beg, Marks, that you will drop the subject," Robert answered, + almost sternly. "I have already told you that I do not wish to hear it + spoken of. Whatever discoveries you made, you made your market out of + them. Whatever guilty secrets you got possession of, you were paid for + keeping silence. You had better keep silence to the end." + </p> + <p> + "Had I?" cried Luke Marks, in an eager whisper. "Had I really now better + hold my tongue to the last?" + </p> + <p> + "I think so, most decidedly. You traded on your secret, and you were paid + to keep it. It would be more honest to hold to your bargain, and keep it + still." + </p> + <p> + "Would it now?" said Mr. Marks with a ghastly grin; "but suppose my lady + had one secret and I another. How then?" + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean?" + </p> + <p> + "Suppose I could have told something all along; and would have told it, + perhaps, if I'd been a little better treated; if what was give to me had + been give a little more liberal like, and not flung at me as if I was a + dog, and was only give it to be kep' from bitin'. Suppose I could have + told somethin', and would have told it but for that? How then?" + </p> + <p> + It was impossible to describe the ghastliness of the triumphant grin that + lighted up the sick man's haggard face. + </p> + <p> + "His mind is wandering," Robert thought; "I had need be patient with him, + poor fellow. It would be strange if I could not be patient with a dying + man." + </p> + <p> + Luke marks lay staring at Mr. Audley for some moments with that triumphant + grin upon his face. The old woman, wearied out with watching her dying + son, had dropped into a doze, and sat nodding her sharp chin over the + handful of fire, upon which the broth that was never to be eaten, still + bubbled and simmered. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley waited very patiently until it should be the sick man's + pleasure to speak. Every sound was painfully distinct in that dead hour + of the night. The dropping of the ashes on the hearth, the ominous + crackling of the burning coals, the slow and ponderous ticking of the + sulky clock in the room below, the low moaning of the March wind (which + might have been the voice of an English Banshee, screaming her dismal + warning to the watchers of the dying), the hoarse breathing of the sick + man--every sound held itself apart from all other sounds, and made itself + into a separate voice, loud with a gloomy portent in the solemn stillness + of the house. + </p> + <p> + Robert sat with his face shaded by his hands, thinking what was to become + of him now that the secret of his friend's fate had been told, and the + dark story of George Talboys and his wicked wife had been finished in the + Belgian mad-house. What was to become of him? + </p> + <p> + He had no claim upon Clara Talboys; for he had resolved to keep the + horrible secret that had been told to him. How then could he dare to meet + her with that secret held back fom her? How could he ever look into her + earnest eyes, and yet withhold the truth? He felt that all power of + reservation would fail before the searching glance of those calm brown + eyes. If he was indeed to keep this secret he must never see her again. To + reveal it would be to embitter her life. Could he, for any selfish motive + of his own, tell her this terrible story?--or could he think that if he + told her she would suffer her murdered brother to lie unavenged and + forgotten in his unhallowed grave? + </p> + <p> + Hemmed in on every side by difficulties which seemed utterly + insumountable; with the easy temperament which was natural to him + embittered by the gloomy burden he had borne so long, Robert Audley looked + hopelessly forward to the life which lay before him, and thought that it + would have been better for him had he perished among the burning ruins of + the Castle Inn. + </p> + <p> + "Who would have been sorry for me? No one but my poor little Alicia," he + thought, "and hers would have only been an April sorrow. Would Clara + Talboys have been sorry? No! She would have only regretted me as a lost + link in the mystery of her brother's death. She would only--" + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIX. + </h2> + <h3> + THAT WHICH THE DYING MAN HAD TO TELL. + </h3> + <p> + Heaven knows whither Mr. Audley's thoughts might have wandered had he not + been startled by a sudden movement of the sick man, who raised himself up + in his bed, and called to his mother. + </p> + <p> + The old woman woke up with a jerk, and turned sleepily enough to look at + her son. + </p> + <p> + "What is it, Luke, deary?" she asked soothingly. "It ain't time for the + doctor's stuff yet. Mr. Dawson said as you weren't to have it till two + hours after he went away, and he ain't been gone an hour yet." + </p> + <p> + "Who said it was the doctor's stuff I wanted?" cried Mr. Marks, + impatiently. "I want to ask you something, mother. Do you remember the + seventh of last September?" + </p> + <p> + Robert started, and looked eagerly at the sick man. Why did he harp upon + this forbidden subject? Why did he insist upon recalling the date of + George's murder? The old woman shook her head in feeble confusion of mind. + </p> + <p> + "Lord, Luke," she said, "how can'ee ask me such questions? My memory's + been a failin' me this eight or nine year; and I never was one to remember + the days of the month, or aught o' that sort. How should a poor workin' + woman remember such things." + </p> + <p> + Luke Marks shrugged his shoulders impatiently. + </p> + <p> + "You're a good un to do what's asked you, mother," he said, peevishly. + "Didn't I tell you to rememer that day? Didn't I tell you as the time + might come when you'd be called upon to bear witness about it, and put + upon your Bible oath about it? Didn't I tell you that, mother?" + </p> + <p> + The old woman shook her head hopelessly. + </p> + <p> + "If you say so, I make no doubt you did, Luke," she said, with a + conciliatory smile; "but I can't call it to mind, lovey. My memory's been + failin' me this nine yaer, sir," she added, turning to Robert Audley, "and + I'm but a poor crittur." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley laid his hand upon the sick man's arm. + </p> + <p> + "Marks," he said, "I tell you again, you have no cause to worry yourself + about this matter. I ask you no questions, I have no wish to hear + anything." + </p> + <p> + "But, suppose I want to tell something," cried Luke, with feverish energy, + "suppose I feel I can't die with a secret on my mind, and have asked to + see you on purpose that I might tell you; suppose that, and you'll suppose + nothing but the truth. I'd have been burnt alive before I'd have told <i>her</i>." + He spoke these words between his set teeth, and scowled savagely as he + uttered them. "I'd have been burnt alive first. I made her pay for her + pretty insolent ways; I made her pay for her airs and graces; I'd never + have told her—never, never! I had my power over her, and I kept it; + I had my secret and was paid for it; and there wasn't a petty slight as + she ever put upon me or mine that I didn't pay her out for twenty times + over!" + </p> + <p> + "Marks, Marks, for Heaven's sake be calm," said Robert, earnestly. "What + are you talking of? What is it that you could have told?" + </p> + <p> + "I'm a-goin to tell you," answered Luke, wiping his lips. "Give us a + drink, mother." + </p> + <p> + The old woman poured out some cooling drink into a mug, and carried it to + her son. + </p> + <p> + He drank it in an eager hurry, as if he felt that the brief remainder of + his life must be a race with the pitiless pedestrian, Time. + </p> + <p> + "Stop where you are," he said to his mother, pointing to a chair at the + foot of the bed. + </p> + <p> + The old woman obeyed, and seated herself meekly opposite to Mr. Audley. + </p> + <p> + "I'll ask you another question, mother," said Luke, "and I think it'll be + strange if you can't answer it. Do you remember when I was at work upon + Atkinson's farm; before I was married you know, and when I was livin' down + here along of you?