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
The Thought That I Should Be Punishing Him For Another's Fault Checked
Me. I Wonder How We Can Get Rid Of Her?"
"We Must Strive To Please Her While She Stays."
"Please Her!" He Echoed. "Anne, My Dear, That Is Stretching Christian
Charity Rather Too Far."
Anne Smiled. "I Am A Clergyman's Daughter, You Know, Val."
"If She Is Wise, She'll Abstain From Offending You In My Presence. I'm
Not Sure But I Should Lose Command Of Myself, And Send Her Off There And
Then."
"I Don't Fear That. She Was Quite Civil When We Came Up From Dinner,
And--"
"As She Generally Is Then. She Takes Her Share Of Wine."
"And Asked Me If I Would Excuse Her Falling Into A Doze, For She Never
Felt Well Without It."
Anne Was Right. The Cunning Old Woman Changed Her Tactics, Finding Those
She Had Started Would Not Answer. It Has Been Remarked Before, If You
Remember, That She Knew Particularly Well On Which Side Her Bread Was
Buttered. Nothing Could Exceed Her Graciousness From That Evening. The
Past Scene Might Have Been A Dream, For All Traces That Remained Of It.
Out Of The House She Was Determined Not To Go In Anger; It Was Too
Desirable A Refuge For That. And On The Following Day, Upon Hearing
Edward Attempt Some Impudent Speech To His New Mother, She Put Him Across
Her Knee, Pulled Off An Old Slipper She Was Wearing, And Gave Him A
Whipping. Anne Interposed, The Boy Roared; But The Good Woman Had
Her Way.
"Don't Put Yourself Out, Dear Lady Hartledon. There's Nothing So Good
For Them As A Wholesome Whipping. I Used To Try It On My Own Children
At Times."
Chapter 32 (Mr. Pike On The Wing)
The Time Went On. It May Have Been Some Twelve Or Thirteen Months Later
That Mr. Carr, Sitting Alone In His Chambers, One Evening, Was Surprised
By The Entrance Of His Clerk--Who Possessed A Latch-Key As Well As
Himself.
"Why, Taylor! What Brings You Here?"
"I Thought You Would Most Likely Be In, Sir," Replied The Clerk. "Do
You Remember Some Few Years Ago Making Inquiries About A Man Named
Gorton--And You Could Not Find Him?"
"And Never Have Found Him," Was Mr. Carr's Comment. "Well?"
"I Have Seen Him This Evening. He Is Back In London."
Thomas Carr Was Not A Man To Be Startlingly Affected By Any
Communication; Nevertheless He Felt The Importance Of This, For Lord
Hartledon's Sake.
"I Met Him By Chance, In A Place Where I Sometimes Go Of An Evening To
Smoke A Cigar, And Learned His Name By Accident," Continued Mr. Taylor.
"It's The Same Man That Was At Kedge And Reck's, George Gorton; He
Acknowledged It At Once, Quite Readily."
"And Where Has He Been Hiding Himself?"
"He Has Been In Australia For Several Years, He Says; Went There Directly
After He Left Kedge And Reck's That Autumn."
"Could You Get Him Here, Taylor? I Must See Him. Tell Me: What Coloured
Hair Has He?"
"Red, Sir; And Plenty Of It. He Says He's Doing Very Well Over There,
And Has Only Come Home For A Short Change. He Does Not Seem To Be In
Concealment, And Gave Me His Address When I Asked Him For It."
According To Mr. Carr's Wish, The Man Gorton Was Brought To His Chambers
The Following Morning By Taylor. To The Barrister's Surprise, A
Well-Dressed And Really Rather Gentlemanly Man Entered. He Had Been
Accustomed To Picturing This Gorton As An Arab Of London Life. Casting
A Keen Glance At The Red Hair, He Saw It Was Indisputably His Own.
A Few Rapid Questions, Which Gorton Answered Without The Slightest Demur,
And Mr. Carr Leaned Back In His Chair, Knowing That All The Trouble He
Had Been At To Find This Man Might Have Been Spared: For He Was Not The
George Gordon They Had Suspected. But Mr. Carr Was Cautious, And Betrayed
Nothing.
