The one afternoon train was due at Middleford, a small, straggling, and
not very prosperous town, where terminated a branch line from a junction
on the South-Western Railway--a line for which, after long-protracted
opposition and delay, a grant had been obtained too late, traffic having
merged in the direction of a neighbouring place.
"Middleford! Middleford!"
As the train drew up at the platform, one passenger only, a young man of
about eight or nine and twenty, stepped out and stood for a few moments
looking about him as if in some uncertainty. He was, in fact, debating
with himself as to whether he would, after all, pay the chance visit he
had gone there to make.
He had not gone by invitation other than was conveyed in the words:
"Don't forget to look me up, if you chance to be anywhere in our
neighbourhood, Meredith," spoken by a young fellow between whom and
himself there had been some degree of intimacy at the University, as the
two parted to go their different ways. The usual words, not generally
estimated above their value; and the idea of acting upon them had not
occurred to Allan Meredith until he found himself stranded for some
hours at the junction, and, turning over the leaves of Bradshaw, came
upon the name of Middleford, and remembered that it was Laurence
Verschoyle's place. Finding that it was not more than five or six miles
from the junction, and that the train was just starting, he had, on the
impulse of the moment, taken a ticket and jumped in.
He stood for another moment or two still hesitating, little imagining
the influence his decision would have on his future life, and unable to
account for his irresolution--a state of mind so unusual with him. He
presently shook himself free of the feeling, and decided, since he had
got so far, that he would go on. He inquired the way of the porter, who
had been curiously eyeing him, and, leaving his bag at the station, set
forth for the Priory.
[Illustration: "HE INQUIRED THE WAY."]
As he walked along the not very interesting country road, his thoughts
reverted again to the man he was going to see. What had become of him
since they had parted three years previously--Verschoyle, the first
favourite of his set, who, with his good intellect, brilliant, witty,
and versatile, had seemed capable of almost any mental feat? True, he
had done nothing beyond give the impression that he could do a great
deal if he chose; "and," thought Allan Meredith, "carry home a sheaf of
bills, I expect. He ought to have been the moneyed man, and I the one
obliged to keep to the grindstone, perhaps. I don't know; the very
necessity for doing something may have given him the kind of impetus he
needed--to say nothing of having to keep up the prestige of an ancient
name, which must be some spur to a man."
He had reached the cross-roads, and was recalling the somewhat vague
directions the porter had given him. "Straight on till you come to a
finger-post that seems to point back to the station, but doesn't; take
that road, sir--the Priory lane, it's called--until you come to a swing
gate, leading into a field; cross that, keeping the footpath to the
left, mind you, till you see a stile; get over that, go through the
lodge gates right opposite--though it isn't a lodge now, and there ain't
no gates, only posts--and up an avenue, where all the trees have been
cut down, and there you are. The old place you'll see before you is the
Priory."
Time and weather had effaced whatever information the sign-post had once
afforded, and there was nothing for it but to take the direction in
which it pointed.
He walked slowly on, speculating as to what sort of welcome he was
likely to receive from Verschoyle's people. How little he knew about
them. Frank to effusiveness in some directions, Verschoyle could be
reticent enough in others, and rarely alluded to his family. That he was
an only son, and, at his father's death, had inherited but the wreck of
a once large property, Allan knew. He had also heard that the widowed
mother was still living.
What was Verschoyle doing?--living upon the small property, farming the
land; or had he, as he had sometimes talked of doing, gone in for
literature, and carried his wares to the London market? At that time his
wares had appeared to Allan Meredith likely to be worth a great deal;
but, with his three years' added knowledge and experience, he was now
inclined to estimate them somewhat differently. Verschoyle's intellect
had, indeed, revealed itself chiefly by fitful flashes, brilliant and
dazzling enough in their effect at the moment, but leaving no lasting
impression of very high powers; and this, with his mercurial
temperament, might render his success in the future doubtful.
Allan Meredith had proceeded some distance, and was beginning to think
that he must have passed the swing gate without noticing it, when, on
turning a bend in the lane, he saw a young girl walking in advance. He
quickened his steps a little in order to overtake her, and make inquiry
as to whether he was going in the right direction, noting, meanwhile,
her general appearance so far as to infer that she was a farmer's
daughter; or, rather, as he thought with a half smile, what a farmer's
daughter is conventionally supposed to be like. Thick leather shoes, a
plainly made gown of some light grey stuff, and short enough for country
walking; a large brown straw hat, with neither flower nor feather to
adorn it; and ungloved hands, in the one swinging by her side a strap
buckled round two or three tattered-looking books. After a moment or
two, he recognised something more. Taking note of the firm, light step,
the carriage of the head, the perfect ease and freedom of the tall,
graceful figure, he mentally ejaculated: "A lady; aye, and with some
individuality of her own, too!"
His step had evidently not been heard on the soft, springy turf, and he
was fast lessening the distance between them, some curiosity now
mingling with his desire for information, when she turned out of the
lane and passed through a swing gate. Here she paused for a moment,
looking back, and their eyes met.
Yes; just such a face as he, a dreamer of dreams, had sometimes pictured
to himself, but hardly hoped to see in the world of reality. A face too
grave and troubled for her years--she looked barely eighteen--but how
beautiful with its clear, steadfast eyes and general expression so
simple, frank, girlish, and, at the same time, so intelligent and
thoughtful! She was regarding him with a surprised, questioning look,
which reminded him that he was gazing too pertinaciously.
