UNMASKED
There are men who find as much pleasure in the intrigue as in the
fruits of the intrigue; who take huge credit for their own finesse and
others' folly, and find a chief part of their good in watching, as
from a raised seat, the movements of their dupes, astray in a maze of
their planting. The more ingenious the machination they have
contrived, the nicer the calculations and the more narrow the point on
which success turns, the sweeter is the sop to their vanity. To
receive Lisette and Fifine in the same apartment within the hour; to
divide the rebel and the minister by a door; to turn the scruple of
one person to the hurt of another, and know both to be ignorant--these
are feats on which they hug themselves as fondly as on the substantial
rewards which crown their man[oe]uvres.
Hawkesworth was of this class; and it was with feelings such as these
that he saw his nicely jointed plans revolving to the end he desired.
To mould the fate of Tom Maitland at Cambridge, and of Sophia in town,
and both to his own profit, fulfilled his sense of power. To time the
weddings as nearly as possible, to match the one at noon and to marry
the other at night, gratified his vanity at the same time that it
tickled his humour. But the more delicate the machinery, the smaller
is the atom, and the slighter the jar that suffices to throw all out
of gear. For a time, Oriana's absence, at a moment when every instant
was of price, and the interference of Tom's friends was hourly
possible, threatened to ruin all. It was in the enjoyment of the
relief, which the news of her arrival afforded, that he returned to
his lodging this evening. He was in his most rollicking humour, and
overflowed with spirits; Tom's innocence and his own sagacity
providing him with ever fresh and more lively cause for merriment.
Nor was the lad's presence any check on his mood. Hawkesworth's
joviality, darkling and satirical as it was, passed with Tom for
lightness of heart. What he did not understand, he set down for Irish,
and dubbed his companion the prince of good fellows. As they climbed
the stairs, he was trying with after-supper effusiveness to impress
this on his host. "I swear you are the best friend man ever had," he
cried, his voice full of gratitude. "I vow you are."
Hawkesworth laughed, as he threw his hat and cane on the table, and
proceeded to take off his sword that he might be more at ease. His
laughter was a little louder than the other's statement seemed to
justify; but Tom was in no critical mood, and Hawkesworth's easy
answer "You'll say so when you know all, my lad," satisfied the boy.
"I do say it," he repeated earnestly, as he threw himself on the
settle, and, taking the poker, stirred the embers to see if a spark
survived. "I do say it."
"And I say, well you may," Hawkesworth retorted, with a sneer from
which he could not refrain. "What do you think, dear lad, would have
happened, if I'd tried for the prize myself?" he continued. "If I'd
struck in for your pretty bit of red and white on my own account? Do
you remember Trumpington, and our first meeting? I'd the start of you
then, though you are going to be her husband."
"Twenty minutes' start," Tom answered.
Hawkesworth averted his face to hide a grin. "Twenty minutes?" he
said. "Lord, so it was! Twenty minutes!" The boy reddened. "Why do you
laugh?" he asked.
"Why? Why, because twenty minutes is a long time--sometimes,"
Hawkesworth answered. "But there, be easy, lad," he continued, seeing
that he was going too far, "be easy--no need to be jealous of me--and
I'll brew you some punch. There is one thing certain," he continued,
producing a squat Dutch bottle and some glasses from a cupboard by the
door. "You have me to thank for her! There is no doubt about that."
"It's what I've always said," Tom answered. He was easily appeased.
"If you'd not asked my help when your chaise broke down at
Trumpington--you'd just picked her up, you remember?--I should never
have known her! Think of that!" he continued, his eyes shining with a
lover's enthusiasm; and he rose and trod the floor this way and that.
"Never to have known her, Hawkesworth!"
"Whom, to know was to love," the Irishman murmured, with thinly veiled
irony.
"Right! Right, indeed!"
"And to love was to know--eh?"
"Right! Right, again!" poor Tom cried, striking the table.
For a moment Hawkesworth contemplated him with amusement. Then--"Well,
here's to her!" he cried, raising his glass. "The finest woman in the
world!"
"And the best! And the best!" Tom answered.
"And the best! The toast is worthy the best of liquor," Hawkesworth
continued, pushing over the other's glass; "but you'll have to drink
it cold, for the fire is out."
