Red Money by Fergus Hume (the little red hen ebook .txt) 📖

Expect To Hear For Some

Weeks,  Or Even Months,  As The Affairs Of Garvington,  Being Very Much

Involved,  Could Not Be Understood In A Moment. But The Lovers,  Parted By

A Strict Sense Of Duty,  Eased Their Minds By Writing Weekly Letters To

One Another.

 

Needless To Say,  Garvington Did Not At All Approve Of The Decision Of

His Sister,  Which She Duly Communicated To Him. He Disliked Lambert,

Both As The Next Heir To The Estates,  And Because He Was A More Popular

Man Than Himself. Even Had Pine Not Prohibited The Marriage In His Will,

Garvington Would Have Objected To Agnes Becoming The Young Man's Wife;

As It Was,  He Stormed Tempests,  But Without Changing The Widow's

Determination. Being A Remarkably Selfish Creature,  All He Desired Was

That Agnes Should Live A Solitary Life As A Kind Of Banker,  To Supply

Him With Money Whenever He Chose To Ask For The Same. Pine He Had Not

Been Able To Manage,  But He Felt Quite Sure That He Could Bully His

Sister Into Doing What He Wanted. It Both Enraged And Surprised Him To

Find That She Had A Will Of Her Own And Was Not Content To Obey His

Egotistical Orders. Agnes Would Not Even Remain Under His Roof--As He

Wanted Her To,  Lest Some Other Person Should Get Hold Of Her And The

Desirable Millions--But Returned To Her London House. The Only Comfort

He Had Was That Lambert Was Not With Her,  And Therefore--As He Devoutly

Hoped--She Would Meet Some Man Who Would Cause Her To Forget The Abbot's

Wood Recluse. So Long As Agnes Retained The Money,  Garvington Did Not

Particularly Object To Her Marrying,  As He Always Hoped To Cajole And

Chapter 11 ( Blackmail) Pg 96

Bully Ready Cash Out Of Her,  But He Would Have Preferred Had She

Remained Single,  As Then She Could Be More Easily Plundered.

 

"And Yet I Don't Know," He Said To His Long-Suffering Wife. "While She's

A Widow There's Always The Chance That She May Take The Bit Between Her

Teeth And Marry Noel,  In Which Case She Loses Everything. It Will Be As

Well To Get Her Married."

 

"You Will Have No Selection Of The Husband This Time," Said Lady

Garvington,  Whose Sympathies Were Entirely For Agnes. "She Will Choose

For Herself."

 

"Let Her," Retorted Garvington,  With Feigned Generosity. "So Long As She

Does Not Choose Noel; Hang Him!"

 

"He's The Very Man She Will Choose;" Replied His Wife,  And Garvington,

Uneasily Conscious That She Was Probably Right,  Cursed Freely All Women

In General And His Sister In Particular. Meanwhile He Went To Paris To

Look After A Famous Chef,  Of Whom He Had Heard Great Things,  And Left

His Wife In London With Strict Injunctions To Keep A Watch On Agnes.

 

The Widow Was Speedily Made Aware Of These Instructions,  For When Lady

Garvington Came To Stay With Her Sister-In-Law At The Sumptuous Mayfair

Mansion,  She Told Her Hostess About The Conversation. More Than That,

She Even Pressed Her To Marry Noel,  And Be Happy.

 

"Money Doesn't Do So Much,  After All,  When You Come To Think Of It,"

Lamented Lady Garvington. "And I Know You'd Be Happier With Noel,  Than

Living Here With All This Horrid Wealth."

 

"What Would Freddy Say If He Heard You Talk So,  Jane?"

 

"I Don't Know What Else He Can Say," Rejoined The Other Reflectively.

"He's Never Kept His Temper Or Held His Tongue With Me. His Liver Is

Nearly Always Out Of Order With Over-Eating. However," She Added

Cheering Up,  "He Is Sure To Die Of Apoplexy Before Long,  And Then I

Shall Live On Tea And Buns For The Rest Of My Life. I Simply Hate The

Sight Of A Dinner Table."

