"Is Montrose the other man you spoke of at dinner last night?"
Don Pablo threw up his hand to compel silence, closed his eyes to shut out the world of sense and listened intently. As he did so, his face grew dark and angry. "I defy you: I defy you!" he said vehemently, addressing some invisible person, as it appeared to Enistor. "Plot as you will, I can counterplot!" then he was silent for a moment, and opening his eyes lowered his hand. "The Adversary," he said quietly to his guest, but still looked fierce. "He is aware of our schemes, and says they will not succeed, if he can prevent their success. Well, I shall pit my strength against his."
"The Adversary then is not absolutely certain of success?" asked Enistor.
"No. Because man has free-will. If Montrose and Alice are guided by the Adversary, our task will indeed be difficult. But if you and I can make either stumble, the game will end in our favour. As I said, Enistor, this loss of money is the beginning of the drama. You can see for yourself, because by its going to Montrose it brings him on to the stage. And yet," added Narvaez with a furious gesture, "had you called me in to deal with that lawyer, I might have suppressed the second will and have prevented Montrose coming into the matter. The Adversary told me just now that he would have intervened also, but Cane being weak and having free-will--as all men have--could not have stood out against my domination."
"Well," said Enistor gloomily; "it seems that owing to my ignorance----"
"Your folly," interrupted the other sharply.
"Folly if you will then. But owing to my ignorance or folly we have lost the first move in the game. What now?"
Narvaez shrugged. "We must take a roundabout way instead of going by the direct path. That is closed by your not pressing your advantage with Cane. Now Montrose will obtain the money! Very good. He can retain it until I get it back from him to give it to you."
"The money is rightfully mine," cried Enistor vehemently, "and come what may I intend to gain it!"
"You will never gain it if you bl.u.s.ter and fume in that way," said Don Pablo coldly; "keep your temper and self-control, and we shall soon be at grips with the Adversary. He is no mean antagonist, I a.s.sure you."
"Well, Master, what is to be done? I leave myself in your hands!"
"I wouldn"t a.s.sist you otherwise." Narvaez considered for a few moments.
"I think it will be best to send Alice to London for a few months. The time of her stay will depend upon her chances of falling in love with Montrose."
Enistor jumped up and stamped. "She doesn"t know Montrose," he declared in an angry manner, "she will never know him if I can help it."
"You are unable to help it," said Narvaez frigidly. "The Karma of Chaldea is bound to bring Montrose and Alice together. This much I am sure of, although I am ignorant of the details. Well, let us carry the war into the enemy"s camp, Enistor. With this thousand pounds which you inherit, give Alice a few months in London on the plea that she requires a gay life to cheer her up. She will meet Montrose and he will fall in love with her. I am certain of this as his fate and her fate are intermingled. Then you can give your consent to the marriage----"
"What about your desire to marry Alice?" interrupted the Squire, much puzzled.
"That can be gratified later," said Don Pablo coolly. "Don"t you see what I mean, Enistor? When Alice desires to marry Montrose, you will naturally invite your proposed son-in-law here to acquaint yourself with his character. Once he is on the spot"--Narvaez smiled cruelly and drew a deep breath--"I think you can safely leave him to me."
"What will you do?"
"Never mind. I have a plan in my head which may or may not succeed.
There is no need to tell you what it is. You shall see its results. Your work is to send Alice to London."
"I don"t quite understand," said Enistor, trying to read his master"s thoughts, but in vain. "But I shall obey your instructions. But if Alice is to meet Montrose in society I fear it will be difficult to induce her to go out for enjoyment so soon after her aunt"s death."
"Oh, Montrose as the heir of Lady Staunton will feel the same way. But it is not necessary for the two to meet at public functions. A quiet evening here, a little dinner there, and the introduction is accomplished. You need not trouble about details, Enistor. The acc.u.mulated result of good and evil, which we call Karma, will bring them together."
"You are willing to surrender Alice, I see."
"Oh, dear me, no! Montrose can make love to her until he is in my net.
Afterwards, when the money comes to you and Montrose comes to the gallows, Alice can be my wife."
"The gallows. You don"t mean----"
"I mean nothing at present," interrupted Narvaez impatiently, "but you can"t fight battles with squirts. Montrose is in your path and mine, so he has to be removed. The means may be unpleasant, but they will not harm you in any way. I a.s.sure you of that emphatically."
"Will they harm Alice?"
"Only through her affections; not otherwise. What a heap of scruples you have, Enistor," sneered the old man; "one would think you were a school-girl instead of a grown man. You don"t care for Montrose, or for your daughter."
