ACCORDING TO MUMS
That same afternoon, Mary Sorel began a letter to Severance, a letter
embroidered with points of admiration, dashes, underlinings, and
parentheses.
"Dear Tony," she wrote, for she felt the warm affection of an Egeria,
mingled with that of a mother-in-law elect, for him: and it pleased all
that was snobbish in her soul to have this intimate feeling for an earl.
"Dear Tony, I shall be cabling you about the time you land, according to
promise. But I promised as well to write a sort of _diary_ letter,
giving you all the developments day by day, and posting the document at
the end of the week. Well, this is the first instalment, written--as
you'll see by the date--on the day of your sailing.
"How I wish I had better news to give you! But don't be alarmed. Things
are _not_ going as we hoped, yet they might be worse. And now you are
prepared by that preface, I'll try to tell you exactly the state of
affairs!
"At least, I shall be able to explain a mystery that puzzled and worried
us both yesterday, after the--I suppose in lieu of a better word I'm
bound to call it 'marriage'! Neither you nor I could understand
precisely how _That Man_ had got my poor child so under his thumb, when
by rights _he_ should have been under _her foot_!
"What he does is this: he simply threatens at every turn to go away and
tell everyone, _including newspaper men_, the whole story from beginning
to end. You might think with an ordinary person that this was all
_bluff_. Because, if the story hurt you and Marise, and even _me_, it
would hurt him as much. But whatever he may be (and he might be almost
_anything_!) he is _not_ an ordinary person. He appears perfectly
reckless of his own reputation. Apparently he cares not enough to lift
his finger, or let it fall, for the opinion of others, no matter _who_.
If he said he would do some dreadful thing it wouldn't be safe to hope
he was merely making an idle threat. He would _do_ it, I'm sure he
would!
"That's the secret of his power over our poor little Marise, and I must
admit, to a certain extent over _me_.
"I have been having a long talk with him about the future--the
_immediate_ future, I mean, of course, for the more distant future I
hope and believe will be controlled by _you_!
"When I reproached the man for browbeating my daughter, he actually
retorted that we had no right to try and pin him to a certain line of
conduct, and not _pay_ him for it! _Shameless!_ But that sample will
show you what we are going _through_. I shall indeed rejoice for every
reason when you are restored to us. You have told me that your cousin
OEnone has what amounts to a million of American dollars, all her own,
and that her father intends giving you another million on your marriage
to her; so you will be in a position to complete your bargain with this
Fiend. In order to obtain the money, he will _have_ to keep his part of
the agreement.
"Yes, 'Fiend' is the word. Indeed, I used it aloud this afternoon in
addressing him, so utterly did he enrage me. He will not allow Marise to
go with me to Los Angeles and accept the loan of Bell Towers, which you
so kindly placed at our disposal till your return with your poor little
invalid, OEnone. He has a house of his own, out West, it
seems--Arizona or somewhere _wild_-sounding. I believe it's near the
Grand Canyon--wherever _that_ is! And heaven alone knows what it's
like--the _house_, I mean, not the Canyon, which I am told is an immense
abyss miles deep, full of _blood_-red rocks or something terrific.
"Garth insists that the unhappy child shall accompany him to this
desolate spot, which is more or less on the way to California. The
alternative he puts before her is of course the eternal (I nearly said,
'infernal'!) one, of deserting his bride with a blast of trumpets.
Neither you, nor Marise, nor I, can afford to let _this_ happen! Almost
anything would be preferable at a crisis so delicate for you with your
uncle. Especially as Marise _vows_ that, alone with her, the monster is
not so formidable. In fact, she says she can account for his conduct at
these times only by supposing that he does not like her, or is _in love
with someone else_.
"I wonder, by the way, do you know at all if he has _any_ money? My
impression, when he so easily accepted your somewhat original offer, was
that he had none. But he made Marise several handsome presents of
jewellery, which must have cost a great deal, _if_ he paid cash! Perhaps
he used his V.C. to get them on _tick_--if such a thing is possible!
Marise refused, quite definitely, she tells me, to take these gifts from
him. To-day, she chanced to ask Garth how he had disposed of them after
her refusal. Though she put the question _most_ tactfully, even
remarking that she was _sorry_ for some little abruptness when returning
the jewel-cases (I don't know details!), the man _denied_ her right to
ask what he had done. Marise persisted, however, in that sweet little
_determined_ way she has, and Garth _at length_ flung out in reply that
he had _given the things to another person_. Imagine it! Marise's
_wedding_ presents!
"Nothing more was to be got out of him, however. Instinct whispers to me
that the child suspects a certain young woman of having received the
jewels. (Why, such a thing is almost like being a _receiver of stolen
goods_, since surely they're the property of Marise. Not that she
_wants_ or would look at them again!) She did not _tell_ me this. It is
my own heart--the heart of a _mother_--which speaks. All she said was,
that Garth wouldn't mention the name of the receiver, and resented her
'catechising' him. He put the matter like this: If _she'd_ given _him_
wedding presents, and he practically trampled them under foot, with
scorn, wouldn't she consider herself free to do what she liked with the
objects? Wouldn't she wish to get rid of them and never see them again?
Wouldn't her first thought be to give them away? And how would she feel
if _he_ wanted to know what she'd done with the things?
