Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖
- Author: Mrs. Henry Wood
Book online «Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖». Author Mrs. Henry Wood
"How You Have Changed!" Was Her Involuntary Remark.
"Yes; I Am Not The Yielding Boy I Was. And Now I Wish To Speak Of Your
Son. He Seems Very Ill."
"A Troublesome Intruding Fellow, Why Can't He Keep His Ailments To His
Own Barracks?" Was The Wrathful Rejoinder. "I Told Maude I Wouldn't Have
Him Here, And What Does She Do But Write Off And Tell Him To Come! I
Don't Like Sick Folk About Me, And Never Did. What Do _You_ Want?"
The Last Question Was Addressed To Hedges, Who Had Come In Unsummoned. It
Was Only A Letter For His Master. Lord Hartledon Took It As A Welcome
Interruption, Went Outside, And Sat Down On A Garden-Seat At A Distance.
How He Hated The Style Of Attack Just Made On Him; The Style Of The
Dowager Altogether! He Asked Himself In What Manner He Could Avoid This
For The Future. It Was A Debasing, Lowering Occurrence, And He Felt Sure
That It Could Hardly Have Taken Place In His Servants' Hall. But He Was
Glad He Had Said What He Did About The Separation. It Might Grieve Him
To Part From His Wife, But Mr. Carr Had Warned Him That He Ought To Do
It. Certainly, If She Disliked Him So Very Much--If She Forced It Upon
Him--Why, Then, It Would Be An Easier Task; But He Felt Sure She Did Not
Dislike Him. If She Had Done So Before Marriage, She Had Learnt To Like
Him Now; And He Believed That The Bare Mention Of Parting Would Shock
Her; And So--His Duty Seemed To Lie In Remaining By Her Side.
He Held The Letter In His Hand For Some Minutes Before He Opened It.
The Handwriting Warned Him That It Was From Mr. Carr, And He Knew That
No Pleasant News Could Be In It. In Fact, He Had Placed Himself In So
Unsatisfactory A Position As To Render Anything But Bad News Next Door
To An Impossibility.
It Contained Only A Few Lines--A Word Of Caution Mr. Carr Had Forgotten
To Speak When He Took Leave Of Lord Hartledon The Previous Morning. "Let
Me Advise You Not To Say Anything To Those People--Gum, I Think The Name
Is--About G.G. It Might Not Be Altogether Prudent For You To Do So.
Should You Remain Any Time At Hartledon, I Will Come Down For A Few
Days And Question For Myself."
"I've Done It Already," Thought Val, As He Folded The Letter And Returned
It To His Pocket. "As To My Staying Any Time At Hartledon--Not If I Know
It."
Looking Up At The Sound Of Footsteps, He Saw Hedges Approaching. Never
Free From A Certain Apprehension When Any Unexpected Interruption
Occurred--An Apprehension That Turned His Heart Sick, And Set His Pulses
Beating--He Waited, Outwardly Very Calm.
"Floyd Has Called, My Lord, And Is Asking To See You. He Seems
Rather--Rather Concerned And Put Out. I Think It's Something About--About
The Death Last Summer."
Hedges Hardly Knew How To Frame His Words, And Lord Hartledon Stared At
Him.
"Floyd Can Come To Me Here," He Said.
The Miller Soon Made His Appearance, Carrying A Small Case Half Purse,
Half Pocket-Book, In His Hand, Made Of Russian Leather, With Rims Of
Gold. Val Knew It In A Moment, In Spite Of Its Marks Of Defacement.
"Do You Recognize It, My Lord?" Asked The Miller.
"Yes, I Do," Replied Lord Hartledon. "It Belonged To My Brother."
"I Thought So," Returned The Miller. "On The Very Day Before That
Unfortunate Race Last Year, His Lordship Was Talking To Me, And Had This
In His Hand. I Felt Sure It Was The Same The Moment I Saw It."
"He Had It With Him The Day Of The Race," Observed Lord Hartledon. "Mr.
Carteret Said He Saw It Lying In The Boat When They Started. We Always
Thought It Had Been Lost In The River. Where Did You Find It?"
"Well, It's Very Odd, My Lord, But I Found It Buried."
