Sir William Finds A Trace Of Virgie.
Sir William asked, a little later, when he had succeeded in somewhat
recovering his composure:
"And have you no idea whither my wife went after leaving here?"
"No," Mr. Eldridge said. "I offered to find some nice, quiet place for
her, but she simply thanked me and declined my offer. She then ordered a
carriage and drove away, without giving any definite directions regarding
her destination—at least, in my hearing."
The proprietor was careful not to state that he had been so relieved by
the departure of his then questionable guest that he had taken no pains to
ascertain her plans, being only too glad to be quit of her upon any terms,
and to thus preserve the honor of his house and retain the patronage of
its other occupants.
Sir William then repaired to the office of Dr. Knox, the physician in
whose care he had left his wife, hoping to glean something from him. But
that gentleman knew nothing whatever of what had occurred, and appeared
greatly surprised by what the young husband told him.
He simply stated what we already knew—that Mrs. Heath had sent him a note
saying that she was about leaving the city and wished to settle her bill,
and requested him to call for the amount. He had done so, and she had paid
him in full.
He said that his time was limited, and he had only remained a few moments.
He thought she was looking rather pale and worn; but she said she was
well, and, being calm and self-possessed, he did not imagine that she was
in any trouble.
It was evident that from this source Sir William could gain nothing to aid
him in his search for his wife.
He then tried to discover the nurse who had been with her, but she was not
to be found at her usual address, and no one could tell him anything about
her.
He went to the bank where he had deposited money for Virgie's use, but
disappointment awaited him here also. He was told that she had sent word
one morning that on a certain day she would need the whole amount due her.
She had called according to her appointment, receiving her money, and that
was all that was known there regarding her movements.
Sir William was in despair. Failure met him on every hand, and he feared
the worst for his loved ones.
He remained in New York for more than a month, searching the city from end
to end, employing detectives advertising in the papers, and using every
means he could think of to gain some clew to Virgie's hiding-place; but
all to no purpose; and he finally came to the conclusion that she must
have left the metropolis. But whither had she gone? He knew that she had
not a friend on this side of the Rocky Mountains; it was all a strange
country to her.
Would she be likely to remain East and hide herself and her supposed shame
in some obscure place, or would she wander back to the Pacific coast,
where everything would be more familiar and home-like to her?
These questions agitated his mind continually, and for a while he knew not
which way to turn, while he was growing both weary and heart-sick with his
fruitless search.
Finally he decided that he would go again to her old home among the
mountains of Nevada. He might possibly learn something of her there.
He reached the place just a year from the day of his departure with
Virgie, and a feeling of utter desolation, almost of despair, took
possession of him as he wandered here and there over the familiar ground
visiting the grave of Mr. Abbot, and peering in at the cottage where he
had first met his love, but where only strange faces now met his gaze.
Everything looked the same as when he left, but evidently no one knew
anything about his wife; he learned that from the eager inquiries, which
met him on every side, for the beautiful girl whom he had taken away with
him.
He answered and evaded them as well as he could, without betraying that he
was in any trouble, but he was deeply disappointed to find that Chi Lu had
left the place.
He was told that he had left very suddenly, but came back after a time,
when he disposed of his cabin that Sir William had given him, and then
disappeared altogether.
The baronet sought out Margery Follet, and was impressed the moment that
he saw her that she had something on her mind.
She eyed him with suspicion, seemed averse to holding any conversation
with him, and never once inquired regarding his wife.
This alone made the young baronet hope that she knew something of Virgie,
for, having been at her wedding, and afterward assisted her in many ways
during Mr. Abbott's last illness, it would have been but natural for her
to wish to know something about her.
By adroitly questioning her he became convinced of the truth of his
suspicion, and finally he charged her outright with having recently seen
his wife.
The woman stammered, blushed, and finally assumed a defiant attitude, and
Sir William was sure.
He then told her something of his trouble, enjoining her to secrecy, and
finally she confessed that one day Chi Lu had come to her and persuaded
her to go with him before the county magistrate to sign a paper stating
that she had been a witness to the marriage of Miss Abbot with Mr. Heath.
Chi Lu had given her a handsome sum for her trouble and to keep silent
about the matter afterward.
This confession gave Sir William great hope. It told him that Virgie had
been in that vicinity; that she was gathering what proofs she could toward
establishing the legality of her marriage, with a view to claiming her
rights as a lawful wife.
He was very much elated over the discovery, and at once repaired to the
county town, to seek out the magistrate and learn what he could from him.
That gentleman confirmed what he had already learned. He said that several
weeks previous a young woman had come there to obtain a copy of the record
of a certain marriage, and that afterward a Chinaman and an elderly woman
had signed a paper in his presence, testifying to having been witnesses of
the ceremony.
Sir William reasoned that, since Virgie was seeking all these proofs, she
would doubtless apply to the clergyman who had married them; so to
Virginia City he straightway hastened, to seek the Rev. Dr. Thornton.
He found him readily enough. The clergyman appeared to be in feeble
health, and received him with coldness and evident displeasure.
"I suppose you are somewhat at a loss how to account for my visit, Dr.
Thornton," he remarked, in his genial way, and ignoring the frigidness of
his host's greeting; "but I have come to make some important inquiries of
you."
