THORNTON CAREY.
Thornton Carey, who was much surprised at this sudden address,
stopped, hesitated, and looked somewhat embarrassed. Another man,
accustomed to what are called 'adventures,' would not have been in the
least thrown off his balance, either by the suddenness or the style of
the address; he would have accepted it as a matter of course, and done
his best to make himself pleasant to the speaker. Thornton Carey,
however, was not this style of man, and, even if he had been, there
was something in the earnestness of Miss Montressor's voice and manner
which would have stopped his flippancy. Had she not, moreover,
mentioned the name of Helen, and declared herself to be about to speak
in Mrs. Griswold's interests? That would have been quite enough at any
time to command Thornton Carey's sympathy and attention.
'I am a friend of Mrs. Griswold's,' he replied, looking keenly at his
interlocutor, 'and, for the matter of that, of Mr. Griswold's too, I
hope.'
'What I have to say concerns them both most nearly,' said Miss
Montressor, frankly meeting his gaze. 'Will you, in the exercise of
your friendship for them, trust me so far as to accompany me in a
carriage to the Fifth-avenue Hotel?'
Again Thornton Carey hesitated. He went very little into female
society, and, under any other circumstances, the idea of being shut up
in a carriage with a strange lady would certainly have frightened him;
and again he suffered himself to be persuaded by Miss Montressor's
manner and the object of her mission.
'I will do so willingly,' he said; and ordering the coachman to drive
to the hotel, he entered the vehicle, and took his place by his fair
companion's side.
As they drove through the crowded streets, Thornton Carey thought with
wonder upon his strange position. Here was he, the hermit, the
recluse, who so seldom emerged from his lettered seclusion far away in
the city of the South, who seldom sought for any company beyond that
of the distinguished dead who gathered around him as he pored over his
books--here he was, rattling over the stones of New York, bound for
the most luxurious hotel in the city, and with a very handsome,
dashing young woman by his side. In the course of the desultory
reading which, like most young men, he had indulged in before
permanently settling down to valuable study, he had, he remembered,
come across the description of certain adventures, such as he was then
going through; and the idea that he, whom all his coevals looked upon
as a model of sageness and sobriety, should be found under such
circumstances, would have amused him, had he not at the same time
remembered that the errand on which he was bound was, according to his
companion's words, one in which Helen's happiness was deeply
interested.
The carriage stopped at the ladies' entrance of the hotel, and Miss
Montressor, on being handed out by Thornton Carey, requested him to
follow her. They passed up the staircase to the first floor, and
finding one of the smaller parlours disengaged, his companion
requested Mr. Carey to be seated, while she sent one of the servants
to call Mr. Bryan Duval.
'Bryan Duval!' echoed Carey in astonishment. 'Why, surely that is the
name of a famous actor? Even I, though not much given to dramatic
literature or theatre-going, have heard of him.'
'It is the same,' said Miss Montressor.
'But how can he be mixed up in any matter concerning Mrs. Griswold?'
asked Carey.
'It is as much in his power as in mine,' said Miss Montressor, 'to
give information upon a subject in which Mrs. Griswold is most deeply
and most unhappily interested.'
'Unhappily!' interrupted Thornton Carey, turning pale.
'Most unhappily, as you will agree when you know all,' said Miss
Montressor. 'Here, however, is Mr. Duval; he will explain matters to
you much better than I can.'
She introduced the gentlemen, and was pleased to notice that, so far
as she could see, each liked the look of the other's appearance. Duval
was pleased with Thornton Carey's frank honest expression, while Carey
himself recognised the keen acumen and subtle intelligence displayed
in the broad brow and bright eves of the dramatist.
Miss Montressor commenced the conversation by rapidly explaining to
Duval, so far as she thought necessary, and without, of course, any
allusion to Bess, the failure of her mission to Mrs. Griswold's house,
adding that she there had met Mr. Carey, and learning that he was an
intimate friend of the family, she had thought it best to ask his kind
assistance, and had brought him there in order that the matter might
be explained to him.
'You have acted perfectly right, my dear Miss Montressor,' said Bryan,
avoiding his usual familiarity, under the idea that it would prove
surprising, if not displeasing, to their new ally. 'And now, sir,' he
added, turning to Carey, 'I will keep you no longer in suspense. You
have, of course, heard of this terrible murder of the American
gentleman in Liverpool, the news of which is ringing through all New
York.'
