"That white head, Master Beck, is Floorer the G.o.ddess; but a heathen like you knows nothing about G.o.ddesses. Floorer has a half-moon in her hair, you see, which shows that the idolatrous Turks wors.h.i.+p her; for the Turkish flag is a half-moon, as I have seen at Constantinople. I have travelled, Beck."
"And vot room be it? Is it the master"s?" persisted Beck.
"No, the pretty young lady, Miss Mainwaring, has it at present. There is nothing to see in it. But that one opposite," and the valet advanced to the door through which Madame Dalibard had disappeared,--"that is curious; and as Madame is out, we may just take a peep." He opened the door gently, and Beck looked in. "This, which is called the turret-chamber, was Madame"s when she was a girl, I have heard old Bessy say; so Master pops her there now. For my part, I"d rather sleep in your little crib than have those great gruff-looking figures staring at me by the firelight, and shaking their heads with every wind on a winter"s night." And the valet took a pinch of snuff as he drew Beck"s attention to the faded tapestry on the walls. As they spoke, the draught between the door and the window caused the gloomy arras to wave with a life-like motion; and to those more superst.i.tious than romantic, the chamber had certainly no inviting aspect.
"I never sees these old tapestry rooms," said the valet, "without thinking of the story of the lady who, coming from a ball and taking off her jewels, happened to look up, and saw an eye in one of the figures which she felt sure was no peeper in worsted."
"Vot vos it, then?" asked Beck, timidly lifting up the hangings, and noticing that there was a considerable s.p.a.ce between them and the wall, which was filled up in part by closets and wardrobes set into the walls, with intervals more than deep enough for the hiding-place of a man.
"Why," answered the valet, "it was a thief. He had come for the jewels; but the lady had the presence of mind to say aloud, as if to herself, that she had forgotten something, slipped out of the room, locked the door, called up the servants, and the thief--who was no less a person than the under-butler--was nabbed."
"And the French "oman sleeps "ere?" said Beck, musingly.
"French "oman! Master Beck, nothing"s so vulgar as these nicknames in a first-rate situation. It is all very well when one lives with skinflints, but with such a master as our"n, respect"s the go. Besides, Madame is not a French "oman; she is one of the family,--and as old a family it is, too, as e"er a lord"s in the three kingdoms. But come, your curiosity is satisfied now, and you must trot back to your horses."
As Beck returned to the stables, his mind yet more misgave him as to the criminal designs of his master"s visitor. It was from Helen"s room that the false cripple had walked, and the ill health of the poor young lady was a general subject of compa.s.sionate comment. But Madame Dalibard was Helen"s relation: from what motive could she harbour an evil thought against her own niece? But still, if those drops were poured into the healing draught for good, why so secretly? Once more he revolved the idea of speaking to St. John: an accident dissuaded him from this intention,--the only proof to back his tale was the mysterious phial he had carried away; but unluckily, forgetting that it was in his pocket, at a time when he flung off his coat to groom one of the horses, the bottle struck against the corn-bin and broke; all the contents were spilt. This incident made him suspend his intention, and wait till he could obtain some fresh evidence of evil intentions. The day pa.s.sed without any other noticeable occurrence. The doctor called, found Helen somewhat better, and ascribed it to his medicines, especially to the effect of his tonic draught the first thing in the morning. Helen smiled. "Nay, Doctor," said she, "this morning, at least, it was forgotten. I did not find it by my bedside. Don"t tell my aunt; she would be so angry." The doctor looked rather discomposed.
"Well," said he, soon recovering his good humour, "since you are certainly better to-day without the draught, discontinue it also to-morrow. I will make an alteration for the day after." So that night Madame Dalibard visited in vain her niece"s chamber: Helen had a reprieve.
CHAPTER XXIII. THE SHADES ON THE DIAL
The following morning was indeed eventful to the family at Laughton; and as if conscious of what it brought forth, it rose dreary and sunless.
One heavy mist covered all the landscape, and a raw, drizzling rain fell pattering through the yellow leaves.
Madame Dalibard, pleading her infirmities, rarely left her room before noon, and Varney professed himself very irregular in his hours of rising; the breakfast, therefore, afforded no social a.s.sembly to the family, but each took that meal in the solitude of his or her own chamber. Percival, in whom all habits partook of the healthfulness and simplicity of his character, rose habitually early, and that day, in spite of the weather, walked forth betimes to meet the person charged with the letters from the post. He had done so for the last three or four days, impatient to hear from his mother, and calculating that it was full time to receive the expected answer to his confession and his prayer. He met the messenger at the bottom of the park, not far from Guy"s Oak. This day he was not disappointed. The letter-bag contained three letters for himself,--two with the foreign postmark, the third in Ardworth"s hand. It contained also a letter for Madame Dalibard, and two for Varney.
