CONFLICTING IDENTITIES.
On the second day of the inquiry public excitement and interest reached
a higher pitch than ever, when it became known that Mr. Mainwaring would
occupy the greater part of the morning in refuting the evidence given,
and in protesting against the legality of the warrant.
Considering how positive had been the evidence, even of Miss Hildreth's
own friends, it was difficult to see what possible line of argument the
young lawyer could take, with any surety of success. Mrs. Newbold's
testimony had disposed effectually of any doubts as to the identity of
Miss Hildreth with that of the governess at the Folly--Adèle
Lamien--and with this fact established irrefutably, was not Miss
Hildreth's complicity in the murder of Stevan Lallovich a foregone
conclusion?
The suborning of Miss Hildreth's particular friends against her had
certainly been a master stroke on Mr. Munger's part; how could John
Mainwaring confute such a mass of convicting testimony? Of course he was
bound to make a brave fight for his client; but--and here the public
shrugged its shoulders collectively--they were sorry for him, and sorry
for the poor figure he must inevitably cut; and then went to work to
show their sorrow by discussing Patricia's guilt as a proved premise,
and her probable fate only a question of time.
John Mainwaring had once again sought Miss Hildreth, and, with every
argument he could bring to bear, every pleading of rhetoric and
common-sense, entreated her to reconsider her decision, and loose him
from that promise of reservation respecting one point in her
confession.
But Patricia was not to be moved one jot or tittle. She heard him to the
end in silence, sitting, as Philip had last seen her, at the little
table, her hands clasped upon it, and leaning slightly forward. Her face
looked worn and sad, her eyes pathetic in their weariness, but the
beautiful lips were set in firm decision, their expression one of
dauntless courage and endurance.
The sweet, pungent perfume of the Maréchal Niel roses, grouped together
in a tall glass vase, filled the heavy atmosphere with overpowering
sweetness. She waited until John Mainwaring had quite finished speaking,
and then said, slowly, and with the musical notes of her voice less
reverberant than usual:
"No, Mr. Mainwaring, I cannot alter my decision; I cannot give you leave
to drag my poor secret out into the light of day; not, believe me, on my
own account, but on _his_. To you only have I opened my whole heart--you
alone know my weakness and my strength. For my own part, I should care
very little how much was known of my motives; but for him--for Philip
Tremain--I could not bear the thought and live, that, through me, and my
love, he should be exposed to public ridicule. Ah, Mr. Mainwaring, was
it for nothing, do you think, that I sat through those long, terrible
hours yesterday, and heard the murmurs of the crowd, their open
comments, their cruel innuendoes, their still more cruel laughter? Do I
not know how eagerly they would seize upon my poor secret, and, tearing
it limb from limb, dissect it and discuss it, in their cold, cruel,
analysing fashion, until even the garment of reverence that clothes all
love, however poor and mean, was torn from it, and it lay revealed--a
poor denuded passion in tatters? Do you think he could bear that? Do you
think Philip Tremain could hold up his head against such disgrace? Would
he not despise and hate the one who brought it upon him, and would he
not have reason to cast from him for ever all memory or recollection of
such an one? Could I plead anything in extenuation to him--then? No;
better, far better, the worst fate that can befall me than to clear
myself in the eyes of the world, at the expense of sinking for ever in
the estimation of him, to gain whose love I have placed myself in so
terrible a position."
John Mainwaring made no reply; indeed, what answer could he make to such
passionless reasoning as this? Whenever he was brought face to face with
Patricia, and listened to her clear, calm voice, he felt himself carried
away by the very attitude of her pleading. He saw things only from her
point of view, and was ready to acquiesce and agree with her, however
over-strained he considered her arguments. But when he was away from
her, and without the radius of her personal influence, he was apt to
anathematise himself in unparliamentary language, and to wish Miss
Hildreth's selection of a lawyer had fallen on some one less susceptible
to impressions.