A little consciously he lifted his hat and asked: "Can you direct me to
the Priory?"
"The Priory?" she repeated in a low voice, her eyes fixed more intently
upon him, and her hand tightening on the gate.
"Mr. Verschoyle's place. I was directed at the railway station, but do
not feel sure that----"
"Whom do you want to see there?" she put in abruptly--almost
ungraciously.
Nor was the tone assumed; this was not the girl to affect the brusquerie
of unconventionality any more than the suavity of conventionality--it
was rather that of one in deep anxiety, and unaccustomed to veil her
thoughts.
"Mr. Verschoyle," he replied.
"On--business?"--the expression of dread, or whatever it was, deepening
in her face, white now to the lips; as, on the impulse of the moment,
she pressed back the gate as though to bar the way.
"No," he murmured. To have brought such a look to such a face!
She still eyed him with the same unquiet scrutiny, as though debating
something in her mind; then hurriedly asked: "But why? Where do you come
from?"
He might very well have asked what interest his relations with
Verschoyle could have for her; but he felt that there was some grave
reason underlying her anxiety, and was not inclined to take offence.
Moreover, there was no necessity for mystery on his side; and,
therefore, he might as well reply openly and directly to her question.
"From Grayminster. My name is Meredith."
"Are you a friend of his? Mr. Verschoyle is my brother"; still a little
hesitatingly, and, as it were, on the defensive.
He raised his hat again. "We were at Wadham together, Miss Verschoyle,
and, chancing to be in this neighbourhood, I thought I would look him up
for half an hour's talk over old times."
The colour came into her cheeks and a smile to her beautiful lips,
although both faded too quickly. "I remember your name now, Mr.
Meredith. I have often heard my brother speak of you," moving aside for
him to pass through the gate as she added: "If you will come with me, I
will show you the way."
He bowed, passing quickly through to her side. His indecision had
entirely vanished now, and a visit to the Priory seemed the most
desirable thing in the world. To think of Verschoyle not mentioning that
he had a sister--and such a sister!
"I fear I must have seemed terribly rude when you first spoke to me, Mr.
Meredith," she said, looking up into his face with a smile, as they
proceeded along the path that skirted the field. "The truth is, I was
afraid--that is, I thought you were--someone else," flushing with the
consciousness that she was saying more than she had meant to say.
He hastened to assure her that it had been quite evident no discourtesy
was intended; mentally, the while, congratulating himself upon not being
"someone else," then quietly changed the subject. "I have not seen your
brother since we left Oxford, Miss Verschoyle. Your only brother, is he
not?"
"Yes; and I am his only sister. My mother, Laurence, and I live at the
Priory."
"Mrs. Verschoyle is well, I hope?" with suddenly developed interest in
everything that concerned her.
"My mother is not worse, I am glad to say, than she has been the last
five years. She is always an invalid." Had not Laurence told him that
much?
[Illustration: "THERE IS THE PRIORY!"]
"Was it anxiety about her mother's health that had brought that look to
her face?" he was thinking. "No; it must be something more than, or at
any rate different from, the kind of trouble which might spring from
such a cause."
He murmured a few words of sympathy; her clear eyes turned to meet his,
with how different an expression from that he had first seen in them!
There was even a little girlish fun in them, as she asked:--
"What kind of place do you imagine the Priory to be, Mr. Meredith?"
"Well, one naturally attaches a little mediæval romance to the idea of a
Priory"; adding, after a moment's reflection--there were certainly no
signs of prosperity about her--"and it ought to be somewhat dilapidated,
I suppose--in the picturesque stage of decay. It must be difficult to
keep those old places in thorough repair."
"Very," she replied, her face shadowing. Then, with a side glance at him
and again attempting a jesting tone, she went on: "Difficult, too, as it
crumbles away, to find room for ancient retainers, old pictures,
heirlooms, and the rest of it. Now prepare your mind, Mr. Meredith, when
we turn this next bend--There is the Priory!"
He was prepared now to see some dilapidated old place, but hardly for
that which met his view. The Priory! That desolate-looking remnant of a
building, standing forlornly against the summer sky! Portions of the
walls, some high, some low, and all of great thickness, still remained
here and there, indicating the plan of the old Priory; but, at this
distance, even these seemed to form part of the surrounding brickfields.
By no effort of the imagination could the inhabited part of the building
be supposed to be the abode of prosperous people. All was desolation and
decay, without picturesqueness. Even the aspect of the grounds about it,
which might once have lent their aid as a setting to the picture, seemed
now only to accentuate the fallen fortunes of the house. Every acre of
the ground about it, once of some extent and beautifully wooded, had
been sold piecemeal--the greater part for brickfields. On the side they
were approaching there seemed no redeeming feature in the dismal scene.
No; not likely to be spacious reception-rooms, nor offices for an army
of ancient retainers there! Courtesy itself was dumb!
"The Verschoyles have not much left to be proud of, you see, Mr.
Meredith. We are not invaded by picnic parties and artists in search of
the picturesque; but you see the worst of it from this side."
At that moment the figure of a man was seen emerging from some side
entrance, and hurriedly making his way towards the ruins, in an opposite
direction from that whence they were approaching.
"Laurence!"--hurriedly calling out, as he seemed to take no heed: "A
friend to see you."
He turned; seemed to hesitate a moment; then came slowly towards them.
As he drew nearer, and recognised who the visitor was, he hastened his
steps, his whole face brightening. "Meredith!" he ejaculated, in a tone
of relief. "Where have you sprung from? How are you, old fellow? Quite
an age since I saw you last."