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes," Mrs. Marks answered, nodding triumphantly, "I remember that, + my dear. It were last fall, just about as the apples was bein' gathered in + the orchard across our lane, and about the time as you had your new + sprigged wesket. I remember, Luke, I remember." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley wondered where all this was to lead to, and how long he would + have to sit by the sick man's bed, hearing a conversation that had no + meaning to him. + </p> + <p> + "If you remember that much, maybe you'll remember more, mother," said + Luke. "Can you call to mind my bringing some one home here one night, + while Atkinsons was stackin' the last o' their corn?" + </p> + <p> + Once more Mr. Audley started violently, and this time he looked up + earnestly at the face of the speaker, and listened, with a strange, + breathless interest, that he scarcely understood himself, to what Luke + Marks was saying. + </p> + <p> + "I rek'lect your bringing home Phoebe," the old woman answered, with great + animation. "I rek'lect your bringin' Phoebe home to take a cup o' tea, or + a little snack o' supper, a mort o' times." + </p> + <p> + "Bother Phoebe," cried Mr. Marks, "who's a talkin' of Phoebe? What's + Phoebe, that anybody should go to put theirselves out about her? Do you + remember my bringin' home a gentleman after ten o'clock, one September + night; a gentleman as was wet through to the skin, and was covered with + mud and slush, and green slime and black muck, from the crown of his head + to the sole of his foot, and had his arm broke, and his shoulder swelled + up awful; and was such a objeck that nobody would ha' knowed him; a + gentleman as had to have his clothes cut off him in some places, and as + sat by the kitchen fire, starin' at the coals as if he had gone mad or + stupid-like, and didn't know where he was, or who he was; and as had to be + cared for like a baby, and dressed, and dried, and washed, and fed with + spoonfuls of brandy, that had to be forced between his locked teeth, + before any life could be got into him? Do you remember that, mother?" + </p> + <p> + The old woman nodded, and muttered something to the effect that she + remembered all these circumstances most vividly, now that Luke happened to + mention them. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley uttered a wild cry, and fell down upon his knees by the side + of the sick man's bed. + </p> + <p> + "My God!" he ejaculated, "I think Thee for Thy wondrous mercies. George + Talboys is alive!" + </p> + <p> + "Wait a bit," said Mr. Marks, "don't you be too fast. Mother, give us down + that tin box on the shelf over against the chest of drawers, will you?" + </p> + <p> + The old woman obeyed, and after fumbling among broken teacups and + milk-jugs, lidless wooden cotton-boxes, and a miscellaneous litter of rags + and crockery, produced a tin snuff-box with a sliding lid; a shabby, + dirty-looking box enough. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley still knelt by the bedside with his face hidden by his + clasped hands. Luke Marks opened the tin box. + </p> + <p> + "There ain't no money in it, more's the pity," he said, "or if there had + been it wouldn't have been let stop very long. But there's summat in it + that perhaps you'll think quite as valliable as money, and that's what I'm + goin' to give you as a proof that a drunken brute can feel thankful to + them as is kind to him." + </p> + <p> + He took out two folded papers, which he gave into Robert Audley's hands. + </p> + <p> + They were two leaves torn out of a pocket-book, and they were written upon + in pencil, and in a handwriting that was quite strange to Mr. Audley—a + cramped, stiff, and yet scrawling hand, such as some plowman might have + written. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know this writing," Robert said, as he eagerly unfolded the first + of the two papers. "What has this to do with my friend? Why do you show me + these?" + </p> + <p> + "Suppose you read 'em first," said Mr. Marks, "and ask me questions about + them afterwards." + </p> + <p> + The first paper which Robert Audley had unfolded contained the following + lines, written in that cramped, yet scrawling hand which was so strange to + him: + </p> + <p> + "MY DEAR FRIEND—I write to you in such utter confusion of mind as + perhaps no man ever before suffered. I cannot tell you what has happened + to me, I can only tell you that something has happened which will drive me + from England a broken-hearted man, to seek some corner of the earth in + which I may live and die unknown and forgotten. I can only ask you to + forget me. If your friendship could have done me any good, I would have + appealed to it. If your counsel could have been any help to me, I would + have confided in you. But neither friendship nor counsel can help me; and + all I can say to you is this, God bless you for the past, and teach you to + forget me in the future. G.T." + </p> + <p> + The second paper was addressed to another person, and its contents were + briefer than those of the first. + </p> + <p> + "HELEN—May God pity and forgive you for that which you have done + to-day, as truly as I do. Rest in peace. You shall never hear of me again; + to you and to the world I shall henceforth be that which you wished me to + be to-day. You need fear no molestation from me. I leave England never to + return. + </p> + <p> + "G.T." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley sat staring at these lines in hopeless bewilderment. They + were not in his friend's familiar hand, and yet they purported to be + written by him and were signed with his initials. + </p> + <p> + He looked scrutinizingly at the face of Luke Marks, thinking that perhaps + some trick was being played upon him. + </p> + <p> + "This was not written by George Talboys," he said. + </p> + <p> + "It was," answered Luke Marks, "it was written by Mr. Talboys, every line + of it. He wrote it with his own hand; but it was his left hand, for he + couldn't use his right because of his broken arm." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley looked up suddenly, and the shadow of suspicion passed away + from his face. + </p> + <p> + "I understand," he said, "I understand. Tell me all; tell me how it was + that my poor friend was saved." + </p> + <p> + "I was at work up at Atkinson's farm, last September," said Luke Marks, + "helping to stack the last of the corn, and as the nighest way from the + farm to mother's cottage was through the meadows at the back of the Court, + I used to come that way, and Phoebe used to stand in the garden wall + beyond the lime-walk sometimes, to have a chat with me, knowin' my time o' + comin' home. