But let me not conceal the truth. In the uncertain future that lies before us, I have no one to depend on but myself. Penrose is no longer to be trusted; and the exertions of the agent to whom I committed my inquiries are exertions that have failed.
I will dispose of the case of Penrose first.
The zeal with which this young man has undertaken the work of conversion intrusted to him has, I regret to say, not been fired by devotion to the interests of the Church, but by a dog-like affection for Romayne.
Without waiting for my permission, Penrose has revealed himself in his true character as a priest. And, more than this, he has not only refused to observe the proceedings of Romayne and Miss Eyrecourt--he has deliberately closed his ears to the confidence which Romayne wished to repose in him, on the ground that I might have ordered him to repeat that confidence to me.
To what use can we put this poor fellow"s ungovernable sense of honor and grat.i.tude? Under present circ.u.mstances, he is clearly of little use to us. I have therefore given him time to think. That is to say, I have not opposed his leaving London, to a.s.sist in the spiritual care of a country district. It will be a question for the future, whether we may not turn his enthusiasm to good account in a foreign mission. However, as it is always possible that his influence may still be of use to us, I venture to suggest keeping him within our reach until Romayne"s conversion has actually taken place. Don"t suppose that the present separation between them is final; I will answer for their meeting again.
I may now proceed to the failure of my agent, and to the course of action that I have adopted in consequence.
The investigations appear to have definitely broken down at the seaside village of Clovelly, in the neighborhood of Mr. Winterfield"s country seat. Knowing that I could depend upon the information which a.s.sociated this gentleman with Miss Eyrecourt, under compromising circ.u.mstances of some sort, I decided on seeing Mr. Winterfield, and judging for myself.
The agent"s report informed me that the person who had finally baffled his inquiries was an aged Catholic priest, long resident at Clovelly.
His name is Newbliss, and he is much respected among the Catholic gentry in that part of Devonshire. After due consideration, I obtained a letter of introduction to my reverend colleague, and traveled to Clovelly--telling my friends here that I was taking a little holiday, in the interests of my health.
I found Father Newbliss a venerable and reticent son of the Church--with one weak point, however, to work on, which was entirely beyond the reach of the otherwise astute person charged with my inquiries. My reverend friend is a scholar, and is inordinately proud of his learning. I am a scholar too. In that capacity I first found my way to his sympathies, and then gently encouraged his pride. The result will appear in certain discoveries, which I number as follows:
1. The events which connect Mr. Winterfield with Miss Eyrecourt happened about two years since, and had their beginning at Beaupark House.
2. At this period, Miss Eyrecourt and her mother were staying at Beaupark House. The general impression in the neighborhood was that Mr.
Winterfield and Miss Eyrecourt were engaged to be married.
3. Not long afterward, Miss Eyrecourt and her mother surprised the neighborhood by suddenly leaving Beaupark House. Their destination was supposed to be London.
4. Mr. Winterfield himself next left his country seat for the Continent.
His exact destination was not mentioned to any one. The steward, soon afterward, dismissed all the servants, and the house was left empty for more than a year.
5. At the end of that time Mr. Winterfield returned alone to Beaupark House, and told n.o.body how, or where, he had pa.s.sed the long interval of his absence.
6. Mr. Winterfield remains, to the present day, an unmarried man.
Having arrived at these preliminary discoveries, it was time to try what I could make of Mr. Winterfield next.
Among the other good things which this gentleman has inherited is a magnificent library collected by his father. That one learned man should take another learned man to see the books was a perfectly natural proceeding. My introduction to the master of the house followed my introduction to the library almost as a matter of course.
I am about to surprise you, as I was myself surprised. In all my long experience, Mr. Winterfield is, I think, the most fascinating person I ever met with. Genial, una.s.suming manners, a prepossessing personal appearance, a sweet temper, a quaint humor delightfully accompanied by natural refinement--such are the characteristic qualities of the man from whom I myself saw Miss Eyrecourt (accidentally meeting him in public) recoil with dismay and disgust! It is absolutely impossible to look at him, and to believe him to be capable of a cruel or dishonorable action. I never was so puzzled in my life.
You may be inclined to think that I am misled by a false impression, derived from the gratifying welcome that I received as a friend of Father Newbliss. I will not appeal to my knowledge of human nature--I will refer to the unanswerable evidence of Mr. Winterfield"s poorer neighbors. Wherever I went, in the village or out of it, if I mentioned his name, I produced a universal outburst of admiration and grat.i.tude.