Leaving the messenger to take these last to the Hall, Percival, with his own prizes, plunged into the hollow of the glen before him, and, seating himself at the foot of Guy"s Oak, through the vast branches of which the rain scarcely came, and only in single, mournful drops, he opened first the letter in his mother"s hand, and read as follows:--
MY DEAR, DEAR SON,--How can I express to you the alarm your letter has given to me! So these, then, are the new relations you have discovered!
I fondly imagined that you were alluding to some of my own family, and conjecturing who, amongst my many cousins, could have so captivated your attention. These the new relations,--Lucretia Dalibard, Helen Mainwaring! Percival, do you not know ---- No, you cannot know that Helen Mainwaring is the daughter of a disgraced man, of one who (more than suspected of fraud in the bank in which he was a partner) left his country, condemned even by his own father. If you doubt this, you have but to inquire at ----, not ten miles from Laughton, where the elder Mainwaring resided. Ask there what became of William Mainwaring. And Lucretia, you do not know that the dying prayer of her uncle, Sir Miles St. John, was that she might never enter the house he bequeathed to your father. Not till after my poor Charles"s death did I know the exact cause for Sir Miles"s displeasure, though confident it was just; but then amongst his papers I found the ungrateful letter which betrayed thoughts so dark and pa.s.sions so unwomanly that I blushed for my s.e.x to read it. Could it be possible that that poor old man"s prayers were unheeded, that that treacherous step could ever cross your threshold, that that cruel eye, which read with such barbarous joy the ravages of death on a benefactor"s face, could rest on the hearth by which your frank, truthful countenance has so often smiled away my tears, I should feel indeed as if a thunder-cloud hung over the roof. No, if you marry the niece, the aunt must be banished from your house. Good heavens! and it is the daughter of William Mainwaring, the niece and ward of Lucretia Dalibard, to whom you have given your faithful affection, whom you single from the world as your wife! Oh, my son,--my beloved, my sole surviving child,--do not think that I blame you, that my heart does not bleed while I write thus; but I implore you on my knees to pause at least, to suspend this intercourse till I myself can reach England. And what then? Why, then, Percival, I promise, on my part, that I will see your Helen with unprejudiced eyes, that I will put away from me, as far as possible, all visions of disappointed pride,--the remembrance of faults not her own,--and if she be as you say and think, I will take her to my heart and call her "Daughter." Are you satisfied? If so, come to me,--come at once, and take comfort from your mother"s lip. How I long to be with you while you read this; how I tremble at the pain I so rudely give you! But my poor sister still chains me here, I dare not leave her, lest I should lose her last sigh. Come then, come; we will console each other.
Your fond (how fond!) and sorrowing mother,
MARY ST. JOHN. SORRENTO, October 3, 1831.
P.S.--You see by this address that we have left Pisa for this place, recommended by our physician; hence an unhappy delay of some days in my reply. Ah, Percival, how sleepless will be my pillow till I hear from you!
Long, very long, was it before St. John, mute and overwhelmed with the sudden shock of his anguish, opened his other letters. The first was from Captain Greville.
What trap have you fallen into, foolish boy? That you would get into some silly sc.r.a.pe or another, was natural enough. But a sc.r.a.pe for life, sir,--that is serious! But--G.o.d bless you for your candour, my Percival; you have written to us in time--you are old-fas.h.i.+oned enough to think that a mother"s consent is necessary to a young man"s union; and you have left it in our power to save you yet. It is not every boyish fancy that proves to be true love. But enough of this preaching; I shall do better than write scolding letters,--I shall come and scold you in person. My servant is at this very moment packing my portmanteau, the laquais-de-place is gone to Naples for my pa.s.sport. Almost as soon as you receive this I shall be with you; and if I am a day or two later than the mail, be patient: do not commit yourself further. Break your heart if you please, but don"t implicate your honour. I shall come at once to Curzon Street. Adieu! H. GREVILLE.
Ardworth"s letter was shorter than the others,--fortunately so, for otherwise it had been unread:--
If I do not come to you myself the day after you receive this, dear Percival,--which, indeed, is most probable,--I shall send you my proxy, in one whom, for my sake, I know that you will kindly welcome. He will undertake my task, and clear up all the mysteries with which, I trust, my correspondence has thoroughly bewildered your lively imagination.
Yours ever, JOHN ARDWORTH. GRAY"S INN.
Little indeed did Percival"s imagination busy itself with the mysteries of Ardworth"s correspondence. His mind scarcely took in the sense of the words over which his eye mechanically wandered.
And the letter which narrated the visit of Madame Dalibard to the house thus solemnly interdicted to her step was on its way to his mother,--nay, by this time would almost have reached her! Greville was on the road,--nay, as his tutor"s letter had been forwarded from London, might perhaps be in Curzon Street that day. How desirable to see him before he could reach Laughton, to prepare him for Madame Dalibard"s visit, for Helen"s illness, explain the position in which he was involved, and conciliate the old soldier"s rough, kind heart to his love and his distress.