"Since you give me no option, Miss Hildreth," he said presently,
somewhat sullenly, "I must perforce make the best of my material; but, I
warn you, my reasoning will sound very weak after yesterday's testimony,
and Munger is sure to pounce upon its weakest point, in substantiation
of which I have nothing to advance--positively nothing."
"I am very sorry for you, Mr. Mainwaring, believe me," she answered,
earnestly, "and very grateful; but I cannot change my mind."
Then he had gone away, and for many long minutes Miss Hildreth sat as he
had left her, her hands outstretched upon the table, her face quiet and
expressionless, save for the close set curve of the mobile lips.
John Mainwaring, on leaving Miss Hildreth, walked quickly to his office,
not in the most enviable frame of mind. As he entered the outer room,
his clerk came forward and whispered a few words to him, then preceding
him to the inner office, opened the door and held it back for Mainwaring
to enter. As he did so, a dark figure rose up from the depths of a
lounging chair, and advanced towards him. The brilliant sunshine from
the outer room struck full athwart the stranger's face, and revealed the
features of the Italian, Mattalini; then the door swung to, and the
clerk returned to his desk in the full glare of the hot sunshine.
By ten o'clock the court-room was again filled to overflowing,
apparently with the identical crowd of the day before. The battalion of
fashionable ladies showed an increase of recruits, and the knot of
lawyers gathered about the Bench was augmented in numbers. Close beside
the railed off space, sat Mrs. Newbold and Dick Darling, while not far
off, engaged in earnest conversation, were Mr. Tremain and Mainwaring.
Again there arose the concentrated murmur of many voices as Miss
Hildreth took her place within the rails, and at the same moment Judge
Anstice walked quietly to his seat on the Bench; and so began the second
act in the tragic drama.
Mr. Munger intimated to his honour that his part in the proceedings had
terminated with yesterday's evidence; which, he repeated, was in itself
sufficient to incriminate a dozen suspects, and to prove a dozen _primâ
facie_ cases. Bearing this in mind, it was not necessary for him to
recapitulate it in detail, or indeed to make any comments upon it. The
point at issue was the identity of the lady arrested with the person
named in the warrant as Adèle Lamien, or Lallovich. Yesterday's
evidence--that of Miss Hildreth's intimate friends, and especially Mrs.
Newbold's--had conclusively established that point; there could
therefore be no hesitancy in proclaiming the warrant a valid one, and
surrendering the lady up to the Russian Government. As to the guilt or
innocence of Adèle Lamien, or Lallovich, in the affair of Count Stevan's
murder, they were not called to pronounce upon; she must take her trial
on that charge in the country where the crime was committed. The only
point they were called upon to prove, was the legality of the warrant
papers, and the identity of the person arrested; this point having been
substantiated beyond question, he could not see any cause for further
delay in the matter.
And then Mr. Munger sat down with an ugly triumphant frown on his
rough-hewn face, and out flew a shower of his favourite paper pellets.
The silence that followed was intense. The hot summer sun beating in
through the bare windows fell across a sea of expectant, excited faces,
all turned in one direction, towards the slight, dark, upright figure
seated within the railed off space. She, who, as the rich and beautiful
Miss Hildreth, had been the object of their covetous envy, and who now,
as Adèle Lamien, stood charged with so vile a complicity in crime as to
separate her for ever from the poorest and lowest of that onlooking
multitude, beside whose poverty and honesty her wealth and beauty fell
away in torn and soiled fragments.
In the midst of this silence John Mainwaring arose to address the Bench.
Mr. Mainwaring's face was at all times non-committal, it wore now an
absolutely sphinx-like imperturbability. Tossing back the heavy lock of
black hair that fell over his forehead, and squaring his shoulders with
a motion that bespoke both doggedness and obstinacy, Mr. Mainwaring's
first words fell upon the listening audience with ringing distinctness,
and with sudden, unexpected surprise.