'I have indeed,' replied Carey; 'and though the victim, whose name I
believe was Foster, was personally unknown to me, the fact of his
being a stranger, apparently without friends or connections at the
scene of the assassination, seems to render the tragedy doubly
dreadful.'
'That he had no friends or relatives at the scene of the murder is, I
have no doubt, perfectly true,' said Bryan Duval; 'but I have too much
reason to believe, not merely that his name was not Foster, but, from
what we now learn, that he was an intimate friend of yours.'
'Good God!' cried Thornton Carey, upon whom a light suddenly broke.
'And you say that Helen Griswold is also deeply interested in the
matter? You cannot imagine for an instant--' and he stopped, for his
voice suddenly failed him.
'I do not merely imagine,' said Bryan Duval, speaking deliberately,
'but in my own mind I no longer entertain any doubt that the man, the
news of whose murder has caused such a shock in New York society, was
Mr. Griswold, the husband of the lady whom you went to see this
morning.'
'It is too terrible,' said Thornton Carey, covering his face with his
hands. 'You seem to speak with certainty. Mr. Griswold was in
Europe--might have been in Liverpool at the very time--and yet why
this assumption of a false name?'
'That is exactly what we want you to explain to us,' said Bryan
quickly; 'but before you attempt to do so, let me explain to you as
shortly as possible the story of my acquaintance with Griswold, and
the reason I have for coming to this sad conclusion.'
Then Bryan Duval succinctly, and in as few words as possible, sketched
the story of their acquaintance with Griswold in London--narrated the
particulars of the Richmond dinner, the conversation which the
unfortunate man had had with Miss Montressor, the devoted manner in
which he had spoken of his wife, and in which he had exhibited her
portrait set in the watch; the melancholy which had overcome him at
Liverpool at the knowledge that they were about to proceed to New
York, while his business must detain him some little time longer in
England; told him, in fact, the whole story, without concealment or
curtailment, down to Miss Montressor's recognition of the lady in the
stalls on the previous evening as the original of the portrait which
the so-called Mr. Foster had shown her, and the terrible dread which
had then fallen upon her and Duval, that the murdered man was Mr.
Griswold, who, for some object of his own unknown to them, had chosen,
while away from home, to pass under an assumed name.
'But what that object was,' said Bryan Duval, in conclusion, 'we want
you to tell us.'
After a pause of a few minutes, during which he had remained buried in
abstraction, Thornton Carey spoke. 'You have given me a task which I
am quite unable to fulfil,' he said, shaking his head. 'There is
probably no man in the world who understands so little of business, by
which I mean commercial matters, as myself. Mr. Griswold never spoke
to me about them, and if he had I should have been unable to
understand them; and, fond of me as I am sure he was, I should have
been one of the last persons in the world to whom he would have made
any business confidence.'
'You believe, then,' said Bryan Duval, 'that this taking of an assumed
name was really done for business purposes?'
'I have not the least doubt of it,' said Thornton Carey earnestly.
'I am myself inclined to that belief,' said Bryan. 'There was a
singular frankness and honesty about the man, and the way in which he
spoke about his wife, both to myself and Miss Montressor here, was
evidently genuine; though,' he continued, with a touch of that worldly
cynicism which sometimes came upon him, as it were, in spite of
himself, 'these are matters in which one must never be led away by
what one either sees or hears. There are men who love their wives very
deeply, and who yet, when away from them, urged on by vanity or
passion, or whatever they may choose to call it--'
'I know what you would say,' said Thornton Carey, holding up his hand,
'and I suppose, as regards the generality of men, you are right. But,
believe me, this was not the case with Alston Griswold--his was not a
mere mouth worship of his wife; no other woman, be she who she might,
would have been able for an instant to make him forget her whom he so
dearly loved.'
'I believe you, Mr. Carey,' said Bryan, 'and in any case I honour you
for your championship; but in this case I think you are right. From
the little I saw of him, I have no doubt that your friend was all you
say. We will allow, then, that he dropped his own name and called
himself Foster for the furtherance of certain business transactions.
To obtain anything like a clue to this murder, it is necessary for us
to know what those business transactions were, and whence this
necessity for concealment arose; until we can obtain that, we shall
still be in the dark as to the motives of the murderer.'
'I cannot help you,' said Thornton Carey, shaking his head ruefully.
'As I said before, I only knew Mr. Griswold in his domestic capacity
as my friend, and the word business was never even mentioned between
us.'