"Buried!"
"Buried In The Ground, Not Far From The River, Alongside The Path That
Leads From Where His Lordship Was Found To Hartledon. I Was Getting Up
Some Dandelion Roots For My Wife This Morning Early, And Dug Up This
Close To One. There's Where The Knife Touched It. My Lord," Added The
Miller, "I Beg To Say That I Have Not Opened It. I Wiped It, Wrapped It
In Paper, And Said Nothing To Anybody, But Came Here With It As Soon As
I Thought You'd Be Up. That Lad Of Mine, Ripper, Said Last Night You Were
At Hartledon."
The Miller Was Quite Honest; And Lord Hartledon Knew That When He Said
He Had Not Opened It, He Had Not Done So. It Still Contained Some
Small Memoranda In His Brother's Writing, But No Money; And This Was
Noticeable, Since It Was Quite Certain To Have Had Money In It On That
Day.
"Those Who Buried It Might Have Taken It Out," He Observed, Following The
Bent Of His Thoughts.
"But Who Did Bury It; And Where Did They Find It, To Allow Of Their
Burying It?" Questioned The Miller. "How Did They Come By It?--That's The
Odd Thing. I Am Certain It Was Not In The Skiff, For I Searched That Over
Myself."
Lord Hartledon Said Little. He Could Not Understand It; And The Incident,
With The Slips Of Paper, Was Bringing His Brother All Too Palpably Before
Him. One Of Them Had Concerned Himself, Though In What Manner He Would
Never Know Now. It Ran As Follows: "Not To Forget Val." Poor Fellow!
Poor Lord Hartledon!
"Would Your Lordship Like To Come And See The Spot Where I Found It?"
Asked The Miller.
Lord Hartledon Said He Should, And Would Go In The Course Of The Day; And
Floyd Took His Departure. Val Sat On For A Time Where He Was, And Then
Went In, Locked Up The Damp Case With Its Tarnished Rims, And Went On To
The Presence Of His Wife.
She Was Dressed Now, But Had Not Left Her Bedroom. It Was Evident That
She Meant To Be Kind And Pleasant With Him; Different From What She Had
Been, For She Smiled, And Began A Little Apology For Her Tardiness,
Saying She Would Get Up To Breakfast In Future.
He Motioned Her Back To Her Seat On The Sofa Before The Open Window, And
Sat Down Near Her. His Face Was Grave; She Thought She Had Never Seen It
So Much So--Grave And Firm, And His Voice Was Grave Too, But Had A Kindly
Tone In It. He Took Both Her Hands Between His As He Spoke; Not So Much,
It Seemed In Affection, As To Impress Solemnity Upon Her.
"Maude, I'm Going To Ask You A Question, And I Beg You To Answer Me As
Truthfully As You Could Answer Heaven. Have You Any Wish That We Should
Live Apart From Each Other?"
"I Do Not Understand You," She Answered, After A Pause, During Which A
Flush Of Surprise Or Emotion Spread Itself Gradually Over Her Face.
"Nay, The Question Is Plain. Have You Any Wish To Separate From Me?"
"I Never Thought Of Such A Thing. Separate From You! What Can You Mean?"
"Your Mother Has Dropped A Hint That You Have Not Been Happy With Me. I
Could Almost Understand Her To Imply That You Have A Positive Dislike To
Me. She Sought To Explain Her Words Away, But Certainly Spoke Them. Is It
So, Maude? I Fancied Something Of The Sort Myself In The Earlier Days Of
Our Marriage."
He Turned His Head Sharply At A Sudden Sound, But It Was Only The French
Clock On The Mantelpiece Striking Eleven.
"Because," He Resumed, Having Waited In Vain For An Answer, "If Such
Should Really Be Your Wish, I Will Accede To It. I Desire Your Comfort,
Your Happiness Beyond Any Earthly Thing; And If Living Apart From Me
Would Promote It, I Will Sacrifice My Own Feelings, And You Shall Not
Hear A Murmur. I Would Sacrifice My Life For You."
She Burst Into Tears. "Are You Speaking At All For Yourself? Do You Wish
This?" She Murmured.
"No."
"Then How Can You Be So Cruel?"
