"Well," he said aloud, "I do not think that I am called upon to spend twopence-halfpenny" (for Isobel had forgotten the stamp) "in forwarding such poisonous trash to a son whom I should guard from evil. Hateful girl! At any rate she shall have no answer to this effusion."
Then he put the letter into a drawer which he locked.
As a consequence, naturally, Isobel did receive "no answer," a fact from which she drew her own conclusions. Indeed, it would not be too much to say that these seared her soul. She had written to G.o.dfrey, she had humbled herself before G.o.dfrey, and he sent her--no answer. It never occurred to her to make inquiries as to the fate of that letter, except once when she asked the housemaid whom she chanced to meet, whether she had given it to Mrs. Parsons. The girl, whose brain, or whatever represented that organ, was entirely fixed upon a young man in the village of whom she was jealous, answered, yes. Perhaps she had entirely forgotten the incident, or perhaps she considered the throwing of the letter upon a table as equivalent to delivery.
At any rate, Isobel, who thought, like most other young people, that when they once have written something, it is conveyed by a magical agency to the addressee, even if left between the leaves of a blotter, accepted the a.s.surance as conclusive. Without doubt the letter had gone and duly arrived, only G.o.dfrey did not choose to answer it, that was all. Perhaps this might be because he was still angry on account of the knight in armour--oh! how she hoped that this was the reason, but, as her cold, common sense, of which she had an unusual share, convinced her, much more probably the explanation was that he was engaged otherwise, and did not think it worth while to take the trouble to write.
Later on, it is true, she did mean to ask Mrs. Parsons whether she had forwarded the letter. But as it chanced, before she did so, that good woman burst into a flood of conversation about G.o.dfrey, saying how happy he seemed to be in his new home with such nice ladies around, who it was plain, thought so much of him, and so forth. This garrulity Isobel took as an intended hint and ceased from her contemplated queries. When some months later Mr. Knight brought her G.o.dfrey"s epistle which announced his inheritance, needless to say, everything became plain as a pikestaff to her experienced intelligence.
So it came about that two young people, who adored each other, were estranged for a considerable length of time. For Isobel wrote no more letters, and the proud and outraged G.o.dfrey would rather have died than attempt to open a correspondence--after what he had seen in that London square. It is true that in his brief epistles home, which were all addressed to his father, since Mrs. Parsons was what is called "a poor scholar," he did try in a roundabout way to learn something about Isobel, but these inquiries, for reasons of his own, his parent completely ignored. In short, she might have been dead for all that G.o.dfrey heard of her, as he believed that she was dead--to him.
Meanwhile, Isobel had other things to occupy her. Her mother, as she had said in the letter which Mr. Knight"s sense of duty compelled him to steal, became very ill with lung trouble. The doctors announced that she ought to be taken to Egypt or some other warm climate, such as Algeria, for the winter months. Sir John would hear nothing of the sort. For years past he had chosen to consider that his wife was hypochondriacal, and all the medical opinions in London would not have induced him to change that view. The fact was, as may be guessed, that it did not suit him to leave England, and that for sundry reasons which need not be detailed, he did not wish that Isobel should accompany her mother to what he called "foreign parts." In his secret heart he reflected that if Lady Jane died, well, she died, and while heaven gained a saint, earth, or at any rate, Sir John Blake, would be no loser. She had played her part in his life, there was nothing more to be made of her either as a woman as a social a.s.set. What would it matter if one more pale, uninteresting lady of t.i.tle joined the majority?
Isobel had one of her stormy interviews with Sir John upon this matter of her mother"s health.
"She ought to go abroad," she said.
"Who told you that?" asked her father.
"The doctors. I waited for them and asked them."
"Then you had no business to do so. You are an impertinent and interfering chit."
"Is it impertinent and interfering to be anxious about one"s mother"s health, even if one is a chit?" inquired Isobel, looking him straight in the eyes.
Then he broke out in his coa.r.s.e way, saying things to his daughter of which he should have been ashamed.