He did not dread the meeting with Greville,--he yearned for it. He needed an adviser, a confidant, a friend. To dismiss abruptly his guests from his house,--impossible; to abandon Helen because of her father"s crime or her aunt"s fault (whatever that last might be, and no clear detail of it was given),--that never entered his thoughts! Pure and unsullied, the starry face of Helen shone the holier for the cloud around it. An inexpressible and chivalrous compa.s.sion mingled with his love and confirmed his faith. She, poor child, to suffer for the deeds of others,--no. What availed his power as man, and dignity as gentleman, if they could not wrap in their own shelter the one by whom such shelter was now doubly needed? Thus, amidst all his emotions, firm and resolved at least on one point, and beginning already to recover the hope of his sanguine nature, from his reliance on his mother"s love, on the promises that softened her disclosures and warnings, and on his conviction that Helen had only to be seen for every scruple to give way, Percival wandered back towards the house, and coming abruptly on the terrace, he encountered Varney, who was leaning motionless against the bal.u.s.trades, with an open letter in his hand. Varney was deadly pale, and there was the trace of some recent and gloomy agitation in the relaxed muscles of his cheeks, usually so firmly rounded. But Percival did not heed his appearance as he took him gravely by the arm, and leading him into the garden, said, after a painful pause,--
"Varney, I am about to ask you two questions, which your close connection with Madame Dalibard may enable you to answer, but in which, from obvious motives, I must demand the strictest confidence. You will not hint to her or to Helen what I am about to say?"
Varney stared uneasily on Percival"s serious countenance, and gave the promise required.
"First, then, for what offence was Madame Dalibard expelled her uncle"s house,--this house of Laughton?
"Secondly, what is the crime with which Mr. Mainwaring, Helen"s father, is charged?"
"With regard to the first," said Varney, recovering his composure, "I thought I had already told you that Sir Miles was a proud man, and that in consequence of discovering a girlish flirtation between his niece Lucretia (now Madame Dalibard) and Mainwaring, who afterwards jilted her for Helen"s mother, he altered his will; "expelled her his house" is too harsh a phrase. This is all I know. With regard to the second question, no crime was ever brought home to William Mainwaring; he was suspected of dealing improperly with the funds of the bank, and he repaid the alleged deficit by the sacrifice of all he possessed."
"This is the truth?" exclaimed Percival, joyfully.
"The plain truth, I believe; but why these questions at this moment? Ah, you too, I see, have had letters,--I understand. Lady Mary gives these reasons for withholding her consent."
"Her consent is not withheld," answered Percival; "but shall I own it?
Remember, I have your promise not to wound and offend Madame Dalibard by the disclosure: my mother does refer to the subjects I have alluded to, and Captain Greville, my old friend and tutor, is on his way to England; perhaps to-morrow he may arrive at Laughton."
"Ha!" said Varney, startled, "to-morrow! And what sort of a man is this Captain Greville?"
"The best man possible for such a case as mine,--kind-hearted, yet cool, sagacious; the finest observer, the quickest judge of character,--nothing escapes him. Oh, one interview will suffice to show him all Helen"s innocent and matchless excellence."
"To-morrow! this man comes to-morrow!"
"All that I fear is,--for he is rather rough and blunt in his manner,--all that I fear is his first surprise, and, dare I say displeasure, at seeing this poor Madame Dalibard, whose faults, I fear, were graver than you suppose, at the house from which her uncle--to whom, indeed, I owe this inheritance--"
"I see, I see!" interrupted Varney, quickly. "And Madame Dalibard is the most susceptible of women,--so well-born and so poor, so gifted and so helpless; it is natural. Can you not write, and put off this Captain Greville for a few days,--until, indeed, I can find some excuse for terminating our visit?"
"But my letter may be hardly in time to reach him; he may be in town to-day."
"Go then to town at once; you can be back late at night, or at least to-morrow. Anything better than wounding the pride of a woman on whom, after all, you must depend for free and open intercourse with Helen."
"That is exactly what I thought of; but what excuse--"
"Excuse,--a thousand! Every man coming of age into such a property has business with his lawyers. Or why not say simply that you want to meet a friend of yours who has just left your mother in Italy? In short, any excuse suffices, and none can be offensive."
"I will order my carriage instantly."
"Right!" exclaimed Varney; and his eye followed the receding form of Percival with a mixture of fierce exultation and anxious fear. Then, turning towards the window of the turret-chamber in which Madame Dalibard reposed, and seeing it still closed, he muttered an impatient oath; but even while he did so, the shutters were slowly opened, and a footman, stepping from the porch, approached Varney with a message that Madame Dalibard would see him in five minutes, if he would then have the goodness to ascend to her room.
Before that time was well expired, Varney was in the chamber. Madame Dalibard was up and in her chair; and the unwonted joy which her countenance evinced was in strong contrast with the sombre shade upon her son-in-law"s brow, and the nervous quiver of his lip.
"Gabriel," she said, as he drew near to her, "my son is found!"