 

"Freddy Isn't A Pretty Sight During A Meal," Admitted His Sister With A

Shrug. "All The Same You Shouldn't Wish Him Dead,  Jane. You Might Have A

Worse Husband."

 

"I'd Rather Have A Profligate Than A Glutton,  Agnes. But Freddy Won't

Die,  My Dear. He'll Go To Wiesbaden,  Or Vichy,  Or Schwalbach,  And Take

The Waters To Get Thin; Then He'll Return To Eat Himself To The Size Of

A Prize Pig Again. But Thank Goodness," Said Lady Garvington,  Cheering

Up Once More,  "He's Away For A Few Weeks,  And We Can Enjoy Ourselves.

But Do Let Us Have Plain Joints And No Sauces,  Agnes."

 

"Oh,  You Can Live On Bread And Water If You Choose," Said The Widow

Good-Humoredly. "It's A Pity I Am In Mourning,  As I Can't Take You Out

Much. But The Motor Is Always At Your Disposal,  And I Can Give You All

Chapter 11 ( Blackmail) Pg 97

The Money You Want. Get A Few Dresses--"

 

"And Hats,  And Boots,  And Shoes,  And--And--Oh,  I Don't Know What Else.

You're A Dear,  Agnes,  And Although I Don't Want To Ruin You,  I Do Want

Heaps Of Things. I'm In Rags,  As Freddy Eats Up Our Entire Income."

 

"You Can't Ruin A Woman With Two Millions,  Jane. Get What You Require

And I'll Pay. I Am Only Too Glad To Give You Some Pleasure,  Since I

Can't Attend To You As I Ought To. But You See,  Nearly Three Times A

Week I Have To Consult The Lawyers About Settling Freddy's Affairs."

 

On These Conditions Four Or Five Weeks Passed Away Very Happily For The

Two Women. Lady Garvington Certainly Had The Time Of Her Life,  And

Regained A Portion Of Her Lost Youth. She Revelled In Shopping,  Went In

A Quiet Way To Theatres,  Patronized Skating Rinks,  And Even Attended One

Or Two Small Winter Dances. And To Her Joy,  She Met With A Nice Young

Man,  Who Was Earnestly In Pursuit Of A New Religion,  Which Involved Much

Fasting And Occasional Vegetarian Meals. He Taught Her To Eat Nuts,  And

Eschew Meats,  Talking Meanwhile Of The Psychic Powers Which Such

Abstemiousness Would Develop In Her. Of Course Lady Garvington Did Not

Overdo This Asceticism,  But She Was Thankful To Meet A Man Who Had Not

Read Beeton's Cookery Book. Besides,  He Flirted Quite Nicely.

 

Agnes,  Pleased To See Her Sister-In-Law Enjoying Life,  Gave Her

Attention To Garvington's Affairs,  And Found Them In A Woeful Mess. It

Really Did Appear As If She Would Have To Save The Lambert Family From

Ever-Lasting Disgrace,  And From Being Entirely Submerged,  By Keeping

Hold Of Her Millions. But She Did Not Lose Heart,  And Worked On Bravely

In The Hope That An Adjustment Would Save A Few Thousand A Year For

Freddy,  Without Touching Any Of Pine's Money. If She Could Manage To

Secure Him A Sufficient Income To Keep Up The Title,  And To Prevent The

Sale Of The Manor In Hengishire,  She Then Intended To Surrender Her

Husband's Wealth And Retire To A Country Life With Noel As Her Husband.

 

"He Can Paint And I Can Look After The Cottage Along With Mrs. Tribb,"

She Told Mrs. Belgrove,  Who Called To See Her One Day,  More Painted And

Dyed And Padded And Tastefully Dressed Than Ever. "We Can Keep Fowls And

Things,  You Know," She Added Vaguely.

