FOR A WOMAN'S SAKE.
Ulick walked out of the station yard and along the High Street. He saw
Janet coming down on the opposite side of the road, and wondered whether
it would be best to stop her or to watch where she went. He would, no
doubt, surprise her if he spoke to her in the street, and perhaps the
suddenness of his appearance might cause a scene. He decided it would be
the better plan to allow her to pass, and then follow her. He went into
a shop, made a trifling purchase, and saw her pass by.
When he went out she was turning round by the church, and he followed
some distance away. He saw her enter a house, where she probably lived,
but he waited some time in case she came out again. When she did not he
went up to the door and rang the bell.
As he heard it ring he wondered who to ask for. She would not be living
there under her own name, at all events it was unlikely.
Fortune favoured him, for Mrs. Hoffman was out and Janet was alone in
the house.
She opened the door and stood face to face with Ulick.
The shock was great; she felt faint and giddy, and caught hold of the
door, but, recovering herself, gasped out--
"Mr. Maynard, what are you doing here? How did you find me out?"
"I saw you as I drove from Kempton Park to Feltham, and came back from
the station to meet you. I thought, however, it would be better to see
you in your house, as I might have startled you in the street."
"I am very glad you did," she replied. "Will you come in?"
"Thank you, I should like to have a little conversation with you," he
replied.
"I wonder if he knows?" thought Janet, and quickly decided he could
hardly do so. Then arose the question should she tell him? No, it would
be better to keep her secret for the present.
"You will not be offended if I put some plain questions to you, I hope,"
said Ulick. "I have suffered a good deal on your account; that must be
my excuse."
"Ask me anything you like, and I will try and answer it," she replied.
"Are you living alone here?" he said.
"Yes," replied Janet. "Mrs. Hoffman and her son are the only other
occupants of the house."
"I am glad of it," he replied; "it will make my task less difficult."
"What do you wish to do?" she asked, timidly.
"I saw your father early in the New Year, on New Year's Day, and I
promised him I would find you, and persuade you to return home," he
replied.
"I cannot do that," said Janet, firmly. "It is impossible. You would be
the first to say so, if you knew all."
"Tell me all, and let me judge what is best to be done," he replied.
"That, also, is impossible, I know you mean well, and I thank you for
your kindness."
"Your father will be very glad to have you back; he will forget the
past; he has long since forgiven you, but not the man who tempted you to
leave home. I wish I had known what you were about to do the night I
left home. I would have stopped you and saved you at any cost."
Janet Todd shuddered. She was glad he had not met her and Warren
Courtly, or there was no telling what might have happened.
"I cannot undo all I have done," she said. "Some day it may be possible
for me to go back to my father without any danger or trouble to others,
but at present I cannot. Believe me, I would do so if it were possible."
"Consider well what you are saying," he said. "If I give your father
your address he will come and take you away, you cannot refuse to go
with him."
"You must not do it--indeed you must not," pleaded Janet, earnestly.
"Oh, if you only knew, you would leave the house at once. It is better
for you to go and forget you have seen me." He was surprised at her
agitation, which he saw was genuine. There was something in the
background he could not understand, and her father had thrown out hints
in the same way. What was the mystery, and why was it necessary to keep
him in the dark?
"Janet, will you tell me who the man is you ran away with? I will not
mention it to anyone if you desire me not to do so. If I know, I may be
better able to help you," said Ulick.
"I cannot tell you; it is impossible," she replied. "Please do not ask
me?"
"It must have been someone in the neighbourhood, but I cannot think who
would do such a cowardly action," he said.
This was dangerous ground, and Janet said quickly--
"You can tell my father you have seen me, that I am well, and will come
to him as soon as I possibly can."
"That is not sufficient. It is my duty to let him know where you are."
"If you do I must leave here, and I am very comfortable. Mrs. Hoffman is
kind to me, and has always been so. Please allow matters to remain as
they are."