"His learned friend," he said, "had proved, beyond all shadow of doubt,
the question of Miss Hildreth's identity with the lady, who, as
governess to Mrs. Newbold's little daughter, was known as Adèle Lamien.
It was not a point upon which they could for one moment disagree; he had
no reason or desire to raise issue upon it; in fact, he not only
acknowledged the identity, but had been cognizant of it from the outset.
Miss Hildreth herself had no wish to dispute it; so far, indeed, from
that being the case, he desired particularly to impress upon his honour
the absolute truth of the assertion. Miss Hildreth was one and the same
person as that Adèle Lamien, who became Marianne Newbold's governess. He
wished to keep this fact distinctly before them; it was a very important
fact, as he would show them before he had finished."
At this uncalculated-upon acceptance of their theory, both Mr. Munger
and Count Mellikoff showed signs of perturbation. They had not, at any
one of their conferences upon the line Mainwaring was likely to take up,
imagined so bold an expedient as his flitching from them the very
corner-stone of their plan, and building upon it such an edifice as
should best suit his requirements. It was a decidedly clever move, and
sent John Mainwaring up in Mr. Munger's estimation at a bound.
"Well, then," continued Patricia's defender, "that point well
established, he would go on to the next; and here he must just remind
them of Mr. Munger's concise recapitulation of the case. They were not
there on any other business than that of proving, or disproving, the
legality of the warrant on which Miss Hildreth had been arrested, as
also of proving the identity of Miss Hildreth with that of Adèle Lamien,
or Lallovich, named in the warrant, who was charged with complicity in
the murder of her husband, Count Stevan Lallovich. This was the only
point at issue; all other points were extraneous, and they need not
trouble themselves about them. Now, while he acknowledged frankly that
Mr. Munger had proved the identity of Miss Hildreth with that of the
person received and known at the Folly as Adèle Lamien, he desired
humbly to submit one question to his honour. In establishing the
validity of this identity, how had they proved the identity of the Adèle
Lamien--Mrs. Newbold's governess--with that of the Adèle Lamien, or
Lallovich, who had murdered her quasi-husband, Count Stevan? He
unhesitatingly declared that they had not established such identity in
any particular.
"They had heard," he said, "a great deal of testimony, all of which had
been cited only to prove that Miss Hildreth and the governess at the
Folly were one and the same. That was not at all difficult to prove,
because Miss Hildreth had never for one moment denied the impeachment;
but he must say he failed to see how proving that, proved also her
identity with the cast-off wife of the dissolute young Russian noble,
Stevan Lallovich; and until such identity was established, he certainly
should protest against the accused being delivered up to the tender
mercies of the Russian authorities. He would not call into question the
truth of the facts and details, concerning the murder, as related to
them--they could all be verified if necessary; but it was not necessary.
Undoubtedly the poor deserted woman had committed the crime imputed to
her--it would be but a savage justice after all. With that he had
nothing to do; but when it came to the arrest of a lady, an American
citizen, in her own country, on the charge of so grave a crime, it
behoved that country to be very careful in its investigations, and to
leave no stone unturned to come at the actual truth. It was a terrible
alternative, that of handing over a fellow-countryman to the despotic
treatment of a foreign Power, and before such a thing was made possible,
every item of extenuation should be urged in behalf of the accused.
"He had listened to every word of the evidence, and while in every
instance he could lay his finger on weak links, he would pass them all
over, and recall only to his honour the substance of Miss James's, and
Mr. Tremain's, statements. The former had dwelt mostly upon the evidence
of her own eyes, and upon the nature of an interview which had taken
place between Mrs. Newbold's governess and Mr. Tremain. Miss James had
not hesitated to affirm that she recognised in the lady's face, despite
artistic accessories, the countenance and features of Miss Hildreth. Mr.