[Illustration: "WHERE HAVE YOU SPRUNG FROM?"]
Allan Meredith grasped the hand extended towards him, all the more
heartily, perhaps, because it was the hand of Miss Verschoyle's brother,
as he explained, "I was at the junction, and being so near, thought I
would look you up."
"Glad to see you, old fellow. You know this is my sister?"
"Yes; Miss Verschoyle was good enough to show me the way."
She turned to leave them with the words: "Dinner will be ready in an
hour, Laurence."
"All right!"
Meredith had time now to notice that there was the same expression of
dread in the brother's face he had seen in the sister's, but with a
difference. In her face it was simply fear; in his it was this and
something worse. Unlike his sister, looking straight at you in her
trouble, his eyes were either downcast or averted: shifting uneasily
from one object to another. The whole man was changed--it seemed
demoralized--since Meredith had last seen him. His very figure had lost
its elasticity, and become slouching and cowering.
"What have you been doing with yourself the last three years?" asked
Meredith.
"Oh, all sorts of things; going to the bad, chiefly. Not much
opportunity for doing that or anything else here, you may think,"
noticing the direction which the other's eyes took. "No; I have gone
farther afield. Spent two years in London; tried my hand at all sorts of
things, and failed. I am a failure all round."
"Nonsense, man; if you take that tone you may be."
"There is no other tone to take, now," moodily.
"Give up in that way, with your abilities, and the world before you!"
"It seems easy enough to you, I dare say. It did to me before I tried.
There is no need for you to put your theories to the test, or you might
find that men occasionally fail, even though they have hands and brains
to work with. Some have to go down, and I'm one of them--that's all!"
"That is not Miss Verschoyle's creed, I think?"
"My sister! She has been telling you about the wretched teaching
business, I suppose? She, at any rate, is not cursed with the family
pride. I can't endure to see her go about giving lessons to the
clodhoppers round here. Does no end of drudgery about the house, too."
It had come to this: the sister was working for both; and Verschoyle did
not even see what his allowing her to do so meant! "What kind of pride
was this?" thought Meredith, his tone showing, perhaps, a little of what
was in his mind, as he gravely replied:--
"I can quite understand your objecting to that. You must let your
friends use what interests they have to get you into something,
Verschoyle."
"It would be of no use; at any rate, until----no necessity for going
into that," moodily kicking a stone across the path. What he wanted just
then was money, and this was not the man to whom he could turn for that,
with his talk about setting to work. How could he say to this man that
he had squandered the last remnant of the small property which had come
to him; and that they were liable to be turned out of the old home, such
as it was, at any moment now--his invalid mother, and the sister who had
striven so hard to keep things together--unless he could obtain money to
stave off matters, at any rate for a time? Pressure was now being
brought to bear upon him, and threats used that, unless he paid off the
sum of five hundred pounds--a sum there seemed no possibility of
procuring--charges of fraudulent borrowing would be brought against him
which he might find it difficult to combat in a court of law; and he was
living from hour to hour in fear of arrest.
The Priory itself, and everything it contained of any value, to the last
family portrait that hung upon the walls, had been either mortgaged or
sold. If a few heirlooms, in the way of carved furniture--a cabinet or
what not--had been allowed still to remain, it was to, as long as
possible, keep the knowledge of the worst from his mother and sister.
He had, in the first few moments of their meeting, hurriedly speculated
as to whether anything could be made out of the other's chance visit;
but his hopes, if they amounted to that, had very quickly died as he
remembered the past. There had been nothing large-handed or generous,
according to his interpretation of the words, in Meredith. He had shown
no inclination to part with his money without a _quid pro quô_, and
lived as though he had not a pound to spare, instead of an income of
some ten or twelve thousand a year. He had lost his father in his early
boyhood, and the property, carefully nursed for him during a long
minority, had largely increased.
That, like many who spend little upon themselves, Meredith could be
even lavishly generous to others, and that there was none to whom one in
need could so safely turn for help, Verschoyle did not suspect. He would
have been not a little surprised could he have known that many a man had
to thank Meredith for help given just at the right moment, and given so
quietly that none but the two most concerned were in the secret.
Meredith, in fact, cared nothing for the luxuries of life. Capable of
doing his share in the world's work, steadily exercising his best
faculties, and mentally and physically invigorated by the process, he
was almost unable to comprehend a man such as Verschoyle had come to be.
"No; it would be of no use," summed up Verschoyle, eyeing him askance.
"If I began to tell him about being in need of a few hundreds, he would
want to know the whole story; and it would be no good trying to throw
dust in his eyes. I wonder what he would do if I told him point-blank
that I am liable to be hauled off to gaol at any moment for lack of five
hundred pounds? Button up his pockets and scurry off without waiting to
test the Priory hospitality, perhaps; or, worse still, begin to preach."
Seeing that the other was disinclined to be communicative, Meredith
changed the subject, introducing any topic he could think of which he
thought might interest him. In vain. Both felt that they were farther
apart than when they had last met. There was, in fact, a barrier between
them which neither knew how to remove. Engrossed in his own reflections,
Verschoyle did not keep up the first semblance of bonhomie; a little,
indeed, resenting Meredith's efforts in one direction, since he did not
seem likely to make any in another of more importance.
Both men were equally relieved when a ruddy-cheeked servant-maid
appeared at the door, and informed them that dinner would be ready in
ten minutes now. Verschoyle led the way into the house, showed Meredith
to a room, and then availed himself of the opportunity to say a few
hurried words to his sister.