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know what Phoebe was a-doin' upon the evenin' of the seventh o' + September—I rek'lect the date because Farmer Atkinson paid me my + wages all of a lump on that day, and I'd had to sign a bit of a receipt + for the money he give me—I don't know what she was a-doin', but she + warn't at the gate agen the lime-walk, so I went round to the other side + o' the gardens and jumped across the dry ditch, for I wanted partic'ler to + see her that night, as I was goin' away to work upon a farm beyond + Chelmsford the next day. Audley church clock struck nine as I was crossin' + the meadows between Atkinson's and the Court, and it must have been about + a quarter past nine when I got into the kitchen garden. + </p> + <p> + "I crossed the garden, and went into the lime-walk; the nighest way to the + servants' hall took me through the shrubbery and past the dry well. It was + a dark night, but I knew my way well enough about the old place, and the + light in the window of the servants' hall looked red and comfortable + through the darkness. I was close against the mouth of the dry well when I + heard a sound that made my blood creep. It was a groan—a groan of a + man in pain, as was lyin' somewhere hid among the bushes. I warn't afraid + of ghosts and I warn't afraid of anythink in a general way, but there was + somethin in hearin' this groan as chilled me to the very heart, and for a + minute I was struck all of a heap, and didn't know what to do. But I heard + the groan again, and then I began to search among the bushes. I found a + man lyin' hidden under a lot o' laurels, and I thought at first he was up + to no good, and I was a-goin' to collar him to take him to the house, when + he caught me by the wrist without gettin' up from the ground, but lookin' + at me very earnest, as I could see by the way his face was turned toward + me in the darkness, and asked me who I was, and what I was, and what I had + to do with the folks at the Court. + </p> + <p> + "There was somethin' in the way he spoke that told me he was a gentleman, + though I didn't know him from Adam, and couldn't see his face; and I + answered his questions civil. + </p> + <p> + "'I want to get away from this place,' he said, 'without bein' seen by any + livin' creetur, remember that. I've been lyin' here ever since four + o'clock to-day, and I'm half dead, but I want to get away without bein' + seen, mind that.' + </p> + <p> + "I told him that was easy enough, but I began to think my first thoughts + of him might have been right enough, after all, and that he couldn't have + been up to no good to want to sneak away so precious quiet. + </p> + <p> + "'Can you take me to any place where I can get a change of dry clothes,' + he says, 'without half a dozen people knowin' it?' + </p> + <p> + "He'd got up into a sittin' attitude by this time, and I could see that + his right arm hung close by his side, and that he was in pain. + </p> + <p> + "I pointed to his arm, and asked him what was the matter with it; but he + only answered, very quiet like: 'Broken, my lad, broken. Not that that's + much,' he says in another tone, speaking to himself like, more than to me. + 'There's broken hearts as well as broken limbs, and they're not so easy + mended.' + </p> + <p> + "I told him I could take him to mother's cottage, and that he could dry + his clothes there and welcome. + </p> + <p> + "'Can your mother keep a secret?' he asked. + </p> + <p> + "'Well, she could keep one well enough if she could remember it,' I told + him; 'but you might tell her all the secrets of the Freemasons, and + Foresters, and Buffalers and Oddfellers as ever was, to-night: and she'd + have forgotten all about 'em to-morrow mornin'.' + </p> + <p> + "He seemed satisfied with this, and he got himself up by holdin' on to me, + for it seemed as if his limbs was cramped, the use of 'em was almost gone. + I felt as he came agen me, that his clothes was wet and mucky. + </p> + <p> + "'You haven't been and fell into the fish-pond, have you, sir?' I asked. + </p> + <p> + "He made no answer to my question; he didn't seem even to have heard it. I + could see now he was standin' upon his feet that he was a tall, fine-made + man, a head and shoulders higher than me. + </p> + <p> + "'Take me to your mother's cottage,' he said, 'and get me some dry clothes + if you can; I'll pay you well for your trouble.' + </p> + <p> + "I knew that the key was mostly left in the wooden gate in the garden + wall, so I led him that way. He could scarcely walk at first, and it was + only by leanin' heavily upon my shoulder that he managed to get along. I + got him through the gate, leavin' it unlocked behind me, and trustin' to + the chance of that not bein' noticed by the under-gardener, who had the + care of the key, and was a careless chap enough. I took him across the + meadows, and brought him up here, still keepin' away from the village, and + in the fields, where there wasn't a creature to see us at that time o' + night; and so I got him into the room down-stairs, where mother was + a-sittin' over the fire gettin' my bit o' supper ready for me. + </p> + <p> + "I put the strange chap in a chair agen the fire, and then for the first + time I had a good look at him. I never see anybody in such a state before. + He was all over green damp and muck, and his hands was scratched and cut + to pieces. I got his clothes off him how I could, for he was like a child + in my hands, and sat starin' at the fire as helpless as any baby; only + givin' a long heavy sigh now and then, as if his heart was a-goin' to + bust. At last he dropped into a kind of a doze, a stupid sort of sleep, + and began to nod over the fire, so I ran and got a blanket and wrapped him + in it, and got him to lie down on the press bedstead in the room under + this. I sent mother to bed, and I sat by the fire and watched him, and + kep' the fire up till it was just upon daybreak, when he 'woke up all of a + sudden with a start, and said he must go, directly this minute. + </p> + <p> + "I begged him not to think of such a thing and told him he warn't fit to + move for ever so long; but he said he must go, and he got up, and though + he staggered like, and at first could hardly stand steady two minutes + together, he wouldn't be beat, and he got me to dress him in his clothes + as I'd dried and cleaned as well as I could while he laid asleep. I did + manage it at last, but the clothes was awful spoiled, and he looked a + dreadful objeck, with his pale face and a great cut on his forehead that + I'd washed and tied up with a handkercher. He could only get his coat on + by buttoning it on round his neck, for he couldn't put a sleeve upon his + broken arm. But he held out agen everything, though he groaned every now + and then; and what with the scratches and bruises on his hands, and the + cut upon his forehead, and his stiff limbs and broken arm, he'd plenty of + call to groan; and by the time it was broad daylight he was dressed and + ready to go. + </p> + <p> + "'What's the nearest town to this upon the London road?' he asked me. + </p> + <p> + "I told him as the nighest town was Brentwood. + </p> + <p> + "'Very well, then,' he says, 'if you'll go with me to Brentwood, and take + me to some surgeon as'll set my arm, I'll give you a five pound note for + that and all your other trouble.' + </p> + <p> + "I told him that I was ready and willin' to do anything as he wanted done; + and asked him if I shouldn't go and see if I could borrow a cart from some + of the neighbors to drive him over in, for I told him it was a good six + miles' walk. + </p> + <p> + "He shook his head. No, no, no, he said, he didn't want anybody to know + anything about him; he'd rather walk it. + </p> + <p> + "He did walk it; and he walked like a good 'un, too; though I know as + every step he took o' them six miles he took in pain; but he held out as + he'd held out before; I never see such a chap to hold out in all my + blessed life. He had to stop sometimes and lean agen a gateway to get his + breath; but he held out still, till at last we got into Brentwood, and + then he says, 'Take me to the nighest surgeon's,' and I waited while he + had his arm set in splints, which took a precious long time. The surgeon + wanted him to stay in Brentwood till he was better, but he said it warn't + to be heard on, he must get up to London without a minute's loss of time; + so the surgeon made him as comfortable as he could, considering and tied + up his arm in a sling." