"Brutal!" shouted Lord Hampstead.
"I shan"t stir till I"ve seen the Marquis himself. It"s out of the question that he should turn me out in this way. How am I to live upon 200 a year? I always understood that I was to have Appleslocombe."
"No such promise was ever made to you," said Lord Hampstead, very angrily. "No hint of such a thing has ever been made except by yourself."
"I always understood it," said Mr. Greenwood. "And I shall not leave this till I"ve had an opportunity of discussing the matter with the Marquis himself. I don"t think the Marquis would ever have treated me in this way,--only for you, Lord Hampstead."
This was intolerable. What was he to do with the abominable man?
It would be very disagreeable, the task of turning him out while the Marquis was still so ill, and yet it was not to be endured that such a man should be allowed to hold his position in the house in opposition to the will of the owner. It was, he felt, beneath him to defend himself against the charge made--or even to defend his father.
"If you will not name a day, I must," said the young lord. The man remained immovable on his seat except that he continued to rub his hands. "As I can get no answer I shall have to instruct Mr. Roberts that you cannot be allowed to remain here after the last day of the month. If you have any feeling left to you you will not impose upon us so unpleasant a duty while my father is ill." With this he left the room, while Mr. Greenwood was still standing and rubbing his hands.
Two hundred pounds a year! He had better go and take it. He was quite aware of that. But how was he to live upon 200,--he who had been bedded and boarded all his life at the expense of another man, and had also spent 300? But at the moment this was not the thought uppermost in his mind. Would it not have been better that he should have carried out that project of his? Only that he had been merciful, this young lord would not have been able to scorn him and ill-treat him as he had done. There were no phantoms now. Now he thought that he could have carried his share of the corpse into the house without flinching.
CHAPTER XV.
"THAT WOULD BE DISAGREEABLE."
Things at Trafford on that day and on the next were very uncomfortable. No house could possibly be more so. There were four persons who, in the natural course of things, would have lived together, not one of whom would sit down to table with any other.
The condition of the Marquis, of course, made it impossible that he should do so. He was confined to his room, in which he would not admit Mr. Greenwood to come near him, and where his wife"s short visits did not seem to give him much satisfaction. Even with his son he was hardly at his ease, seeming to prefer the society of the nurse, with occasional visits from the doctor and Mr. Roberts. The Marchioness confined herself to her own room, in which it was her intention to prevent the inroads of Mr. Greenwood as far as it might be possible. That she should be able to exclude him altogether was more than she could hope, but much, she thought, could be done by the dint of headaches, and by a resolution never to take her food down-stairs. Lord Hampstead had declared his purpose to Harris, as well as to his father, never again to sit down to table with Mr.
Greenwood. "Where does he dine?" he asked the butler. "Generally in the family dining-room, my lord," said Harris. "Then give me my dinner in the breakfast parlour." "Yes, my lord," said the butler, who at once resolved to regard Mr. Greenwood as an enemy of the family. In this manner Mr. Greenwood gave no trouble, as he had his meat sent to him in his own sitting-room. But all this made the house very uncomfortable.
In the afternoon Mr. Roberts came over from Shrewsbury, and saw Lord Hampstead. "I knew he would make himself disagreeable, my lord," said Mr. Roberts.
"How did you know it?"
"Things creep out. He had made himself disagreeable to his lordship for some months past; and then we heard that he was talking of Appleslocombe as though he were certain to be sent there."
"My father never thought of it."
"I didn"t think he did. Mr. Greenwood is the idlest human being that ever lived, and how could he have performed the duties of a parish?"
"He asked my father once, and my father flatly refused him."
"Perhaps her ladyship--," suggested Mr. Roberts, with some hesitation.
"At any rate he is not to have Appleslocombe, and he must be made to go. How is it to be done?" Mr. Roberts raised his eyebrows. "I suppose there must be some means of turning an objectionable resident out of a house."
"The police, of course, could carry him out--with a magistrate"s order. He would have to be treated like any other vagrant."
"That would be disagreeable."
"Very disagreeable, my lord," said Mr. Roberts. "My lord should be saved from that if possible."
"How if we gave him nothing to eat?" said Lord Hampstead.
"That would be possible; but it would be troublesome. What if he resolved to remain and be starved? It would be seeing which would hold out the longer. I don"t think my lord would have the heart to keep him twenty-four hours without food. We must try and save my lord from what is disagreeable as much as we can." Lord Hampstead was in accord as to this, but did not quite see his way how to effect it.
There were still, however, more than three weeks to run before the day fixed for the chaplain"s exit, and Mr. Roberts suggested that it might in that time be fully brought home to the man that his 200 a year would depend on his going. "Perhaps you"d better leave him to me, my lord," said Mr. Roberts; "and I shall deal with him better when you"re not here."