"The finest woman in the world, and the best!" the lad cried; his eyes
glowed as he stood up reverently, his glass in his hand. "She is that,
isn't she, Hawkesworth?"
"She is all that, I'll answer for it!" the Irishman replied, with a
stifled laugh. Lord! what fools there were in the world! "By this time
to-morrow she'll be yours! Think of it, lad!" he continued, with an
ugly-sounding, ugly-meaning laugh; at which one of his listeners
shuddered.
But Tom, in the lover's seventh heaven, was not that one. His Oriana,
who to others was a handsome woman, bold-eyed and free-tongued, was a
goddess to him. He saw her through that glamour of first love that
blesses no man twice. He felt no doubt, harboured no suspicion, knew
no fear; he gave scarce one thought to her past. He was content to
take for gospel all she told him, and to seek no more. That he--he
should have gained the heart of this queen among women seemed so
wonderful, so amazing, that nothing else seemed wonderful at all.
"You think she'll not fail?" he cried, presently, as he set down his
glass. "It's a week since I saw her, and--and you don't think she'll
have changed her mind, do you?"
"Not she!" Hawkesworth answered.
"She'll come, you are certain."
"As certain," Hawkesworth cried gaily, "as that Dr. Keith will be
ready at the chapel at twelve to the minute, dear lad. And, by the
way, here's his health! Dr. Keith, and long may he live to bless the
single and crown the virtuous! To give to him that hath not, and from
her that hath to take away! To be the plague of all sour guardians,
lockers-up of maidens, and such as would cheat Cupid; and the
guardian-angel of all Nugents, Husseys, and bold fellows! Here's to
the pride of Mayfair, the curse of Chancery, and the god-father of
many a pretty couple--Dr. Keith!"
"Here's to him!" Tom cried, with ready enthusiasm. And then more
quietly as he set down his glass, "There's one thing I'd like, to be
perfectly happy, Hawkesworth, only one. I wish it were possible, but I
suppose it isn't."
"What is it, lad?"
"If Sophia, my sister, could be there. They'll be sisters, you see,
and--and, of course, Sophia's a girl, but there are only the two of
us, for Madam Northey doesn't count. But I suppose it is not possible
she should be told?"
"Quite impossible!" Hawkesworth answered with decision; and he stooped
to hide a smile. The humour of the situation suited him. "Quite
impossible! Ten to one she'd peach! No, no, we must not initiate her
too soon, my boy; though it is likely enough she'll have her own
business with Dr. Keith one of these days!"
The boy stared at him. "My sister?" he said slowly, his face growing
red. "With Dr. Keith? What business could she have with him?"
"With Dr. Keith?" Hawkesworth asked lightly. "Why not the same as
yours, dear boy?"
"The same as mine?"
"Yes, to be sure. Why not? Eh, why not?"
"Why not? Because she's a Maitland!" the lad answered, and his eyes
flashed. "Our women don't marry that way, I'd have you to know! Why,
I'd--I'd rather see her buried."
"But you're going to marry that way yourself!" Hawkesworth reasoned.
The boy's innocence surprised him a little and amused him more.
"I? But I'm a man," Tom answered with dignity. "I'm different.
And--and Oriana," he continued, plunging on a sudden into dreadful
confusion and redness of face, "is--is different of course,
because--well, because if we are not married in this way, my brother
Northey would interfere, and we could not be married at all. Oriana is
an angel, and--and because she loves me, is willing to be married in
this way. That's all, you see."
"I see. But you would not like your sister to be married on the
quiet?"
Tom glared at him. "No," he said curtly. "And for the why, it is my
business."
"To be sure it is! Of course it is. And yet, Sir Tom," Hawkesworth
continued, his tone provoking, "I would not mind wagering you a
hundred it is the way she will be married, when her time comes."
"My sister?"
"Yes."
"Done with you!" the lad cried.
"Nay, I don't mind going farther," Hawkesworth continued. "I'll wager
you the same sum that she does it within the year."
"This year?"
"A year from to-day."
Tom jumped up in heat. "What the devil do you mean?" he cried. Then he
sat down again. "But what matter!" he said, "I'll take you."
Hawkesworth as he pulled out his betting book turned his head aside to
hide a smile. "I note it," he said. "'P. H. bets Sir Thomas Maitland a
hundred that Miss Sophia Maitland is married at Dr. Keith's chapel;
and another hundred that the marriage is within the year.'"