'You may yet be able to help us,' said Miss Montressor, leaning
forward. 'This unfortunate Mr. Foster--Mr. Griswold as we must now
think of him--told me that evening in the garden at Richmond that he
had an intimate friend and confidant in New York, to whom during his
absence he had not merely intrusted the conduct and supervision of his
affairs and correspondence, but he had also placed his wife in this
man's charge. Now, knowing the Griswolds as you do, you will probably
be able to tell us if there is any man who stood in this relation with
them and if so, what is his name?'
'This declaration goes further to corroborate your idea that the
murdered man was indeed poor Griswold,' said Thornton Carey, with a
sigh. 'There was a man exactly fulfilling those functions, who was
understood to be a sort of partner of Griswold's in certain matters,
and from whom he was never separated. I did not know that he carried
the intimacy into his domestic life, and, indeed, I should have
thought the person I mean was one for whom Mrs. Griswold would have
had but little liking.'
'What was the name?' asked Duval eagerly.
'His name was Warren--Trenton Warren,' replied Carey. 'He was a man
much thought of for his foresight and acuteness in commercial matters,
and he had an office down town in Broad-street, not far from
Griswold's own place of business.'
'The thing to be done, then, is to see this Mr. Warren at once,' said
Bryan Duval. 'If we prove to him, as we shall be able to do, that we
were friends of Mr. Griswold's, he will doubtless be able to clear up
the whole mystery of the change of names.'
'Even in this we are baffled for the time being,' said Thornton Carey.
'I heard accidentally that Mr. Warren was at Chicago.'
'Is that far distant?' asked Miss Montressor.
'Thirty-six hours' journey at least,' said Duval; 'and being, as I
understand, essentially a man of business, Mr. Warren might not be
able to leave at once, however earnestly we might venture to recall
him.'
'You would be right, under ordinary circumstances,' said Thornton
Carey; 'but I think if you were to let him know that it was of great
importance that Mrs. Griswold should see him at once, he would
return.'
'And what shall we say to him when he comes?' asked Miss Montressor.
'Rather what shall he say to us?' said Carey. 'Mixed up as he is with
Griswold's affairs, he will be able to see at a glance to whose
interest it would be that this unfortunate man should be unfairly
gotten rid of.'
'You seem disposed to take my view of this affair, Mr. Carey,' said
Bryan Duval: 'that robbery was not the motive cause for this murder,
but some ulterior object.'
'Unquestionably,' said Carey, 'robbery was not the object, because, if
the papers be correct, the unfortunate man's watch and money were left
undisturbed. Some other motive, doubtless connected with the business
which took him on his fatal journey, and which he was at such pains to
keep secret--perhaps even dictated from this side of the water--must
be at the bottom of it.'
'Your views coincide exactly with mine,' said Bryan Duval. 'It is
useless for us, however, further to speculate on this matter, more
especially since we know nothing at all approaching certainty, until
Mr. Warren helps us with his experience. The one thing that confronts
us and that cannot be blinked at is, that no matter from what reason
or other the poor fellow has been murdered, the fact, sooner or later,
must be broken to his wife.'
'That is what I feel so deeply,' said Carey. 'There is a mail from
Europe due to-morrow; she will know of its arrival; and after that the
truth can no longer be kept from her.'
'All that will remain, then, for us,' said Bryan, 'will be to break it
to her in the most delicate manner possible, and it is most lucky that
we have found you to aid us in that difficult task.'
'I will do my best most willingly,' said Carey; 'and after I have
settled upon the matter, I may be of some use. At present, I confess
that the news has come upon me so suddenly, my obligation to this
unfortunate gentleman is so great, and my regard for him and his wife
so essentially a portion of my life, that I cannot trust myself to
give anything like clear advice or reliable aid.'
'I perfectly comprehend your feelings,' said Bryan Duval, 'and there
is no need for us to prolong this painful interview--in fact, Miss
Montressor and myself have our duties to attend to at the theatre, and
we must go to them. We may, however, rely upon you to take the one
step immediately necessary--namely, to apprise Mr. Warren by telegraph
that his presence is most desirable in New York.'
'You may depend upon my doing so,' said Carey, 'and upon my being here
tomorrow to take my part in any further consultation.'
So they parted.