"Remember, Madge: there's no necessity for offering him a bed. Only a
chance visit; that means nothing; and, therefore, dinner is quite
enough. How have you contrived it?"
"Oh, pretty well. No need for pretence. He must know by the general
aspect of things how it is with us."
"Well, give the mother a hint not to press the hospitalities."
"He would not care to remain if she did, I should think; there is
nothing to attract him here"; adding, with a little surprise, "but I
should have thought you would have been glad to welcome anyone, dull as
you find it, Laurence."
"If I were not in such straits I might. You know I am at my wits' end
just now; liable to be seized at any moment for that wretched debt."
He had given it the name of debt to her, and she had not the slightest
suspicion that it was anything worse.
[Illustration: "MEREDITH WAS INTRODUCED."]
At that moment Allan Meredith entered the room, which not even the
shabby furniture and appurtenances of the dinner table could render mean
looking, with its noble proportions, oak ceiling, carved, high
chimney-piece, and oriel window. There was not sufficient carpet even
for the fashion--only, indeed, one large old Turkey rug; and that was
spread in the recess of the window, where were, also, a finely-carved,
high-backed, well cushioned chair, small work and writing tables, and
two or three other last relics of better days, devoted to the use of the
invalid; a gentle, suffering-looking woman, with traces of great beauty
in her thin, worn face.
Meredith was introduced to her by her daughter, with a tone and look
which showed she felt that she had still something to be proud of. Her
pride in, and loving care of, her mother was, indeed, evident enough.
Even his eyes could see how much more thought had been expended upon the
invalid's toilet than upon her daughter's, of which the most that could
be said was that it was neat as any village girl's might be.
Mrs. Verschoyle received the stranger with the simple courtesy of good
breeding. There was no allusion by word or look to the altered fortunes
of the house; no attempt at explanation; but a simple, earnest welcome
which had its full effect upon Allan Meredith. He noticed, too, at the
table that no apologies were made for the dinner, until the contemptuous
shrug of the shoulders which Laurence gave as he glanced from the dish
of curried mutton at one end to the remainder of the same joint that
served as the roast at the other, called forth the reply:
"It is the best I could do, Laurence. There was no time to send into the
town, and I hoped that Mr. Meredith might have sufficient appetite after
his walk, perhaps, to be able to dine on what we have"; apologizing to
her brother, as she had not felt it to be necessary to apologize to
their guest.
"That am I, Miss Verschoyle," he said, determined that she should see no
lack of appreciation on his side. "I have eaten only a biscuit since
eight o'clock this morning"; going on to explain what had brought him to
the neighbourhood. "I had got a little out of condition from overwork,
and----"
"Overwork!" put in Laurence. "Of what kind?"
"Oh, you know I used to have a fancy for comparing evidence, and
latterly I have plodded a little too closely in getting at some I
wanted," speaking a little hesitatingly and awkwardly in his desire to
avoid seeming to pose. "I needed change of scene and more out-of-door
exercise. It happened that a final settlement had, just now, to be made
about a small property my father had in this county, and I thought it
would be an object, or at any rate give me the change of scene they
talked about, to go and look after the sale myself."
"I did not know you owned property in this direction, Meredith."
"It was of very little importance; only a small farm; but there was some
competition for it, on account of its joining Lord Drayltown's property.
He wanted to take it into his park."
"Did you let him have it?"
"No; it was not so much a question of money with me, and the tenant who
had held it so long, and done his best for the house and land, had, I
considered, the first claim. He and I settled it together without much
law. He is the possessor of the farm, and I have brought away a roll of
notes; that's about all."
"I suppose a small farm does not fetch much in these days," said
Verschoyle.
"This would have fetched more had I allowed them to bid one against the
other; three or four instead of two thousand, I was told."
"Two thousand would seem a pretty good haul to some people. Notes, do
you say?"
"Partly; and partly in cheques," replied Meredith, looking a little
surprised.
"Do you carry them about with you, Meredith? I mean"--noticing the
surprise in the other's face--"is it wise--safe, do you think, to go
about these lonely places with all that--" breaking off, and hurriedly
adding: "But, of course, we can't let you go to-night. You must put up
with what we have to offer, until the morning at any rate." A sudden
thought had crossed his mind. Might it not be possible to appeal to
Meredith for a loan? "What a quarter of that money would do for me just
now! If I could only open my heart to him, as Madge says. Pshaw! Easy
enough for girls, such as she, to open their hearts. She wouldn't have
been so ready to advise me to do that, had she known all."
"Mr. Meredith would, perhaps, prefer the inn in the town, Laurence; he
might find it more comfortable," put in his sister, a little puzzled by
the change in his tone; but, supposing it might be only to keep up
appearances, she went on: "There will be a moon, and----"
"Oh, nonsense!" hurriedly interrupted her brother. "You will not mind
roughing it for one night, eh, Meredith? Of course you must stay."
"I hope so, indeed," said Mrs. Verschoyle, to whom her daughter had had
no time to give the hint her brother bade her give. "I trust you will
accept our poor hospitality, Mr. Meredith."
"There, that settles it, Meredith. You can't refuse my mother, now; or
she will be lamenting the little we have to offer."
"It is not little to me," replied Meredith, in all sincerity. The chance
of spending a few hours in the society of Margaret Verschoyle was,
indeed, beginning to mean a great deal to him. He had not, before, met
any woman who interested him in this way; and, already, he knew that
none other ever would. She said very little now; having, he noticed,
become more silent and abstracted as her brother grew effusive,
apparently in the endeavour to make up for his previous lack of
courtesy.
