She did wait, for three-quarters of an hour; and at the end of that time
the manager received a reply to his letter. In consequence, he told
Joan that Lady John Bevan would see her at Kensington Park Mansions.
As soon as the girl heard the name of Lady John Bevan, she knew why the
yacht was for sale, and was hopeful that the eccentric proposition she
meant to make might be received with favour. Lord John Bevan was in
prison, for the crime of forgery, committed after losing a fortune at
Monte Carlo.
Joan took another cab to Kensington Park Mansions--a mean shelter for a
woman whose environment had once been brilliant. But Lady John, a tall
and peculiarly elegant woman, shone out like a jewel in an unworthy
setting. The two women looked at each other with admiration, and there
was eagerness in the elder's voice as she said: "You want to buy the
_Titania_, Miss Mordaunt?"
"I'm not sure yet, till I've tried, to see how I like her," replied
Joan. "That's fair, isn't it? What I want, if I see the yacht, take
fancy to her, and we can come to terms, is to hire the _Titania_ for a
while. Then, at the end of that time, if I don't buy her myself, I'll
sell her for you to somebody else; that's a promise. What would you want
for your yacht for a couple of months, all in working order, and the
captain and crew's money included?"
"Five hundred pounds," returned Lady John. "You can see her at Cowes."
"Well, I don't mind telling you that's more than I expected. I'm G. B.
Mordaunt's niece, and some day I suppose I shall be one of the richest
women in America, but my money's tied up till I'm twenty-five. I've only
an allowance, and Uncle Grierson, who is my guardian, is hard as nails.
I'll tell you what I can do, though. I have some shares which are worth
a lot of money, but I don't want to deal with them myself, as their
value is a secret, and my uncle would be mad with me if he knew I was
using it. What I was going to say is this. The shares I speak of are
worth mighty little to those who aren't 'in the know,' and a lot to
those who are. If you'll call to-morrow morning at ten o'clock on a
stockbroker in the City, whose address I'll give you, and tell him
you've a block of Clerios to dispose of, he'll jump at the offer. All
you must do is to stand firm, and you can get eight hundred pounds out
of him. If he says they're no good, just let your eyes twinkle and tell
him G. B. Mordaunt's niece has been talking to you. That will settle
Mr. George Gallon! Keep your five hundred for the yacht, and give the
three hundred change to me. Of course, this is provided I like the
yacht. You give me an order to see her at Cowes. I'll start at once,
wire you what I think of her, and, if it's all right, I'll call here
first thing in the morning with the share certificates."
Carried away by the girl's magnetism and dash, Lady John Bevan would
have said "Yes" to almost anything. She said "Yes" now with a
promptness which surprised herself when she thought of it afterwards, by
the cold light of reason.
Joan arrived at Cowes before dark, and was delighted with the _Titania_
and her crew. She wired her approval to Lady John, and telegraphed Tommy
Mellis, asking him to meet her at Waterloo for the eleven o'clock train
from Southampton, bringing the share certificates which had that morning
been Mitchison's. She was sure that Tommy would not fail, and he did
not. They had supper together in the grill-room of the Carlton, as Joan
was not in evening dress. She told him all she chose to tell, and no
more; and thus ended the busiest day of Joan Carthew's life.
The transaction in which Lady John Bevan was to act as catspaw came off
next morning as the girl had expected, and she would have given
something handsome if she could have seen George Gallon's face when he
found himself obliged to pay, for the very shares he had expected to
obtain yesterday, four times what he had intended to offer Mitchison.
His profit would now be small, when the great _coup_ came off; still, he
could not afford to refuse the chance, and Joan knew it. Some day, she
meant that he should also know to whom he owed his defeat; but that day
was not yet.
For the shares sold by Mitchison he had received two hundred pounds. A
like sum Joan agreed to place in Tommy's hands, as part profit of the
transaction; and when Lady John Bevan was paid for the two months' hire
of the _Titania_, the girl would have a hundred pounds over, to "play
with," as she expressed it to herself. The other shares which Mitchison
was pledged to obtain from Genoa would be available within the next few
days, and Joan had made up her mind what to do with them by and by. She
had had several inspirations since overhearing snatches of conversation
between her employer and his Italian visitor yesterday morning, and one
of these inspirations concerned Lady John Bevan.
Lady John was pitied by the old friends in the old life from which
poverty and misfortune had removed her. People would have been glad to
be "nice" to her in any cheap way which did not cost too much money or
trouble, if she had let them. But the woman was a proud woman, who
still loved her husband in spite of his guilt, and she had not cared to
go out of her hired flat in Kensington to be patronised by the world
which had once flattered and fought for her invitations. Joan guessed
as much of this as she did not know, and when Lady John wished her,
rather wistfully, a "pleasant cruise," the girl said suddenly: "Come
along and be my chaperon! My aunt Caroline, Uncle Grierson Mordaunt's
sister, came to England with me; but she hates the sea, and flatly
refuses to do any yachting. I'm not sorry, because she's a prim old
dear, and what I want is to see a little life and fun. I've been kept
very close till now, and though I'm of age, I'm only just out, so I
don't know many people, and you would be sure to meet lots of nice
friends of yours, to whom you'd introduce me. It's so foggy and horrid
here now; I'm going to make straight for the Riviera with the _Titania_,
and it will do you good. Please come."
