FIELDEN INTERVENES
May went quietly back to the drawing-room. There was nothing in her face
to indicate what she was suffering. For a time she sat gazing into the
fire, watching Alice Carden who sat opposite her engrossed in a book. At
the end of half an hour May had made up her mind what to do, and when
Alice laid her volume aside, she began to speak.
"How long is your father likely to be away?" she asked.
"Oh, for two months, I suppose," Alice said. "But I may find him at home
when I go back next week."
"I hope not," May answered, "because I have a plan to suggest to you. I
wonder if you would mind my coming with you? I suppose you could get me
a bedroom in your house. I should like to pay for myself. Could it be
managed, do you think?"
"It would be delightful," Alice cried. "But why do you want to leave
this beautiful house? What will Sir George say when he hears of it?"
"He mustn't hear it," May whispered. "We have always been very good
friends, Alice, and you can help me now if you will. I am going to
confide in you and you must not whisper a word of it to a soul. So long
as your father is away I shall be safe with you, and as he may not be
back for some weeks I will have time to turn round. I must go away, I
cannot stay here any longer. Something has happened which compels me to
get my own living."
"Oh, impossible!" Alice cried.
"My dear, don't you know that it is the unexpected that happens? Well,
in my case, it has. If anybody had told me this a couple of months ago I
should have laughed the idea to scorn. It would have been incredible
that my father should threaten to turn me out of the house. Hitherto we
have been the best of friends, and I have regarded him as one of the
most upright and most honourable of men. I have always prided myself
upon the fact that nothing could rob us of our good name; but I was
mistaken, Alice. Actually this place does not belong to us at all. My
father is a mere lodger, dependent upon the good will of Mr. Raymond
Copley, who can turn us out at any moment. Moreover, he has compelled my
father to do a thing that I blush to mention. Do you know why Mr. Copley
has brought all this about?"
"I think I can guess," Alice said. "He is anxious to marry you. Am I not
right?"
"You have guessed it," May exclaimed. "You have saved me the humiliation
of telling you that. Mr. Copley can't say he has bought me. But he has
bought my father, and it comes to this, that unless I consent to be
Raymond Copley's wife I am to consider this my home no longer. These
were my father's very words. I suppose he chose them because they
sounded best. But it is as if he had told me to go. I couldn't marry
that man; nothing would induce me to do so. There is worse behind--there
is a conspiracy on foot which I overheard in the library just now. You
must not ask me to tell you what it is. My tongue would refuse to tell
it. Well, it is the last straw. I couldn't be more miserable than I have
been the last week or so. I cannot stay any longer. I have little or no
money, but I have my mother's jewels which ought to fetch at least a
thousand pounds. I propose to go to London and look about for something
to do. I want to come to you because we are such friends, and because I
know you will sympathize with me. We can live very cheaply together and
I will pay you for all I have, and before your father returns I shall
probably have found work. You won't refuse, will you?"
"How can you think such a thing?" Alice said reproachfully. "There is
nothing I would not do for you, and I know we shall be perfectly happy
together. It would be worse than death to marry a man like Mr. Copley.
I don't know why it is, but from the very first moment I saw him I hated
him. I think he has such a cruel face. His mouth is so hard and his eyes
are dreadful. But when do you want to go? When will you be ready to
start?"
"Didn't you say you must be back in town on Tuesday? Didn't you say
something about your pupils? Well, suppose you go up on that day and I
follow you on Wednesday. It would arouse suspicion for us both to go at
the same time, and indeed I would ask you to stay longer only I can't
breathe here. Knowing what I do, it is hateful to have to sit down to
the same table with my father. I daresay I shall come to forgive him in
time, but for the present it is beyond my strength. Mr. Copley is always
about the house. Do try to make it Tuesday if you can. It seems so
horrid of me----"
Alice rose from her seat and kissed the speaker affectionately.
"I won't hear another word," she said. "It is not in the least horrid of
you. I will gladly do all I can to help you."
