THE MEETING IN ST. JAMES’S PARK.
Another day passed over at the London Hotel, and as Mr. Blue had
been kind enough to take his departure, and that departure seemed to
be final, for he did not show himself again, Mr. Lake rescinded the
resolution he had made to leave.
Probably it was much more convenient for him to stay, although he
pretended that he did so out of consideration for the landlord, who
ought not to be punished for innocently harbouring so suspicious a
character as Mr. Blue, whether he were a vampire, or not.
But the day, as we say, has passed away, and it is about half-past
eight o’clock in the evening, and quite dark, for the moon did not rise
for an hour afterwards, when Mr. Lake might have been seen making his
way towards Saint James’s Park.
He entered it by the narrow mode of ingress by Spring Gardens, and made
his way towards the palace of Saint James, that is to say, the wall of
its private gardens that look upon the park; and then, under some shady
trees, he paused and looked inquiringly about him.
“He was to have been here a little before nine,” he muttered. “Hush!”
The Horse Guards clock chimed three-quarters past eight.
Mr. Lake drew back, as two men came at a slow pace towards where he
stood, and then he muttered,—
“It is Miller, but confound him, who is that he has brought with him?
Hang the fellow! I did not give him leave to make a confident in this
ticklish piece of business.”
One of the men only now advanced, leaving the other about twelve paces
from him.
“Mr. L—, I think,” he said.
“Yes, Miller, it is I; but who in the name of all that’s infernal have
you brought with you? Are you mad to trust to anybody but yourself?”
“Oh, don’t trouble yourself about that, sir. The fact is, he has been
with me for a number of years; he is my managing clerk, and as great a
rogue as you would wish him to be. I cannot keep anything wholly from
him, so the best way, I find, is to make a confident of him at once.”
“I don’t half like it.”
“You may thoroughly depend upon Lee, that is his name, and you never
knew such a rogue as he is, sir; besides, somebody, you know, must have
been trusted to personate the father, and he will do that, and then,
you know likewise, sir, that——”
“Hush, hush! speak lower! will you? bring this accomplished rogue this
way, since I must do business, it seems, with him! Call him here,
Miller, and we will talk as we walk on, that is always safer than
holding a conference in one spot, near which any one may hide; but it
is a much more difficult thing for a spy to follow and overhear you at
the same time.”
“You have a genius, Mr. Lake.”
“Bah! I don’t want any compliments from you, Miller; we want downright
business.”
By this time, Mr. Miller had made a sign to his clerk, Lee, to come up,
which that individual did, and at once saluted Mr. Lake, and made some
trivial remark about the weather, in an off-hand way.
Mr. Lake made rather a distant reply and then he said,—
“I presume, sir, that Mr. Miller has made you acquainted with the
affair in which, it seems, I am to purchase your kind co-operation?”
“Oh no,” said Miller, “I have certainly given him a brief outline,
but I always prefer that the principal himself should give all the
directions possible to every one, and tell his own story.”
“Well, sir, I think you might as well have told this Mr. a—a what’s his
name?”
“Lee, sir.”
“Ay, Lee, you might as well have told him, and not given me the
trouble. But, however, if I must, I must; so pray attend to me sir.”
“I will,” said Lee.
“My brother then, is Lord Lake. It’s a new title rather, as our father
was the first who had it, and he left large estates to my brother,
and to his son if he had one, or his daughter, if he had one. The
title descending to heir males, I must have the title by outliving my
brother, if I do, but hang it all, he has a daughter, and she will have
the estates.”
“I comprehend.”
“The old countess of Bhackbighte smuggled the child away at its birth,
and took care of it for a consideration that used up two-thirds of my
income, but the old cat on her death confessed that the child was Lord
Lake’s, but luckily, you see, without criminating me. Now Mr. Miller
was her solicitor, and so between us we have forged a letter supposed
to be found among the old countess’s papers, in which she states that
she intends to palm off a child as the Lord Lake’s when she is dying,
but that his child really did die, you see.”
“Oh yes.”
“Now this has had an effect upon Lord Lake, who to some extent had
repudiated the girl, and what I want is to clinch the matter, by
providing some one who will actually own her.”
“I understand,” said Lee, “but it will be an awkward affair if found
out.”
“I want to provide against any consequences of a disagreeable nature,
by getting her to marry my son, but I don’t think she will. Absolute
distress to which I am determined to bring her, if I can, may move her
to that step, and then all’s right. The secret is in my hands to play
with, as I think proper.”
“A very good plan.”
“You see, there’s a lover of hers too, a young officer in the Guards,
but he will be off as soon as he finds that she’s the daughter of a
lawyer’s clerk instead of a lord—ha! ha! ha!”
“Likely enough. I’ll father her.”
“Thank you; and now about money matters. Miller gets a thousand
pounds—what do you want? Be moderate.”
“I ought to have five hundred pounds to pay me.”
“The deuce! Well, I don’t want to stint you. But you will bear in mind
that that is very good pay; and now we must get up a first rate story,
so complete in all its parts that there shall be no sort of doubt
about it, you see—a story that will stand the test of examination and
criticism.”
“That can be better done in my chambers,” said the attorney; “I think
now we understand each other perfectly well, and that we need hardly
say any more just at present. Money matters are settled, and as Mr. Lee
has once undertaken the business, I am quite satisfied, for one, that
it will be well done.”
“I am glad to hear you say that, Miller, and I am quite reconciled,
which I must own I was not at first, to Mr. Lee having a finger in the
pie.”
“Thank you,” said Lee, “thank you; we shall manage it all right, no
doubt. Indeed now that you have fully explained it to me, it seems
quite an easy and straightforward affair.”
“You think so.”
“I certainly do think so.”
“Then you take off my mind a load of anxiety for thought it would be
a difficult thing to arrange, and require no end of chicanery and
trouble, but you quite reassure—you quite reassure me, Mr. Lee.”
“Oh, these things are done every day, my dear sir.”
They had walked to and fro as they spoke till now, by the time they
had settled their affairs thus far, they stood by the centre of the
principal mall. The park was very quiet, and had quite a deserted
aspect. Indeed, it was near the time when there would be more
difficulty in traversing it in consequence of the extra vigilance of
the night sentinels.
The moon faded gradually away, or seemed to fade away as the light
fleecy clouds swept over its face, and the parties who had held this
interesting dialogue separated. Mr. Lake walked hurriedly towards his
hotel, and the attorney and his accomplice stood for a few moments
conversing in whispers. They then turned towards the Green Park, and
as they did so, they were crossed by a tall, spectral-looking figure
wrapped up in an immense cloak, but who did not seem to observe them,
for his eyes were fixed upon the moon, which at that moment again began
to emerge from the clouds.
He stretched forth his arms as if he would have held the beautiful
satellite to his heart.
“An odd fish,” whispered the attorney.
“Very,” said his companion. “I should like now to know who he is.”
The attorney shrugged his shoulders, as he said, “Some harmless lunatic
most likely. They say that such often wander all night about the parks.”
“That’s strange; only look at him now, he seems to be worshipping the
moon, and now how he strides along; and see, there is another man meets
him, and they both hold up their arms in that strange way to the moon.
What on earth can be the meaning of it?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Some religious fanatics, perhaps.”
“Ah! that’s as likely as not. We have all sorts of them, jumpers and
screamers and tearers, and why not a few who may call themselves
Lunarians. For my part I would rather worship the moon than I would, as
most church and chapel going women do, worship some canting evangelical
thief of a parson, who has—oh dear! such elegant hands, and such
whiskers, and speaks so soft and impressive. Of all the rogues on
earth, I do detest those in surplices!”