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley started. A circumstance connected with his visit to + Liverpool dashed suddenly back upon his memory. He remembered the clerk + who had called him back to say there was a passenger who took his berth on + board the <i>Victoria Regia</i> within an hour or so of the vessel's + sailing; a young man with his arm in a sling, who had called himself by + some common name, which Robert had forgotten. + </p> + <p> + "When his arm was dressed," continued Luke, "he says to the surgeon, 'Can + you give me a pencil to write something before I go away?' The surgeon + smiles and shakes his head: 'You'll never be able to write with that there + hand to-day,' he says, pointin' to the arm as had just been dressed. + 'P'raps not,' the young chap answers, quiet enough, 'but I can write with + the other,' 'Can't I write it for you?' says the surgeon. 'No, thank you,' + answers the other; 'what I've got to write is private. If you can give me + a couple of envelopes, I'll be obliged to you.' + </p> + <p> + "With that the surgeon goes to fetch the envelopes, and the young chap + takes a pocket-book out of his coat pocket with his left hand; the cover + was wet and dirty, but the inside was clean enough, and he tears out a + couple of leaves and begins to write upon 'em as you see; and he writes + dreadful awk'ard with his left hand, and he writes slow, but he contrives + to finish what you see, and then he puts the two bits o' writin' into the + envelopes as the surgeon brings him, and he seals 'em up, and he puts a + pencil cross upon one of 'em, and nothing on the other: and then he pays + the surgeon for his trouble, and the surgeon says, ain't there nothin' + more he can do for him, and can't he persuade him to stay in Brentwood + till his arm's better; but he says no, no, it ain't possible; and then he + says to me, 'Come along o' me to the railway station, and I'll give you + what I've promised.' + </p> + <p> + "So I went to the station with him. We was in time to catch the train as + stops at Brentwood at half after eight, and we had five minutes to spare. + So he takes me into a corner of the platform, and he says, 'I wants you to + deliver these here letters for me,' which I told him I was willin'. 'Very + well, then,' he says; 'look here; you know Audley Court?' 'Yes,' I says, + 'I ought to, for my sweetheart lives lady's maid there.' 'Whose lady's + maid?' he says. So I tells him, 'My lady's, the new lady what was + governess at Mr. Dawson's.' 'Very well, then,' he says; 'this here letter + with the cross upon the envelope is for Lady Audley, but you're to be sure + to give it into her own hands; and remember to take care as nobody sees + you give it.' I promises to do this, and he hands me the first letter. And + then he says, 'Do you know Mr. Audley, as is nevy to Sir Michael?' and I + said, 'Yes, I've heerd tell on him, and I've heerd as he was a reg'lar + swell, but affable and free-spoken' (for I heerd 'em tell on you, you + know)," Luke added, parenthetically. "'Now look here,' the young chap + says, 'you're to give this other letter to Mr. Robert Audley, whose + a-stayin' at the Sun Inn, in the village;' and I tells him it's all right, + as I've know'd the Sun ever since I was a baby. So then he gives me the + second letter, what's got nothing wrote upon the envelope, and he gives me + a five-pound note, accordin' to promise; and then he says, 'Good-day, and + thank you for all your trouble,'and he gets into a second-class carriage; + and the last I sees of him is a face as white as a sheet of writin' paper, + and a great patch of stickin'-plaster criss-crossed upon his forehead." + </p> + <p> + "Poor George! poor George!" + </p> + <p> + "I went back to Audley, and I went straight to the Sun Inn, and asked for + you, meanin' to deliver both letters faithful, so help me God! then; but + the landlord told me as you'd started off that mornin' for London, and he + didn't know when you'd come back, and he didn't know the name o' the place + where you lived in London, though he said he thought it was in one o' them + law courts, such as Westminster Hall or Doctors' Commons, or somethin' + like that. So what was I to do? I couldn't send a letter by post, not + knowin' where to direct to, and I couldn't give it into your own hands, + and I'd been told partickler not to let anybody else know of it; so I'd + nothing to do but to wait and see if you come back, and bide my time for + givin' of it to you. + </p> + <p> + "I thought I'd go over to the Court in the evenin' and see Phoebe, and + find out from her when there'd be a chance of seein' her lady, for I + know'd she could manage it if she liked. So I didn't go to work that day, + though I ought to ha' done, and I lounged and idled about until it was + nigh upon dusk, and then I goes down to the meadows behind the Court, and + there I finds Phoebe sure enough, waitin' agen the wooden door in the + wall, on the lookout for me. + </p> + <p> + "I hadn't been talkin' to her long before I see there was somethink wrong + with her and I told her as much. + </p> + <p> + "Well,' she says, 'I ain't quite myself this evenin', for I had a upset + yesterday, and I ain't got over it yet.' + </p> + <p> + "'A upset,' I says. 'You had a quarrel with your missus, I suppose.' + </p> + <p> + "She didn't answer me directly, but she smiled the queerest smile as ever + I see, and presently she says: + </p> + <p> + "No, Luke, it weren't nothin' o' that kind; and what's more, nobody could + be friendlier toward me than my lady. I think she'd do any think for me + a'most; and I think, whether it was a bit o' farming stock and furniture + or such like, or whether it was the good-will of a public-house, she + wouldn't refuse me anythink as I asked her.' + </p> + <p> + "I couldn't make out this, for it was only a few days before as she'd told + me her missus was selfish and extravagant, and we might wait a long time + before we could get what we wanted from her. + </p> + <p> + "So I says to her, 'Why, this is rather sudden like, Phoebe;' and she + says, 'Yes, it is sudden;' and she smiles again, just the same sort of + smile as before. Upon that I turns round upon her sharp, and says: + </p> + <p> + "I'll tell you what it is, my gal, you're a-keepin' somethink from me; + somethink you've been told, or somethink you've found out; and if you + think you're a-goin' to try that game on with