Tuesday came at length and Alice Carden went away, leaving May to her
own melancholy thoughts. She had not seen Harry Fielden for a few days
and was thankful he had not been near her. It would be hard parting from
him. It would be difficult to say good-bye without betraying herself or
giving him some inkling of what had happened. After lunch on Wednesday
she stole out of the house and walked to the station. She had sent on
her luggage by Alice Carden the day before, so that when she left for
London it might seem that she was only going for a casual visit. She
would not mind the new life, so she thought, and she hardened her heart
as she looked out of the carriage window. But, all the same, she was
glad to find herself alone, for the tears would come and the old
familiar landscape grew dim and blurred.
What would they say, she wondered, when they knew. What would Harry
Fielden think? But, at that very moment, Harry Fielden had something
else to occupy his attention. He was walking across the Downs towards
Haredale Park with Raffle, and the latter was speaking his mind very
freely.
"I won't be quiet, sir, and I won't keep my mouth shut," he said. "I
tell you, Mr. Harry, it is a foul conspiracy and there are no two ways
about it. Sir George gave Mallow a week to try to pull the colt round,
and he says, says he, 'Mallow, if he's no better by that time, he's to
be scratched.' Those were the instructions and Sir George confirmed them
this morning. Now I am not going to say that the colt is much better,
but I am prepared to pledge my reputation, and it is worth something,
that I'll get him fit in a month. The whole thing has been arranged
between Sir George and that man Copley, so that the horse can be
scratched for the Derby. The public are to believe that Sir George has
been unfortunate, but has played the game like a gentleman and a
sportsman. Well, you may have what opinion you like, but I know better.
Mind you, if I didn't know what I know I should have to put up with it
and hold my tongue, because I am only a servant and no one can blame me
for obeying my orders. But I have been making inquiries, and I find that
Copley and his gang have been laying thick and thin against the colt for
the past week. Do you mean to tell me they could know the colt would be
scratched if they hadn't got Sir George in their power?"
"What do you want me to do?" Fielden asked.
A bitter smile crossed the old man's face.
"I shouldn't have thought you'd ask what you were to do, sir," he said.
"But I'm not going to stand it. I'm not going to sit down quietly and
see this game going on. I daresay you think it will be bad for Miss May
if this thing comes out. But bless you! if you go the right way to work
nothing will leak out. The colt mustn't be scratched. You leave him
where he is and he's certain to win the Derby. You are the very man to
step in and stop the game. Let Sir George know what your power is. Let
Copley see that he's got a gentleman to deal with. It will ruin Copley
and his mob, but that doesn't matter. They are a fine set of thieves,
if you ask me, sir, and I shouldn't mind telling Copley so. Now I would
like to hear your opinion."
Fielden had no particular opinion to offer. At the same time, he had
information in his possession which would have astonished Raffle if he
could only have seen into the mind of his old master. Pressing as the
matter was, it was not possible to act on the spur of the moment, and
Fielden contented himself by saying he would think over the matter.
"But you can't do it, sir," Raffle protested. "There's no time to waste
like that. The colt has to be scratched and maybe a telegram's already
gone to London to that effect. The mischief may be done."
"By Jove, I hadn't thought of that," Fielden exclaimed. "All right, Joe,
it will be a most unpleasant piece of business, but I see now that it
must not be put off any longer. I'll go straight over to Haredale Park
and see Sir George at once."
Sir George was in his library. He had given instructions to the butler
to deny him to every one. In fact, he was seated by the library fire
reading a letter which May had left for him. She had not minced matters.
She had gone away for reasons well known to him, she said, and her
address mattered nothing to anybody. Sir George was looking particularly
old and grey and troubled as Fielden thrust his way past the butler and
entered the library. Sir George's manner was not encouraging, and he
curtly demanded to know the meaning of this intrusion.
"I am sorry," Fielden said, "but my business would not wait. Am I to
understand that you have struck the Blenheim colt out of the Derby? Is
it done?"
"It's not done yet," Sir George said indignantly, "but it will be done
this afternoon. Perhaps you have some objection to make. Perhaps you
would like to forbid it?"
"I do and must," Fielden said quietly. "The horse does not belong to you
at all. He happens to be mine."