Ulick looked at her, and thought his friend was right in describing
Janet as a pretty woman. She evidently lived a regular life, and he was
glad to see a healthy glow on her cheeks. Whatever her faults in the
past, she was living a decent, quiet life now, of that he felt certain.
It would be a great consolation to Eli to know this.
"If you feel compelled to remain hidden here for a time," he said at
last, "I will keep your secret, but you must allow me to write to your
father and tell him you are well and living a respectable life. That
will ease his mind, and he will wait for your return more patiently. It
is right he should know, for he has suffered much on your account."
She thanked him, and gave the permission he required, again entreating
him not to mention her address.
The gate opened, and Mrs. Hoffman came into the house. She was surprised
to see Ulick, and looked at him sharply, thinking to herself, "I wonder
what he is doing here? Perhaps he is a friend of Mr. Warren's?"
Mrs. Hoffman always addressed Janet as Mrs. Warren; it sounded more
respectable.
Janet was at a loss what to say; she did not wish to give Ulick's name,
in case Warren Courtly might hear he had called.
"A friend of yours, Mrs. Warren?" said Mrs. Hoffman, with a smile.
"Yes," said Janet, "a very old friend. I knew him when I was a little
girl."
"Mrs. Warren," thought Ulick, thinking the name sounded familiar, but
never dreaming of connecting it with Warren Courtly.
Mrs. Hoffman was fond of hearing herself talk, and launched out upon a
variety of topics until Ulick wished her anywhere but in his presence.
He thought, however, it was diplomatic, for Janet's sake, to be polite,
and Mrs. Hoffman was delighted to find such an attentive listener. As a
rule, her tirades were cut short with scant ceremony.
She pressed him to have a cup of tea, and, thinking this was the only
way to get rid of her for a time he consented.
He went to the window and looked out into the street and saw someone
walking down. He could hardly believe his eyes when he recognised Warren
Courtly.
"What on earth is he doing here?" he thought.
Janet followed him, and when she saw Warren she turned as pale as death,
standing almost rigid, unable to move.
They must not meet. Whatever happened they must not meet. That was her
one thought, her sole desire.
Ulick's eyes were fixed upon Warren. She pulled his sleeve. When he
turned round and saw her face it told him all.
"Good God," he exclaimed. "Irene, what about Irene?"
He seized Janet's wrist, and pressed it so tightly that she almost
screamed out with pain.
"Irene, his wife; good heavens, his wife, she must never know! Do you
hear, she must never know; it would kill her. Do you hear me?"
"Yes," said Janet.
"Promise you will never breathe a word to her of this."
"I promise. You will help me if I require help?"
"I will, Janet. He must not see me," he said.
Janet pulled him towards the door and led him into the kitchen.
"Well, I never!" exclaimed Mrs. Hoffman.
"There is no time for any explanation," said Ulick. "Mr. ----"
"Mr. Warren is coming," put in Janet, "and Mr. Hazelwell"--it was the
name that came first to her mind--"does not wish to meet him; they are
not friends."
The door bell rang.
"Keep him here until Mr. Warren is gone," said Janet. "I will attend to
the door."
Mrs. Hoffman was shocked. Why was it necessary for Mr. Hazelwell's visit
to be concealed from Mr. Warren? She would not allow these goings on in
her house. One thing, however, there was no getting over, and that was
there was a gentleman in her kitchen, and she had asked him to have some
tea. He was a good-looking gentleman into the bargain, and Mrs. Hoffman
flattered herself there were considerable remains of her early beauty
left.
"I am sorry this has occurred," said Ulick; "but I really do not wish to
meet Mr. Warren."
"Didn't you know it was Mrs. Warren who lived here?" she asked.
"No, I saw her in Feltham. She was a playmate of mine years ago. I had
no idea she was married."
"It is strange you should know Mr. Warren, too," said Mrs. Hoffman,
curiously.
"Remarkable, I call it," he replied, as he accepted the cup of tea
handed him.
He heard voices in the next room and the tones were angry.