"Right!" Tom said, glowering at him. His boyish estimate of the
importance of his family, and of the sacredness of his womankind,
sucked the flavour from the bet; ordinarily the young scapegrace loved
a wager.
Hawkesworth put up his book again. "Good," he said. "You'll see that
that will be two hundred in my pocket some day."
"Not it!" Tom answered, rudely. "My sister is not that sort! And
perhaps the sooner you know it, the better," he added, aggressively.
"Why, lad, what do you mean?"
"Just what I said!" Tom answered shortly. "It was English. When my
sister is to be married, we shall make a marriage for her. She's
not--but the less said the better," he continued, breaking off with a
frown.
Hawkesworth knew that it would be prudent to quit the subject, but his
love of teasing, or his sense of the humour of the situation, would
not let him be silent. "She's not for such as me, you mean?" he said,
with a mocking laugh.
"You can put it that way if you choose!"
"And yet, I think--if I were to try?"
"What?"
"I say, if I were to try?"
Sir Tom scowled across the table. "Look here!" he said, striking it
heavily with his hand, "I don't like this sort of talk. I don't
suppose you wish to be offensive; and we'll end it, if you please."
Hawkesworth shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, by all means, if you feel
that way," he said. "Only it looks a little as if you feared for your
charming sister. After all, women are women. Even Miss Sophia Maitland
is a woman, and no exception to the rule, I presume?"
"Oh, hang you!" the boy cried, in a fury; and again struck his hand on
the table. "Will you leave my sister's name alone? Cannot you
understand--what a gentleman feels about it?"
[Illustration: "HE CANNOT!"]
"_He cannot!_"
The words came from behind Sir Tom, who forthwith sprang a yard from
the settle, and stood gaping; while Hawkesworth, his glass going to
shivers on the floor, clutched the table as he rose. Both stood
staring, both stood amazed, and scarce believed their eyes, when
Sophia, stepping from the shelter of the settle, stood before them.
"He cannot!" she repeated, with a gesture, a look, an accent that
should have withered the man. "He cannot! For he does not know what a
gentleman feels about anything. He does not know what a gentleman is.
Look at him! Look at him!" she continued, her face white with scorn;
and she fixed the astonished Irishman with an outstretched finger that
could scarce have confounded him more had it been a loaded pistol set
to his head. "A gentleman!" she went on passionately. "That a
gentleman? Why, the air he breathes pollutes us! To be in one room
with him disgraces us! That such an one should have tricked us will
shame us all our lives!"
Hawkesworth tried to speak, tried to carry off the surprise; but a
feeble smile was all he could compass. Even Irish wit, even native
impudence were unequal to this emergency. The blow was so sudden, so
unexpected, he could not in a moment arrange his thoughts, or discern
his position. He saw that for some reason or other she had come to him
before the time; but he could not on the instant remember how far he
had disclosed his hand before her, or what she had learned from him
while she lay hidden.
Naturally Tom was the quicker to recover himself. His first thought on
seeing his sister was that she had got wind of his plans, and was here
to prevent his marriage. And it was in this sense that he interpreted
her opening words. But before she had ceased to speak, the passion
which she threw into her denunciation of Hawkesworth, turned his
thoughts into a new and a fiercer channel. With an oath, "Never mind
him!" he cried, and stepping forward gripped her, almost brutally, by
the wrist. "I'll talk with him afterwards. First, miss, what the devil
are you doing here?"
"Ask him," she answered; and again pointed her finger at Hawkesworth.
"Or no, I will tell you, Tom. That man, the man who calls himself your
friend, and called himself my lover, has plotted to ruin us. He has
schemed to get us into his net. To-morrow he would have married you
to--to, I know not, whom. And when he had seen you married, and knew
you had forfeited a fortune to me, then--then I should have been a fit
match for him! I! I! And in the evening he would have married me! Oh,
shame, shame on us, Tom, that we should have let ourselves be so
deluded!"
"He would have married you!" Tom cried, dropping her hand in sheer
astonishment.
"The same day!"
"Hawkesworth? This man here? He would have married you?"
"You may well say, he!" she answered, a wave of crimson flooding her
cheeks and throat. "The thought kills me."
Tom looked from one to the other. "But I can't understand," he said.
"I didn't know--that he knew you, even."
