"No, no," said a voice from the recesses of the dark coach, "Monsieur le Pasteur has come into money. Oh, I have heard!"
"Is it so? Now I understand," remarked the priest with a sniff, "I feared that he had lost his health."
Then they arrived at Kleindorf, and the conversation ended with mutual bows.
Great was the excitement of Madame and Juliette at the news which they brought with them. To their ears G.o.dfrey"s inheritance sounded a tale of untold wealth, nearly 300,000 francs! Why, they did not know anyone in the neighbourhood of Kleindorf who owned so much. And then that fine house, with its gardens and lovely furniture, which was the talk of Lucerne. And the Pasteur with his 5,000 francs clear to be paid immediately, plus an income of 2,500 for the next eight years. Here were riches indeed. It was wonderful, and all after an acquaintance of only a few months. They looked at G.o.dfrey with admiration. Truly he must be a remarkable youth who was thus able to attract the love of the wealthy.
An idea occurred to Madame. Why should he not marry Juliette? She was vivacious and pretty, fit in every way to become a great lady, even perhaps to adorn the lovely Villa Ogilvy in future years. She would have a word with Juliette, and show her where fortune lay. If the girl had any wit it should be as good as a.s.sured, for with her opportunities----
And so, doubtless, it might have chanced had it not been for a certain determined and unconventional young woman far away in England, of whom the persistent memory, however much he might flirt, quite prevented G.o.dfrey from falling in love, as otherwise he ought to, and indeed, probably must have done at his age and in his circ.u.mstances.
Perhaps Miss Juliette, who although young was no fool, also had ideas upon the subject, at any rate at this time, especially as she had found _l"Hibou_ always attractive, notwithstanding his star-gazing ways, and the shower of wealth that had descended on him as though direct from the _Bon Dieu_, did not lessen his charms. If so, who could blame her?
When one has been obliged always to look at both sides of a sou and really pretty frocks, such as ladies wear, are almost as un.o.btainable as G.o.dfrey"s stars, money becomes important, especially to a girl with an instinct for dress and a love of life.
Thenceforward, at least, as may be imagined, Monsieur G.o.dfrey became a very prominent person indeed in the Boiset establishment. All his little tastes were consulted; Madame moved him into the best spare bedroom, on the ground that the one he occupied would be cold in winter, which, when he was out, Juliette made a point of adorning with flowers if these were forthcoming, or failing them with graceful sprays of winter berries. Also she worked him some slippers covered with little devils in black silk, which she said he must learn to tread under foot, though whether this might be a covert allusion to his spiritualistic experiences or merely a flight of fancy on her part, G.o.dfrey did not know.
On the evening of the reading of the will, prompted thereto by the Pasteur, that young gentleman wrote a letter to his father, a task which he always thought difficult, to tell him what had happened. As he found explanations impossible, it was brief, though the time occupied in composing drafts, was long. Finally it took the following form:--
"My dear Father,--I think I told you that I travelled out here with a lady named Miss Ogilvy, whom I have often seen since. She has just died and left me, as I understand, about 12,000, which I am to get when I am twenty-five. Meanwhile I am to have the income, so I am glad to say I shall not cost you any more. Also she has left me a large house in Lucerne with a beautiful garden and a lot of fine furniture, and some money to keep it up. As I can"t live there, I suppose it will have to be let.
"I hope you are very well. Please give my love to Mrs. Parsons and tell her about this. It is growing very cold here, and the mountains are covered with snow, but there has been little frost.
I am getting on well with my French, which I talk with Mademoiselle Juliette, who knows no English, although she thinks she does. She is a pretty girl and sings nicely. Madame, too, is very charming. I work at the other things with the Pasteur, who is kind to me. He will write to you also and I will enclose his letter.
"Your affectionate son, "G.o.dfrey."