"This is our only drawing-room, Mr. Meredith," she presently said, as
she and her mother rose from the table and went towards the window. "You
must please try to imagine we are not here."
"I would rather not do that, Miss Verschoyle," he replied, rising to
join them.
"But won't you----? You would not find this claret so bad," said
Laurence, adding, as the other declined: "Well, then, a cigar on the
terrace, if we can dignify it by that name."
"Not now, thank you. Later on, perhaps, if you will join me."
"Then, I will look after your bag. At the station, didn't you say? We
might send Sally's brother, eh, Madge?" hurriedly quitting the room.
Meredith remained with the ladies in the oriel window, whilst the
rough-looking maid-servant awkwardly cleared the dinner table, assisted
now and again by a smiling word from her young mistress.
"You have a good view from here, Mrs. Verschoyle."
"It is good to me, Mr. Meredith. Fortunately, the brickfields are on the
other side; and, seen from here, the part of the ruin, and the old
garden and orchard, have a charm of their own for me. But one misses the
old elms that used to hide the town, which my daughter thinks looks best
when you don't see it," with a smile at the young girl.
"And so do you, dear. Being romantic, you prefer it when there is a mist
over it, and you have to imagine what is behind the veil, don't you?"
replied her daughter, with pretty defiance. "A serious thing to have a
romantic mother, is it not. Mr. Meredith? In these days, too--romance!
She had need have a matter-of-fact daughter, had she not?"
[Illustration: "A SERIOUS THING TO HAVE A ROMANTIC MOTHER, IS IT NOT?"]
He smilingly kept up the same tone, his admiration deepening for the
brave heart that could make a jest of her difficulties. How well the
mother and daughter seemed to understand each other in making the best
of their colourless lives. He soon found they could talk about something
besides the narrow experiences of their everyday world. They were
accustomed to think intelligently, and were not without a spice of
humour, as well as a romance to cast a glamour over their surroundings.
Good listeners, too; showing a desire to hear what was going on in the
world of thought; and, now and again, asking questions which kept his
wits at work for a reply--a not unpleasant exercise to Allan Meredith,
accustomed to use them.
An hour passed quickly away. It was only the uneasy glances the young
girl was beginning to cast towards the door which reminded him that
Verschoyle had left them so long. When he re-entered the room, Meredith
noticed that the sister's eyes turned anxiously towards him.
"I made sure about your bag by seeing after it myself, Meredith," he
began. "Remembered the mistakes Sally's brother is apt to make, you
know, Madge; and thought he might demand the post bag, or something of
that sort."
He appeared more desirous now of making conversation, reminding Meredith
of some of their Oxford experiences, inquiring about mutual friends, and
what not. But his gaiety did not sit quite naturally upon him, and there
was an under-current of excitement in his tone and manner. One there saw
that his gaiety was only on the surface, and that he eyed Meredith
closely and speculatively when he thought himself unobserved.
"Two thousand pounds! Two thousand!--and a quarter of that would save
me," he was thinking. Were the notes in that wallet of which he could
trace the outline in the breast pocket of the other's coat? His eyes
were turned again and again, as if fascinated, to that breast pocket,
while he talked on _àpropos_ of anything that suggested itself.
Presently, in reply to some remark of his mother's with reference to the
rising moon, and the ghostly way in which its beams seemed to steal
about the ruin, he said: "Do you know that we can boast of having a
ghost, Meredith?"
"Our very own, who watches over the fortunes of the house," said his
sister. "At least, that is the tradition. When last heard of, he was
wandering about, with his hand uplifted as if in warning. Not very
original, is it? And not of much use, unless he will tell us what we are
being warned against."
"Have you seen him, Miss Verschoyle?"
"Oh, no. Even he seems to have deserted us now."
"Speak for yourself, Madge," said her brother, stealing a side glance
towards Meredith.
"Have you, then, Laurence?" she ejaculated, turning quickly towards him.
"I thought you were inclined to make a jest of the monk."
"I am inclined to do that no longer, perhaps."
"Do you mean that you _have_ seen him? You told me nothing about it,
Laurence."
"When I knew what a fright it gave you only to imagine you saw him?"
"But I was only ten years old then, you know. I was frightened, Mr.
Meredith," she said, turning to him with a smile. "But even then I was
quite as curious as frightened; for though I fell upon my knees and hid
my face, I begged him not to go until I got sufficiently used to him to
be able to ask what I wanted to know."
"Had he not the grace to do that, Miss Verschoyle?"
"Well, it was only an old military cloak of my father's, which Laurence
had hung over a broom in a corner of the school-room to try my courage."
"I wonder what questions you would ask now?"
"Oh, there are so many things one would like to know," the sweet face
shadowing, and the eyes taking an anxious expression.
"Is the monk supposed to have a predilection for any particular
chamber?" asked Meredith. "Ghosts are uncertain visitors, I know; but it
would be something to pass a night where one might be expected."
"You might find it no jest if he came," said Laurence.
"Oh, I should take him seriously enough. In fact, I have something of
Miss Verschoyle's feeling. There are so many questions one would like to
ask."
She was glancing curiously towards her brother. "Why did he take that
tone--he that, until now, had been as ready as the rest to jest at the
ghost?" But she had no time to speculate as to what was in his mind. Now
that he had returned, she might consider herself off duty in the matter
of doing her share towards entertaining; and she had to help Sally to
prepare a room for the guest, her invalid mother to attend to, and to
contrive a fitting breakfast for the morrow.
