HUGH ROSSITER SPINS HIS YARN
Speak to me as to thy thinkings,
As thou dost ruminate, and give thy worst of thoughts
The worst of words.
--Othello.
The reward of one duty is the power to fulfil another.
--GEORGE ELIOT.
Malcolm read the telegram twice. Then he took up his time-table. A
quarter of an hour later he was in a hansom on his way to the station.
With all his impracticable fads and fancies, he was not one to let the
grass grow under his feet. It was quite early, barely noon, when he
walked up the hill leading to the Manor House; nevertheless Mrs.
Godfrey was evidently on the watch for him.
"Good man," she said approvingly; "I knew you would not fail me;" and
then she led him into the morning room, her own special sanctum, which
opened into her husband's study.
Colonel Godfrey always called it his study, though it may be doubted if
he ever studied anything but his Times, Spectator, and his three
favourite authors, Thackeray, Dickens, and Kingsley; but his wife was a
great reader, and there were few modern books that she could not
discuss and criticise.
"And now, my dear lady, what is wrong?" asked Malcolm. He spoke with
the coolness of the well-bred Englishman, who refuses to give himself
away. In reality the telegram had made him very anxious--his old friend
would not have summoned him without a good reason; but this was not
apparent in his manner.
"Wrong!" she replied; "I think everything is wrong. Mr. Rossiter has
been making us so uncomfortable; by his account Mr. Jacobi is a mere
vulgar adventurer, if not worse."
"And Mr. Rossiter knows him?"
"Yes, in a sort of way. Miss Jacobi is evidently the attraction there.
As he says himself, he knocks up against lots of shady characters in
his nomadic existence. But you must question him yourself. It was Alick
who made me send you the telegram, as Mr. Rossiter goes back to town
this evening."
"You were quite right to send for me," returned Malcolm, and then he
followed her into a pleasant room with a bay window overlooking the
front drive.
Malcolm gave a slight start of recognition when he saw the American. It
was not the first time he had seen the lean brown face and deep-set
eyes, but he kept this to himself. In spite of his nasal twang and a
little surface roughness, Hugh Rossiter was decidedly a gentleman: the
mere fact of his presence at the Manor House was a sufficient proof of
this. But he was evidently a very eccentric and unconventional being.
In age he was about seven-and-thirty.
Malcolm, who felt his position was somewhat delicate, hardly knew how
to begin the conversation; but Colonel Godfrey soon put things on a
comfortable footing.
"Look here, Rossiter," he said frankly, "we are all friends here, and
you may speak out. Mr. Herrick is very much interested in this young
fellow, Cedric Templeton, and acts as a sort of guide, philosopher, and
friend to him. He has always put his foot down as far as the Jacobis
were concerned; he and my wife were dead against them."
"I never believed in the man," observed Malcolm; "there was no ring of
true metal about him."
"You are about right there," returned the American; "but I have come
across worse fellows than Saul Jacobi. He is a clever chap--about as
cute as they make 'em, and knows a trick or two; he is not too nice,
does not stick at trifles, and the almighty dollar is his only deity."
"Do you mind telling my friend Herrick all you said to us?" asked
Colonel Godfrey.
"Not the least, if you have a taste for chestnuts," and Hugh Rossiter
laughed in a genial way. "I owe you a good turn, Colonel--" but here
Colonel Godfrey held up a warning hand. "Well, I suppose I must spare
your blushes, so I will take up my parable."
"May I ask you one question first?" interrupted Malcolm. "How long have
you known these people?"
"About six or seven years, I should say," was the answer. "Jacobi was a
billiard-marker in San Francisco when I first came across his trail,
and his sister had just married an Italian count."
"Married! Leah Jacobi married! What on earth do you mean?"
"That's so," returned the American coolly. "Count Antonio Ferrari--that
was the name; a hoary old sinner with a pedigree that nearly reached to
Adam, and as rich and miserly as Shylock. He bid high for the girl, I
can tell you that, but I believe our friend Saul had a tough job to get
her to marry him."
"He is a greater brute than I thought him," returned Malcolm in a
disgusted tone. "That poor girl!" Then Hugh Rossiter looked grave.
"It was a bit rough on her, but Jacobi was in Queer Street just then,
and the old fellow gave him a helping hand."
"Jacobi is an Italian Jew, is he not?" Mr. Rossiter nodded.
"Yes, his father was an artist model in Rome--a fine-looking old
fellow, I believe--and his mother sold flowers in the market. Some one
told me she had been a model too, and that they were rather a shady
couple; but peace to their manes! They have joined the majority long
ago."
"And Saul Jacobi was a billiard-marker?"