"There never was such a friend to poor people, and there never can be such another to the end of the world." Such was a fisherman"s description of him; and the one cry of all the men and women near us answered, "That"s the truth!"
And yet there is something wrong--for this plain reason, that there is something to be concealed in the past lives of Mr. Winterfield and Miss Eyrecourt.
Under these perplexing circ.u.mstances, what use have I made of my opportunities? I am going to surprise you again--I have mentioned Romayne"s name to Mr. Winterfield; and I have ascertained that they are, so far, perfect strangers to one another--and that is all.
The little incident of mentioning Romayne arose out of my examination of the library. I discovered certain old volumes, which may one day be of use to him, if he continues his contemplated work on the Origin of Religions. Hearing me express myself to this effect, Mr. Winterfield replied with the readiest kindness:
"I can"t compare myself to my excellent father," he said; "but I have at least inherited his respect for the writers of books. My library is a treasure which I hold in trust for the interests of literature. Pray say so, from me, to your friend Mr. Romayne."
And what does this amount to?--you will ask. My reverend friend, it offers me an opportunity, in the future, of bringing Romayne and Winterfield together. Do you see the complications which may ensue? If I can put no other difficulty in Miss Eyrecourt"s way, I think there is fruitful promise of a scandal of some kind arising out of the introduction to each other of those two men. You will agree with me that a scandal may prove a valuable obstacle in the way of a marriage.
Mr. Winterfield has kindly invited me to call on him when he is next in London. I may then have opportunities of putting questions which I could not venture to ask on a short acquaintance.
In the meantime, I have obtained another introduction since my return to town. I have been presented to Miss Eyrecourt"s mother, and I am invited to drink tea with her on Wednesday. My next letter may tell you--what Penrose ought to have discovered--whether Romayne has been already entrapped into a marriage engagement or not.
Farewell for the present. Remind the Reverend Fathers, with my respects, that I possess one of the valuable qualities of an Englishman--I never know when I am beaten.
BOOK THE THIRD.
CHAPTER I.
THE HONEYMOON.
MORE than six weeks had pa.s.sed. The wedded lovers were still enjoying their honeymoon at Vange Abbey.
Some offense had been given, not only to Mrs. Eyrecourt, but to friends of her way of thinking, by the strictly private manner in which the marriage had been celebrated. The event took everybody by surprise when the customary advertis.e.m.e.nt appeared in the newspapers. Foreseeing the unfavorable impression that might be produced in some quarters, Stella had pleaded for a timely retreat to the seclusion of Romayne"s country house. The will of the bride being, as usual, the bridegroom"s law, to Vange they retired accordingly.
On one lovely moonlight night, early in July, Mrs. Romayne left her husband on the Belvidere, described in Major Hynd"s narrative, to give the housekeeper certain instructions relating to the affairs of the household. Half an hour later, as she was about to ascend again to the top of the house, one of the servants informed her that "the master had just left the Belvidere, and had gone into his study."
Crossing the inner hall, on her way to the study, Stella noticed an unopened letter, addressed to Romayne, lying on a table in a corner. He had probably laid it aside and forgotten it. She entered his room with the letter in her hand.
The only light was a reading lamp, with the shade so lowered that the corners of the study were left in obscurity. In one of these corners Romayne was dimly visible, sitting with his head sunk on his breast. He never moved when Stella opened the door. At first she thought he might be asleep.
"Do I disturb you, Lewis?" she asked softly.
"No, my dear."
There was a change in the tone of his voice, which his wife"s quick ear detected. "I am afraid you are not well," she said anxiously.
"I am a little tired after our long ride to-day. Do you want to go back to the Belvidere?"
"Not without you. Shall I leave you to rest here?"
He seemed not to hear the question. There he sat, with his head hanging down, the shadowy counterfeit of an old man. In her anxiety, Stella approached him, and put her hand caressingly on his head. It was burning hot. "O!" she cried, "you _are_ ill, and you are trying to hide it from me."
He put his arm round her waist and made her sit on his knee. "Nothing is the matter with me," he said, with an uneasy laugh. "What have you got in your hand? A letter?"
"Yes. Addressed to you and not opened yet." He took it out of her hand, and threw it carelessly on a sofa near him. "Never mind that now! Let us talk." He paused, and kissed her, before he went on. "My darling, I think you must be getting tired of Vange?"
"Oh, no! I can be happy anywhere with you--and especially at Vange.
You don"t how this n.o.ble old house interests me, and how I admire the glorious country all round it."