"And I didn't know that he knew you!" she answered bitterly. "He is a
villain, and that was his plan. We were not to know."
Tom turned to the Irishman; and the latter's deprecatory shrug was
vain. "What have you to say?" Tom cried in a voice almost terrible.
But Hawkesworth, who did not lack courage, was himself again, easy,
alert, plausible. "Much," he said coolly. "Much, dear lad. The whole
thing is a mistake. I loved your sister"--he bowed gravely in her
direction, and stole a glance as he did so, to learn how she took it,
and how far he still had a chance with her. "I loved her, I say, I
still love her, though she has shown that she puts as little faith in
me, as she can ever have entertained affection for me. But I knew her
as Miss Maitland, I did not know that she was your sister. Once I
think she mentioned a brother; but no more, no name. For the rest, I
had as little reason to expect to find her here as you had. That I
swear!"
The last words hit Tom uncomfortably; her presence in this man's room
was a fact hard to swallow. The brother turned on the sister. "Is this
true?" he hissed.
Sophia winced. "It is true," she faltered.
"Then what brought you here?" Tom cried, with brutal frankness.
The girl shivered; she never forgot the pain of that moment, never
forgot the man who had caused her that humiliation. "Ask him!" she
panted. "Or no, I will tell you, Tom. He swore that he loved me. He
made me, poor silly fool that I was, believe him. He said that if I
would elope with him to-morrow, he would marry me at Dr. Keith's
chapel; and fearing they--my sister--would marry me against my will
to--to another man, I consented. Then--they were going to send me away
in the morning, and it would have been too late. I came away this
afternoon to tell him, and--and----"
"There you have the explanation, Sir Thomas," Hawkesworth interposed,
with an air of candid good nature. "And in all you'll say, I think,
that there is nothing of which I need be ashamed. I loved your sister,
she was good enough to fancy that she was not indifferent to me. My
intentions were honourable, but her friends were opposed to my suit. I
had her consent to elope, and if she had not on a sudden discovered,
as she apparently has discovered, that her heart is not mine, we
should have been married within a few days."
"To-morrow, sir, to-morrow!" Sophia cried. And would have confronted
him with his letter; but it was in the folds of her dress, and she
would not let him see where she kept it.
"To-morrow, certainly, if it had been your pleasure," Hawkesworth
answered smoothly. "The sole, the only point it concerns me to show,
is, Sir Tom, that I did not know my Miss Maitland to be your sister. I
give you my word, Sir Tom, I did not!"
"Liar!" she cried, unable to contain herself.
He shrugged his shoulders, and smiled. "There is but one Sir Thomas
Maitland," he said, "but there are many Maitlands. Miss Maitland may
hold what opinion she pleases, and express what view of my character
commends itself to her, without fear that I shall call her natural
guardians to account. But I cannot allow a gentleman to doubt my word.
I repeat, Sir Tom, that I did not know that this lady was your
sister."
The boy listened, scowling and thinking. He had no lack of courage,
and was as ready to fly at a man's throat as not. But he was young; he
was summoned, suddenly and in conditions most perplexing, to protect
the family honour; it was no wonder that he hesitated. At this,
however, "Then why the deuce were you so ready to bet," he blurted
out, "that she would be married at Keith's?"
Before Hawkesworth could frame the answer, "That is not all!" Sophia
cried; and with a rapid movement she snatched from the table the book
that had first opened her eyes. "Here, here," she cried, tapping it
passionately. "In his own handwriting is the plot! The plot against us
both! Tom, look; find it! You will find it under my name. And then he
cannot deny it."
She held out the book to Tom; he went to take it. But Hawkesworth, who
knew the importance of the evidence, was too quick for them. With an
oath he sprang forward, held Tom back with one hand, and with the
other seized the volume, and tried to get possession of it. But Sophia
clung to it, screaming; and before he could wrest it from her hold,
Tom, maddened by the insult and her cries, was at his breast like a
wild cat.
The fury of the assault took the Irishman by surprise. He staggered
against the wall, and alarmed by the girl's shrieks, let the book go.
By that time, however, Sophia had had enough of the struggle. The
sight of the two locked in furious conflict horrified her, her grasp
relaxed, she let the book fall; and as Hawkesworth, recovering from
his surprise, gripped her brother's throat and by main force bent him
backwards--the lad never ceasing to rain blows on the taller man's
face and shoulders--she fled to the door, opened it, and screamed for
help.
