IN WHICH BECKY NARRATES HOW FANNY BECAME ACQUAINTED WITH MRS. LYDIA
HOLDFAST.
MY DEAR LOVE,--Again I beg of you, in reply to your expressions of
anxiety in the letter Fanny brought to me this morning, not to give
yourself unnecessary anxiety about me. You are alarmed at the position
in which I have placed myself; you are alarmed because Richard Manx
is in the same house with me; you are alarmed because I have bought
a revolver. I assure you there is no reason why you should be so
distressed. The position in which I have placed myself is, I am more
than ever convinced, the only one which will enable me to reach the
heart of this mystery. Richard Manx is but one person against many.
I, and Mrs. Preedy, and Fanny, and the neighbours, and the policeman,
with whom I am on friendly terms, are surely more than a match for
him. You are alarmed because I have in my possession a toy pistol.
Is not a woman, in an emergency, to be trusted with a weapon? In such
circumstances as ours, why should not a woman have as much courage as a
man? Why should not a woman undertake a task such as I have undertaken,
when her heart is engaged in it, when the honour and safety of the man
she loves are engaged in it, when the whole happiness of her life and
his is engaged in it? That would be like saying that women are fit for
nothing in the world but to wait upon men's actions and to follow them,
whichever way they lead. It is not so. In such a crisis as this a woman
can do, and do better, what it would be out of the power of a man to
accomplish. I would willingly relinquish my task if I thought it could
be accomplished without my aid. But it cannot be. You are powerless;
there is no one but myself capable and willing to carry it out; and
indeed, indeed, I am in no danger! My dear, you underrate our sex. Read
this letter carefully, and then confess that your fears are groundless,
and that I am doing what is right and best to be done.
Fanny heard nothing last night. There was no sound in the next house.
For a reason. Richard Manx was not in his room, and did not make his
appearance until this afternoon. Then I remembered that last week, on
the same day, it was the same. There is one night in the week, then,
in which he has business elsewhere. I shall take advantage of that
discovery.
When Fanny returned with your letter this morning, I prepared for a
masterstroke. Its success depended much upon chance, much upon Fanny's
shrewdness. I cut her hair short, and fitted the wig I bought yesterday
on her head. It is a wig of fair hair, with long curls. She looks lovely
in it. When night fell, I dressed her in her new clothes, which were not
new, but second-hand; and, covered with the waterproof, there she was,
ready for her task.
My desire was that she should manage to become acquainted with Mrs.
Lydia Holdfast, and so ingratiate herself with that person as to be able
to bring me reports of her movements and proceedings. Having impressed
this upon her, I asked her whether she would undertake the task. Her
answer was that she would go through fire and water to serve me;
that she knew exactly what I wanted, and was going to do it. I was
so satisfied with her readiness that it was with a feeling of great
confidence I sent her on her mission. I waited for my opportunity, and
no one saw her leave the house. Whether what I called my masterstroke
will really turn out to be one will be proved in a very short time.
Something has already been achieved. Fanny has become acquainted with
Mrs. Lydia Holdfast.
She returned an hour ago, and is now abed in old Mrs. Bailey's room.
Exactly at ten o'clock I went into the Square, and found Fanny waiting
for me. I whipped off her wig, and brought her home. The nights are
dark, and there is little fear of detection; and even in that case I
have an amusing story ready, which will easily account for what will
look like a harmless freak.
When she left Great Porter Square, Fanny went at once to the house in
which your father lived, and which his widow still inhabits. She waited
outside for a long time until at length a lady came out whom, from
my description of her, Fanny recognised to be Mrs. Lydia Holdfast. A
carriage was at the door, and as Mrs. Holdfast stepped towards it, Fanny
pulled her dress. Mrs. Holdfast snatched her dress away impatiently,
without speaking, and walked to her carriage, Fanny following her.
"If you please, ma'am," said Fanny.
"What do you want? What do you want?" cried Mrs. Holdfast.
"I want to speak to you," said Fanny.
"Well, speak!" exclaimed Mrs. Holdfast. "Don't you see I'm in a hurry?"
A coachman stood at the carriage door to wait upon his mistress.
"I want to speak to you alone, please," said Fanny.
"You can't," cried Mrs. Holdfast. "Take this beggar-girl away."
The coachman endeavoured to obey the order, but little Fanny was too
quick for him. She slipped between his arms, and again stood by the side
of Mrs. Holdfast.
"Ain't you Mrs. Holdfast?" she asked, looking up into the lady's face.
"Yes," was the reply.
"Mrs. Grace Holdfast," said Fanny, as bold as brass. I think it would be
difficult to find her equal.
Mrs. Holdfast, as she heard this name, Grace, which Fanny spoke loudly,
gave a scream, and seizing Fanny by the arm, hurried back with her into
the house. There were servants standing about, but Mrs. Holdfast took no
notice of them; she put her hand on Fanny's lips, and dragged her into
an empty room. Closing the door, and locking it, she bent down to Fanny
and shook her roughly.
Fanny did not speak or scream, but twisted herself as soon as she could
from Mrs. Holdfast's grip, and said,
"There! You have made my wig all crooked."
Heaven only knows where this child got her wits from, but if she had
been drilled for a month she could not have acted the spirit of her part
with greater cleverness. The words I did not teach her; I simply told
her what I wanted her to do, and left the rest to herself.
"There!" she cried. "You have made my wig all crooked."
And she ran to the looking-glass and set it straight again. There must
have been something in her manner which made Mrs. Holdfast laugh, but as
Fanny described it, her laugh was broken off in the middle.
"Come here directly," said Mrs. Holdfast.
Fanny obeyed. Mrs. Holdfast knelt upon the ground, and, holding Fanny's
face between her hands, looked long and hard at her.
"I don't know you," she said; and then she coloured up, for she saw that
Fanny was returning the earnest gaze.
"If you please, my lady," said Fanny, "I beg your pardon for calling you
Grace; my sister said you wouldn't like it, but you were running away,
and I couldn't help it."
"Who is your sister?" asked Mrs. Holdfast.
And now imagine Fanny, instead of at once answering the question,
fainting dead away. A real swoon? Not a bit of it. A sham, to gain time
to study the ground of action.
Mrs. Holdfast, at first, did not appear to know what to do. She allowed
Fanny to lie on the ground, and although the child's eyes were nearly
quite closed, she declares that not a movement nor an expression of
Mrs. Holdfast escaped her. I am entirely inclined to believe every
word spoken by Fanny as she related the adventure. She says that Mrs.
Holdfast looked at her for a moment, then turned away for a moment, then
looked at her again, as though wishing that she was dead. Upon which
Fanny gave a sigh, and murmured something about being faint and hungry.
Mrs. Holdfast rang a bell, and going to the door, unlocked it, and spoke
to a servant, from whom she received a decanter of wine. She locked the
door again, and returning to Fanny, raised the child's head, and put the
decanter to her lips. Fanny allowed herself gradually to recover, and
presently opened her eyes, and struggled to her feet.
"Now," repeated Mrs. Holdfast, "who is your sister, and what has brought
you here?"
[Decoration]