 

"Quite An Idyl," Tittered The Visitor,  And Then Went Away To Tell Her

Friends That Lady Agnes Must Have Been In Love With Her Cousin All The

Time. And As The Contents Of The Will Were Now Generally Known,  Every

One Agreed That The Woman Was A Fool To Give Up Wealth For A Dull

Existence In The Woods. "All The Same It's Very Sweet," Sighed Mrs.

Belgrove,  Having Made As Much Mischief As She Possibly Could. "I Should

Like It Myself If I Could Only Dress As A Watteau Shepherdess,  You Know,

And Carry A Lamb With A Blue Ribbon Round Its Dear Neck."

 

Of Course,  Lady Agnes Heard Nothing Of This Ill-Natured Chatter,  Since

She Did Not Go Into Society During Her Period Of Mourning,  And Received

Only A Few Of Her Most Intimate Friends. Moreover,  Besides Attending To

Chapter 11 ( Blackmail) Pg 98

Garvington's Affairs,  It Was Necessary That She Should Have Frequent

Consultations With Mr. Jarwin In His Stuffy Chancery Lane Office,

Relative To The Large Fortune Left By Her Late Husband. There,  On Three

Occasions She Met Silver,  The Ex-Secretary,  When He Came To Explain

Various Matters To The Solicitor. With The Consent Of Lady Agnes,  The

Man Had Been Discharged,  When Jarvin Took Over The Management Of The

Millions,  But Having A Thorough Knowledge Of Pine's Financial Dealings,

It Was Necessary That He Should Be Questioned Every Now And Then.

 

Silver Was Rather Sulky Over His Abrupt Dismissal,  But Cunningly

Concealed His Real Feelings When In The Presence Of The Widow,  Since She

Was Too Opulent A Person To Offend. It Was Silver Who Suggested That A

Reward Should Be Offered For The Detection Of Pine's Assassin. Lady

Agnes Approved Of The Idea,  And Indeed Was Somewhat Shocked That She Had

Not Thought Of Taking This Course Herself. Therefore,  Within Seven Days

Every Police Office In The United Kingdom Was Placarded With Bills,

Stating That The Sum Of One Thousand Pounds Would Be Given To The Person

Or Persons Who Should Denounce The Culprit. The Amount Offered Caused

Quite A Flutter Of Excitement,  And Public Interest In The Case Was

Revived For Nearly A Fortnight. At The Conclusion Of That Period,  As

Nothing Fresh Was Discovered,  People Ceased To Discuss The Matter. It

Seemed As Though The Reward,  Large As It Was,  Would Never Be Claimed.

 

But Having Regard To The Fact That Silver Was Interesting Himself In The

Endeavor To Avenge His Patron's Death,  Lady Agnes Was Not At All

Surprised To Receive A Visit From Him One Foggy November Afternoon. She

Certainly Did Not Care Much For The Little Man,  But Feeling Dull And

Somewhat Lonely,  She Quite Welcomed His Visit. Lady Garvington Had Gone

With Her Ascetic Admirer To A Lecture On "Souls And Sorrows!" Therefore

Agnes Had A Spare Hour For The Ex-Secretary. He Was Shown Into Her Own

Particular Private Sitting-Room,  And She Welcomed Him With Studied

Politeness,  For Try As She Might It Was Impossible For Her To Overcome

Her Mistrust.

 

"Good-Day,  Mr. Silver," She Said,  When He Bowed Before Her. "This Is An

Unexpected Visit. Won't You Be Seated?"

 

Silver Accepted Her Offer Of A Chair With An Air Of Demure Shyness,  And

Sitting On Its Edge Stared At Her Rather Hard. He Looked Neat And Dapper

In His Bond Street Kit,  And For A Man Who Had Started Life As A

Whitechapel Toymaker,  His Manners Were Inoffensive. While Pine's

Secretary He Had Contrived To Pick Up Hints In The Way Of Social

Behavior,  And Undoubtedly He