"To the three first questions, Marise found herself obliged to answer
'_Yes_.' (She has an almost _abnormal_ sense of justice for a woman, you
know!) To the fourth, she replied in an equally self-sacrificing way, so
in the end the man triumphed. But it was this business of the wedding
presents which (as I've explained to you now) he deliberately _took
back_ (we Americans call this being an 'Indian giver'!) that has made
Marise think he's in love with someone.
"I may have guessed the person in her mind; but, as you will feel no
interest in _that_ side of the subject, I'll not bore you by dwelling on
it at present. The interest for _you_ in Garth's being in love with a
woman who is _not_ our Marise (no matter who!) is _obvious_. If the
child is right in her conjectures, she is also right, no doubt, in
asserting that she need have no fear the man will lose his head.
"In reading over what I have just written, I see that I may have given
you a wrong impression. It sounds as if I had resigned myself to see
Marise go off to live alone with Garth in his house by the abyss. Which
is not the case, of course. I shall be with her. That is, I shall be
most of the time--the best bargain I can drive! Except that, naturally,
Celine will _always_ be with her. And if Garth is a Demon, Celine can be
a dragon. She has learned this art from _Me_. She is absolutely
faithful, and devoted to _your_ interests. In order to make sure of her
services when needed in any possible emergency, I have more or less
confided in her, which I think was wise.
"Now, before I write further, I will set your mind at rest as far as
_possible_.
"Garth has used the power he holds to the uttermost, and no entreaties
on the part of author or manager have moved him. Marise is to give up
the part of Dolores in a fortnight, and Susanne Neville begins
rehearsing to-morrow! Poor Sheridan, poor Belloc! Poor _play_! Poor
_public_! My daughter is immediately after to start for the West
with her 'husband'--and maid! I wished to be of the party, but Garth
brutally inquired if 'that sort of thing was done in the smart
set'--mothers-in-law accompanying bridal pairs on their honeymoon? If I
wanted gossip, there would be a good way to get it, he said. He is
continually throwing gossip in our faces, whenever we propose anything
he doesn't like!
"After a most exhausting (to _me_) argument, it was settled that I
should remain in New York for a few days after their departure, and that
I should then leave also, going straight on to Los Angeles. There I will
open beautiful Bell Towers, and see that all is ready for your advent,
with the invalid. Meanwhile Marise is to visit some sort of female named
Mooney, an adopted mother of Garth. She lives near a town called
Albuquerque, which if I don't forget is in New Mexico. You can perhaps
look it up on the map. Garth appears to have cause for gratitude to this
woman, who is an elderly widow. He has spent some years (I don't know
how many, and do not care!) in that State and the neighbouring one of
Arizona; and I gather from one or two words he let drop that he gave
Mrs. Mooney the house she now owns. In any case, he said he _must_ pay
her a visit, not having seen her since the time when he joined the
British forces at the beginning of the war. And if _he_ went, his wife
would have to go with him!
"The man evidently expected that Marise would object; but in the
circumstances the idea seemed quite a _good_ one! You see _why_, of
course, dear Tony? This old woman will be an extra chaperon for our
girl, whose wild impulsiveness has brought so much worry and trouble to
us all. Garth cannot make scenes before his foster-mother, for the very
shame of it!
"After a short visit there, he will take Marise and Celine to his own
place: and you may be sure I shall not be long in joining my child, to
give her my protection!
"Do, my dear son-to-be, hurry on your marriage. You must cable me the
moment you get this, when you are likely to arrive, addressing me here,
where I shall still be at that time. All our difficulties will end when
you are able to hand Garth the million dollars. (I _quite_ understand it
would be imprudent to send a cheque or a letter to him. Who knows what
desperate thing he might do when he had got the money?) The one safe
thing will be a _conversation_, and the money in bonds. Then, as you
suggested, you can dictate a document for Garth to sign, compromising to
_him_ but not to you. You can also dictate terms--as you would have done
from the first, if Marise had not tried to punish you--by punishing
_herself_! But oh, let it be soon--soon! The strain is telling upon my
nerves--and no doubt the nerves of Marise, though she is singularly
reserved with me, I regret to say--one would almost think _sulky_, poor
child!
"I can't express the pain it gives me to upset you with all these
anxieties. But I dared not keep silence, lest you should learn of this
journey West, and so on, through some garbled story in the newspapers.
You might then think the _worst_; whereas now, you are in the secret of
your dear girl's _safety_. No harm will come to her: and thank goodness
there will be no tittle-tattle to rouse Mr. Ionides's suspicions!
"I presume you will marry your cousin by special licence, so as to hurry
things on; and I comfort myself by thinking that before many days all
will be _en train_. Perhaps in a fortnight after you reach England you
will be arranging to leave again for the benefit of the invalid's
health. California is the most wonderful place in the world for a cure.
But, of course, the poor OEnone is incurable, and is not likely to be
with you on this earth for more than a year or two at worst--I mean, at
most.
"When you have settled with Garth, he will have no further excuse to
assert himself. I shall find a house near Bell Towers, and Marise will
come to me. The time of waiting for happiness will pass in the
consolation of warm platonic friendship and lovely surroundings. An
excuse can be found for Marise's divorce; and Garth will pass out of our
lives for ever!
"Now I have explained everything as well as I can, and I shall add items
of interest each day until time comes for posting my letter. _Au
revoir_, dear Tony! Yours, M. S.--the initials you love!"