"UNEASY LIES THE HEAD"
Jessie crushed the paper carelessly in the palm of her hand. Her impulse
was, of course, to destroy the letter, seeing that the possession of it
was not unattended with danger, but there was no chance at present. The
thing would have to be burnt to make everything safe.
"How long since the note came?" she asked the footman with an assumption
of displeasure. "Really, these tradespeople are most annoying."
The footman was understood to say that the note had only just arrived,
that it had been left by the young person herself with an intimation
that she would return presently. To all of this Jessie listened with a
well-acted impatience.
"I suppose I shall have to put up with it," she said. "You know where to
ask the girl if she comes. That will do. What were we talking about,
Captain Hope?"
It was all admirably done, as Ronald Hope was fain to admit. But he did
not like it, and he did not hesitate to say so. He wanted to know what
it all meant. And he spoke as one who had every right to know.
"I can hardly tell you," Jessie said unsteadily. "Events are moving so
fast to-night that they are getting on my nerves. Meanwhile, you seem to
know General Maxgregor very well--you say that you are anxious to obtain
a post in the Asturian service. That means, of course, that you know
something of the history of the country. The character of the king, for
instance----"
"Bad," Hope said tersely, "very bad indeed. A drunkard, a _roue_, and a
traitor. It is for the queen's sake that I turn to Asturia."
"I can quite understand that. Queen Margaret of Asturia seems very
fortunate in her friends. Look at this. Then put it in your pocket, and
take the first opportunity of destroying it."
And Jessie handed the mysterious note to Ronald, who read it again with
a puzzled air.
"That came from Vera Galloway," the girl explained. "She is close by,
but she does not seem to have finished her task yet. Why I am here
playing her part I cannot say. But there it is. This letter alludes to
General Maxgregor, who is upstairs in one of the rooms in close
attendance on the King of Asturia, who is suffering from one of his
alcoholic attacks. Do you think that it is possible for anybody to see
into the room?"
"Certainly," Ronald replied. "For instance, there are terraces at the
end of the garden made to hide the mews at the back from overlooking the
grounds. An unseen foe hidden there in the trees, with a good glass, may
discover a good deal. Vera Galloway knows that, or she would not have
sent you that note. You had better see to it at once."
Jessie hurried away, having first asked Hope to destroy the note. The
door of the room containing the king was locked, and Jessie had to rap
upon it more than once before it was opened. A voice inside demanded her
business.
"I come with a message from the queen," she whispered. She was in a
hurry, and there was always the chance of the servants coming along.
"Please let me in."
Very cautiously the door was opened. General Maxgregor stood there with
a bottle in his hand. His face was deadly pale, and his hand shook as if
he had a great fear of something. The fear was physical, or Jessie was
greatly mistaken.
"What has happened?" she asked. "Tell me, what has frightened you so
terribly?"
"Frightened!" Maxgregor stammered. It seemed odd at the moment to think
of this man as one of the bravest and most dashing cavalry officers in
Europe. "I don't understand what you mean?"
With just a gesture of scorn Jessie indicated the cheval glass opposite.
As Maxgregor glanced at the polished mirror he saw a white, ghastly
face, wet with sweat, and with a furtive, shrinking look in the eyes. He
passed the back of his hand over his moist forehead.
"You are quite right," he said. "I had not known--I could not tell. And
I have been passing through one of the fiercest temptations that ever
lured a man to the edge of the Pit. You are brave and strong, Miss
Galloway, and already you have given evidences of your devotion to the
queen. Look there!"
With loathing and contempt Maxgregor indicated the bed on which the King
of Asturia was lying. The pitiful, mean, low face and its frame of shock
red hair did not appeal to Jessie.
"Not like one's recognized notion of royalty," she said.
"Royalty! The meanest beggar that haunts the gutter is a prince compared
to him. He drinks, he gambles, he is preparing to barter his crown for
a mess of pottage. And the fellow's heart is hopelessly weak. At any
moment he may die, and the heart of the queen will be broken. Not for
him, but for the sake of her people. You see this bottle in my hand?"
"Yes," Jessie whispered. "It might be a poison and you--and you----"
"Might be a poisoner," Maxgregor laughed uneasily. "The reverse is the
case. I have to administer the bottle drop by drop till it is exhausted,
and if I fail the king dies. Miss Galloway, when you came into the room
you were face to face with a murderer."
"You mean to say," Jessie stammered, "that you were going to refrain
from--from----"
"That was it, though you hesitate to say the word. I had only to get rid
of the contents of that bottle and let it be tacitly understood that the
patient had taken his medicine. In an hour he would be dead--his heart
would have given way under the strain. The world would have been well
rid of a scoundrel, and I should never have been found out. The queen
would have regained her freedom at the loss of Asturia. And I would have
consoled her--I could have healed her wound."
The last words came with a fierce indrawing of the speaker's breath. One
glance at his face, and Jessie knew everything. She could feel for the
long-drawn agony of the strong man's temptation. She loved herself, and
she could realize it all. There was nothing but pity in her heart.
"I understand," she said. "Oh, I understand perfectly. I came in time to
save you. General Maxgregor, this matter must never be alluded to
between us again. The temptation is past now, I am certain. A brave and
good soldier like you---- But I am forgetting. I did not come to you
from the queen as I said, because the queen has already departed. I
had an urgent message from some unknown friend who desires me to say
that you have left the blind up."
"Bless me! and is that really a fact?" Maxgregor exclaimed. "And it is
quite possible for any one to see into this room from the terrace at the
end of the garden. I used to play here as a boy. There are many spies
about to-night. I am glad you reminded me."
Maxgregor crossed over to the window and laid his hand on the blind. As
he stood there with the light behind him his figure was picked out clear
and sharp. The blind came down with a rush, there was a little tinkle of
glass, and the general staggered back with his hand to his shoulder. A
moan of pain escaped him as he collapsed into a chair.
"What is it?" Jessie asked anxiously. "Pray tell me, what is the matter?
That broken glass----"
[Illustration: "_'What is it?' Jessie asked anxiously._"]
"A bullet," Maxgregor whispered between his teeth, that were clenched in
pain. "As I stood in the window somebody fired at me from the garden. It
must have been a watcher hidden amongst the trees on the terrace. A
little more to the left and my career had been ended."
The man had obtained a grip of himself now, but he was evidently
suffering intense pain. A dark stain of red broke out on the left side
of his coat.
"I have been hit in the shoulder," he said. "I have no doubt that it is
little more than a flesh wound, but it is bleeding, and I feel faint. I
once lay on the battlefield all night with such a wound, so that I can
put up with it. Please leave me alone for a moment; do not think of me
at all. It is just the time for the king to have another dose of those
drops. There is no help for it now, Miss Galloway. You must stay and
give the king his medicine until it is all gone. Meanwhile, I can only
sit here and suffer. For Heaven's sake never mind me."
Jessie took the bottle from the hand of the stricken man and walked to
the bed. She marvelled at the steadiness of her own hand. The drops fell
on the lips of the sleeping man, who was now breathing regularly. Half
an hour passed, and then the bottle was empty.
"I have done my task," Jessie said. "What next? Shall I call Lord
Merehaven----"
"Not for worlds," Maxgregor whispered fiercely. "He must not know. We
must wait till the house is quiet. There is no occasion ... how faint
and giddy I am! If there was only one man whom I could trust at this
critical moment!"