WHAT PERCIVAL KNEW.
Mr. Colquhoun and Mr. Brett were sitting over their wine in the
well-lighted, well-warmed dining-room of the lawyer's house. They had
been friends in their earlier days, and were delighted to have an
opportunity of meeting (in a strictly unprofessional way) and chatting
over the memories of their youth. It was a surprise to both of them when
the door was opened to admit Dino Vasari and Hugo Luttrell: two of the
last visitors whom Mr. Colquhoun expected. His bow to Dino was a little
stiff: his greeting of Hugo more cordial than usual.
"You come from Mrs. Luttrell?" he asked, in surprise.
Hugo's pallid lips, and look of agitation, convinced him that some
disaster was impending. But Dino answered with great composure.
"I come to bring you news which I think ought not to be kept from you
for a moment longer than is necessary," he said.
"Pray take a glass of wine, Mr.--er--Mr.----" The lawyer did not quite
know how to address his visitor. "Won't you sit down, Hugo?"
"I have not come to stay," said Dino. "I am going to the hotel for the
night. I wished only to speak to you at once." He put one hand on the
table by which he was standing and glanced at Mr. Brett. For the first
time he showed some embarrassment. "I hope it will not inconvenience
you," he said, "if I tell you that I have withdrawn my claim."
Dead silence fell on the assembly. Mr. Brett pushed back his chair a
little way and stared. Mr. Colquhoun shook his head and smiled.
"I find," continued Dino, "that Mrs. Luttrell and I have entirely
different views as to the disposition of the property and the life that
I ought to lead. I cannot give up my plans--even for her. The easiest
way to set things straight is to let the estate remain in Miss Murray's
hands."
"You can't!" said Mr. Colquhoun, abruptly. "Brian Luttrell is alive!"
"Then let it go to Brian Luttrell."
"My dear sir," said Mr. Brett, "you have offered us complete documentary
evidence that the gentleman now on his way to America is not Brian
Luttrell at all."
"Yes, but there is only documentary evidence," said Dino. "The deaths of
Vincenza Vasari and Rosa Naldi in a railway accident deprived us of
anything else."
"Where are those papers?" asked Mr. Brett, sharply. "I hope they are
safe."
"Quite safe, Mr. Brett. I have burnt them all." The shock of this
communication was too much, even for the case-hardened Mr. Brett. He
turned positively pale.
"Burnt them! Burnt them!" he ejaculated. "Oh, the man is mad. Burnt the
proofs of his position and birth----"
"I have done all that I wanted to do," said Dino, colouring as the three
pairs of eyes were fastened upon him with different expressions of
disbelief, surprise, and even scorn. "My mother knows that I am her son:
that is all I cared for. That is what I came for, not for the estate."
"But, my dear, young friend," said Mr. Colquhoun, with unusual
gentleness, "don't you see that if Mrs. Luttrell and Brian and Miss
Murray are all convinced that you are Mrs. Luttrell's son, you are doing
them a wrong by destroying the proofs and leaving everybody in an
unsettled state? You should never have come to Scotland at all if you
did not mean to carry the matter through."
"That's what I say," cried Mr. Brett, who was working himself up into a
violent passion. "He has played fast and loose with all us! He has
tricked and cheated me. Why, he had a splendid case! And to think that
it can be set aside in this way!"
"Very informal," said Mr. Colquhoun, shaking his head, but with a little
gleam of laughter in his eye. If Dino Vasari had told the truth, the
matter had taken a fortunate turn in Mr. Colquhoun's opinion.
"Scandalous! scandalous!" exclaimed Mr. Brett. "Actionable, I call it.
You had no right to make away with those papers, sir. However, it may be
possible to repair the loss. They were not all there."
"I will not have it," said Dino, decisively. "Nothing more shall be
done. I waive my claims entirely. Brian and Miss Murray can settle the
rest."
And then the party broke up. Mr. Brett seized his client by the arm and
bore him away to the hotel, arguing and scolding as he went. Before his
departure, however, Dino found time to say a word in Mr. Colquhoun's
ear.
"Will you kindly look after Hugo to-night?" he said. "Mrs. Luttrell will
not wish him to return to Netherglen."
"Oh! There's been a quarrel, has there?" said Mr. Colquhoun eyeing the
young man curiously.
After a little consideration, Dino thought himself justified in saying
"Yes."
"I will see after him. You are going with Brett. You'll not have a
smooth time of it."
"It will be smoother by-and-bye. You will shake hands with me, Mr.
Colquhoun?"