She waited until he ceased, red-faced, and gasping, and replied:
"Were it not for my mother, whom you abuse, although she is such an angel and has always been so kind to you, I would leave you, Father, and earn my own living, or go with my uncle Edgar to Mexico, where he is to be appointed Minister, as he and Aunt Margaret asked me to. As it is I shall stop here, though if anything happens to Mother, because you will not send her abroad, I shall go if I have to run away. Why won"t you let her go?" she added with a change of voice. "You need not come; I could look after her. If you think that Egypt or the other place is too far, you know the doctors say that perhaps Switzerland would do her good, and that is quite near."
He caught hold of this suggestion, and exclaimed, with a sneer:
"I know why you want to go to Switzerland, Miss. To run after that whipper-snapper of a parson"s son, eh? Well, you shan"t. And as for why I won"t let her go, it"s because I don"t believe those doctors, who say one minute that she should go to Egypt, which is hot, and the next to Switzerland, which is cold. Moreover, I mean you to stop in England, and not go fooling about with a lot of strange men in these foreign places. You are grown up now and out, and I have my own plans for your future, which can"t come off if you are away. We stop here till Christmas, and then go to London. There, that"s all, so have done."
At these insults, especially that which had to do with G.o.dfrey, Isobel turned perfectly scarlet and bit her lip till the blood ran. Then without another word she went away, leaving him, if the truth were known, a little frightened. Still, he would not alter his decision, partly because to do so must interfere with his plans, and he was a very obstinate man, and partly because he refused to be beaten by Isobel. This was, he felt, a trial of strength between them, and if he gave way now, she would be master. His wife"s welfare did not enter into his calculations.
So they stopped in Ess.e.x, where matters went as the doctors had foretold, only more quickly than they expected. Lady Jane"s complaint grew rapidly worse, so rapidly that soon there was no question of her going abroad. At the last moment Sir John grew frightened, as bullies are apt to do, and on receipt of an indignant letter from Lord Lynfield, now an old man, who had been informed of the facts by his grand-daughter, offered to send his wife to Egypt, or anywhere else.
Again the doctors were called in to report, and told him with brutal frankness that if their advice had been taken when it was first given, probably she would have lived for some years. As it was, it was impossible for her to travel, since the exertion might cause her death upon the journey, especially if she became seasick.
This verdict came to Isobel"s knowledge as the first had done. Indeed, in his confusion, emphasized by several gla.s.ses of port, her father blurted it out himself.
"I wonder whether you will ever be sorry," was her sole comment.
Then she sat down to watch her mother die, and to think. Could there be any good G.o.d, she wondered, if He allowed such things to happen. Poor girl! it was her first experience of the sort, and as yet she did not know what things are allowed to happen in this world in obedience to the workings of unalterable laws by whoever and for whatever purpose these may be decreed.
Being ignorant, however, and still very young and untaught of life, she could not be expected to take these large views, or to guess at the Hand of Mercy which holds the cup of human woes. She saw her mother fading away because of her father"s obstinacy and self-seeking, and it was inconceivable to her that such an unnecessary thing could be allowed by a gentle and loving Providence. Therefore, she turned her back on Providence, as many a strong soul has done before her, rejecting it for the reason that she could not understand.
Had she but guessed, this att.i.tude of hers, which could not be concealed entirely in the case of a nature so frank, was the bitterest drop in her mother"s draught of death. She, poor gentle creature, made no complaints, but only excuses for her husband"s conduct. Nor, save for Isobel"s sake did she desire to live. Her simple faith upbore her through the fears of departure, and a.s.sured her of forgiveness for all errors, and of happiness beyond in a land where there was one at least whom she wished to meet.
"I won"t try to argue with you, because I am not wise enough to understand such things," she said to Isobel, "but I wish, dearest, that you would not be so certain as to matters which are too high for us."
"I can"t help it, Mother," she answered.