Fortunately it was already on the road. Mr. Wollenhope, crying, "Lord,
what is it? What is it?" was halfway up the stairs when she appeared,
and close on his heels followed his wife, with a scared face. Sophia
beckoned them to hasten, and wringing her hands, flew back. They
followed.
They found Hawkesworth dragging the boy about, and striving savagely
to force him to the floor. As soon as he saw Wollenhope, he cried with
fury, "Will some one take this mad dog off me? He has tried his best
to murder me. If I had not been the stronger, he would have done it!"
Wollenhope, panting with the haste he had made, seized Tom from behind
and held him, while Hawkesworth disengaged himself. "You'll--you'll
give me satisfaction for this!" the lad cried, gasping, and almost
blubbering with rage. His wig was gone, so was his cravat; the ruffle
of his shirt was torn from top to bottom.
The other was busy readjusting his dress, and staunching the blood
that flowed from a cut lip. "Satisfaction, you young booby?" he
answered, with savage contempt. "Send you back to school and whip you!
Turn 'em out, Wollenhope! Turn them both out! That devil's cub sprang
on me and tried to strangle me. It's lucky for you, sir, I don't send
you to Hicks's Hall!"
"Oh, Lord, let's have none of that!" Wollenhope interposed hastily.
"Mine's a respectable house, and there's been noise enough already. A
little more and I shall be indicted. March, young sir, if you please.
And you too, miss."
Tom swelled with fresh rage. "Do you know who I am, fellow?" he cried.
"I'd have you to know----"
"I don't want to know!" Wollenhope rejoined, cutting him short. "I
won't know! It's march--that's all I know. And quick, if you please,"
he continued, trying to edge the lad out of the room.
"But, William," his wife protested, and timidly touched his arm, "it's
possible that they may not be in fault. I'm sure the young lady was
very well spoken when she came."
"None of your advice!" her husband retorted.
"But, William----"
"None of your advice, I say! Do you hear? Do you understand? This
gentleman is our lodger. Who the others are, I don't know, nor care.
And I don't want to know, that's more."
"You'll smart for this!" Tom cried, getting in a word at last. He was
almost bursting with chagrin and indignation. "I'd have you know, my
fine fellow, I am Sir----"
"I don't want to know," Wollenhope retorted, stubbornly. "I don't care
who you are; and for smarting, perhaps I may. When you are sober, sir,
we'll talk about it. In the meantime, this is my house, and you'll go,
unless you want me to fetch the constable. And that mayn't be best for
the young lady, who seems a young lady. I don't suppose she'll like to
be taken to the Round house, nor run the risk of it. Take my advice,
young sir, take my advice; and go quietly while you can."
Tom, half-choked with rage, was for retorting, but Sophia, who had
quite broken down and was weeping hysterically, clutched his arm. "Oh,
come," she cried piteously, "please come!" And she tried to draw him
towards the door.
But the lad resisted. "You'll answer to me for this," he said,
scowling at Hawkesworth, who remained in an attitude, eyeing the two
with a smile of disdain. "You know where to find me, and I shall be at
your service until to-morrow at noon."
"I'll find you when you are grown up," the Irishman answered, with a
mocking laugh. "Back to your books, boy, and be whipped for playing
truant!"
The taunt stung Tom to fresh fury. With a scream of rage he sprang
forward, and, shaking off Wollenhope's grasp, tried to close with his
enemy. But Sophia hung on him bravely, imploring him to be calm; and
Wollenhope seized him again and held him back, while Mrs. Wollenhope
supplied, for assistance, a chorus of shrieks. Between the three he
was partly led and partly dragged to the door, and got outside. From
the landing he hurled a last threat at the smiling Hawkesworth, now
left master of the field; and then, with a little rough persuasion, he
was induced to descend.
In the passage he had a fresh fit of stubbornness, and wished to state
his wrongs and who he was. But Sophia's heart was pitifully set on
escaping from the house--to her a house of bitter shame and
humiliation--and the landlord's desire was to see the last of them;
and in a moment the two were outside. Wollenhope lost not a moment,
but slammed the door on them; they heard the chain put up, and, an
instant later, the man's retreating footsteps as he went back to his
lodger.