Lady John could not resist the prospect, or that "Please," spoken
cooingly, with lovely, pleading eyes and a childlike touch on her arm.
Besides, she was fond of the _Titania_, and before she quite knew what
she was doing, she had promised to chaperon Grierson Mordaunt's niece.
Considering the way in which she was handicapped by false pretences and
shortness of cash, Joan could not have done better for herself. She
told Lady John that she had had a disagreement with the friends with
whom she had been staying, and wished to be recommended to a hotel for
the few days before they could get off on the _Titania_. Of course, Lady
John invited her to the flat, and the girl accepted. She asked her new
chaperon's advice about dressmakers and milliners for the Riviera
outfit, which must be got together in a hurry. Lady John had paid all
her own bills after the crash, with money grudgingly supplied by
relations, and was still in the "good books" of the tradespeople she had
once lavishly patronised. Introduced by her as a niece of the
well-known American millionaire, Joan had unlimited credit to procure
unlimited pretty things. Everything had to be bought ready made; and at
the end of the week the steam-yacht _Titania_, with "Miss Jenny
Mordaunt" and Lady John Bevan on board, was bounding gaily over the
bright waters of the Bay. A few days later, the _Titania_ made one of a
colony of other yachts lying snugly in Nice harbour.
Now, Joan's wisdom in the choice of a chaperon justified itself even
more pointedly than when it had been a question of a pilot among shoals
of tradespeople. Lady John believed in her young charge, whose
statements concerning her engaging self it had never occurred to the
elder woman to doubt. Having undertaken the duties of a chaperon, she
was conscientious in carrying them out, and lost no time in picking up
old friendships which might be valuable to Miss Mordaunt--just how
valuable, or in what way, Lady John little dreamed.
Not only did she know a number of rich and titled English folk, who had
come out to spend the cold months at their villas, or in fashionable
hotels, at Nice, Monte Carlo, and Mentone, but she could claim
acquaintance with various foreign royalties and personages of high
degree. These latter especially were delighted to meet the beautiful
American girl, who was so rich and independent that she travelled about
the world on her own yacht. It was nobody's business that the _Titania_
was but hired for two months, since it was Miss Mordaunt's pleasure to
pose as the owner. The name of the yacht had been changed, for politic
reasons, since gay Lord John had careered about the waterways of the
world in her; she had been newly decorated, and the colour of her paint
had undergone a change, therefore she could pass unrecognised by all
save experts. Joan and her chaperon kept "open house" on board. The
luncheon-table was always laid for twelve, in case any one strolled on
in the morning whom it would be agreeable to detain. On fine days--and
what days were not fine on these shores beloved of the sun?--tea was
always served on deck under the rose-and-white awning; and Russian
princes, Austrian barons and baronesses, French counts and countesses,
with a sprinkling of the English nobility, came early and stayed late to
drink the Orange Pekoe and eat the exquisite little cakes provided by
the confiding tradespeople of Nice. Joan paid for nothing, and got
everything. Was she not a great American heiress, and was not the yacht
alone a guarantee of her trustworthiness?
Not even the owners of famous American yachts lying alongside suspected
the girl to be other than she seemed, though they were of the world in
which Grierson Mordaunt was prominent. He was not a man who made
intimate friends, and none of those who knew him best had any reason to
doubt that he had a pretty niece named Jenny. Concerning the great
Mordaunt himself Joan kept posted as to his whereabouts. She read the
papers and followed his movements in Florida; therefore she felt safe
and pursued her business more or less calmly.
For it was business more than pleasure which had brought the girl on
this adventure, though she knew how to combine the two. Her hospitality,
her breakfasts, her tea and cakes, her lavish dinners, were not supplied
to her guests for nothing, though they were not aware that they were
paying save by the honour of their presence. When Joan had established
friendly relations with a person worth cultivating (she abjured all
others), her next step was to drop a careless word about a wonderful
"tip" she had got from Grierson Mordaunt. "It's all in the family," she
would say, laughing, "or he would never have given it away; and, of
course, I mustn't. He just said to me: 'Buy up a certain thing while you
can get it,' and I did. My goodness! I've got more than I know what to
do with, for, after all, I had more money than I wanted before. By and
by I shall be _too_ rich. Mercy! I'm afraid now of being married for
my money."