"That I will," said the old lawyer, heartily. "And wish you God-speed,
my lad. You've not been very wise, maybe, but you've been generous."
"You will have Brian home, before long, I hope."
"I hope so. I hope so. It's a difficult matter to settle," said Mr.
Colquhoun, cautiously, "but I think we might see our way out of it if
Brian were at home. If you want a friend, lad, come to me."
Left alone with Hugo, the solicitor took his place once more at the
table, and hastily drank off a glass of wine, then glanced at his silent
guest with a queerly-questioning look.
"What's wrong with ye, lad?" he said. "Cheer up, and drink a glass of
good port wine. Your aunt has quarrelled with many people before you,
and she'll like enough come to her senses in course of time."
"Did he say I had quarrelled with my aunt?" asked Hugo, in a dazed sort
of way.
"Well, he said as much. He said there had been a quarrel. He asked me to
keep an eye on you. Why, Hugo, my man, what's the matter?"
For Hugo, utterly careless of the old man's presence, suddenly laid his
aims on the table, and his head on his arms, and burst into passionate
hysterical tears.
"Tut, tut, tut, man! this will never do," said Mr. Colquhoun,
rebukingly. "You're not a girl, nor a child, to cry for a sharp word or
two. What's wrong?"
But he got no answer. Not even when Hugo, spent and exhausted with the
violence of his emotion, lifted up his face and asked hoarsely for
brandy. Mr. Colquhoun gave him what he required, without asking further
questions, and tried to induce him to take some solid food; but Hugo
absolutely refused to swallow anything but a stiff glass of brandy and
water, and allowed himself to be conducted to a bed-room, where he flung
himself face downwards on the bed, and preserved a sullen silence.
Mr. Colquhoun did not press him to speak. "I'll hear it all from
Margaret Luttrell to-morrow morning," he said to himself. "My mind
misgives me that there have been strange doings up at Netherglen
to-night. But I'll know to-morrow."
It was at that very moment that Angela Vivian, going into the
dressing-room, found a motionless, silent figure, sitting upright in the
wheeled arm-chair, a figure, not lifeless, indeed, but with life
apparent only in the agonised glance of the restless eyes, which seemed
to plead for help. But no help could be given to her now. No more hard
words could fall from those stricken lips: no more bitter sentences be
written by those nerveless fingers. She might live for years, if
dragging on a mute, maimed existence could be, indeed, called living;
but, as far as power over the destiny of others, of doing good or harm
to her loved ones, was concerned, Margaret Luttrell was practically
dead!
Mr. Colquhoun heard the news of Mrs. Luttrell's seizure on the following
morning, and made good use of it as a reproach to Dino in the
conversation that he had with him. But Dino, although deeply grieved at
the turn which things had taken, stood firm. He would have nothing to do
with the Strathleckie or the Luttrell properties. Whereupon, Mr.
Colquhoun went straight to Miss Murray, and told her, to the best of his
ability, the long and intricate story. Be it observed that, although Mr.
Colquhoun knew that Brian was living, and that he had lately been in
England, he did not know of Brian's appearance at Strathleckie under the
name of Stretton, and was, therefore, unable to give Elizabeth any
information on this point.
Elizabeth was imperative in her decision.
"At any rate," she said, "the property cannot belong to me. It must
belong either to Mr. Luttrell or to Mr. Vasari. I have no right to it."
"Possession is nine points of the law, my dear," said the lawyer.
"Nobody can turn you out until Brian comes home again. It may be all a
mistake."
"You don't think it a mistake, Mr. Colquhoun?"
Mr. Colquhoun smiled, pursed up his lips, and gave his head a little
shake, as much as to say that he was not going to be tricked into any
expression of his private opinions.
"The thing will be to get Mr. Brian Luttrell back," said Elizabeth.
"Not such an easy thing as it seems, I am afraid, Miss Murray. The lad,
Dino Vasari, or whatever his name is, tried hard to keep him, but
failed. He is an honest lad, I believe, this Dino, but he's an awful
fool, you know, begging your pardon. If he wanted to keep Brian in
England, why couldn't he write to me?"
"Perhaps he did not know of your friendship for Brian," said Elizabeth,
smiling.
"Then he knew very little of Brian's life and Brian's friends, my dear,
and, according to his own account, he knew a good deal. Of course, he is
a foreigner, and we must make allowances for him, especially as he was
brought up in a monastery, where I don't suppose they learn much about
the forms of ordinary life. What puzzles me is the stupidity of one or
two other people, who might have let me know in time, if they had had
their wits about them. I've a crow to pluck with your Mr. Heron on that
ground," concluded Mr. Colquhoun, never dreaming that he was making
mischief by his communication.