The receipt of this epistle caused astonishment in Mr. Knight, not unmixed with irritation. Why could not the boy be more explicit? Who was Miss Ogilvy, whose name, so far as he could recollect, he now heard for the first time, and how did she come to leave G.o.dfrey so much money? The story was so strange that he began to wonder whether it were a joke, or perhaps, an hallucination. If not, there must be a great deal unrevealed. The letter which G.o.dfrey said the Pasteur would write was not enclosed, and if it had been, probably would not have helped him much as he did not understand French, and could scarcely decipher his cramped calligraphy. Lastly, he had heard nothing from any lawyers or trustees.
In his bewilderment he went straight to Hawk"s Hall, taking the letter with him, with a view to borrowing books of reference which might enable him to identify Miss Ogilvy. The butler said that he thought Sir John was in and showed him to the morning room, where he found Isobel, who informed him that her father had just gone out. Their meeting was not affectionate, for as has been told, Isobel detested Mr. Knight, and he detested Isobel. Moreover, there was a reason, which shall be explained, which just then made him feel uncomfortable in her presence.
Being there, however, he thought it necessary to explain the object of his visit.
"I have had a very strange letter from that odd boy, G.o.dfrey," he said, "which makes me want to borrow a book. Here it is, perhaps you will read it, as it will save time and explanation."
"I don"t want to read G.o.dfrey"s letters," said Isobel, stiffly.
"It will save time," repeated Mr. Knight, thrusting it towards her.
Then, being overcome by curiosity, she read it. The money part did not greatly interest her; money was such a common thing of which she heard so much. What interested her were, first, Miss Ogilvy and the unexplained reasons of her bequest, and secondly, in a more acute fashion, Mademoiselle Boiset, who was pretty and sang so nicely. Miss Ogilvy, whoever she might have been, at any rate, was dead, but Juliette clearly was much alive, with her prettiness and good voice. No wonder, then, that she had not heard from G.o.dfrey. He was too occupied with the late Miss Ogilvy and the very present Mademoiselle Juliette, in whose father"s house he was living as one of the family.
Isobel"s face, however, showed none of her wonderings. She read the letter quite composedly, but with such care that afterwards she could have repeated it by heart. Then she handed it back, saying:
"Well, G.o.dfrey seems to have been fortunate."
"Yes, but why? I find no explanation of this bequest--if there is a bequest."
"No doubt there is, Mr. Knight. G.o.dfrey was always most truthful and above-board," she answered, looking at him.
Mr. Knight flinched and coloured at her words, and the steady gaze of those grey eyes. She wondered why though she was not to learn for a long while.
"I thought perhaps you could lend me some book, or books, which would enable me to find out about Miss Ogilvy. I have never heard of her before, though I think that in one of his brief communications G.o.dfrey did mention a lady who was kind to him in the train."
"Certainly, there are lots of them. "Who"s Who"--only she would not be there unless she was very rich, but you might look. Peerages; they"re no good as she was Miss Ogilvy, though, of course, she might be the daughter of a baron. "County Families," Red Books, etc. Let"s try some of them."
So they did try. Various Ogilvys there were, but none who gave them any clue. This was not strange, as both Miss Ogilvy"s parents had died in Australia, when she was young, leaving her to be brought up by an aunt of another name in England, who was also long dead.
So Mr. Knight retreated baffled. Next morning, however, a letter arrived addressed "G.o.dfrey Knight, Esq.," which after his pleasing fashion he opened promptly. It proved to be a communication from a well-known firm of lawyers, which enclosed a copy of Miss Ogilvy"s will, called special attention to the codicil affecting himself, duly executed before the British Consul and his clerk in Lucerne, gave the names of the English trustees, solicited information as to where the interest on the sum bequeathed was to be paid, and so forth.
To this inquiry Mr. Knight at once replied that the moneys might be paid to him as the father of the legatee, and was furious when all sorts of objections were raised to that course, unless every kind of guarantee were given that they would be used solely and strictly for the benefit of his son. Finally, an account had to be opened on which cheques could be drawn signed by one of the trustees and Mr. Knight.