Then the hearers, dazzled by this fairy story, wondered whether they
might possibly ask Miss Mordaunt if they could profit by the marvellous
"tip," and pick up a few crumbs from her overflowing table. If Joan had
hawked her wares, no doubt these people would have fought shy; but as
the object was difficult of attainment and must be manoeuvred for,
according to the way of the world they struggled for it with eagerness.
As soon as Joan could decently appear to understand, in her innocence,
what her dear friends were driving at, she was so "good-natured" that
she volunteered to sell them a few of her own shares. The only promise
she exacted in return was that nobody would boast of the favour granted.
The shares which she had bought at a low price--not yet paid--she sold
for three times their face value, sent half the profit to Tommy Mellis
as she got it in, and pocketed her own half. She was thus able to pay
the tradespeople who had trusted her, and to lay in coal for the trips
round the coast which the _Titania_ often took with a few distinguished
passengers.
The girl could have sung for joy over the success of her adventure. In
the end she would cheat nobody; she would make a decent sum for herself,
and meanwhile she was drinking the intoxicating nectar of excitement.
She was so happy that when she had finished her business, sold all her
shares, and the two months for which the _Titania_ was hired were
drawing to an end she longed to stay on. She was her own mistress, and
could pay her way now--at least, for awhile, until she had another
stroke of luck, which her confidence in herself enabled her to count
upon as certain. She and Lady John were having a "good time," everybody
liked them, and she did not see why this good time should not go on
indefinitely. Besides, she had promised to sell the yacht for its
owner. The two ladies of the _Titania_ had invitations for a month
ahead, and one evening were dressed and waiting for the arrival of an
English bishop, a Roman prince, two American trust magnates, and a
French duchess and her daughter, when the name of Mr. Grierson Mordaunt
was announced.
Joan's blood rushed to her head, but she stood up smiling. "Leave us
for a minute, dear," she breathed to Lady John, who slipped off to her
cabin unsuspectingly. The girl found herself facing a grizzled,
smooth-shaven man with a prominent chin, a large nose, and deep eyes of
iron grey which matched his hair and faded skin.
"So you are the young woman who has been trading on a supposed
relationship to me?" remarked Grierson Mordaunt, looking her up and down
from head to foot.
"We are related--through Adam," replied Joan, whose lips were dry. "As
for 'trading' on the relationship, I'm proud of it, and I don't see why
you should be ashamed of me. I've done nothing to disgrace you."
"What is your game, that you should have selected my particular branch
of the Adam family?"
"Because I have one of your family secrets. If you are going to disown
me, there's no reason why I shouldn't give it away."
"What are you talking about?"
"Clerios. You aren't ready for the secret of that deal to come out yet,
are you? I saw in the paper the other day that you had denied any
intention of taking the Clerio line into your combine. It was the same
paper that said you had just returned to New York from Florida."
"You are an adventuress, my young friend."
"Every seeker of fortune is an adventurer or an adventuress. The crime
is, failure. I'm not a criminal, because I am succeeding, and my success
has enabled me to meet my obligations. If you don't think that I was
justified in claiming relationship with you through so remote an
ancestor in common as Adam, you can make the rest of my stay here very
uncomfortable, I admit; and if you have no fellow-feeling for a
beginner, I suppose you will do it."
"How long do you intend your stay to be?" inquired Mordaunt grimly, but
with a twinkle in his eye.
"How long do you want it kept dark about Clerios?"
"A fortnight."
"Then I should like very much, if you don't mind, to stop here a
fortnight."
The great man laughed. "You've the pluck of--the Evil One!" he
ejaculated. "I was in Paris, and read about one of my niece's smart
dinner-parties, so I came on--especially to see you. Now----"
"Now you are here, won't you stop to one of the dinner-parties? Some
very nice people are coming this evening."
"And play the part of fond uncle? No, I thank you. But, by Jove! I'm
hanged if I don't go away without unmasking you. You may bless your
pretty face and your smart tongue for that----"
"And the family secret."
"That's part of it, but not all. I give you a fortnight's grace. Mind,
not a day more; and respect the character you've stolen meanwhile, or
the promise doesn't stand. This day fortnight you clear out, and Miss
Jenny Mordaunt must never be heard of again."
"It's a bargain," said Joan. "By some other name I shall be as great."
"So long as it's not mine. Have you done well with Clerios?"
"Pretty well, thank you. I was a little hampered for lack of capital.
I might get you a few shares here in Nice, if you like; not cheap,
exactly--still, a good deal lower than they will be a fortnight from
now."
"Much obliged. You needn't trouble yourself. But I shall keep my eye
on you."
"I shall consider it a compliment," said Joan, "and try to be worthy of
it."
"Good-bye."
"Good-bye."
When he was gone, Joan sank into a chair and closed her eyes. It would
have been a comfort to faint, but the first guest arrived at that
moment, and she rose to them and to the occasion. The dinner was a
great success, and every one was grieved to hear that the _Titania_ was
due to steam away--for a destination unmentioned--in a fortnight.