The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes (english novels to improve english .TXT) đ
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âAbout terms, sir?â she said a little timidly, returning to the subject which meant so much, so very much to her.
âAbout terms?â he echoed. And then there came a pause. âMy name is Sleuth,â he said suddenly,ââS-l-e-u-t-h. Think of a hound, Mrs. Bunting, and youâll never forget my name. I could provide you with a referenceââ (he gave her what she described to herself as a funny, sideways look), âbut I should prefer you to dispense with that, if you donât mind. I am quite willing to pay youâwell, shall we say a month in advance?â
A spot of red shot into Mrs. Buntingâs cheeks. She felt sick with reliefânay, with a joy which was almost pain. She had not known till that moment how hungry she wasâhow eager forâa good meal. âThat would be all right, sir,â she murmured.
âAnd what are you going to charge me?â There had come a kindly, almost a friendly note into his voice. âWith attendance, mind! I shall expect you to give me attendance, and I need hardly ask if you can cook, Mrs. Bunting?â
âOh, yes, sir,â she said. âI am a plain cook. What would you say to twenty-five shillings a week, sir?â She looked at him deprecatingly, and as he did not answer she went on falteringly, âYou see, sir, it may seem a good deal, but you would have the best of attendance and careful cookingâand my husband, sirâhe would be pleased to valet you.â
âI shouldnât want anything of that sort done for me,â said Mr. Sleuth hastily. âI prefer looking after my own clothes. I am used to waiting on myself. But, Mrs. Bunting, I have a great dislike to sharing lodgingsââ
She interrupted eagerly, âI could let you have the use of the two floors for the same priceâthat is, until we get another lodger. I shouldnât like you to sleep in the back room up here, sir. Itâs such a poor little room. You could do as you say, sirâdo your work and your experiments up here, and then have your meals in the drawing-room.â
âYes,â he said hesitatingly, âthat sounds a good plan. And if I offered you two pounds, or two guineas? Might I then rely on your not taking another lodger?â
âYes,â she said quietly. âIâd be very glad only to have you to wait on, sir.â
âI suppose you have a key to the door of this room, Mrs. Bunting? I donât like to be disturbed while Iâm working.â
He waited a moment, and then said again, rather urgently, âI suppose you have a key to this door, Mrs. Bunting?â
âOh, yes, sir, thereâs a keyâa very nice little key. The people who lived here before had a new kind of lock put on to the door.â She went over, and throwing the door open, showed him that a round disk had been fitted above the old keyhole.
He nodded his head, and then, after standing silent a little, as if absorbed in thought, âForty-two shillings a week? Yes, that will suit me perfectly. And Iâll begin now by paying my first monthâs rent in advance. Now, four times forty-two shillings isââhe jerked his head back and stared at his new landlady; for the first time he smiled, a queer, wry smileââwhy, just eight pounds eight shillings, Mrs. Bunting!â
He thrust his hand through into an inner pocket of his long cape-like coat and took out a handful of sovereigns. Then he began putting these down in a row on the bare wooden table which stood in the centre of the room. âHereâs fiveâsixâsevenâeightânine âten pounds. Youâd better keep the odd change, Mrs. Bunting, for I shall want you to do some shopping for me to-morrow morning. I met with a misfortune to-day.â But the new lodger did not speak as if his misfortune, whatever it was, weighed on his spirits.
âIndeed, sir. Iâm sorry to hear that.â Mrs. Buntingâs heart was going thumpâthumpâthump. She felt extraordinarily moved, dizzy with relief and joy.
âYes, a very great misfortune! I lost my luggage, the few things I managed to bring away with me.â His voice dropped suddenly. âI shouldnât have said that,â he muttered. âI was a fool to say that!â Then, more loudly, âSomeone said to me, âYou canât go into a lodging-house without any luggage. They wouldnât take you in.â But you have taken me in, Mrs. Bunting, and Iâm grateful forâfor the kind way you have met meââ He looked at her feelingly, appealingly, and Mrs. Bunting was touched. She was beginning to feel very kindly towards her new lodger.
âI hope I know a gentleman when I see one,â she said, with a break in her staid voice.
âI shall have to see about getting some clothes to-morrow, Mrs. Bunting.â Again he looked at her appealingly.
âI expect youâd like to wash your hands now, sir. And would you tell me what youâd like for supper? We havenât much in the house.â
âOh, anythingâll do,â he said hastily. âI donât want you to go out for me. Itâs a cold, foggy, wet night, Mrs. Bunting. If you have a little bread-and-butter and a cup of milk I shall be quite satisfied.â
âI have a nice sausage,â she said hesitatingly.
It was a very nice sausage, and she had bought it that same morning for Buntingâs supper; as to herself, she had been going to content herself with a little bread and cheese. But nowâwonderful, almost, intoxicating thoughtâshe could send Bunting out to get anything they both liked. The ten sovereigns lay in her hand full of comfort and good cheer.
