"Very well, madam; though I think, from the nature of my business, you would wish it to be confidential."
"Perhaps I had better withdraw," suggested the physician.
"By no means, my dear sir; if this gentleman"s visit relates to business matters, I must beg the favor of your counsel."
"As you please, Miss Dumont; I come charged with a message from your uncle, my respected client, Mr. Dumont."
"Indeed, sir!" replied Emily, a slight tremor creeping through her frame; "pray deliver it at once."
"It is simply to say your immediate presence at your late residence is necessary."
"Where did you see my uncle?" asked she.
"At Bellevue, madam, yesterday morning. I arrived at eleven o"clock to-day."
"When did Mr. Dumont return from his journey up the river?" asked Dr.
Vaudelier.
De Guy reflected a moment; from the shade of displeasure on his countenance, it was evident he disliked the interference of the doctor.
"About four days ago."
"When did you last see your uncle, Miss Dumont?" asked the doctor.
"I have not seen him since the second day of our journey,"--which was the time that Jaspar had been left at the wood-yard.
"Probably, then, he has returned to Bellevue. It is singular that, under the instructions of the will, he should leave you in this unceremonious manner."
"Not at all," interrupted De Guy.
"You speak as though you were familiar with his motions," said Dr.
Vaudelier, with a penetrating glance at the attorney.
"To some extent, I am," replied the silky-toned lawyer, with a smile which was intended to declare his own innocence in any of the plots of Jaspar. "He has voluntarily acquainted me with some of the particulars of this unfortunate affair."
"Indeed, sir!"
"Such is the fact," continued the attorney, with professional ease; "he has sent for Miss Dumont in order to effect a compromise."
"A compromise!" exclaimed Emily, with disdain; "there can be no compromise, short of restoring, absolutely, my rights!"
"It is very probable he is quite ready to do so," replied the accommodating attorney.
"May I ask what has produced this singular and sudden change in the purpose of my uncle?"
"Well, madam, it would be difficult to explain the precise reasons. His mind seemed troubled; I advised him to unburden to me, which he did. The conclusion of the whole matter is, he has taken this step by my advice," said De Guy, with an air of the deepest humility.
Emily was somewhat moved, by the revelation of the attorney, from the stern reserve she had manifested, and said,
"I am grateful for your interest in my behalf."
"Do not mention it, madam. There is a pleasure in doing one"s duty, which is superior to every other gratification."
"May I ask what prompted you to give such advice?" asked Dr. Vaudelier, incredulously.
"The consciousness that my duty to this lady demanded it. It was not exactly in keeping with the profession, I am aware; but I felt obliged to sacrifice professional consistency to the call of justice," said the attorney, in such a way as to leave it doubtful whether he was perpetrating a jest or a moral axiom.
"Humph!" said the doctor, with a doubtful sneer.
"Principle before professional advantage, is my motto, sir," continued De Guy.
"Pray, what gave you the first intimation that all was not right between this lady and her uncle?"
"The voluntary confession of Mr. Dumont," replied De Guy, readily.
"You do not believe Mr. Dumont would have abandoned his purpose, just as it was in the very act of being consummated, without a strong motive."
"True; I understand that the body-servant of the late Colonel Dumont is upon this island. He must have informed the lady, by this time, of his share in the transaction."
"Well."
"And Mr. Dumont saw the boy the night before he left the steamer."
"True."
"Was not the reappearance, the rising from the dead, of this man, quite enough to convince him that all his plans had failed?"
"Why so?"
"The boy had the will!"
"It is all plain to me," said Emily, more disposed to trust De Guy than Dr. Vaudelier was.
"Perfectly plain, madam; it is not at all strange that he should adopt this course. He must trust to his niece"s good-nature to save him from exposure."
"Perhaps this is only a plan to get the lady into his power again,"
suggested Dr. Vaudelier.
"I a.s.sure you it is not. He is sorely troubled in mind, even now, at the guilt which is fastened upon him. His conscience is awakened."
"And well it might be," said the doctor.
"True," responded the silky attorney, with an appearance of honest indignation; "but when we see a man disposed to repent, we should be ready to a.s.sist him."
Dr. Vaudelier involuntarily turned his thoughts to the incidents of the morning,--called to mind the feelings which had been awakened in the presence of his penitent son, and he felt the full force of De Guy"s argument.
"If Mr. Dumont is disposed to repent of the injury he has done his niece, and make atonement for it, I should, by all means, advise her to follow the course which, I am sure, her gentle nature suggests. "To err is human; to forgive, divine." The lady is a Christian, and will act in the true spirit of Christianity."