Thornton Carey was completely overwhelmed by the news he had just
heard. He would have disbelieved it, but he was never in the habit of
allowing his common sense to be over-ridden by his sympathies; and
that rare and inestimable quality told him that Mr. Bryan Duval had,
indeed, good foundation for the deductions he had drawn. The more he
thought over it, the less real doubt had he that the _soi-disant_
Foster and his friend and benefactor, Alston Griswold, were one. He
knew that Griswold's one idea in life had been to achieve such a
fortune as would enable him to vie with the proudest millionaire in
New York, and to retire altogether from business. It was evident that,
in this endeavour, he had gone in for some great stake; so great as to
require the exercise of what in the commercial world is known as tact,
but in free-spoken circles, outside the commercial world, is called
duplicity. This change of name, for instance--it could be easily
learned whether the secret had been confided to Warren alone, or was
known to the clerks in Griswold's house of business--that could be
learned from the clerks themselves; and Thornton Carey determined at
once to inquire of them.
Wall-street, hot, rushing, and demented as usual; closing hour just at
hand, and everybody anxious to make a few hundred or thousand more
dollars before returning up-town for the day; telegraphs ticking from
attic to basement in each of the enormous houses between Canal-street
and Bowling-green; messengers rushing about in frantic haste, and the
bar at Delmonico's at the corner of Chambers-street actually for five
minutes without an occupant. Hustled on all sides, and swayed hither
and thither by the fluctuating crowd, Thornton Carey at last made his
way into Griswold's office. Telegraph instrument madly clicking in one
corner, and white serpents winding out from it and covering the floor
with their tortuous folds; clerks running races with the telegraph
instrument, and endeavouring to drown its noise with the scratching of
their pens over the paper; men in shiny hats tumbling in and out, and
adding to the general confusion.
After some delay, Thornton Carey was recognised by one of the
principal clerks, who vouchsafed him three minutes' conversation. 'Mr.
Griswold still in Europe; hoped he would be back very shortly; should
be able to say more to-morrow, as letters were expected by the morning
mail, giving the date of his return.'
Plainly everybody there was wholly unconscious of any evil having
befallen the head of the establishment. 'That argued nothing,'
Thornton Carey thought to himself, 'save that Griswold had placed no
confidence in his servants.' He must try Warren's office next.
Being a partner of Mr. Griswold's, Trenton Warren had the use of the
clerks and appliances of his friend's office. For his own particular
service he kept but one quiet, silent, trustworthy individual, who
looked up when Carey entered, and in reply to his inquiry, announced
that Mr. Warren was at Chicago. 'I forward his letters to him every
day,' said the man, 'and if you have anything to send, it can go with
my lot.'
Thornton Carey reflected for a moment.
'No, thank you,' he said; 'my business is important, and I must wire
Mr. Warren at once. What is his address?'
'Three Bryan's Block, Chicago, will find him,' said the clerk, and
immediately whirled round on his stool to continue his writing.
On Thornton Carey leaving Warren's office, he stepped at once into the
Western Union Telegraph, and sent the following message:
'Trenton Warren, 3 Bryan's Block, Chicago.--I most earnestly request
you to come to New York without delay; it is of the utmost importance
that I should see you; a great calamity has occurred.
'HELEN GRISWOLD.'
'Now we must trust to Providence for the rest,' said Thornton Carey,
as he walked away.
Having despatched the telegram, Thornton Carey returned to Mrs.
Griswold's house, to which he was admitted by Jim. He ascertained from
Mrs. Jenkins and from Helen's maid that there was not any danger of
her proposing to go out when she should leave her room. On this point
he was extremely anxious. He knew it would have been impossible for
her to have passed a street corner, any public building, or any group
of talkers without seeing the announcement of the latest news from
England of the murder which was occupying the attention of every
intelligent person in New York at that moment, or hearing it
discussed. It was everything to those who were now engaged in
considering how best the awful truth should be broken to the
unconsciously bereaved woman, that no uneasiness should be created in
her mind through any indirect source.
'You are quite sure,' Thornton Carey asked of Mrs. Jenkins, 'that she
has not ordered the carriage for this afternoon?'
'I am quite sure,' returned Mrs. Jenkins. 'About an hour ago she sent
a note down to Mrs. Villiers to excuse herself from a dinner
engagement for to-day, which was made at the play last night; and,
indeed, I should not be surprised if she did not leave her room all
day--her cold is very heavy.'
It was impossible that Thornton Carey could have thus questioned the
two women servants without exciting some suspicion, some uneasiness in
their minds. He saw very plainly that he had done so, and he thought
he might just venture to give them a hint of the origin of the
caution, to endeavour to impress it upon them, and thereby render them
more certain to observe it.