me, you'll find you're very + much mistaken; and so I give you warnin'." + </p> + <p> + "But she laughed it off like, and says, 'Lor' Luke, what could have put + such fancies into your head?' + </p> + <p> + "'Perhaps other people can keep secrets as well as you,' I said, 'and + perhaps other people can make friends as well as you. There was a + gentleman came here to see your missus yesterday, warn't there—a + tall young gentleman with a brown beard?' + </p> + <p> + "Instead of answering of me like a Christian, my Cousin Phoebe bursts out + a-cryin', and wrings her hands, and goes on awful, until I'm dashed if I + can make out what she's up to. + </p> + <p> + "But little by little I got it out of her, for I wouldn't stand no + nonsense; find she told me how she'd been sittin' at work at the window of + her little room, which was at the top of the house, right up in one of the + gables, and overlooked the lime-walk, and the shrubbery and the well, when + she see my lady walking with a strange gentleman, and they walked together + for a long time, until by-and-by they—" + </p> + <p> + "Stop!" cried Robert, "I know the rest." + </p> + <p> + "Well, Phoebe told me all about what she see, and she told me she'd met + her lady almost directly afterward, and somethin' had passed between 'em, + not much, but enough to let her missus know that the servant what she + looked down upon had found out that as would put her in that servant's + power to the last day of her life. + </p> + <p> + "'And she is in my power, Luke,' says Phoebe; 'and she'll do anythin' in + the world for us if we keep her secret.' + </p> + <p> + "So you see both my Lady Audley and her maid thought as the gentleman as + I'd seen safe off by the London train was lying dead at the bottom of the + well. If I was to give the letter they'd find out the contrary of this; + and if I was to give the letter, Phoebe and me would lose the chance of + gettin' started in life by her missus. + </p> + <p> + "So I kep' the letter and kep' my secret, and my lady kep' hern. But I + thought if she acted liberal by me, and gave me the money I wanted, free + like, I'd tell her everythink, and make her mind easy. + </p> + <p> + "But she didn't. Whatever she give me she throwed me as if I'd been a dog. + Whenever she spoke to me, she spoke as she might have spoken to a dog; and + a dog she couldn't abide the sight of. There was no word in her mouth that + was too bad for me; there was no toss as she could give her head that was + too proud and scornful for me; and my blood b'iled agen her, and I kep' my + secret, and let her keep hern. I opened the two letters, and I read 'em, + but I couldn't make much sense out of 'em, and I hid 'em away; and not a + creature but me has seen 'em until this night." + </p> + <p> + Luke Marks had finished his story, and lay quietly enough, exhausted by + having talked so long. He watched Robert Audley's face, fully expecting + some reproof, some grave lecture; for he had a vague consciousness that he + had done wrong. + </p> + <p> + But Robert did not lecture him; he had no fancy for an office which he did + not think himself fitted to perform. + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley sat until long after daybreak with the sick man, who fell + into a heavy slumber a short time after he had finished his story. The old + woman had dozed comfortably throughout her son's confession. Phoebe was + asleep upon the press bedstead in the room below; so the young barrister + was the only watcher. + </p> + <p> + He could not sleep; he could only think of the story he had heard. He + could only thank God for his friend's preservation, and pray that he might + be able to go to Clara Talboys, and say, "Your brother still lives, and + has been found." + </p> + <p> + Phoebe came up-stairs at eight o'clock, ready to take her place at the + sick-bed, and Robert Audley went away, to get a bed at the Sun Inn. It was + nearly dusk when he awoke out of a long dreamless slumber, and dressed + himself before dining in the little sitting-room, in which he and George + had sat together a few months before. + </p> + <p> + The landlord waited upon him at dinner, and told him that Luke Marks had + died at five o'clock that afternoon. "He went off rather sudden like," the + man said, "but very quiet." + </p> + <p> + Robert Audley wrote a long letter that evening, addressed to Madame + Taylor, care of Monsieur Val, Villebrumeuse; a long letter in which he + told the wretched woman who had borne so many names, and was to bear a + false one for the rest of her life, the story that the dying man had told + him. + </p> + <p> + "It may be some comfort to her to hear that her husband did not perish in + his youth by her wicked hand," he thought, "if her selfish soul can hold + any sentiment of pity or sorrow for others." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XL. + </h2> + <h3> + RESTORED. + </h3> + <p> + Clara Talboys returned to Dorsetshire, to tell her father that his only + son had sailed for Australia upon the 9th of September, and that it was + most probable he yet lived, and would return to claim the forgiveness of + the father he had never very particularly injured; except in the matter of + having made that terrible matrimonial mistake which had exercised so fatal + an influence upon his youth. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Harcourt-Talboys was fairly nonplused. Junius Brutus had never been + placed in such a position as this, and seeing no way of getting out of + this dilemma by acting after his favorite model, Mr. Talboys was fain to + be natural for once in his life, and to confess that he had suffered much + uneasiness and pain of mind about his only son since his conversation with + Robert Audley, and that he would be heartily glad to take his poor boy to + his arms, whenever he should return to England. But when was he likely to + return? and how was he to be communicated with? That was the question. + Robert Audley remembered the advertisements which he had caused to be + inserted in the Melbourne and Sydney papers. If George had re-entered + either city alive, how was it that no notice had ever been taken of that + advertisement? Was it likely that his friend would be indifferent to his + uneasiness? But then, again, it was just possible that George Talboys had + not happened to see this advertisement; and, as he had traveled under a + feigned name, neither his fellow passengers nor the captain of the vessel + would have been able to identify him with the person advertised for. What + was to be done? Must they wait patiently till George grew weary of his + exile, and returned to his friends who loved him? or were there any means + to be taken by which his return might be hastened? Robert Audley was at + fault! Perhaps, in the unspeakable relief of mind which he had experienced + upon the discovery of his friend's escape, he was unable to look beyond + the one fact of that providential preservation. + </p> + <p> + In this state of mind he went down to Dorsetshire to pay a visit to Mr. + Talboys, who had given way to a perfect torrent of generous impulses, and + had gone so far as to invite his son's friend to share the prim + hospitality of the square, red brick mansion. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Talboys had only two sentiments upon the subject of George's story; + one was a natural relief and happiness in the thought that his son had + been saved, the other was an earnest wish that my lady had been his wife, + and that he might thus have had the pleasure of making a signal example of + her. + </p> + <p> + "It is not for me to blame you, Mr. Audley," he said, "for having smuggled + this guilty woman out of the reach of justice, and thus, as I may say, + paltered with the laws of your country. I can only remark that, had the + lady fallen into my hands, she would have been very differently treated." + </p> + <p> + It was in the middle of April when Robert Audley found himself once more + under those black fir-trees beneath which his wandering thoughts had so + often stayed since his first meeting with Clara Talboys. There were + primroses and early violets in the hedges now, and the streams, which, + upon his first visit, had been hard and frost-bound as the heart of + Harcourt Talboys, had thawed, like that gentleman, and ran merrily under + the blackthorn bushes in the capricious April sunshine. + </p> + <p> + Robert had a prim bedroom, and an uncompromising dressing-room allotted + him in the square house, and he woke every morning upon a metallic spring + mattress, which always gave him the idea of sleeping upon some musical + instrument, to see the sun glaring in upon him through the square, white + blinds and lighting up the two lackered urns which adorned the foot of the + blue iron bedstead, until they blazed like two tiny brazen lamps of the + Roman period. He emulated Mr. Harcourt Talboys in the matter of + shower-baths and cold water, and emerged prim and blue as that gentleman + himself, as the clock in the hall struck seven, to join the master of the + house in his ante-breakfast constitutional under the fir-trees in the + stiff plantation. + </p> + <p> + But there was generally a third person who assisted in the constitutional + promenades, and that third person was Clara Talboys, who used to walk by + her father's side, more beautiful than the morning—for that was + sometimes dull and cloudy, while she was always fresh and bright—in + a broad-leaved straw-hat and flapping blue ribbons, one quarter of an inch + of which Mr. Audley would have esteemed a prouder decoration than ever + adorned a favored creature's button-hole. + </p> + <p> + At first they were very ceremonious toward each other, and were only + familiar and friendly upon the one subject of George's adventures; but + little by little a pleasant intimacy arose between them, and before the + first three weeks of Robert's visit had elapsed, Miss Talboys made him + happy, by taking him seriously in hand and lecturing him on the + purposeless life he had led so long, and the little use he had made of the + talents and opportunities that had been given to him. + </p> + <p> + How pleasant it was to be lectured by the woman he loved! How pleasant it + was to humiliate himself and depreciate himself before her! How delightful + it was to get such splendid opportunities of hinting that if his life had + been sanctified by an object he might indeed have striven to be something + better than an idle <i>flaneur</i> upon the smooth pathways that have no + particular goal; that, blessed by the ties which would have given a solemn + purpose to every hour of his existence, he might indeed have fought the + battle earnestly and unflinchingly. He generally wound up with a gloomy + insinuation to the effect that it was only likely he would drop quietly + over the edge of the Temple Gardens some afternoon when the river was + bright and placid in the low sunlight, and the little children had gone + home to their tea. + </p> + <p> + "Do you think I can read French novels and smoke mild Turkish until I am + three-score-and-ten, Miss Talboys?" he asked. "Do you think there will not + come a day in which my meerschaums will be foul, and the French novels + more than usually stupid, and life altogether such a dismal monotony that + I shall want to get rid of it somehow or other?" + </p> + <p> + I am sorry to say that while this hypocritical young barrister was holding + forth in this despondent way, he had mentally sold up his bachelor + possessions, including all Michel Levy's publications, and half a dozen + solid silver-mounted meerschaums; pensioned off Mrs. Maloney, and laid out + two or three thousand pounds in the purchase of a few acres of verdant + shrubbery and sloping lawn, embosomed amid which there should be a fairy + cottage <i>ornée</i>, whose rustic casements should glimmer out of bowers + of myrtle and clematis to see themselves reflected in the purple bosom of + the lake. + </p> + <p> + Of course, Clara Talboys was far from discovering the drift of these + melancholy lamentations. She recommended Mr. Audley to read hard and think + seriously of his profession, and begin life in real earnest. It was a + hard, dry sort of existence, perhaps, which she recommended; a life of + serious work and application, in which he should strive to be useful to + his fellow-creatures, and win a reputation for himself. + </p> + <p> + "I'd do all that," he thought, "and do it earnestly, if I could be sure of + a reward for my labor. If she would accept my reputation when it was won, + and support me in the struggle by her beloved companionship. But what if + she sends me away to fight the battle, and marries some hulking country + squire while my back is turned?" + </p> + <p> + Being naturally of a vacillating and dilatory disposition, there is no + saying how long Mr. Audley might have kept his secret, fearful to speak + and break the charm of that uncertainty which, though not always hopeful, + was very seldom quite despairing, had not he been hurried by the impulse + of an unguarded moment into a full confession of the truth. + </p> + <p> + He had stayed five weeks at Grange Heath, and felt that he could not, in + common decency, stay any longer; so he had packed his portmanteau one + pleasant May morning, and had announced his departure. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Talboys was not the sort of man to utter any passionate lamentations + at the prospect of losing his guest, but he expressed himself with a cool + cordiality which served with him as the strongest demonstration of + friendship. + </p> + <p> + "We have got on very well together, Mr. Audley," he said, "and you have + been pleased to appear sufficiently happy in the quiet routine of our + orderly household; nay, more, you have conformed to our little domestic + regulations in a manner which I cannot refrain from saying I take as an + especial compliment to myself." + </p> + <p> + Robert bowed. How thankful he was to the good fortune which had never + suffered him to oversleep the signal of the clanging bell, or led him away + beyond the ken of clocks at Mr. Talboys' luncheon hour. + </p> + <p> + "I trust as we have got on so remarkably well together," Mr. Talboys + resumed, "you will do me the honor of repeating your visit to Dorsetshire + whenever you feel inclined. You will find plenty of sport among my farms, + and you will meet with every politeness and attention from my tenants, if + you like to bring your gun with you." + </p> + <p> + Robert responded most heartily to these friendly overtures. He declared + that there was no earthly occupation that was more agreeable to him than + partridge-shooting, and that he should be only too delighted to avail + himself of the privilege so kindly offered to him. He could not help + glancing toward Clara as he said this. The perfect lids drooped a little + over