The two young men passed out on to the grass terrace before the window,
lighted their cigars, and strolled to and fro in the moonlight. There
was very little interchange of thought. Allan Meredith was speculating
as to how best he could set about helping Margaret Verschoyle's brother;
and beginning to fear it would be very difficult to do so, unless he
were more inclined than he now appeared to put his shoulder to the
wheel. He had little sympathy for a nature such as Verschoyle's; and,
unconsciously perhaps to himself, the few words he uttered conveyed what
was in his mind to the other, who was quick to resent it.
[Illustration: "TO AND FRO IN THE MOONLIGHT."]
"Put me in the way of earning money, indeed! No use asking him for a
loan; he would be putting all sorts of awkward questions," thought
Verschoyle, with the uneasy consciousness that he would find it
difficult to explain without incriminating himself. "No, I won't try it!
It must be the other way--there's no help for it now. Once out of this
hole, I'll put my shoulder to the wheel, and pay him back with the first
money I earn. He isn't likely to want the money if I took all instead of
a quarter, and I won't take a penny more than that. It will only be a
loan after all, which, if he were like anyone else, I could openly ask
him for. Yes, I'll do it! If he sees through the trick, it will be easy
to say it was only a jest done to try him. But I think I can manage it
so quietly that he won't wake, and then I am safe."
On re-entering the room they had quitted--the only habitable
sitting-room the Priory could now boast--they found it untenanted, the
mother and daughter having retired for the night. The two men sat in
desultory conversation, maintained with some effort, until, in reply to
a question from Laurence, Meredith admitted that he had had a long day
and was inclined for bed. They went up together, and Laurence showed the
other into a large, barely-furnished, and somewhat desolate-looking
room, with two doors and one high, narrow, iron-barred window.
"Sorry we have no better quarters to offer you, Meredith."
"I am no sybarite, Verschoyle. You'll say that when you see my room at
home. My housekeeper is always bewailing my lack of appreciation of what
she calls comfort"--taking out his pocket-book as he spoke, and putting
it on to the dressing-table before removing his coat.
Laurence took quick note of the position of the book upon the table.
"Well, good-night, old fellow"; adding, with an elaborate assumption of
carelessness: "Oh, by the way, I'd nearly forgotten: there's a key in
that door--the one belonging to this must be lost, I fancy; but it seems
hermetically sealed. You can't open it, you see," turning and pulling at
the handle; "and you are safely barred in at the window," with a little
laugh.
"All right, Verschoyle. A barred window and a locked door ought to be
enough. Good-night," telling himself they must talk over things in the
morning. Too late to enter upon what he wanted to say, just then. In the
morning Verschoyle should be made to see that here was a friend who was
not to be put off; they must go into matters together. Verschoyle must
be induced to set to work, and in the meantime it must be so contrived
that the mother and daughter should be better cared for. "Tell him that
I have taken a great fancy to this old place; and, between ourselves,
give him a few thousands for it, perhaps--to be settled on them--yes,
certainly settled on them."
Once in his own room, Verschoyle sank into a seat and buried his face in
his hands. "If there were but any other way than this! If only the man
had not gone there bragging about his thousands!" trying to persuade
himself that there had been bragging, and almost hating Meredith for the
wrong he was about to do him. "He would not do it! Let the worst come to
the worst--he would not!" springing to his feet again, and fiercely
shaking his fist as against some unseen tempter.
The clock in a distant church tower chimed twelve. One vibrated on the
night air: it would soon be too late! Morning would dawn, and the
opportunity be gone! Shivering with the remembrance of what the morning
might bring--ruin, disgrace, his whole life blighted--he once more
decided there must be no drawing back. With set teeth and determined
eyes he went towards a chair upon which lay a folded garment. He shook
it out--a long, dark, military cloak--and proceeded, in awkward but
tolerably efficient fashion, to pin the cape so as to, as nearly as
possible, resemble a monk's hood. Changing his boots for slippers, he
enveloped himself in the cloak, drawing the hood well forward so as to
cover nearly the whole of his face; then softly opened the room door,
and stood listening with bated breath.
No sound broke the stillness. He stole noiselessly forth, and entered a
small room, the door of which was ajar, as he himself had placed it a
couple of hours previously. This room opened into the larger one in
which was Allan Meredith. Laurence stole silently to the communicating
door, locked, and with the key outside. It had been well oiled; but this
notwithstanding, there was a slight sound, like thunder to his guilty
ears, as he turned the key in the lock.
He waited breathlessly for a few moments again, then, hearing no sound
from within, softly pushed open the door and looked in. His eyes were,
at once, directed towards the bed. Yes, Meredith was, apparently, fast
asleep. To make quite sure, he stood silent and motionless, listening
intently. The quiet, even breathing of one in deep slumber reached him.
He moved softly towards the dressing-table, his eyes still turned upon
the bed; then stood motionless again, a tall black figure in the
semi-darkness.
Why did he hesitate? What was it that suddenly impelled him to tell the
truth, and cast himself upon the mercy of the man lying there--his good
angel battling for him? The scales trembled in the balance for a moment,
and then it was as though he had chosen--"Evil, be thou my good"; and
the way was, at once, made easy for him.
[Illustration: "HIS HAND CLOSED OVER IT."]