Elizabeth started forward. "Percival!" she said, contracting her brows
and looking at Mr. Colquhoun earnestly. "You don't mean that Percival
knew!"
Mr. Colquhoun perceived that he had gone too far, but could not retract
his words.
"Well, my dear Miss Murray, he certainly knew something----" and then he
stopped short and coughed apologetically.
"Oh," said Elizabeth, with a little extra colour in her cheeks, and the
faintest possible touch of coldness, "no doubt he had his reasons for
being silent; he will explain them when he comes."
"No doubt," said the lawyer, gravely; but he chuckled a little to
himself over the account which Mr. Brett had given him that morning of
Mr. Heron's disappointment. (Mr. Brett had thrown up the case, he told
his friend Colquhoun; would have nothing more to do with it at any
price. "I think the case has thrown you up," said Mr. Colquhoun,
laughing slyly.)
He had taken up some papers which he had brought with him and was
turning towards the door when a new thought caused him to stop, and
address Elizabeth once more.
"Miss Murray," he said, "I do not wish to make a remark that would be
unpleasant to you, but when I remember that Mr. Heron was in possession
of the facts that I have just imparted to you, nearly a week ago, I do
think, like yourself, that his conduct calls for an explanation."
"I did not say that I thought so, Mr. Colquhoun," said Elizabeth,
feeling provoked. But Mr. Colquhoun was gone.
Nevertheless, she agreed with him so far that she sent off a telegram to
Percival that afternoon. "Come to me at once, if possible. I want you."
When Percival received the message, which he did on his return from his
club about eleven o'clock at night, he eyed the thin, pink paper on
which it was written as if it had been a reptile of some poisonous kind.
"I expected it," he said to himself, and all the gaiety went out of his
face. "She has found something out."
It was too late to do anything that night. He felt resentfully conscious
that he should not sleep if he went to bed; so he employed the midnight
hours in completing some items of work which ought to be done on the
following day. Before it was light he had packed a hand-bag, and
departed to catch the early train. He sent a telegram from Peterborough
to say that he was on the way.
Of course, it was late when he reached Strathleckie, and he assured
himself with some complacency that Elizabeth would expect no
conversation with him until next morning. But he was a little mistaken.
In her quality of mistress, she had chosen to send everyone else to bed:
the household was so well accustomed to Percival's erratic comings and
goings, that nobody attached any importance to his visits; and even old
Mr. Heron appeared only for a few minutes to gossip with his son while
he ate a comfortable supper, retiring at last, with a nod to his niece
which Percival easily understood. It meant--"I will do now what you told
me you wished--leave you together to have your talk out." And Percival
felt irritated by Elizabeth's determination.
"Will you smoke?" she asked, when the meal was over.
"I don't mind if I do. Will you come into the study--that's the
smoking-room, is it not?--or is it too late for you?"
"It is not very late," said Elizabeth.
When they were seated in the study, Percival in a great green arm-chair,
and Elizabeth opposite to him in a much smaller one, he attempted to
take matters somewhat into his own hands.
"I won't ask to-night what you wanted me for," he said, easily. "I am
rather battered and sleepy; we shall talk better to-morrow."
"You can set my mind at rest on one point, at any rate," rejoined
Elizabeth, whose face burned with a feverish-looking flush. "It is, of
course, a mistake that you knew a week ago of Brian Luttrell being in
London?"
"Oh, of course," said Percival. But the irony in his voice was too plain
for her to be deceived by it.
"Did you know, Percival?"
"Well, if you must have the plain truth," he said, sitting up and
examining the end of his cigar with much attention, "I did."
She was silent. He raised his eyes, apparently with some effort, to her
face; saw there a rather shocked and startled look, and rushed
immediately into vehement speech.
"What if I did! Do you expect me to rush to you with every disturbing
report I hear? I did not see this man, Brian Luttrell; I should not know
him if I did--as Brian Luttrell, at any rate. I merely heard the story
from a--an acquaintance of mine----"
"Dino Vasari," said Elizabeth.
"Oh, I see you know the facts. There is no need for me to say any more.
Of course, you attach no weight to any reasons I might have for
silence."
"Indeed, I do, Percival; or I should do, if I knew what they were."
"Can you not guess them?" he said, looking at her intently. "Can you
think of no powerful motive that would make me anxious to delay the
telling of the story?"
"None," she said. "None, except one that would be beneath you."