the brown eyes, and the faintest shadow of a blush illuminated the + beautiful face. + </p> + <p> + But this was the young barrister's last day in Elysium, and there must be + a dreary interval of days and nights and weeks and months before the first + of September would give him an excuse for returning to Dorsetshire; a + dreary interval which fresh colored young squires or fat widowers of + eight-and-forty, might use to his disadvantage. It was no wonder, + therefore, that he contemplated this dismal prospect with moody despair, + and was bad company for Miss Talboys that morning. + </p> + <p> + But in the evening after dinner, when the sun was low in the west, and + Harcourt Talboys closeted in his library upon some judicial business with + his lawyer and a tenant farmer, Mr. Audley grew a little more agreeable. + He stood by Clara's side in one of the long windows of the drawing-room, + watching the shadows deepening in the sky and the rosy light growing every + moment rosier as the sun died out. He could not help enjoying that quiet + <i>tête-a-tête</i>, though the shadow of the next morning's express which + was to carry him away to London loomed darkly across the pathway of his + joy. He could not help being happy in her presence; forgetful of the past, + reckless of the future. + </p> + <p> + They talked of the one subject which was always a bond of union between + them. They talked of her lost brother George. She spoke of him in a very + melancholy tone this evening. How could she be otherwise than sad, + remembering that if he lived—and she was not even sure of that—he + was a lonely wanderer far away from all who loved him, and carrying the + memory of a blighted life wherever he went. + </p> + <p> + "I cannot think how papa can be so resigned to my poor brother's absence," + she said, "for he does love him, Mr. Audley; even you must have seen + lately that he does love him. But I cannot think how he can so quietly + submit to his absence. If I were a man, I would go to Australia, and find + him, and bring him back; if he was still to be found among the living," + she added, in a lower voice. + </p> + <p> + She turned her face away from Robert, and looked out at the darkening sky. + He laid his hand upon her arm. It trembled in spite of him, and his voice + trembled, too, as he spoke to her. + </p> + <p> + "Shall <i>I</i> go to look for your brother?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "<i>You!</i>" She turned her head, and looked at him earnestly through her + tears. "You, Mr. Audley! Do you think that I could ask you to make such a + sacrifice for me, or for those I love?" + </p> + <p> + "And do you think, Clara, that I should think any sacrifice too great a + one if it were made for you? Do you think there is any voyage I would + refuse to take, if I knew that you would welcome me when I came home, and + thank me for having served you faithfully? I will go from one end of the + continent of Australia to the other to look for your brother, if you + please, Clara; and will never return alive unless I bring him with me, and + will take my chance of what reward you shall give me for my labor." + </p> + <p> + Her head was bent, and it was some moments before she answered him. + </p> + <p> + "You are very good and generous, Mr. Audley," she said, at last, "and I + feel this offer too much to be able to thank you for it. But what you + speak of could never be. By what right could I accept such a sacrifice?" + </p> + <p> + "By the right which makes me your bounden slave forever and ever, whether + you will or no. By right of the love I bear you, Clara," cried Mr. Audley, + dropping on his knees—rather awkwardly, it must be confessed—and + covering a soft little hand, that he had found half hidden among the folds + of a silken dress, with passionate kisses. + </p> + <p> + "I love you, Clara," he said, "I love you. You may call for your father, + and have me turned out of the house this moment, if you like; but I shall + go on loving you all the same; and I shall love you forever and ever, + whether you will or no." + </p> + <p> + The little hand was drawn away from his, but not with a sudden or angry + gesture, and it rested for one moment lightly and tremulously upon his + dark hair. + </p> + <p> + "Clara, Clara!" he murmured, in a low, pleading voice, "shall I go to + Australia to look for your brother?" + </p> + <p> + There was no answer. I don't know how it is, but there is scarcely + anything more delicious than silence in such cases. Every moment of + hesitation is a tacit avowal; every pause is a tender confession. + </p> + <p> + "Shall we both go, dearest? Shall we go as man and wife? Shall we go + together, my dear love, and bring our brother back between us?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Harcourt Talboys, coming into the lamplit room a quarter of an hour + afterward, found Robert Audley alone, and had to listen to a revelation + which very much surprised him. Like all self-sufficient people, he was + tolerably blind to everything that happened under his nose, and he had + fully believed that his own society, and the Spartan regularity of his + household, had been the attractions which had made Dorsetshire delightful + to his guest. + </p> + <p> + He was rather disappointed, therefore; but he bore his disappointment + pretty well, and expressed a placid and rather stoical satisfaction at the + turn which affairs had taken. + </p> + <p> + So Robert Audley went back to London, to surrender his chambers in Figtree + Court, and to make all due inquiries about such ships as sailed from + Liverpool for Sydney in the month of June. + </p> + <p> + He had lingered until after luncheon at Grange Heath, and it was in the + dusky twilight that he entered the shady Temple courts and found his way + to his chambers. He found Mrs. Maloney scrubbing the stairs, as was her + wont upon a Saturday evening, and he had to make his way upward amidst an + atmosphere of soapy steam, that made the balusters greasy under his touch. + </p> + <p> + "There's lots of letters, yer honor," the laundress said, as she rose from + her knees and flattened herself against the wall to enable Robert to pass + her, "and there's some parcels, and there's a gentleman which has called + ever so many times, and is waitin' to-night, for I towld him you'd written + to me to say your rooms were to be aired." + </p> + <p> + He opened the door of his sitting-room, and walked in. The canaries were + singing their farewell to the setting sun, and the faint, yellow light was + flickering upon the geranium leaves. The visitor, whoever he was, sat with + his back to the window and his head bent upon his breast. But he started + up as Robert Audley entered the room, and the young man uttered a great + cry of delight and surprise, and opened his arms to his lost friend, + George Talboys. + </p> + <p> + We know how much Robert had to tell. He touched lightly and tenderly upon + that subject which he knew was cruelly painful to his friends; he said + very little of the wretched woman who was wearing out the remnant of her + wicked life in the quiet suburb of the forgotten Belgian city. + </p> + <p> + George Talboys spoke very briefly of that sunny seventh of September, upon + which he had left his friend sleeping by the trout stream while he went to + accuse his false wife of that conspiracy which had well nigh broken his + heart. + </p> + <p> + "God knows that from the moment in which I