âA sausage? No, I fear that will hardly do. I never touch flesh meat,â he said; âit is a long, long time since I tasted a sausage, Mrs. Bunting.â
âIs it indeed, sir?â She hesitated a moment, then asked stiffly, âAnd will you be requiring any beer, or wine, sir?â
A strange, wild look of lowering wrath suddenly filled Mr. Sleuthâs pale face.
âCertainly not. I thought I had made that quite clear, Mrs. Bunting. I had hoped to hear that you were an abstainerââ
âSo I am, sir, lifelong. And soâs Bunting been since we married.â She might have said, had she been a woman given to make such confidences, that she had made Bunting abstain very early in their acquaintance. That he had given in about that had been the thing that first made her believe, that he was sincere in all the nonsense that he talked to her, in those far-away days of his courting. Glad she was now that he had taken the pledge as a younger man; but for that nothing would have kept him from the drink during the bad times they had gone through.
And then, going downstairs, she showed Mr. Sleuth the nice bedroom which opened out of the drawing-room. It was a replica of Mrs. Buntingâs own room just underneath, excepting that everything up here had cost just a little more, and was therefore rather better in quality.
The new lodger looked round him with such a strange expression of content and peace stealing over his worn face. âA haven of rest,â he muttered; and then, ââHe bringeth them to their desired haven.â Beautiful words, Mrs. Bunting.â
âYes, sir.â
Mrs. Bunting felt a little startled. It was the first time anyone had quoted the Bible to her for many a long day. But it seemed to set the seal, as it were, on Mr. Sleuthâs respectability.
What a comfort it was, too, that she had to deal with only one lodger, and that a gentleman, instead of with a married couple! Very peculiar married couples had drifted in and out of Mr. and Mrs. Buntingâs lodgings, not only here, in London, but at the seaside.
How unlucky they had been, to be sure! Since they had come to London not a single pair of lodgers had been even moderately respectable and kindly. The last lot had belonged to that horrible underworld of men and women who, having, as the phrase goes, seen better days, now only keep their heads above water with the help of petty fraud.
âIâll bring you up some hot water in a minute, sir, and some clean towels,â she said, going to the door.
And then Mr. Sleuth turned quickly round. âMrs. Buntingââand as he spoke he stammered a littleââIâI donât want you to interpret the word attendance too liberally. You need not run yourself off your feet for me. Iâm accustomed to look after myself.â
And, queerly, uncomfortably, she felt herself dismissedâeven a little snubbed. âAll right, sir,â she said. âIâll only just let you know when Iâve your supper ready.â
But what was a little snub compared with the intense relief and joy of going down and telling Bunting of the great piece of good fortune which had fallen their way?
Staid Mrs. Bunting seemed to make but one leap down the steep stairs. In the hall, however, she pulled herself together, and tried to still her agitation. She had always disliked and despised any show of emotion; she called such betrayal of feeling âmaking a fuss.â
Opening the door of their sitting-room, she stood for a moment looking at her husbandâs bent back, and she realised, with a pang of pain, how the last few weeks had aged him.
Bunting suddenly looked round, and, seeing his wife, stood up. He put the paper he had been holding down on to the table: âWell,â he said, âwell, who was it, then?â
He felt rather ashamed of himself; it was he who ought to have answered the door and done all that parleying of which he had heard murmurs.
And then in a moment his wifeâs hand shot out, and the ten sovereigns fell in a little clinking heap on the table.
âLook there!â she whispered, with an excited, tearful quiver in her voice. âLook there, Bunting!â
And Bunting did look there, but with a troubled, frowning gaze.
He was not quick-witted, but at once he jumped to the conclusion that his wife had just had in a furniture dealer, and that this ten pounds represented all their nice furniture upstairs. If that were so, then it was the beginning of the end. That furniture in the first-floor front had costâEllen had reminded him of the fact bitterly only yesterdayâseventeen pounds nine shillings, and every single item had been a bargain. It was too bad that she had only got ten pounds for it.
Yet he hadnât the heart to reproach her.
He did not speak as he looked across at her, and meeting that troubled, rebuking glance, she guessed what it was that he thought had happened.
âWeâve a new lodger!â she cried. âAndâand, Bunting? Heâs quite the gentleman! He actually offered to pay four weeks in advance, at two guineas a week.â
âNo, never!â
Bunting moved quickly round the table, and together they stood there, fascinated by the little heap of gold. âBut thereâs ten sovereigns here,â he said suddenly.
âYes, the gentleman said Iâd have to buy some things for him to-morrow. And, oh, Bunting, heâs so well spoken, I really felt thatâI really felt thatââ and then Mrs. Bunting, taking a step or two sideways, sat down, and throwing her little black apron over her face burst into gasping sobs.
Bunting patted her back timidly. âEllen?â he said, much moved by her agitation, âEllen? Donât take on so, my dearââ
âI wonât,â she sobbed, âIâI wonât! Iâm a foolâI know I am! But, oh, I didnât think we was ever going to have any luck again!â
And then she told himâor rather tried to tell himâwhat the lodger was like. Mrs. Bunting was no hand at talking, but one thing she did impress on her husbandâs mind, namely, that Mr. Sleuth
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