"Yes, till they turned him out; and then he became valet to a young
millionaire who had more dollars than brains. I was shooting grizzlies
in the Rockies then, and did not come across him again until eighteen
months ago. The millionaire was dead then; he never had any
constitution worth mentioning, and he was evidently graduating for the
idiot asylum. You bet, he would have taken a first class there, for he
had fits, poor beggar; so it was a mercy that he went where the good
niggers go."
"May I ask where you met Jacobi, Mr. Rossiter?"
"To be sure you may, and I have no objection to answer. It was the
Hotel de Belleville at Paris. He was sitting opposite to me at
table-d'hote, and his clothes were so new and glossy that I
contemplated them with admiration, not unmixed with awe. He had a
valuable ring on his finger, and a superb orchid in his buttonhole, and
looked like a millionaire himself; things had improved with him, and
the billiard-marker and valet were safely shunted. Miss Jacobi was with
him"--and here Hugh paused a moment--"and she was handsomer than ever."
"Miss Jacobi--I suppose you mean the Contessa Ferrari?"
"No, Mr. Herrick, the marriage had worked badly. Count Antonio was an
infernal brute--excuse my strong language. After a few months his
behaviour was so atrocious that the poor thing left him and fled to her
brother for protection. It would have been difficult, nay impossible,
for her to obtain a divorce. Count Antonio was a wily old rascal, and
he had too much influence at court. There had been no proper
settlements; he had cheated them all through. Some people say he was
mad, that his father had been in a lunatic asylum; but when he died he
left all his money to charitable institutions."
"When did he die?"
Hugh Rossiter hesitated a moment. "Some time in September--I do not
know the exact date. But he had been failing for months. I know a
cousin of his, Count Orsino, and he was asking me what had become of
the woman he married; but I did not give him much information."
"But why does she call herself Miss Jacobi when she is really the
Contessa Ferrari?"
"Oh, that is just her craze. I believe she was a bit queer and unhinged
when Jacobi got her back. Anyhow, he was obliged to pacify her a bit.
She threw away her wedding-ring and never again alluded to her wretched
marriage, and he is obliged to give in to her. I believe Jacobi was
properly frightened that time. When I saw them in Paris Jacobi had just
had a run of good luck. It is my private opinion he gambles. I once
lost a good bit of money to him; but a burnt child dreads the fire--eh,
Colonel? No more baccarat for me."
"And Miss Jacobi seemed in fairly good spirits?"
"Yes," hesitatingly; "but I fancied she had a fit of the blues
sometimes, as though Count Antonio's ghost haunted her--oh, by the bye,
he was still in the land of the living then. She and Jacobi seemed good
friends, though she was evidently afraid of him. He told me one day,
when he had been rather too free with the Burgundy, that she was in his
way; that he wanted her to marry, and that he intended marrying
himself; but he had promised her that her next husband should be young
and an Englishman. I remember that this greatly surprised me. 'I
understood that Count Antonio was living,' I observed; but Jacobi only
winked at me in a stupid sort of way. 'Oh, we know all about that, my
boy, but the gout will soon finish him; and there is no hurry--Leah is
not thirty yet, and she is handsomer than she ever was in her life;'
and he filled himself another bumper."
Malcolm was silent. Hugh Rossiter had apparently finished his recital,
for he took up his meerschaum and polished it tenderly, an action that
was full of suggestion. But Colonel Godfrey put his hand on his arm.
"One moment, my dear fellow, and then we will go out and have a smoke
before luncheon. I can see Herrick has something else to ask you. Hurry
up, my boy, or our friend here will lose patience."
"I shall be sorry to tax Mr. Rossiter's patience," replied Malcolm;
"but I hope he will be good enough to satisfy me on one point. Is it
your opinion," turning to him, "that Saul Jacobi and his sister have
any designs on my friend Cedric Templeton?"
Hugh Rossiter opened his eyes rather widely at this. "Well, I suppose
so--at least, Jacobi means her to marry him. Whew," with a droll
gesture, "this is getting a trifle hot--you will be telling me next
that you did not know they are engaged."
"Engaged! My good sir, excuse me, but this is no joke."
Mrs. Godfrey's face grew anxious. "You never told us that, Mr.
Rossiter," she said rather reproachfully.
"I am not sure that I should have let the cat out of the bag now," he
replied with a laugh, "if Mr. Herrick had not asked such a direct
question. I am not one for meddling in other folks' business; but as
this seems a grave matter, and my friend Saul is evidently playing the
dark horse, I will tell you the little I know."
"I shall be obliged to you if you will do so," returned Malcolm, and
Hugh Rossiter nodded good-humouredly.
"Well, then, I was dining at Gresham Gardens about a fortnight ago, and
Jacobi told me in the course of conversation that his sister had never
been to Oxford, and that they meant to run down for a day or two, and
that a friend of theirs had offered to be showman and pilot them about
the place."
Malcolm muttered something, and Mr. Rossiter stopped and looked at him
inquiringly; but as he remained silent he resumed his narrative.