sunk into the black pit, + knowing the treacherous hand that had sent me to what might have been my + death, my chief thought was of the safety of the woman who had betrayed + me. I fell upon my feet upon a mass of slush and mire, but my shoulder was + bruised, and my arm broken against the side of the well. I was stunned and + dazed for a few minutes, but I roused myself by an effort, for I felt that + the atmosphere I breathed was deadly. I had my Australian experiences to + help me in my peril; I could climb like a cat. The stones of which the + well was built were rugged and irregular, and I was able to work my way + upward by planting my feet in the interstices of the stones, and resting + my back at times against the opposite side of the well, helping myself as + well as I could with my hands, though one arm was crippled. It was hard + work, Bob, and it seems strange that a man who had long professed himself + weary of his life, should take so much trouble to preserve it. I think I + must have been working upward of half an hour before I got to the top; I + know the time seemed an eternity of pain and peril. It was impossible for + me to leave the place until after dark without being observed, so I hid + myself behind a clump of laurel-bushes, and lay down on the grass faint + and exhausted to wait for nightfall. The man who found me there told you + the rest. Robert." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my poor old friend.—yes, he told me all." + </p> + <p> + George had never returned to Australia after all. He had gone on board the + <i>Victoria Regia</i>, but had afterward changed his berth for one in + another vessel belonging to the same owners, and had gone to New York, + where he had stayed as long as he could endure the loneliness of an + existence which separated him from every friend he had ever known. + </p> + <p> + "Jonathan was very kind to me, Bob," he said; "I had enough money to + enable me to get on pretty well in my own quiet way and I meant to have + started for the California gold fields to get more when that was gone. I + might have made plenty of friends had I pleased, but I carried the old + bullet in my breast; and what sympathy could I have with men who knew + nothing of my grief? I yearned for the strong grasp of your hand, Bob; the + friendly touch of the hand which had guided me through the darkest passage + of my life." + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + CHAPTER XLI. + </h2> + <h3> + AT PEACE. + </h3> + <p> + Two years have passed since the May twilight in which Robert found his old + friend; and Mr. Audley's dream of a fairy cottage has been realized + between Teddington Locks and Hampton Bridge, where, amid a little forest + of foliage, there is a fantastical dwelling place of rustic woodwork, + whose latticed windows look out upon the river. Here, among the lilies and + the rushes on the sloping bank, a brave boy of eight years old plays with + a toddling baby, who peers wonderingly from his nurse's arms at that other + baby in the purple depth of the quiet water. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Audley is a rising man upon the home circuit by this time, and has + distinguished himself in the great breach of promise case of Hobbs <i>v.</i> + Nobbs, and has convulsed the court by his deliciously comic rendering of + the faithless Nobb's amatory correspondence. The handsome dark-eyed boy is + Master George Talboys, who declines <i>musa</i> at Eton, and fishes for + tadpoles in the clear water under the spreading umbrage beyond the ivied + walls of the academy. But he comes very often to the fairy cottage to see + his father, who lives there with his sister and his sister's husband; and + he is very happy with his Uncle Robert, his Aunt Clara, and the pretty + baby who has just begun to toddle on the smooth lawn that slopes down to + the water's brink, upon which there is a little Swiss boat-house and + landing-stage where Robert and George moor their slender wherries. + </p> + <p> + Other people come to the cottage near Teddington. A bright, merry-hearted + girl, and a gray-bearded gentleman, who has survived the trouble of his + life, and battled with it as a Christian should. + </p> + <p> + It is more than a year since a black-edged letter, written upon foreign + paper, came to Robert Audley, to announce the death of a certain Madame + Taylor, who had expired peacefully at Villebrumeuse, dying after a long + illness, which Monsieur Val describes as a <i>maladie de langueur</i>. + </p> + <p> + Another visitor comes to the cottage in this bright summer of 1861—a + frank, generous hearted young man, who tosses the baby and plays with + Georgey, and is especially great in the management of the boats, which are + never idle when Sir Harry Towers is at Teddington. + </p> + <p> + There is a pretty rustic smoking-room over the Swiss boat-house, in which + the gentlemen sit and smoke in the summer evenings, and whence they are + summoned by Clara and Alicia to drink tea, and eat strawberries and cream + upon the lawn. + </p> + <p> + Audley Court is shut up, and a grim old housekeeper reigns paramount in + the mansion which my lady's ringing laughter once made musical. A curtain + hangs before the pre-Raphaelite portrait; and the blue mold which artists + dread gathers upon the Wouvermans and Poussins, the Cuyps and Tintorettis. + The house is often shown to inquisitive visitors, though the baronet is + not informed of that fact, and people admire my lady's rooms, and ask many + questions about the pretty, fair-haired woman who died abroad. + </p> + <p> + Sir Michael has no fancy to return to the familiar dwelling-place in which + he once dreamed a brief dream of impossible happiness. He remains in + London until Alicia shall be Lady Towers, when he is to remove to a house + he has lately bought in Hertfordshire, on the borders of his son-in-law's + estate. George Talboys is very happy with his sister and his old friend. + He is a young man yet, remember, and it is not quite impossible that he + may, by-and-by, find some one who will console him for the past. That dark + story of the past fades little by little every day, and there may come a + time in which the shadow my lady's wickedness has cast upon the young + man's life will utterly vanish away. + </p> + <p> + The meerschaum and the French novels have been presented to a young + Templar with whom Robert Audley had been friendly in his bachelor days; + and Mrs. Maloney has a little pension, paid her quarterly, for her care of + the canaries and geraniums. + </p> + <p> + I hope no one will take objection to my story because the end of it leaves + the good people all happy and at peace. If my experience of life has not + been very long, it has at least been manifold; and I can safely subscribe + to that which a mighty king and a great philosopher declared, when he + said, that neither the experience of his youth nor of his age had ever + shown him "the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread." + </p> + <h3> + THE END. + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Lady Audley's Secret, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET *** + +***** This file should be named 8954-h.htm or 8954-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/8/9/5/8954/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram and Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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