"Beneath me? Is it possible?" scoffed Percival. "No motive is too base
for me, allow me to tell you, my dear child. I am the true designing
villain of romance. Go on: what is the one bad motive which you
attribute to me?"
"I do not attribute it to you," said Elizabeth, slowly, but with some
indignation. "I never in my life believed, I never shall believe, that
you cared in the least whether I was rich or poor."
Percival paused, as if he had met with an unexpected check, and then
went off into a fit of rather forced laughter.
"So you never thought that," he said. "And that was the only motive that
occurred to you? Then, perhaps you will kindly tell me the story as it
was told to you, for you seem to have had a special edition. Has Dino
Vasari been down here?"
She gave him a short account of the events that had occurred at
Netherglen, and she noticed that as he listened, he forgot to smoke his
cigar, and that he leaned his elbow on the arm of the great chair, and
shaded his eyes with his hand. There was a certain suppressed eagerness
in his manner, as he turned round when she had finished, and said, with
lifted eyebrows:--
"Is that all?"
"What else do you know?" said Elizabeth.
He rubbed his hand impatiently backwards and forwards on the arm of the
chair, and did not speak for a moment.
"What does Colquhoun advise you to do?" he asked, presently.
"To wait here until Brian Luttrell is found and brought home."
"Brought home. They think he will come?"
"Oh, yes. Why not? When everybody knows that he is alive there will be
no possible reason why he should stay away. In fact, if he is a
right-thinking man, he will see that justice requires him to come home
at once."
"I should not think, myself, that he was a right-thinking man," said
Percival, without looking at her.
"Because he allowed himself to be thought dead?" said Elizabeth,
watching him as he relighted his cigar. "But, then, he was in such
terrible trouble--and the opportunity offered itself, and seemed so
easy. Poor fellow! I was always very sorry for him."
"Were you?"
"Yes. His mother, at least, Mrs. Luttrell, for I suppose she is not his
mother really, must have been very cruel. From all that I have heard he
was the last man to be jealous of his brother, or to wish any harm to
him."
"In short, you are quite prepared to look upon him as a _heros de
roman_, and worship him as such when he appears. Possibly you may think
there is some reason in Dino Vasari's naive suggestion that you should
marry Mr. Luttrell and prevent any division of the property."
"A suggestion which, from you, Percival, is far more insulting than that
of the motive which I did not attribute to you," said Elizabeth, with
spirit.
"You wouldn't marry Brian Luttrell, then?"
"Percival!"
"Not under any consideration? Well, tell me so. I like to hear you say
it."
Elizabeth was silent.
"Tell me so," he said, stretching out his hand to her, and looking at
her attentively, "and I will tell you the reason of my week's silence."
"I have no need to tell you so," she answered, in a suppressed voice.
"And if I did you would not trust me."
"No," he said, drily, "perhaps not; but promise me, all the same, that
under no circumstances will you ever marry Brian Luttrell."
"I promise," she said, in a low tone of humiliation. Her eyes were full
of tears. "And now let me go, Percival. I cannot stay with you--when you
say that you trust me so little."
He had taken advantage of her rising to seize her hand. He now tossed
his cigar into the fire, and rose, too, still holding her hand in his.
He looked down at her quivering lips, her tear-filled eyes, with
gathering intensity of emotion. Then he put both arms round her, pressed
her to his breast with passionate vehemence, and kissed her again and
again, on cheek, lip, neck, and brow. She shivered a little, but did not
protest.
"There!" he said, suddenly putting her away from him, and standing erect
with the black frowning line very strongly marked upon his forehead. "I
will tell you now why I did not try to keep Brian Luttrell in England. I
knew that I ought to make a row about it. I knew that I was bound in
honour to write to Colquhoun, to you, to Mrs. Luttrell, to any of the
people concerned. And I didn't do it. I didn't precisely mean not to do
it, but I wanted to shift the responsibility. I thought it was other
people's business to keep him in England: not mine. As a matter of fact,
I suppose it was mine. What do you say?"
"Yes," said Elizabeth, lifting her lovely, grieved eyes to his stormy
face. "I think it was partly yours."
"Well, I didn't do it, you see," said Percival. "I was a brute and a
cad, I suppose. But it seemed fatally easy to hold one's tongue. And now
he has gone to America."
"But he can be brought back again, Percival."
"If he will come. I fancy that it will take a strong rope to drag him
back. You want to know the reason for my silence? It isn't far to seek.
Brian Luttrell and the tutor, Stretton, who fell in love with you, were
one and the same person. That's all."
And then he walked straight out of the room, and left her to her own
reflections.