"Not at all," admitted Enistor selfishly. "All the same, murder----!"
"Oh, if the word frightens you, call it blood-atonement. And the rest.i.tution of the fortune may be managed without the sacrifice of Montrose"s life, if you will insist upon this silly weakness. If you wish to tread the Left-hand Path, Enistor, you must get rid of scruples.
Trample on every one, slay, ruin, devastate: as the stronger you have the right to do so."
The Squire winced at this abominable teaching, although in his innermost heart he subscribed to it. And after all, as he thought, in the world of to-day the weaker is still the prey of the stronger. He was only carrying out more thoroughly what every one did in a lesser degree.
Without further pangs he gave in to the necessity of Montrose being removed by a legal death. "But his hanging will involve the commission of a murder by him," he said suddenly.
"Perhaps," said the other man ambiguously. "But you had better wait and see, Enistor. I can"t waste time in arguing down your scruples. If you can"t face these things, leave the matter alone and deal with the future danger yourself. But remember that only Alice can describe what that danger is, and she must become my wife to be trained as a clairvoyante."
"You didn"t want her to love Hardwick because you said the pa.s.sion would destroy her powers," said Enistor irrelevantly. "What about her love for this Montrose? Won"t that do harm?"
"Unfortunately it will," sighed Narvaez vexedly, "but I can"t prevent the blossoming of the love. The great law of Karma is stronger than I am. I can only deal with the free-will of both and warp their natures if possible. I think you had better go now. I have much to do!"
Enistor scowled at the imperious tone and tried--as he often did--to match his will against that of Narvaez. It suddenly came to him that he could find an easier way out of the difficulty and reduce Don Pablo"s power over him by acting in the ordinary selfish way sanctioned by custom. "One moment," he said testily. "Montrose has the money, it is true, and legally there is no chance of getting it from him. But if he becomes my son-in-law, I shall be able to keep the income in the family."
"Quite so," a.s.sented Narvaez indifferently. "If you want the money for the family--to build up the Enistor fortunes as county people I suppose you mean--your suggestion is excellent. Montrose can take your name and along with his wife will be great in the land. Where you will be I leave you to say."
"I don"t want Montrose to be great in the land, and I don"t suppose that he has the brains to become so. But he and Alice will probably allow me to handle the income and----"
"And you will use it for your own advancement. Eh?"
"Why not? My advancement as head of the family will mean theirs."
"Probably, if you wish to waste time, energy and cash in building up your decayed race. But Montrose may have his own ideas to carry out, and those may not include consent to your possession of the family purse.
Complete ownership of the money makes him stronger than you are."
"Stronger than I am? We shall see," and Enistor laughed at the idea.
"Very likely, when it is too late, you probably will see, and won"t be pleased with what you do see. However, it is your business, not mine. I can return to Spain and learn what I wish to learn in other ways."
"But the teaching you are giving me?"
Narvaez sneered. "With an obedient son-in-law possessed of five thousand a year you will not want the teaching."
The Squire looked as alarmed as a self-confident man well could. He had scarcely counted upon this att.i.tude being taken by his master. "I want the teaching more than I want the money," he confessed uneasily.
"You can have both if you will permit me to carry out my plans," said Don Pablo, acidly polite. "Otherwise you must be satisfied to sink back into the ordinary rank and file of humanity. My fee for teaching super-physical knowledge is possession of your daughter as my wife.
Therefore your idea of securing the handling of this money by forwarding her marriage with Montrose does not meet with my approval. You can take your choice. I--as you will be pleased to observe--do not coerce you in any way."
"You can"t," cried the Squire with sudden fury.
"Let us leave it at that," rejoined the Spaniard amiably.
Enistor stamped, swore under his breath and bit his nails angrily, while Narvaez smiled in a hatefully bland manner. Certainly the marriage of Montrose and Alice would bring back the money to the family; but it might not--and here the egotist saw danger--put it into his own particular pocket. Lady Staunton"s heir might be self-willed, obstinate and foolish--there was no knowing what qualities he might possess likely to thwart his proposed father-in-law"s schemes. And should he prove to be recalcitrant, Enistor recognised that the marriage would only make matters worse. He would gain by it neither the teaching nor the fortune, and would have bartered the substance for the shadow. To have the money would be good: to acquire the secret lore would be better: to have both would be best of all. And both he could have for certain if he agreed to allow Narvaez to take command. For the teaching would make him a minor G.o.d, while the five thousand a year--even if he got it, which was doubtful--would not even make him a millionaire.