"They put up at the 'Ranelagh,' and had a good old time, and I believe,
from a word Jacobi dropped, that the job was done then. I wanted to
congratulate the lady, but Jacobi said that would do later on; his
sister wished the engagement to be kept quiet, she had not been a widow
for many weeks, and so on; so of course I took my cue. I am bound to
say that Miss Jacobi seemed in unusually good spirits."
"And this is all you have to tell me?" asked Malcolm hurriedly.
"Well, now, I call that ungrateful, Colonel," with a droll look at his
host; "here I have been talking myself dry for the last hour."
"And I am infinitely obliged to you," returned Malcolm, trying to
smile. "The question is what are we to do next--there seems no time to
be lost." And then, before any one could speak, he added, "I think it
would be best for me to go down to Oxford at once." And as they all
agreed that this would be the wisest course to pursue, Malcolm settled
to go down by an early afternoon train.
They went out on the terrace after this, and Hugh Rossiter entertained
them with a description of his adventures in Colorado, to which Malcolm
listened some-what absently; but once, when Colonel Godfrey had left
them for a moment together, the American broke off his story rather
suddenly.
"Look here, Mr. Herrick," he said quickly, "I want to give you a
straight tip. If the youngster will not listen to reason, and you find
yourself in a fix, just talk to the girl herself."
"To Miss Jacobi?" for he was naturally surprised at this piece of
advice.
"Yes, to the fair Leah herself. Oh, the girl is not so bad, considering
her antecedents and the way she has been educated. Think of her own
flesh and blood selling her to that son of Belial! Old Beelzebub, I
call him. No wonder she got a bit queer. Jacobi knows how to manage
her: she is fond of him, but she is afraid of him too. You will have to
get her alone, remember that."
"Oh, that's the difficulty. Besides, I am not on visiting terms with
the Jacobis."
"My good sir, what does that matter! I am to give you a straight tip,
am I not? Well, then, to the best of my knowledge Miss Jacobi is in
Kensington Gardens soon after ten every morning. She takes the dog for
an airing before her brother is up. Saul is a lazy beast," continued
Hugh Rossiter, "and is seldom down before mid-day. He takes his beauty
sleep when the rest of the world is at work."
Malcolm thanked Mr. Rossiter cordially for this advice, and then the
Colonel came back to them; but as they walked back to the house he
stole more than one glance at the young American. The thin brown face
was both intelligent and sagacious, and there was a keen, searching
look in the brown eyes.
Why was this stranger so anxious to help him, he wondered. Was it mere
good-humour and a wish to please, or had he any private reason of his
own for desiring to break off this engagement? Had Leah Jacobi's
strange beauty ensnared him too? He seemed to know her habits as though
he were a constant visitor in Gresham Gardens. But his cool, impassive
manner gave no clue to his feelings, and at this stage of the
proceedings Malcolm was not to be enlightened. They parted in the
friendliest manner. "Good luck to you, Mr. Herrick," he said cordially;
"don't forget my straight tip."
Mrs. Godfrey walked with Malcolm to the station. She wanted a few last
words, she said, and her mankind had had their innings.
"There is one thing you must do, if Cedric refuses to listen to
reason," she said very seriously to him; "you must go down to
Staplegrove and tell his sisters every-thing."
"I suppose I must," he returned; but he spoke under his breath, for
this new duty filled him with dismay. He had shaken off the dust of
Staplegrove, as he believed, for ever, and the thought that he must
stand face to face with Elizabeth again turned him giddy. "I suppose in
that case I must do it," he went on. His hesitating manner made Mrs.
Godfrey look at him.
"It is the only thing to be done," she repeated firmly. "You must see
them both and tell them all Hugh Rossiter said. Dinah will be very much
upset, but Elizabeth never loses her wits; she will grasp everything in
a minute--Elizabeth has such a clear head, and she never muddles
things--and then you can hold a friendly council."
"Of course I will do what I can to help them," he replied quietly, for
he had been fully aware of Mrs. Godfrey's look; but as he sat in the
first-class compartment he told himself with some irritation that his
position was a cruel one.
"It is Carlyon who ought to be the family adviser now," he thought. "If
I could only wash my hands of this business! What a fool Cedric is to
get himself into this mess. Good lack, to think he has fallen among
thieves for the second time! The young jackanapes seems to have a
natural affinity for sharpers and swindlers. That infernal cad Jacobi!"
and here Malcolm boiled with impotent wrath as he thought of that
dastardly conspiracy to entrap a young and innocent girl. "I should
like to horsewhip him," he went on; "how is one to keep one's hands off
such a fellow! He may be a dark horse, as Rossiter says, but he will
have to reckon with me." And Malcolm straightened his shoulders with
quite a martial air, as though he were ready to fight to the death.