"I Am Sorry To Have Troubled You," He Said. "When I Inquired For You Of
Kedge And Reck Some Years Ago, It Was Under The Impression That You Were
Some One Else. You Had Left; And They Did Not Know Where To Find You."
"Yes, I Had Displeased Them Through Arresting A Wrong Man, And Other
Things. I Was Down In The World Then, And Glad To Do Anything For A
Living, Even To Serving Writs."
"You Arrested The Late Lord Hartledon For His Brother," Observed Mr.
Carr, With A Careless Smile. "I Heard Of It. I Suppose You Did Not Know
Them Apart."
"I Had Never Set Eyes On Either Of Them Before," Returned Gorton;
Unconsciously Confirming A Point In The Barrister's Mind; Which, However,
Was Already Sufficiently Obvious.
"The Man I Wanted To Find Was Named Gordon. I Thought It Just Possible
That You Might Have Changed Your Name Temporarily: Some Of Us Finding It
Convenient To Do So On Occasion."
"I Never Changed Mine In My Life."
"And If You Had, I Don't Suppose You'd Have Changed It To One So
Notorious As George Gordon."
"Notorious?"
"It Was A George Gordon Who Was The Hero Of That Piratical Affair; That
Mutiny On Board The _Morning Star_."
"Ah, To Be Sure. And An Awful Villain Too! A Man I Met In Australia Knew
Gordon Well. But He Tells A Curious Tale, Though. He Was A Doctor, That
Gordon; Had Come Last From Somewhere In Kirkcudbrightshire."
"He Did," Said Thomas Carr, Quietly. "What Curious Tale Does Your Friend
Tell?"
"Well, Sir, He Says--Or Rather Said, For I've Not Seen Him Since My First
Visit There--That George Gordon Did Not Sail In The _Morning Star_. He
Was Killed In A Drunken Brawl The Night Before He Ought To Have Sailed:
This Man Was Present And Saw Him Buried."
"But There's Pretty Good Proof That Gordon Did Sail. He Was The
Ringleader Of The Mutiny."
"Well, Yes. I Don't Know How It Could Have Been. The Man Was Positive.
I Never Knew Gordon; So That The Affair Did Not Interest Me Much."
"You Are Doing Well Over There?"
"Very Well. I Might Retire Now, If I Chose To Live In A Small Way, But I
Mean To Take A Few More Years Of It, And Go On To Riches. Ah! And It Was
Just The Turn Of A Pin Whether I Went Over There That Second Time, Or
Whether I Stopped In London To Serve Writs And Starve."
"Val Was Right," Thought The Barrister.
On The Following Saturday Mr. Carr Took A Return-Ticket, And Went Down
To Hartledon: As He Had Done Once Or Twice Before In The Old Days. The
Hartledons Had Not Come To Town This Season; Did Not Intend To Come: Anne
Was Too Happy In The Birth Of Her Baby-Boy To Care For London; And Val
Liked Hartledon Better Than Any Other Place Now.
In One Single Respect The Past Year Had Failed To Bring Anne
Happiness--There Was Not Entire Confidence Between Herself And Her
Husband. He Had Something On His Mind, And She Could Not Fail To See That
He Had. It Was Not That Awful Dread That Seemed To Possess Him In His
First Wife's Time; Nevertheless It Was A Weight Which Told More Or Less
On His Spirits At All Times. To Anne It Appeared Like Remorse; Yet She
Might Never Have Thought This, But For A Word Or Two He Let Slip
Occasionally. Was It Connected With His Children? She Could Almost Have
Fancied So: And Yet In What Manner Could It Be? His Behaviour Was
Peculiar. He Rather Avoided Them Than Not; But When With Them Was Almost
Passionately Demonstrative, Exactingly Jealous That Due Attention Should
Be Paid To Them: And He Seemed Half Afraid Of Caressing Anne's Baby, Lest
It Should Be Thought He Cared For It More Than For The Others. Altogether
Lady Hartledon Puzzled Her Brains In Vain: She Could Not Make Him Out.
When She Questioned Him He Would Deny That There Was Anything The Matter,
And Said It Was Her Fancy.
They Were At Hartledon Alone: That Is, Without The Countess-Dowager.
