AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR
A clock in the church tower chimed the half-hour.
"We dine at seven," said Mrs. Capella. "Let us return to the house. I told
the housekeeper to prepare a room for you. Would you care to remain for
the night? One of the grooms can bring from Stowmarket any articles you
may need."
Brett declined the invitation, pleading a certain amount of work to be
done before he retired to rest, and his expectation of finding letters or
telegrams at the hotel.
They walked more rapidly up the avenue, and the barrister noted the
graceful ease of Margaret's movements.
"Is it a fact" he asked, "that you suffer from heart disease?"
She laughed, and said, with a certain charming hesitation:
"You are both doctor and lawyer, Mr. Brett. My heart is quite sound. I
have been foolish enough to seek relief from my troubles in morphia. Do
not be alarmed. I am not a morphinée. I promised Nellie yesterday to stop
it, and I am quite certain to succeed."
The dinner passed uneventfully.
As Brett was unable to change his clothes, neither of the ladies, of
course, appeared in elaborate costumes.
Helen wore a simple white muslin dress, with pale blue ribbons. Margaret,
mindful of the barrister's hint concerning her attire, now appeared in
pale grey crêpe de chine, trimmed with cerise panne velvet.
When she entered the drawing-room she almost startled the others, so
strong was the contrast between her present effective garments and the
black raiment she had affected constantly since her return to Beechcroft
after her marriage.
"The reform has commenced," she cried gaily, seeing how they looked at
her. "My maid is in ecstasies about the proposed visit to my dressmaker's.
She insisted on showing me a study for an Ascot frock in the _Queen_."
"Ah, she is a Frenchwoman?" said Brett.
"Yes; and pray what mystery have you elucidated now?"
"Not a mystery, but a sober fact. A Frenchwoman must be in the mode.
Anybody else would have told you to copy yourself. Fashions are a sealed
book to me, but I do claim a certain taste in colour effect, and you have
gratified it."
"And have you nothing nice to say to me, Mr. Brett?" pouted Helen.
"So much that I must remain dumb. I have a vivid recollection of Mr.
Hume's tragic air when he asked me to give you 'his kind regards.'"
"The dear boy! You have not yet told us why you left him in London."
In view of Mrs. Capella's outspokenness concerning her cousin, this was a
poser. Brett fenced with the query, and the announcement of dinner stopped
all personal references. The barrister's eyes wandered round the
dining-room. The shaded candles on the table did not permit much light to
fall on the walls, but such portraits as were visible showed that David
was right when he said the "Hume-Frazers were all alike." They were a
handsome, determined-looking race, strong, dour, inflexible.
The night was beautifully fine. The day seemed loth to die, and the
twilight lingering on the pleasant landscape tempted them outside, after
the butler had handed Brett a box of excellent cigars.
They went through the conservatory into the park, and sauntered over the
springy pastureland, whilst Brett amused the ladies by a carefully edited
account of his visit to the Jiro family.
An hour passed in pleasant chat. Then Miss Layton thought it was time she
went home, and Brett proposed to escort her to the Rectory, subsequently
picking up his conveyance at the inn.
They walked obliquely across the park towards the house, regaining it
through a clump of laurels and the conservatory.
It chanced that for a moment they were silent. Margaret led the way. Helen
followed. Brett came close behind.
When the mistress of Beechcroft Hall stepped on to the turf in front of
the library, a man who was standing under the yews a little way down the
avenue moved forward to accost her.
She uttered a little cry of alarm and retreated quickly.
"Why, Davie," cried Helen, "surely it cannot be you!"
The stranger made no reply, but paused irresolutely. Even in the dim light
Brett needed no second glance to reveal to him the astounding coincidence
that this mysterious prowler was Robert Hume-Frazer.
"Good evening," he said politely. "Do you wish to see your cousin?"
"And who the devil may you be?" was the uncompromising answer.
"A friend of Mrs. Capella's."
"H'm! I'm glad to hear it. I thought you could not be that beastly
Italian."
"You are candour itself; but you have not answered me?"
"About seeing my cousin? No. I will call when she is less engaged."
He turned to go, but Brett caught him by the shoulder.
"Will you come quietly," he said, "or by the scruff of the neck?"
The other man wheeled round again. That he feared no personal violence was
evident. Indeed, it was possible Brett had over-estimated his own strength
in suggesting the alternative.
The Argentine cousin laughed boisterously.
"By the Lord Harry," he cried, "I like your style! I will come in, if only
to have a good look at you."
They approached the two frightened women. Margaret had recognised his
voice, and now advanced with outstretched hand.
"I am glad to see you, Robert," she said in tones that vibrated somewhat.