His eyes lighted on a dark object, which he knew at once must be what he
was in search of, lying on the white toilet cover of the dressing-table.
His hand closed over it, his eyes turning once more towards the bed. Not
a movement, not a sound!
Pocket-book in hand, he noiselessly crept out, locked the door on the
outside again, and sped back to his own room.
Half the danger was over. He had now but to abstract the money he
wanted, and replace the book where he had found it. He put the book on
the table, and sat down.
"What was that? A sigh--a whispered word? Or was it coward conscience?"
He sat back aghast for a moment; then, with a resolute face, bent
forward, laying his hand upon the book. Suddenly he paused, raising his
head again. A sound--a movement? Surely he heard something! He hurriedly
blew out the light, and sat with all his senses on the alert. Again!
Something or someone was in the room!
Meredith! Had Meredith seen and followed him--had the time come to act
the part of jester? Unconsciously, he was gazing straight before him
into the dressing glass, faintly reflecting, in the pale, grey light of
the summer night, the objects around. Again a slight movement, hardly
displacement, of the air; but sufficient to intimate a presence there.
Should he break into a laugh, and challenge Meredith--should he----Great
heavens! Mirrored in the glass, he saw a shadowy form moving silently
towards him--a form draped in cowl and gown. The monk!
Laurence Verschoyle fell back in his chair, his eyes fastened upon the
figure faintly outlined in the dim light, the left hand raised, as if in
solemn warning, and the right stretched forth towards--the pocket-book!
He saw it taken from the table, then everything faded from his vision,
and he lost consciousness.
When, at length, he came to himself, it was a little confusedly; and it
was some time before he remembered where he was and what had happened.
The pocket-book! His eyes went hurriedly over the table. Gone! It had
been no dream, then--no trick of the senses. He flung out his arms upon
the table and buried his face upon them. Suddenly a faint hope sprang up
in his heart. It must have been Meredith! His own fears, and the dim,
uncertain light, had imparted the spectral, shadowy appearance, and
exaggerated the whole effect. Meredith must have imagined--as in case of
emergency he was to have been induced to imagine--that a jest was being
played off upon him, and had determined to return it in kind, managing
somehow to get himself up for the rôle. Had they not been talking
about the monk and his gesture of warning? Yes; Meredith, of
course!--beginning to recover his nerve. He had been caught, and
Meredith had not been caught; that was all, and he had only to treat the
whole thing as a jest.
But all this notwithstanding, there was an under-current of something
very like fear in his mind which caused him to watch the slowly
broadening light of day with feverish impatience for the time when he
could enter Meredith's room. It would not do to go too early, lest his
very anxiety should arouse the other's suspicions. Everything now
depended upon his being able to treat the whole thing as a jest. He
threw off his disguise, washed and dressed, and then sat listening for
the usual sounds of Sally's movements about the house.
When the clock struck six he could contain himself no longer, and made
his way to Meredith's room, going to the door which opened into the
corridor. Meredith, in response to his knock, unlocked the door and
admitted him.
"Up already, Meredith?"
"Yes, I am accustomed to rise early."
As he advanced into the room, Laurence darted a quick look towards the
dressing-table. There lay the pocket-book! He had been right; it had
appeared as a jest to Meredith, and he had played one off in return.
"Had I only guessed and kept my wits about me, instead of making a fool
of myself, by going off in a fainting fit, the jest might have been
better kept up."
"I see you can make, as well as take, a jest, old fellow," he began,
with an attempt at a laugh.
"I was too sleepy and lazy to do more than take it, Verschoyle. I saw
what was done both times; but the restoration was managed best."
"Restoration?"
"The putting the book back."
Laurence Verschoyle dropped into a chair, gazing at the other with
widely opened eyes. "Do you mean to say you did not? For Heaven's sake,
tell me the truth, Meredith! You followed me to my room and brought the
book back. I--I--saw you!"
"That you did not, and could not have done, Verschoyle. I did not rise
from the bed after I lay down until six o'clock this morning, just
before you came in."
"You must--either awake or asleep, you must have!" catching at a last
hope that the other might have walked in his sleep.
"No; on my honour; I was tired, but I could not sleep. I saw the ghostly
appearance each time: and I was struck by the difference in the second.
It was a more ghostly affair altogether. I saw, in fact, only a hand and
part of an arm."
Laurence went hurriedly to the door opposite that by which he had
entered, and turned the handle: locked on the outside, as he had left
it!
"The first came that way," said Meredith, who had followed him with his
eyes; "but not the other."
"Meredith, it was I who came, and I came but once!" ejaculated Laurence,
shudderingly.
He covered his face with his hands a few moments; then, in sudden
desperation, confessed the whole truth. "I meant to rob you! I dressed
up as the monk for the purpose. I took the book, intending to abstract
five hundred pounds; and, if you woke and challenged me, was going to
say that it was done to try your pluck. I had taken it to my room. It
lay on the table before me, and I was about to open it, when a feeling I
can't describe came over me. I knew I was not alone. I was sitting
before the dressing-table, and, glancing into the glass, saw the
reflection of a figure standing behind me--the figure of a monk! A
deathlike hand was put forth. I saw the fingers close over the book, and
then I suppose I lost consciousness, for I can remember no more."
"The monk!" Meredith gazed at the other, and became gravely silent
again.
[Illustration: "THE MONK!"]