When the time came for afternoon tea Mr. Greenwood, perceiving that no invitation came to him from the Marchioness, sent a note up to her asking for the favour of an interview. "He had a few words to say, and would be much obliged to her if she would allow him to come to her." On receiving this she pondered for some time before she could make up her mind as to what answer she should give. She would have been most anxious to do as she had already heard that Lord Hampstead had done, and decline to meet him at all. She could not a.n.a.lyze her own feelings about the man, but had come during the last few days to hold him in horror. It was as though something of the spirit of the murderer had shown itself to her in her eyes. She had talked glibly, wickedly, horribly of the death of the man who had seemed to stand in her way. She had certainly wished for it. She had taught herself to think, by some ultra-feminine lack of logic, that she had really been injured in that her own eldest boy had not been born heir to his father"s t.i.tles. She had found it necessary to have some recipient for her griefs. Her own sister, Lady Persiflage, had given her no comfort, and then she had sought for and had received encouragement from her husband"s chaplain. But in talking of Lord Hampstead"s death she had formed no plan. She had only declared in strong language that if, by the hand of Providence, such a thing should be done, it would be to her a happy chance. She had spoken out where another more prudent than she would perhaps only have wished. But this man had taken up her words with an apparently serious purpose which had frightened her; and then, as though he had been the recipient of some guilty secret, he had laid aside the respect which had been usual to him, and had a.s.sumed a familiarity of co-partnership which had annoyed and perplexed her. She did not quite understand it all, but was conscious of a strong desire to be rid of him. But she did not dare quite as yet to let him know that such was her purpose, and she therefore sent her maid down to him with a message. "Mr. Greenwood wants to see me," she said to the woman. "Will you tell him with my compliments that I am not very well, and that I must beg him not to stay long."
"Lord Hampstead has been a" quarrelling with Mr. Greenwood, my lady,--this very morning," said the maid.
"Quarrelling, Walker?"
"Yes, my lady. There has been ever so much about it. My lord says as he won"t sit down to dinner with Mr. Greenwood on no account, and Mr.
Roberts has been here, all about it. He"s to be turned away."
"Who is to be turned away?"
"Mr. Greenwood, my lady. Lord Hampstead has been about it all the morning. It"s for that my lord the Marquis has sent for him, and n.o.body"s to speak to him till he"s packed up everything, and taken himself right away out of the house."
"Who has told you all that, Walker?" Walker, however, would not betray her informant. She answered that it was being talked of by everybody down-stairs, and she repeated it now only because she thought it proper that "my lady" should be informed of what was going on. "My lady" was not sorry to have received the information even from her maid, as it might a.s.sist her in her conversation with the chaplain.
On this occasion Mr. Greenwood sat down without being asked. "I am sorry to hear that you are so unwell, Lady Kingsbury."
"I have got one of my usual headaches;--only it"s rather worse than usual."
"I have something to say which I am sure you will not be surprised that I should wish to tell you. I have been grossly insulted by Lord Hampstead."
"What can I do?"
"Well;--something ought to be done."
"I cannot make myself answerable for Lord Hampstead, Mr. Greenwood."
"No; of course not. He is a young man for whom no one would make himself answerable. He is head-strong, violent, and most uncourteous.
He has told me very rudely that I must leave the house by the end of the month."
"I suppose the Marquis had told him."
"I don"t believe it. Of course the Marquis is ill, and I could bear much from him. But I won"t put up with it from Lord Hampstead."
"What can I do?"
"Well;--after what has pa.s.sed between us, Lady Kingsbury,--" He paused, and looked at her as he made this appeal. She compressed her lips and collected herself, and prepared for the fight which she felt was coming. He saw it all, and prepared himself also. "After what has pa.s.sed between us, Lady Kingsbury," he said, repeating his words, "I think you ought to be on my side."
"I don"t think anything of the kind. I don"t know what you mean about sides. If the Marquis says you"re to go, I can"t keep you."
"I"ll tell you what I"ve done, Lady Kingsbury. I have refused to stir out of this house till I"ve been allowed to discuss the matter with his lordship; and I think you ought to give me your countenance. I"m sure I"ve always been true to you. When you have unburdened your troubles to my ears I have always been sympathetic. When you have told me what a trouble this young man has been to you, have not I always,--always,--always taken your part against him?" He almost longed to tell her that he had formed a plan for ridding her altogether of the obnoxious young man; but he could not find the words in which to do this. "Of course I have felt that I might depend upon you for a.s.sistance and countenance in this house."
"Mr. Greenwood," she said, "I really cannot talk to you about these things. My head is aching very badly, and I must ask you to go."
"And that is to be all?"
"Don"t you hear me tell you that I cannot interfere?" Still he kept that horrid position of his upon the chair, staring at her with his large, open, l.u.s.treless eyes. "Mr. Greenwood, I must ask you to leave me. As a gentleman you must comply with my request."