"Why did you not let me know you were coming?"
"Because I did not know myself until an hour before I left London.
Moreover, you might have wired and told me to stop away, so I sailed
without orders."
The position was awkward. The new-comer had evidently walked from
Stowmarket. He had the appearance of a gentleman, soiled and a trifle
truculent, perhaps, but a man of birth and good breeding.
Helen was gazing at him in sheer wonderment. He was so extremely like David
that, at a distance, it was easy to confuse the one with the other.
Brett, too, examined him curiously. He recalled "Rabbit Jack's"
pronouncement--"either the chap hisself or his dead spit."
But it behoved him to rescue the ladies from an _impasse_.
"When you reached Stowmarket did the stationmaster exhibit any marked
interest in you?" he inquired.
"Well, now, that beats the band," cried Robert. "He looked at me as though
I had seven heads and horns to match. But how did you know that?"
"Merely on account of your marked resemblance to David Hume-Frazer. It
puzzled the stationmaster some time ago. By the way, you appear to like
the shade of the yew trees outside. Do you always approach Beechcroft Hall
in the same way?"
The ex-sailor's bold eyes did not fall before the barrister's penetrating
glance.
"What the deuce has it got to do with you?" he replied fiercely. "Who has
appointed you grand inquisitor to the family, I should like to know?
Margaret, I beg your pardon, but this chap--"
"Is my friend, Mr. Reginald Brett. He is engaged in unravelling the manner
and cause of poor Alan's death. He has my full sanction, Robert, and was
brought here, in the first instance, by David. I hope, therefore, you will
treat him more civilly."
"I will treat him as he treats me. I owe him nothing, at any rate."
They were talking in the ill-fated library, having entered the house
through the centre window. The unbidden guest faced the others, and
although the cloud of suspicion hung heavily upon him, the barrister was
far too shrewd an observer of human nature to attribute his present
defiant attitude to other than its true origin--a feeling of humiliated
pride.
Brett understood that to question him further was to risk a scene--a thing
to be avoided at all costs.
"No doubt," he said, "you wish to speak privately to Mrs. Capella. I was
on the point of escorting Miss Layton to her house. Shall I return and
drive you back to Stowmarket? I will be here in fifteen minutes."
"It would be better than walking," replied Robert wearily, settling into a
chair with the air of a man physically tired and mentally perturbed.
Again there was a dramatic pause. Helen, more alarmed than she wished to
admit, gave Margaret a questioning look, and received a strained but
reassuring smile.
"Then I will go now--" she began, but instantly stopped. Like the others,
she heard the quick trot of a horse, and the sound of rapid wheels
approaching from the lodge.
"Who on earth can this be?" cried Margaret, blanching visibly,
The vehicle, a dog-cart, drew nearer. They all went to the window. Even
the indifferent Robert rose and joined them.
Helen startled them by running out to the side of the drive.
"This time I am not mistaken," she cried hysterically. "It is Davie!"
The proceedings of the gentleman who jumped from the dog-cart left no
doubt on the point. He brazenly kissed her, and in her excitement she
seemed to like it.
She evidently whispered something to him, for his first words to Brett
were:
"How did you find out--"
But the barrister was not anxious to let the cousin from Argentina into
the secret of the search for him.
"I have found out nothing," he interrupted. "I have been at Beechcroft all
the afternoon and evening. Meanwhile, you must be surprised to meet Mr.
Robert Hume-Frazer here so unexpectedly."
David luckily grasped his friend's intention. Such information as he
possessed must wait until they were alone. "How d'ye do, Bob?" he said,
frankly holding out his hand. "Why have you left us alone all those years,
to turn up at last in this queer way?"
The young man's kind greeting, his manly attitude, had an unlooked-for
effect.
Robert ignored the proffered hand. He reached for his hat.
"I feel like a beastly interloper," he growled huskily. "Accept my
apologies, Margaret, and you, Miss Layton. I will call in the morning. Mr.
Brett, if you still hold to your offer, I will await you at the lodge, or
any other place you care to name."
With blazing eyes, and mouth firmly set, he endeavoured to reach the open
window. Brett barred his way.
"Sit down, man," he said sternly. "Why are you such a fool as to resist
the kindness offered to you? I tried to make matters easy for you. Now I
must speak plainly. You are weak with hunger."
He had seen what the others had missed. The colour in Robert's face was
due to exposure, but he was otherwise drawn and haggard. His clothes were
shabby. He had walked from Stowmarket because he could not afford to hire
any means of conveyance.
The abject confession compelled by Brett's words was too much for him. He
again collapsed into a chair and covered his face with his hands.