Lady Jane looked at her and smiled, and then said:
"No, darling, you can"t help it now, but I am sure that a time must come when you will think differently. I say this because something tells me that it is so, and the knowledge makes me very happy. You see we must all of us go through darkness and storms in life; that is if we are worth anything, for, of course, there are people who do not feel.
Yet at the end there is light, and love, and peace, for you as well as for me, Isobel; yes, and for all of us who have tried to trust and to repent of what we have done wrong."
"As you believe it I hope that it is true; indeed, I think that it must be true, Mother dear," said Isobel with a little sob.
The subject was never discussed between them again, but although Isobel showed no outward change of att.i.tude, from that time forward till the end, her mother seemed much easier in her mind about her and her views.
"It will all come right. We shall meet again. I know it. I know it,"
were her last words.
She died quite suddenly on the 27th of December, the day upon which Sir John had announced that they were to move to London.
As a matter of fact, one of the survivors of this trio was to move much further than to London, namely, Isobel herself. It happened thus. The funeral was over; the relatives and the few friends who attended it had departed to their rooms if they were stopping in the house, or elsewhere; Isobel and her father were left alone. She confronted him, a tall, slim figure, whose thick blonde hair and pale face contrasted strikingly with her black dress. Enormous in shape, for so Sir John had grown, carmine-coloured shading to purle about the shaved chin and lips (which were also of rather a curious hue), bald-headed, bold yet shifty-eyed, also clad in black, with a band of c.r.a.pe like to that of a Victorian mute, about his shining tall hat, he leaned against the florid, marble mantelpiece, a huge obese blot upon its whiteness. They were a queer contrast, as dissimilar perhaps as two human beings well could be.
For a while there was silence between them, which he, whose nerves were not so young or strong as his daughter"s, was the first to break.
"Well, she"s dead, poor dear," he said.
"Yes," answered Isobel, her pent-up indignation bursting forth, "and you killed her."
Then he too burst forth.
"d.a.m.n you, what do you mean, you little minx?" he asked. "Why do you say I killed her, because I did what I thought the best for all of us?
No woman had a better husband, as I am sure she acknowledges in heaven to-day."
"I don"t know what Mother thinks in heaven, if there is one for her, as there ought to be. But I do know what I think on earth," remarked the burning Isobel.
"And I know what I think also," shouted her enraged parent, dashing the new, c.r.a.pe-covered hat on to the table in front of him, "and it is that the further you and I are apart from each other, the better we are likely to get on."
"I agree with you, Father."
"Look here, Isobel, you said that your uncle Edgar, who has been appointed Minister to Mexico, offered to take you with him to be a companion to his daughter, your cousin Emily. Well, you can go if you like. I"ll pay the shot and shut up this house for a while. I"m sick of the cursed place, and can get to Harwich just as well from London.
Write and make the arrangements, for one year, no more. By that time your temper may have improved," he added with an ugly sneer.
"Thank you, Father, I will."
He stared at her for a little while. She met his gaze unflinchingly, and in the end it was not her eyes that dropped. Then with a smothered exclamation he stamped out of the room, kicking Isobel"s little terrier out of the path with his elephantine foot. The poor beast, of which she was very fond, limped to her whining, for it was much hurt. She took it in her arms and kissed it, weeping tears of wrath and pity.
"I wonder what G.o.dfrey would say about the fifth Commandment if he had been here this afternoon, you poor thing," she whispered to the whimpering dog, which was licking its hanging leg. "There is no G.o.d. If there had been He would not have given me such a father, or my mother such a husband."
Then still carrying the injured terrier, she went out and glided through the darkness to her mother"s grave in the neighbouring churchyard. The s.e.xtons had done their work, and the raw, brown earth of the grave, mixed with bits of decayed coffins and fragments of perished human bones, was covered with hot-house flowers. Among these lay a gorgeous wreath of white and purple orchids, to which was tied a card whereon was written: "To my darling wife, from her bereaved husband, John Blake."