'I daresay you wonder,' he continued, 'why I am so anxious to know
about Mrs. Griswold's probable movements of to-day; and, as I am sure
I may trust you, and that you are both faithful friends to her'--the
women exchanged looks with each other, and each bestowed an inquiring
nod upon Thornton Carey, while they drew closer to him in their
eagerness--'I will tell you that there is a rumour of an accident
having occurred in England, in which it is just possible that Mr.
Griswold may have been injured.'
'A railway accident, sir?' the two women exclaimed simultaneously.
'No,' he answered, with some confusion, 'not a railway accident; it
is, I believe, a case of supposed malicious injury. I cannot enter
into the particulars now. I am not, indeed, fully aware of them. As
soon as I am, and that I know for certain whether Mr. Griswold is or
is not injured, I will tell you. In the mean time, you will understand
that it is of immense importance that Mrs. Griswold should not be
alarmed. If what we fear is true, she must know it soon enough. If it
is not true, it will be most cruel to subject her to the excitement
and suspense of knowing anything about it until all is known. I want
you, Mrs. Jenkins, and you, Annette,' addressing Helen's maid, 'to
make me the same promise that I have also secured from Jim.'
'I will do anything you wish, sir,' said Mrs. Jenkins; 'and I am sure
Annette will say the same.'
'Mais oui, mais oui,' assented Annette eagerly.
'Well, then, you promise to be very cautious in your own manner,
looks, and speech--not to let Mrs. Griswold hear you talking to one
another in any unusual way; not to go into her room with frightened
faces, or with anything in your look which could lead her to think
that this day is different from any other day in any respect. Will you
promise me to keep a perpetual watch over yourselves, and to remember
that all we want is a few hours' interval, during which I and other
friends of Mrs. Griswold's may be quite sure that no one will be
allowed to see her who can talk to her about the distressing rumour
which has just reached New York, and yet that she will not suspect
that any such watchfulness is being observed?'
Again he received assuring nods from the two women.
'I must also beg you,' he continued, 'to be very particular to keep
every newspaper out of your mistress's sight until after the next time
I shall have been here; make any excuse and every excuse that comes in
your heads, but don't permit her to get hold of a single evening paper
or any morning paper of to-day. I hope none have found their way to
her room this morning?'
'No, I think not,' said Mrs. Jenkins. 'You haven't seen any newspapers
about, Annette?'
'No,' Annette replied; 'madame had not asked for any newspapers, and
she had taken none up to her.'
'You need not be frightened on that point,' said Mrs. Jenkins; 'for I
never saw a lady with so little curiosity about news as Mrs. Griswold.
She reads the weeklies sometimes, when they are all about books and
interesting things that are happening in the world; but I have known
her go a whole week without looking into a daily; and we will keep
them out of her way, if by any perverse chance she should take it into
her head to want to see them. She is not given to scolding, but I
daresay Jim would not mind taking a scolding from her for not having
thought of fetching an evening paper, if it is for her.'
'Don't make yourself uneasy, sir; not but what we should like to have
a look at what they say.'
'They don't say anything,' said Thornton Carey; 'at least, they have
not said it yet. The news has come by private cable message, and I am
only afraid of its getting into the later editions. I shall be here
tomorrow early, and implicitly trust you in this matter. There is
another thing, too, you will have to be very careful about, if you
please.'
'Certainly, sir,' said Mrs. Jenkins. 'What is that?'
'It is just possible that a telegram may come, directed to Mrs.
Griswold.'
'From Europe, sir?'
'No,' said Thornton Carey; 'from Chicago.'
Mrs. Jenkins started slightly, and said:
'Chicago! Is there anything wrong there?'
'O, no, there is nothing wrong; only Mrs. Griswold has been sending a
message on business to a friend of Mr. Griswold's, and it is better,
until we are sure that Mr. Griswold is all right, that she should not
see the answer. Will you therefore, Mrs. Jenkins, undertake, if this
telegram should come, to have it sent at once to me at the
Fifth-avenue Hotel? You need not be alarmed at undertaking the
responsibility--the giving the message to one to whom it is not
addressed. I can give you my word of honour for that, and you will
know why almost as soon as I do. I cannot tell you more just now,
because I do not know more.'