"I was in terrible straits," hurriedly went on Laurence. "I meant last
night to appeal to you for a loan; but I fancied you seemed rather hard
and stand-offish, and what I had to tell was not easy to tell. There was
a prison before me, Meredith, unless I could get money, which there
seemed no chance of my being able to get, and the knowledge that you had
all those notes about you tempted me. I meant to take the five hundred,
put the rest back, and trust to the chance of your not suspecting how it
had gone. Of course, I cheated myself with the belief that if I could
set myself straight this time, I would put my shoulder to the wheel and
repay you somehow. I think I see myself as I am--now, and I know I shall
not again try to retrieve my fortunes that way. You can't despise me
more than I despise myself!"
"I am very sorry," said Meredith. "I did not imagine you were in such
immediate necessity. I only wish you had told me last night, when all
this might have been prevented"--still speaking a little abstractedly.
Was it to be regretted, after all, that Verschoyle had been brought face
to face with himself in this way, since it had brought about such a
revulsion in his mind? He presently decided what course he would take,
and went on:--
"Look here, Verschoyle. I intended last night to ask you to let me help
you in some way, and only delayed until this morning because I wanted to
reflect a little as to the best means of doing so. We will go into that
later on. I will only say now that you need be under no anxiety as to
the money. I have a good income--more, a great deal, than I desire to
spend--and there is a large surplus lying idle at my banker's just now.
Use it to set yourself straight with the world, old fellow"; then, as
the other made a gesture of dissent: "Let me have my say. You shall
repay me when you have made your way--as a man of your ability is sure
to do. Nonsense, you have your mother and sister to consider, you know."
"My poor mother and Madge. Meredith, you could never imagine what my
sister has been to us."
"Couldn't I?" thought Meredith.
"She has kept us going the last six months; and though the pressure was
growing heavier and heavier, she never----What a selfish brute I have
been!"
"Come, it's something to recognise that!" thought Meredith. "There's
some hope for you, after all"; adding to the other: "We will get these
bills settled at once, and then we can see what you are most inclined to
turn to."
The two young men went down together, and found breakfast awaiting
them--a more varied and bountiful repast than had been set before them
the previous evening, Sally having run down to an adjacent farmhouse for
supplies. The two breakfasted together alone. Mrs. Verschoyle kept her
room till later in the day, and her daughter, who was superintending in
the kitchen, had only time to look in with a morning greeting.
After breakfast the two young men held consultation together, then set
off for the town, called at the lawyer's office there, and sent off
sundry telegrams. When they returned to the Priory later in the day, it
was explained that Meredith had been helping Laurence with his advice on
business matters.
"He is the best old fellow in the world, Madge--acting with the noblest
generosity! I think all our troubles will soon be over now," said
Laurence to his sister when they were alone.
"Generosity! Oh, Laurence, you won't take his money?" she ejaculated, a
ring of sharp pain in her voice. "Not his money!"
"I won't take advantage of him, Madge. I swear it. Something has
happened. I am a different man, and my whole life will be changed."
His tone and manner gave her more hope than even his words.
"I am going to set to work in earnest; and he will be repaid for all he
means to do."
"Are you sure?" she murmured; adding a little doubtfully, with the
remembrance of past experience: "But how?"
"That you will see later on."
She was to see, in another way than that he supposed. Meredith lost no
time in striving to gain the prize he had set his heart upon, returning
again and again to the Priory until he had won his wife.
It was the last evening of their stay at the old place. On the morrow
Margaret Verschoyle was to be his wife, and they were to go direct to
his beautiful Devonshire home for the purpose of comfortably installing
her mother there, before setting forth on the tour. Mrs. Verschoyle's
health had wonderfully improved with the knowledge of her children's
bright prospects; and wonders were expected from the soft Devonshire
air.
They had been reading a letter from Laurence, full of hope and
enthusiasm for the new life he had begun in Canada, where he had chosen
to make his start, Meredith having rendered the way easy for him.
As they lingered on the terrace, the happy girl ventured to whisper out
the confession that had to be made before she became his wife. She must
have no secrets from him now.
"Allan, you know now--Laurence has told you what he meant to do. But
there is something else you ought to know. How shall I tell you? He
thought he saw a ghost that night; but, oh, Allan, it was I!"
"I don't think he would have done it after all, darling. I believe he
would have made a clean breast of it in the morning, in any case."
"But are you not surprised to hear it was I who played the ghost the
second time?"
He replied only by a caress.
"I did it in the desperation of the moment, and fear gave me courage."
"The first time I have heard of fear giving courage," taking the sweet
face between his hands and looking into her eyes.
"Oh, well! I meant fear for him. I thought--I feared that Laurence was
going into your room--I watched him go; and then, putting on a long
waterproof cloak, and drawing the hood over my head to look like the
monk, I followed him. It was I who put the pocket-book back."
"How did you manage it?" with a smile.
[Illustration: "HOW DID YOU MANAGE IT?"]
"You see, you had left your window a little open. I climbed the thick
ivy that runs up the wall--I had often done it when a child--slipped my
hand between the bars of the window, and put the book upon the table."
"But you forgot to raise your hand in warning; and ghosts are not
generally in such a hurry, I think, to say nothing of the size of the
hand."
"It was a scramble; did you hear me fall?"
"I heard a little 'Oh!'"
"Then you _did_ know?"
"I knew Verschoyle had a very good sister."
"Allan, I do not think he suspects. Ought I not to tell him the truth?"
"Not yet. Since the impression has worked such good effects, as well let
him remain under it for a while. Time enough to knock down the
scaffolding when the building is completed--eh, darling?"
_Illustrated Interviews._