Tremain, on the contrary, assured them positively that he had never at
any time during his visit at the Folly, entertained the slightest
suspicion of this identity; it was not until after Miss Hildreth's
arrest that this complication was made known to him, and Miss Hildreth,
to whom he appealed for confirmation or reputation, refused to reply.
Miss Hildreth had her own reasons for thus treating the matter.
"He would next ask them to listen to a very strange chapter in this
strange story, and if it appeared incredible and beyond possibility, he
must beg them to remember that truth was often stranger than fiction.
"Early in the autumn of the last year Miss Hildreth had gone to Russia,
with the intention of travelling from place to place to form her own
opinions upon the customs and people of that country. While on one of
her expeditions one of the horses cast a shoe, and while waiting its
replacement she was invited to rest at a villa some four miles outside
of St. Petersburg. She did so, and was greatly impressed by the luxury
and beauty displayed in the interior arrangements of the unpretending
mansion. It was some little time before the lady of the house came to
her; but, from the moment she entered the _salon_, Miss Hildreth was
conscious of a sudden curious sympathy, that sprang to life in her
heart, combined with a puzzling certainty of having in some past
situation met and known the beautiful woman, who advanced towards her
with a smile of welcome. This perplexing enigma was presently solved in
the most commonplace way; Miss Hildreth and her hostess, rising together
to examine some object of art, passed a long mirror, and one glance
towards it was sufficient to explain the familiarity of the stranger's
countenance and bearing; between the two ladies there existed a marked
and positive likeness in feature, form, and colouring. So pronounced
indeed was it that both commented upon it. The impromptu visit lasted
some hours, and on parting Miss Hildreth carried with her the name and
rank of her chance acquaintance. She was known to her narrow, outside
world as Adèle Lamien, but she was in reality secretly married to Count
Stevan Lallovich, a near relative of the Tsar.
"Being often at Court and mingling in Court society, it was not long
before Miss Hildreth came in contact with Stevan Lallovich, who was
accounted the gayest, wealthiest, most fascinating, and most dissolute
man of his circle. He chose to devote himself conspicuously to Miss
Hildreth, and though posing as a bachelor, he more than once hinted at
some special reason for his attentions. Miss Hildreth accounted for them
as a tacit acknowledgment of the likeness that existed between herself
and his wife. She more than once drove out to the villa across the
Troitski Bridge, and each time returned more and more interested in its
mistress.
"Early in December, all St. Petersburg was thrown into a state of
consternation by the murder of Count Stevan Lallovich, who was found
dead in his palace, stabbed through the heart. With one of those
marvellous intuitions, granted only to women, Miss Hildreth, on first
hearing the bald details, felt confident as to the hand that had dealt
the fatal blow. She hurried alone and by night to the villa, and there
found the poor wife, whom desertion had changed into a demon of revenge,
and without a moment's reflection changed clothes with her, and by
morning both were flying across country, making straight for the
frontier, protected by Miss Hildreth's passport for herself and maid,
and by her unstinted use of money. In Paris they separated, Miss
Hildreth continuing her journey to England, and embarking on board the
_Suisse_, of the International Line, as Adèle Lamien, for the express
purpose of turning the Russian police off the track. The real Adèle
Lamien, or Lallovich, remained under the protection of her mother's
family, well-to-do people in the west of France."
So far, Mainwaring had gone on from point to point with rapid and
uninterrupted utterance, carrying his audience with him, who, from
sheer amazement, sat spell-bound and breathlessly attentive. He stopped
now, and with another upward toss of his head threw back the offending
lock of hair, turned a quick comprehensive look at his audience, and
then fixed his eyes for a brief second upon Patricia.
She sat bending forward a little, her hands folded, her face raised, on
either cheek a streak of vivid crimson staining their wax-like pallor;
her eyes beneath the dark, straight brows met his with one responsive
flash of their old quick fire.
With the very slightest smile of encouragement upon his lips, John
Mainwaring drew a deep breath and took up the thread of his discourse.