'I will have the message sent, sir,' said Mrs. Jenkins. 'Up to what
hour shall you expect it?'
'I mean to remain at the hotel all day--at least until it comes,' said
Thornton Carey. 'There is an almost absolute certainty that it will
come.'
'There will be no difficulty about it, sir,' said Mrs. Jenkins; 'but
may I ask you if we are to be as particular about letters as about
telegrams and newspapers?'
'Certainly,' said Thornton Carey; 'my injunctions refer to every kind
of communication which could possibly reach Mrs. Griswold between this
time and my next visit.'
'I don't see how we are to manage that, sir,' said Mrs. Jenkins. 'She
doesn't mind about newspapers, and she does not expect any telegrams
from any part of the States; but she will be looking out for English
letters in the morning--they ought to be in--and it won't be possible,
I am afraid, to keep her quiet then, to prevent her coming downstairs,
or to hide the letters from her, if they come. What are we to do in
that case?'
'It will not matter about English letters,' he replied. 'Any she could
get tomorrow morning must have been written before the accident which
is reported, so you need not trouble about that; besides, I will be
here almost as soon as the mail can be delivered.'
He received an earnest assurance from the two women that all his
requests should be scrupulously observed, and he left the house
feeling that, as far as human precaution could be taken towards
securing her from a premature shock, Helen was safe, at all events,
for a few hours.
Mrs. Jenkins and Annette retired to the waiting-room of the hall, and
earnestly discussed the strange directions which they had just
received. As a matter of course, they immediately seized on the
morning paper of that day; for it had not escaped Mrs. Jenkins's
characteristic acuteness that there was a decided inconsistency
between Thornton Carey's statement that the news which he apprehended
reaching Mrs. Griswold had come in private telegram, and his question
as to whether any newspapers had been taken to her room that day.
'Depend upon it,' said she to Justine, 'whatever it is, there is some
hint of it in the dailies for to-day. Let us have a look.'
The papers lay, as they had done on the previous day, on the table in
the waiting-room; the two women turned them over eagerly, but found
nothing which they could suppose to have reference to the mysterious
rumour to which Thornton Carey had vaguely alluded--the murder at
Liverpool was still the leading theme.
'I cannot,' said Mrs. Jenkins, 'find out that anybody has come to
grief except that unlucky Mr. Foster.'
Thornton Carey returned to the Fifth-avenue Hotel, where he found
Bryan Duval, looking weary and dejected. The actor said little in
reply to the narrative of the steps which he had taken. The little he
did say was in approval, and then he made a dreary effort to get away
for a while from the terrible subject which was occupying them.
'I shall stay here all day,' said Thornton Carey, 'and wait for the
telegram, and I really don't see that there is anything else to be
done. But you had better go out and get a little fresh air to string
yourself up for to-night's work--it will be hard to get through, I
fancy.'
'Deuced hard,' said Bryan Duval. 'It is not the first time I have
comedied on the beards and tragedied behind the scenes, but I do not
know that I ever found the contrast so great a pull as this time--it
is the unconsciousness of the woman that is so horrid; when she knows
the worst, it will not be so bad. Good Heavens! only think, if she
took it into her head to come to the theatre to-night!'
'There is not the slightest danger of that,' said Thornton Carey. 'I
forgot to tell you that she has a heavy cold.'
But little more was said between them, and Bryan Duval took the young
man's advice. He went out until it was time to go down to the theatre.
About two hours later than the time at which Thornton Carey had
rejoined him they met for a moment before the performance, and
Thornton told him that no news had come; a message to the same effect
was conveyed to Bryan Duval in a twisted note on his return after the
play, but Thornton Carey made no attempt to see him again that night.
Once more the house had been crowded by an enthusiastic audience;
again the performance had realised public expectation to the fullest
extent. If possible, Bryan Duval had been more exquisitely humorous,
had thrown more of his characteristic acuteness into his part, than on
the previous evening. Miss Montressor had charmed all the spectators;
but some of those who had been present at the first performance
noticed that she was slightly nervous, which she had not been on that
occasion, and that she wore a little more rouge.
During the whole of that night Thornton Carey did not undress or lie
down; the hours passed drearily away, and no message came to interrupt
them. Just before the time at which Mrs. Griswold's house was usually
closed and her servants retired, Jim had 'slipped round,' as he
phrased it, to Fifth-avenue Hotel, and told Mr. Carey that his orders
had been strictly observed; no callers, no news, no newspapers, no
messages had been suffered to reach Mrs. Griswold, who was better, had
got up rather late in the evening, and passed an hour in the nursery;
but she had asked no dangerous questions, she had displayed no
imprudent curiosity. She was in bed, and asleep, old Jim said, on the
authority of Mrs. Jenkins, when he came out to report to Thornton
Carey; but no telegram had been received.