"I Should Have Thought It Unjustifiably Cruel, But That It Has Been
Suggested To Me. Tell Me The Truth, Maude."
Maude Was Turning Sick With Apprehension. She Had Begun To Like Her
Husband During The Latter Part Of Their Sojourn In London; Had Missed Him
Terribly During This Long Period Of Lonely Ennui At Hartledon; And His
Tender Kindness To Her For The Past Few Fleeting Hours Of This Their
Meeting Had Seemed Like Heaven As Compared With The Solitary Past. Her
Whole Heart Was In Her Words As She Answered:
"When We First Married I Did Not Care For You; I Almost Think I Did Not
Like You. Everything Was New To Me, And I Felt As One In An Unknown Sea.
But It Wore Off; And If You Only Knew How I Have Thought Of You, And
Wished For You Here, You Would Never Have Said Anything So Cruel. You Are
My Husband, And You Cannot Put Me From You. Percival, Promise Me That You
Will Never Hint At This Again!"
He Bent And Kissed Her. His Course Lay Plain Before Him; And If An Ugly
Mountain Rose Up Before His Mind's Eye, Shadowing Forth Not Voluntary But
Forced Separation, He Would Not Look At It In That Moment.
"What Could Mamma Mean?" She Asked. "I Shall Ask Her."
"Maude, Oblige Me By Saying Nothing About It. I Have Already Warned Lady
Kirton That It Must Not Be Repeated; And I Am Sure It Will Not Be. I Wish
You Would Also Oblige Me In Another Matter."
"In Anything," She Eagerly Said, Raising Her Tearful Eyes To His. "Ask Me
Anything."
"I Intend To Take Your Brother To The Warmest Seaside Place England Can
Boast Of, At Once; To-Day Or To-Morrow. The Sea-Air May Do Me Good Also.
I Want That, Or Something Else," He Added; His Tone Assuming A Sad
Weariness As He Remembered How Futile Any "Sea-Air" Would Be For A Mind
Diseased. "Won't You Go With Us, Maude?"
"Oh Yes, Gladly! I Will Go With You Anywhere."
He Left Her To Proceed To Captain Kirton's Room, Thinking That He And His
Wife Might Have Been Happy Together Yet, But For That One Awful Shadow Of
The Past, Which She Did Not Know Anything About; And He Prayed She Never
Might Know.
But After All, It Would Have Been A Very Moonlight Sort Of Happiness.
Chapter 26 (Once More)
The Months Rolled On, And Lord And Lady Hartledon Did Not Separate. They
Remained Together, And Were, So Far, Happy Enough--The Moonlight
Happiness Hinted At; And It Is As I Believe, The Best And Calmest Sort
Of Happiness For Married Life. Maude's Temper Was Unequal, And He Was
Subject To Prolonged Hours Of Sadness. But The Time Went Lightly Enough
Over Their Heads, For All The World Saw, As It Goes Over The Heads Of
Most People.
And Lord Hartledon Was A Free Man Still, And Stood Well With The World.
Whatever The Mysterious Accusation Brought Against Him Had Been, It
Produced No Noisy Effects As Yet; In Popular Phrase, It Had Come To
Nothing. As Yet; Always As Yet. Whether He Had Shot A Man, Or Robbed A
Bank, Or Fired A Church, The Incipient Accusation Died Away. But The
Fear, Let It Be Of What Nature It Would, Never Died Away In His Mind;
And He Lived As A Man With A Sword Suspended Over His Head. Moreover,
The Sword, In His Own Imagination, Was Slipping Gradually From Its
Fastenings; His Days Were Restless, His Nights Sleepless, An Inward Fever
For Ever Consumed Him.
As None Knew Better Than Thomas Carr. There Were Two Witnesses Who Could
Bring The Facts Home To Lord Hartledon; And, So Far As Was Known, Only
Two: The Stranger, Who Had Paid Him A Visit, And The Man Gordon, Or
Gorton. The Latter Was The More Dangerous; And They Had Not Yet Been Able
To Trace Him. Mr. Carr's Friend, Detective Green, Had Furnished That
Gentleman With A Descriptive Bill Of Gordon Of The
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