Ulick was dumbfounded at the discovery he had made. He saw now, and
understood Janet's reason for not wishing to return home, and he
appreciated her delicacy. It was some consolation to think Warren
Courtly got into this mess before he married Irene, not after; and yet,
judging from his presence here, he was keeping up the connection. His
feelings can be better imagined than described. He loved Irene, he had
found out the truth ever since he lost her. She must never know it was
Warren Courtly who tempted Janet away from her home and allowed all the
suspicion to fall upon himself. At the thought of Warren's perfidy, his
blood boiled, and he would have gone into the next room with pleasure
and called him to account, There was no reason why he should not do so.
No reason? Only one, and that everything to him. He could bear the blame
cast unjustly upon himself, the separation from his father, the loss of
all the pursuits he loved, and a hundred times more, for Irene's sake.
Irene was the one reason why he would not call Warren Courtly to
account. He knew her nature, and how she would suffer if the truth
reached her ears. She was not likely to hear it from anyone except
himself or Janet, and she had promised not to tell. Did Eli suspect
Warren Courtly? He thought of his words, and felt he meant that if what
he suspected turned out true, it would cause great trouble at Anselm
Manor. Eli would not be the man to cause that trouble.
The voices in the next room grew louder, and Mrs. Hoffman said, "I am
afraid they are quarrelling. Mr. Warren is a very irritable man."
"Does he come here often?" asked Ulick.
"No, he leaves her too much alone. He ought to be thankful he has me to
look after her. Mrs. Warren is young, pretty, and inexperienced; he has
no business to neglect her."
Ulick was glad to hear he neglected her; it was a sign he wished to
spare Irene's feelings.
Warren remained about half an hour, and then left. He would have been
very uneasy had he known Ulick Maynard was on the premises, and still
more that he knew all about his connection with Janet. He had, as usual,
quarrelled with her over money matters, but she had won in the end, as
she was bound to do, considering the hold she had over him. She did not
mean to let him shirk his responsibilities and he had no idea she would
not have betrayed him to Irene under any circumstances.
She came into the kitchen and said, "You may come in now, Mr.
Hazelwell--the coast is clear."
Ulick was glad to escape from Mrs. Hoffman, and when she was left alone
that good lady commenced to sum up the situation to her own
satisfaction.
"They are rivals, that's what it is," she said; "and this one is worth
half-a-dozen Mr. Warrens. There's no telling what men will do where a
pretty face is concerned. I know what it is myself, and to think I
should have thrown myself away on such a fellow as Hoffman when I might
have had anybody in those days. Mrs. Warren's in my charge, and she must
be careful; but I like a little bit of romancing, and it strikes me I'm
likely to get it in this situation."
Ulick had a serious talk with Janet.
"Is it because Warren Courtly is the man who took you away from home
that you decline to return to your father's house?" he asked.
"Yes."
"I think you are right, now I know the facts. It will be better for me
not to mention having seen you; it will only make Eli uneasy and anxious
to know more."
She agreed with him, and promised to write to him if necessary.
"Were you quarrelling?" he added.
"We had some words, as usual, about money matters."
"He makes you an allowance still?"
"Yes, I could not live here without, and he has a right to do it," she
replied.
"Mrs. Hoffman says he seldom comes here?"
"That is true."
"I am glad," said Ulick.
"So am I. When he married Miss Carstone I made up my mind to see as
little of him as possible. He promised to marry me when I ran off with
him," said Janet.
"He deceived you, and deserves to suffer for it, but his wife must not
be dragged into it," he said.
"She will never learn anything from me," Janet answered, earnestly.
Ulick went back to London thinking over the varied chances of the day,
and wondering at the strange discovery he had made.
So it was Warren Courtly who had robbed Eli of his daughter, and allowed
the blame to rest on him. He would let Warren see that he knew the
truth, that much satisfaction he meant having, but Irene must be
shielded no matter what happened. How different events might have turned
out had he stuck to his guns and won Irene, in spite of Warren Courtly,
and the suspicions surrounding himself. Had he done so, no doubt the
truth would have come to light in a very short time; as it was, he must
trust to his luck to clear the way for him.