This inexplicable circumstance sorely troubled and beset the mind of
Thornton Carey. Advice, assistance from Warren, if not his actual
presence, was entirely indispensable under the circumstances; but when
the morning dawned, and when the letter-post hour was near, Thornton
knew that the moment he dreaded so intensely had arrived, that no
further delay was possible, and that that advice and assistance must
be dispensed with.
At the early hour which had previously been agreed upon, Bryan Duval,
Thornton Carey, and Miss Montressor--the trio had by this time become
quite friends--left the hotel and proceeded on foot to Helen
Griswold's house. As they reached it, the postman came up, with his
usual quick important step, and delivered a few unimportant notes,
which Jim, with a glance at Thornton Carey, who was ascending the
steps, took from his hand. The three entered the house, the door was
shut behind them, and the letters just received were handed by the
docile Jim to Carey.
'There is nothing here,' he remarked, laying them on the table in the
waiting-room. 'Jim, ring for the women.'
In answer to the customary summons, both Mrs. Jenkins and Annette came
downstairs. The first thing to be done was to send up word, in reply
to Mrs. Griswold's eager inquiry (made, as Mrs. Jenkins told them, the
moment she awoke, only a few instants ago) as to whether letters from
England were yet delivered, 'that they had not yet come.'
'Tell her this,' said Thornton Carey, 'and then tell her that I am
here, and that I beg she will see me as soon as is convenient. If she
asks why I come so early, say you do not know. It is too late to make
any excuse now.'
'Is it true, sir,' said Mrs. Jenkins--'has anything really happened to
Mr. Griswold?'
'It is too true,' said Duval, addressing the wondering woman, whose
eager interest and curiosity about him showed in every feature of her
face, even in this crisis; 'it is too true--you will soon know all! In
the mean time be more cautious than ever.'
Without a word Mrs. Jenkins returned up-stairs, whither Annette had
preceded her, and Thornton Carey led the way into the dining-room,
where the three sat in profound silence, interrupted after the
interval of a few minutes by Mrs. Jenkins, who entered the room with a
very pale face, and addressed Thornton Carey.
'She will see you, sir; she is just getting up, and Annette is
dressing her as fast as she can. But--I hope you won't be angry, sir,
or think it was my fault--I gave my message as matter-of-fact as could
be, and the curtain was between me and her, so she could not see my
face; but the very moment she heard you wanted to see her at this hour
of the morning, she took fright. I suppose it was because she had not
had the English letters that she expected, and that disappointment had
told upon her nerves, and helped to make her suspicious. She said she
knew there was something wrong. "Go down," said she, "and say I will
see him. Bring him up to the boudoir, and let him tell me whatever I
have got to hear and bear." Not another word, sir, but she is as white
as a corpse.'
Thornton Carey had started up before Mrs. Jenkins had got through her
first sentence, and turned a face of wild distress upon the other two.
'It cannot be helped,' said Bryan Duval, 'and it is better so. Go up
with the good woman at once--for God's sake get it over.'
He, too, rose as he spoke, and turning abruptly towards the
chimneypiece, laid his arms upon it, and hid his face in them.
Miss Montressor sat profoundly still, but the description her sister
had just given of Helen might have been repeated of her--she, too, was
as pale as a corpse.
Thornton Carey and Mrs. Jenkins went up-stairs without exchanging a
single word. The door of Helen's boudoir opened in the corridor
outside her bedroom. Mrs. Jenkins merely threw it open in passing, and
the young man went in, while she entered the bedroom by the other
door. No sound reached his strained ear for the few minutes during
which he waited. At their expiration Helen came in. She wore a white
muslin dressing-gown, and her hair was simply brushed behind her ears,
and hung loose upon her shoulders. As she came through the door of her
bedroom into the boudoir, she faced Thornton Carey directly, and her
first glance at him told her that her fears had been prophetic--that
he had bad news to tell.
END OF VOL. II.
LONDON:
ROBSON AND SONS, PRINTERS, PANCRAS ROAD, N.W.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Impending Sword (Vol. 2 of 3), by Edmund Yates