"Stop!" he cried hoarsely; "there is another codicil."
"No, sir," said the old lawyer gravely; and he began slowly to double up
the will.
"Wait a minute, sir," cried Jessop, whose hand, as he stretched it out
in the midst of a painful silence, was trembling visibly.
"Jessop--dear Jessop," said Janet faintly, as she tore off her veil, "be
calm;" and she took a step or two towards the infuriated man, while
Clive felt sick, as if from some terrible blow, and sat gazing at the
shrinking girl as, with her face drawn with misery and white as ashes,
she touched his brother on the arm.
"Silence, woman!" he cried. "Here you!" and he turned to the lawyer,
"give me that will."
"I beg your pardon," said the lawyer gravely. "I have read the
document."
"Give it to me, I say. I want to see for myself."
"It is not customary, sir," replied the lawyer. "You have heard its
contents, and I am custodian, the representative of every one whose name
is mentioned there."
"Give it to me, I say," cried Jessop, stepping forward. "I will read it
aloud again--myself."
There was a dull sound, a snap, and the rattle of a key being withdrawn.
"No, sir," said the lawyer, placing the key in his pocket. "In your
excited state, and as the elder son, I would not trust that document in
your hand a moment."
"And quite right," said Dr Praed firmly.
Quick as lightning Jessop made a dash at the lawyer; but a strong hand
was upon his arm, and he was swung aside by Clive.
"Are you mad--and at a time like this!"
"Call it what you like," cried Jessop, "but don't you think I am going
to be cheated and juggled out of my--of her rights. You have your share
and are out of court. I'll have that will and read it over again."
"You will do nothing of the kind," said Clive, "and you will not make a
scene in this--in my house."
"Indeed! Oh, yes, I know it is your house, but you've got too strong a
man to deal with."
"Mr Jessop," said the old lawyer gravely, "you have the remedy in your
hands. There is no underhand work possible with a will like that. If
you are dissatisfied, go and consult your own legal adviser. The will
of course has to be proved, and in a very short time you will find it
accurately copied at Somerset House. Under all the circumstances, as my
deceased friend's trusted adviser, I cannot let it pass from my hands
into yours. I think, gentlemen, the executors, you agree with my
action."
"Quite!" came in unison, in company with a murmur of approval from the
old friends present.
"Then my duties are at an end," said the solicitor, while Jessop stood
panting, speechless, and biting his lips. "Clive Reed, my dear sir, I
have made many wills in my time--"
"And you influenced the old man in this," said Jessop.
The lawyer shook his head and looked at the disappointed man tolerantly.
"No, my dear sir. Your worthy, father was too strong-minded a man to be
influenced. You have listened to his own clear, concise words and
well-thought-out intentions. As I was going to say, my dear Clive Reed,
I never made a will with whose principles I could more thoroughly
coincide. God bless you, my dear boy! I congratulate you, and I know
how well you will carry out poor old Grantham's wishes. Ah! Doctor,"
he continued sadly, "one dear old companion gone. Many's the good
bottle of port we three cracked together in this room, and many's the
sterling hour of enjoyment, rational and social, we had together."
"Ay," said the Doctor, with tears in his eyes, "and our turn must come
before long."
"Yes! He half apologised to me for not putting you down for a big lump
sum; but he said you did not want it, and he was favouring you in your
children."
"God bless me! I didn't want his money," said the Doctor warmly.
"What's the use of money to me? But a hundred thousand pounds to Janet.
Great heavens, what a sum!"
"Yes, and in her husband's trust," said the old lawyer, with a tender,
paternal smile, as he advanced to Janet, held out his hands, and she
nestled with a sob to him, the old family friend, upon whose knee she
had sat as a child scores of times. "Hah!" sighed the old man, patting
her shoulder gently, "a woman grown, Janet, but still only the little
girl to me. Bless you, my dear! May you be very happy!"
"Happy!" she moaned, as Jessop engaged fiercely in conversation with
some of the old family friends, and Clive stood silent and watchful,
fighting against the horrible despair in his breast.
"Yes, happy, my dear--eh, Doctor? We old fellows grow to think that
death when it comes is not a horror, but a restful ending to a busy
life, if we go down to the quiet grave loving and beloved, honoured,
too, by all our friends."
There was a subdued murmur of approval here, for the old lawyer had
looked round as he spoke.
"Come, come, wipe those pretty eyes."
"I tell you I will," cried Jessop fiercely; and he wrenched himself away
from an elderly man who tried to restrain him.
"Oh, Jessop, Jessop," sighed Janet, as she shrank from the lawyer's
arms, and then hurriedly turned her head away as she met Clive's
searching eyes.
"But I tell you, you haven't a leg to stand on, man."
"Then, curse it!" cried Jessop, "I'll fight on crutches. It's a false
will, got out of the old man when he was imbecile. He would never have
invented it himself."
"What!" cried the Doctor warmly; and Janet burst into tears.
"I say it's all a made-up, blackguardly concoction, schemed by my smug,
smooth brother, who has always been fighting against me. Miner--
underminer he ought to be called. But it shan't stand. I'll throw the
whole thing into Chancery, and fight it year after year till there isn't
a penny left."
"And you have been shut up in a lunatic asylum, and the best place for
you," said the Doctor angrily.
"Oh, now you've begun," cried Jessop, with quite a snarl. "You think
your child's going to have a hundred thousand, do you, and that you will
be able to have your coin all to yourself."
"Jessop," began Clive excitedly.
"No, no, my dear boy," said the lawyer, "there must be no brotherly
quarrel. It is so unseemly at a time like this. Let me try and settle
it."
"What, make terms?" cried Jessop. "No; those are for me to make, for
I've got the whip hand of you, and you shall beg to me if all the old
man's cursed money is not to go to the lawyers. Now, then, what have
you to say?"
"Oh, Jessop, Jessop," whispered Janet, laying her hand upon his arm.
"Will you be silent, fool!" cried Jessop, seizing her by the wrist, and
giving her a rough shake.
He had gone too far. Clive uttered a cry of rage, and flew to save the
woman he loved from this indignity, but, as he dashed forward, his
brother, with a mocking laugh, full of triumphant pride, snatched the
yielding girl to his breast, and held her there.
"No, you don't," he said coolly: "not you, my clever schemer. You can't
hit a man through his wife."
"What!" cried Clive wildly.
"Yes, father-in-law," said Jessop, turning to the Doctor. "I am
fighting for our legacy. Janet and I were married three days ago, and
this is part of our honeymoon."