This proviso made the latter even more indignant than before, especially as it was accompanied by an intimation that the trustees would require his son"s consent, either by letter or in a personal interview, to any arrangements as to his career, etc., which involved expenditure of the trust moneys. When a somewhat rude and lengthy letter to them to that effect was met with a curt acknowledgment of its receipt and a reference to their previous decision, Mr. Knight"s annoyance hardened into a permanent grievance against his son, whom he seemed to hold responsible for what he called an "affront" to himself.
He was a man with large ideas of paternal rights, of which an example may be given that was not without its effect upon the vital interests of others.
When Isobel returned from London, after the fancy-dress ball, at which she thought she had seen a ghost whilst sitting in the square with her young admirer who was dressed as a knight, she waited for a long while expecting to receive a letter from G.o.dfrey. As none came, although she knew from Mrs. Parsons that he had written home several times, she began to wonder as to the cause of his silence. Then an idea occurred to her.
Supposing that what she had seen was no fancy of her mind, but G.o.dfrey himself, who in some mysterious fashion had found his way into that square, perhaps in the hope of seeing her at the ball in order to say goodbye? This was possible, since she had ascertained from some casual remark by his father that he did not leave London until the following morning.
If this had happened, if he had seen her "playing the fool," as she expressed it to herself with that good-looking man in the square, what would he have thought of her? She never paused to remember that he had no right to think anything. Somehow from childhood she acknowledged in her heart that he had every right, though when she said this to herself, she did not in the least understand all that the admission conveyed. Although she bullied and maltreated him at times, yet to herself she always confessed him to be her lord and master. He was the one male creature for whom she cared in the whole world, indeed, putting her mother out of the question, she cared for no other man or woman, and would never learn to do so.
For hers was a singular and very rare instance of almost undivided affection centred on a single object. So far as his s.e.x was concerned G.o.dfrey was her all, a position of which any man might well be proud in the case of any woman, and especially of one who had many opportunities of devoting herself to others. In her example, however, she was not to be thanked, for the reason that she only followed her nature, or perhaps the dictates of that fate which inspires and rules very great love, whether it be between man and woman, between parent and child, between brother and brother, or between friend and friend. Such feelings do not arise, or grow. They simply _are_; the blossoms of a plant that has its secret roots far away in the soil of Circ.u.mstance beyond our ken, and that, mayhap, has pushed its branches through existences without number, and in the climates of many worlds.
So at least it was with Isobel, and so it had always been since she kissed the sleeping child in the old refectory of the Abbey. She was his, and in a way, however much she might doubt or mistrust, her inner sense and instinct told her that he was always hers, that so he had always been and so always would remain. With the advent of womanhood these truths came home to her with an increased force because she knew--again by instinct--that this fact of womanhood multiplied the chances of attainment to the unity which she desired, however partial that might still prove to be.
Yet she knew also that this great mutual attraction did not depend on s.e.x, though by the influence of s.e.x it might be quickened and accentuated. It was something much more deep and wide, something which she did not and perhaps never would understand. The s.e.x element was accidental, so much so that the pa.s.sage of a few earthly years would rob it of its power to attract and make it as though it had never been, but the perfect friendship between their souls was permanent and without shadow of change. She knew, oh!, she knew, although no word of it had ever been spoken between them, that theirs was the Love Eternal.
The quick perception of her woman"s mind told her these things, of which G.o.dfrey"s in its slower growth was not yet aware.
Animated by this new idea that she had really seen G.o.dfrey, and what was much worse, that G.o.dfrey had really seen her upon an occasion when she would have much preferred to remain invisible to him, she was filled with remorse, and determined to write him a letter. Like that of the young man himself to his father, its composition took her a good deal of time.
Here it is as copied from her third and final draft:--
"My dear old G.o.dfrey,--I have an idea that you were in the Square on the night of the fancy ball when I came out, and wore that horrid Plantagenet dress which, after all, did not fit. (I sent it to a jumble-sale where no one would buy it, so I gave it to Mrs.