That Respected Lady, Though Not Actually Domiciled With Them During The
Past Twelve-Month, Had Paid Them Three Long Visits. She Was Determined
To Retain Her Right In The Household--If Right It Could Be Called. The
Dowager Was By Far Too Wary To Do Otherwise; And Her Behaviour To Anne
Was Exceedingly Mild. But Somehow She Contrived To Retain, Or Continually
Renew, Her Evil Influence Over The Children; Though So Insidiously, That
Lady Hartledon Could Never Detect How Or When It Was Done, Or Openly Meet
It. Neither Could She Effectually Counteract It. So Surely As The Dowager
Came, So Surely Did The Young Boy And His Sister Become Unruly With Their
Step-Mother; Ill-Natured And Rude. Lady Hartledon Was Kind, Judicious,
And Good; And Things Would So Far Be Remedied During The Crafty Dowager's
Absences, As To Promise A Complete Cure; But Whenever She Returned The
Evil Broke Out Again. Anne Was Sorely Perplexed. She Did Not Like To Deny
The Children To Their Grandmother, Who Was More Nearly Related To Them
Than She Herself; And She Could Only Pray That Time Would Bring About
Some Remedy. The Dowager Passed Her Time Pretty Equally Between Their
House And Her Son's. Lord Kirton Had Not Married Again, Owing, Perhaps,
To The Watch And Ward Kept Over Him. But As Soon As He Started Off To The
Continent, Or Elsewhere, Where She Could Not Follow Him, Then Off She
Came, Without Notice, To England And Lord Hartledon's. And Val, In His
Good-Nature, Bore The Infliction Passively So Long As She Kept Civil And
Peaceable.
In This Also Her Husband's Behaviour Puzzled Anne. Disliking The Dowager
Beyond Every Other Created Being, He Yet Suffered Her To Indulge His
Children; And If Any Little Passage-At-Arms Supervened, Took Her Part
Rather Than His Wife's.
"I Cannot Understand You, Val," Anne Said To Him One Day, In Tones Of
Pain. "You Are Not As You Used To Be." And His Only Answer Was To Strain
His Wife To His Bosom With An Impassioned Gesture Of Love.
But These Were Only Episodes In Their Generally Happy Life. Never More
Happy, More Free From Any External Influence, Than When Thomas Carr
Arrived There On This Identical Saturday. He Went In Unexpectedly: And
Val's Violet Eyes, Beautiful As Ever, Shone Out Their Welcome; And Anne,
Who Happened To Have Her Baby On Her Lap, Blushed And Smiled, As She Held
It Out For The Barrister's Inspection.
"I Dare Not Take It," Said He. "You Would Be Up In Arms If It Were
Dropped. What Is Its Name?"
"Reginald."
A Little While, And She Carried The Child Away, Leaving Them Alone. Mr.
Carr Declined Refreshment For The Present; And He And Val Strolled Out
Arm-In-Arm.
"I Have Brought You An Item Of News, Hartledon. Gorton Has Turned Up."
"Not Gordon?"
"No. And What's More, Gorton Never Was Gordon. You Were Right, And
I Was Wrong. I Would Have Bet A Ten-Pound Note--A Great Venture For A
Barrister--That The Men Were The Same; Never, In Point Of Fact, Had A
Doubt Of It."
"You Would Not Listen To Me," Said Val. "I Told You I Was Sure I Could
Not Have Failed To Recognize Gordon, Had He Been The One Who Was Down At
Calne With The Writ."
"But You Acknowledged That It Might Have Been He, Nevertheless; That His
Red Hair Might Have Been False; That You Never Had A Distinct View Of The
Man's Face; And That The Only Time You Spoke To Him Was In The Gloaming,"
Reiterated Thomas Carr. "Well, As It Turns Out, We Might Have Spared Half
Our Pains And Anxiety, For Gorton Was Never Any One But Himself: An
Innocent Sheriff's Officer, As Far As You Are Concerned, Who Had Never,
In His Life Set Eyes On Val Elster Until He Went After Him To Calne."
"Didn't I Say So?" Reiterated Val. "Gordon Would Have Known Me Too Well
To Arrest Edward For Me."
"But You Admitted The General Likeness Between You And Your Brother; And
Gordon Had Not Seen You For Three Years Or More."
"Yes; I Admitted All You Say, And Perhaps Was A Little Doubtful Myself.
But I Soon Shook Off The Doubt, And Of Late
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