The reverend gentleman simply bowed, and then waited for his guest to
proceed.
"You will be surprised that I have lost my wife and am searching for her,"
the baronet continued, thinking it best to come to the point at once.
"Which one?" demanded the divine, with an accent of scorn in his usually
mild tones.
"Sir!"
"For which wife are you searching?"
"I have but one wife—the lady to whom you married me only a little more
than a year ago!" Sir William replied in a voice of thunder, his handsome
face flaming with righteous anger, though his heart bounded with new hope
at the question.
"I beg your pardon, sir," the clergyman replied, seeing at once that there
was some mystery, and there must have been some fearful mistake to cause
the separation of these two young people in whom he had been so deeply
interested.
"You will understand my untimely sarcasm, perhaps," he went on, "when I
tell you that I have been led to believe that you had done that beautiful
woman the greatest possible wrong."
He then proceeded to explain all that he knew of the matter.
Mrs. Heath, he said, had come to him, about a month previous, to secure a
written statement from him to the effect that he had performed the
marriage ceremony in a legal and authorized manner between herself and Sir
William Heath, of Heathdale, Hampshire County, England She was looking
very sad and ill, and she confided to him that she had been deserted by
her husband in New York; he having been called to his home by a cablegram,
ostensibly because of his mother's illness, but that she had learned of
his marriage with another lady in England, and she feared that his union
with her might have been a farce. She had, however, learned to the
contrary, and she was determined to gather all the proofs possible, for
the purpose of securing the future rights and position of her child.
Sir William Heath listened in painful silence to this recital, and then in
turn related all that he knew regarding the terrible misunderstanding and
the mystery attending it.
"It looks to me very much as if there was a conspiracy in the matter, and
a desire on the part of some one to separate you and your wife," Dr.
Thornton remarked thoughtfully, when the young husband concluded.
"A conspiracy!" repeated Sir William.
"Yes; the fact that all letters, on both sides, have been intercepted,
seems to point to such a suspicion. Have you any enemies who, from
interested motives, would try to create trouble between you and your
wife?"
"Not that I am aware of," the young man replied, but looking deeply
perplexed. "My family, to be sure, were not very well pleased with the
idea of my marrying an American; but I can think of no one person who
could have accomplished anything like what has occurred. It seems to me
that in order to intercept our letters there would need to be conspirators
on both sides of the Atlantic who were interested in the project."
"Not necessarily. Any one determined to separate you might have robbed
the mail of all letters at either end of the route. It is certainly very
mysterious, and, mark my words, you will some day learn that an enemy has
been at work. But, Sir William," the clergyman continued smiling genially,
"you have relieved my mind and established my faith in you by this
explanation. I confess I had set you down as a miserable scamp, and I have
suffered a good deal on that beautiful young woman's account."
"I cannot blame you for thinking the very worst of me," returned Sir
William, with emotion; "but I have loved—I do love my wife with a love
that can never die."
"I do not doubt it now. Of course I gave her the paper she desired, and
also a copy of the certificate which I presented you on your marriage day,
and told her to command me at any time and I should be at her service to
testify to the legality of her claims upon you."
"Thank you, sir. I am truly grateful to you for your kindness to my poor
darling," said the baronet, tears springing to his eyes. "But can you give
me any idea regarding her plans or movements?"
"No, I cannot, I am sorry to say," returned Doctor Thornton. "I asked her
what course she intended to pursue, and she said, in the saddest voice I
ever heard, 'I do not exactly know yet; I simply desire to establish the
rightful claim of my daughter as the heiress of Heathdale.'"
"That looks as if she meant to go immediately to England!" cried Sir
William, starting excitedly to his feet. "If she should do that, all would
be well—everything will be explained, and we shall be happy once more."
"I cannot say that such was her plan," returned the clergyman,
thoughtfully. "She looked scarcely able to endure such a journey. Still,
it may be that such was her intention."
"Oh, if I only knew! Just think, sir, I have never even seen my child!"
cried Sir William, greatly agitated.
"It is certainly very sad. It is greatly to be regretted that you were
recalled to England as you were," said Doctor Thornton.
"Indeed it is. Why <i>did</i> I ever leave her? It was wrong! I fear I was
negligent of my duty toward her in so doing. I do not know what to do now.
If she has gone to England, we have passed each other, and I would desire
to retrace my steps thither at once. If she is still here on this
continent, I should be in despair to go home, and only find it out on the
other side of the ocean."
Doctor Thornton pitied the young husband sincerely.
"You are in a very trying position, I must acknowledge, and I do not like
to advise you either to go or stay. You might wait here a while, and
notify your friends to cable you in case Lady Heath should go direct to
England; then it would be comparatively easy to join her there."
Sir William determined to act upon these suggestions. He would cable
Heathdale to be notified if Virgie should make her appearance there;
meantime he would do his utmost to find her here.
He thanked the clergyman for his kindness, and bade him farewell, feeling
much relieved regarding his wife, yet still very sad at heart at the
mystery surrounding her.
He determined to search for Chi Lu, believing that he alone, who had
always been so devoted to her, could tell him something definite as to her
movements. He had an idea that he might be even now in her service.