Smilie, who has nine children, to cut into frocks for her little girls.) If you _were_ there, instead of resting before your long journey as you ought to have done, and saw me with a man in armour and a rose--and the rest, of course you will have understood that this was all part of the game. You see, we had to pretend that we were knights and ladies who, when they were not cutting throats or being carried off with their hair down, seem to have wasted their time in giving each other favours, and all that sort of bosh. (We did not know what a favour was, so we used a rose.) The truth is that the young man and his armour, especially his spurs which tore my dress, and everything about him bored me, the more so because all the while I was thinking of--well, other things--how you would get through your journey, and like those French people and the rest. So now, if you _were_ there, you won"t be cross, and if you were _not_, and don"t understand what I am saying, it isn"t worth bothering about. In any case, you had no right to--I mean, be cross. It is I who should be cross with you for poking about in a London square so late and not coming forward to say how do you do and be introduced to the knight. That is all I have to say about the business, so don"t write and ask me any questions.
"There is no news here--there never is--except that I haven"t been into that church since you left, and don"t mean to, which makes your father look at me as sourly as though he had eaten a whole hatful of crab-apples. He hates me, you know, and I rather like him for showing it, as it saves me the trouble of trying to keep up appearances. Do tell me, when you write, how to explain his ever having been _your_ father. If he still wants you to go into the Church I advise you to study the Thirty-nine Articles. I read them all through yesterday, and how anybody can swear to them in this year of grace I"m sure I don"t know. They must shut their eyes and open their mouths, like we used to do when we took powders. By the way, did you ever read anything about Buddhism?
I"ve got a book on it which I think rather fine. At any rate, it is a great idea, though I think I should find it difficult to follow "the Way."
"I am sorry to say that Mother is not well at all. She coughs a great deal now that Ess.e.x is getting so damp, and grows thinner and thinner. The doctor says she ought to go to Egypt, only Father won"t hear of it. But I won"t write about that or we should have another argument on the fourth Commandment. Good-bye, dear old boy.--Your affectionate Isobel.
"P.S.--When you write don"t tell me all about Switzerland and snow-covered mountains and blue, bottomless lakes, etc., which I can read in books. Tell me about yourself and what you are doing and thinking--especially what you are thinking.
"P.P.S.--That man in armour isn"t really good-looking; he has a squint. Also he puts scent upon his hair and can"t spell. I know because he tried to write a bit of poetry on my programme and got it all wrong."
When she had finished this somewhat laboured epistle Isobel remembered that she had forgotten to ask G.o.dfrey to write down his address.
Bethinking her that it would be known to Mrs. Parsons, she took it round to the Abbey House, proposing to add it there. As it happened Mrs. Parsons was out, so she left it with the housemaid, who promised faithfully to give it to her when she returned, with Isobel"s message as to writing the address on the sealed envelope. In order that she might not forget, the maid placed it on a table by the back door. By ill luck, however, presently through that door, came, not Mrs. Parsons, but the Rev. Mr. Knight. He saw the letter addressed to G.o.dfrey Knight, Esq., and, though he half pretended to himself that he did not, at once recognized Isobel"s large, upright hand. Taking it from the table he carried it with him into his study and there contemplated it for a while.
"That pernicious girl is communicating with G.o.dfrey," he said to himself, "which I particularly wish to prevent."
A desire came upon him to know what was in the letter, and he began to argue with himself as to his "duty"--that was the word he used. Finally he concluded that as G.o.dfrey was still so young and so open to bad influences from that quarter, this duty clearly indicated that he should read the letter before it was forwarded. In obedience to this high impulse he opened and read it, with the result that by the time it was finished there was perhaps no more angry clergyman in the British Empire. The description of himself looking as though he had eaten a hatful of crab-apples; the impious remarks about the Thirty-nine Articles; the suggestion that G.o.dfrey, instead of going to bed as he had ordered him to do that evening, was wandering about London at midnight; the boldly announced intention of the writer of not going to church--indeed, every word of it irritated him beyond bearing.