"No, I"m not. I am speaking of Miss Salome Levison. She is not the d.u.c.h.ess of Hereward. I don"t know but one d.u.c.h.ess of Hereward, and _her you are ashamed to own_," spitefully added Mrs. Brown.
"You are a woman, aged and insane, and therefore ent.i.tled to our utmost indulgence," said the duke, putting the strongest control upon himself.
"But tell me now, what was your business with the Lady of Lone, upon whom you called at Elmthorpe House on Tuesday afternoon?"
"I went from your true wife, whom you had betrayed into prison, to your false wife, to let her know what you were, and to tell her that there was but one step between herself and ruin!"
"Good Heaven! you did that!" exclaimed the duke, utterly thrown off his guard.
"Yes, I did! And I showed the young lady your real wife"s marriage lines, all regularly signed and witnessed by the rector of St. Margaret"s and the s.e.xton, and the pew-opener! I did! And there were letters in your own handwriting, and photographs, the very print of you, which I took along with the marriage lines, to prove my words when I told her that you had been married for over a year, and had lived in my house with your wife all that time!"
"Heaven may forgive you for that great wrong, woman; but I never can!
And--the lady believed you?"
"Of course she did! How could she help it, when she saw all the proofs?
It almost killed her. Indeed, and I think it _did_ quite craze her!
But she saw her duty, and she had the courage to do it! She knew as she ought to leave you, before the false marriage could go any further. So she left you. I do really respect her for it!"
"In the name of Heaven, _where_ did she go? Tell me that! Tell me where to find her, and I may be able to pardon the great wrong you have done us under some insane error," said the husband of the lost wife, striving to control his indignation.
"Indeed, then," exclaimed Mrs. Brown, defiantly, "I am not asking any pardon at all from you, Mr. Scott. It ain"t likely as I"ll want pardon from Heaven for doing my duty, much less from _you_, Mr. John Scott.
Oh, yes! I know you are called the Duke of Hereward; and no doubt you are the Duke of Hereward; but I knew you as Mr. John Scott, and n.o.body else; and I knew a deal too much of you as _him_. But as to wanting your pardon--that"s a good one!"
"Will you be good enough to tell me where my wife, the d.u.c.h.ess of Hereward, has gone?" demanded the duke, putting a strong curb upon his anger.
"_You_ know where _she_ is well enough. _She_ is in the _trap_ you set for her!" spitefully answered the woman.
In truth, the duke needed all his powers of self-control to enable him to reply calmly:
"I ask you to tell me where is the Lady of Lone, to whom you went on Tuesday afternoon, with a story which has driven her from her home, and driven her, perhaps, to madness, or to death. I charge you to tell me, where is she?"
"Ah! where is Miss Salome Levison, the heiress of Lone, you ask! Exactly!
That is what you would give a great deal to know, wouldn"t you! You want to follow and join her, and live with her abroad, because you have got a wife living in England. You"re a n.o.ble duke, so you are! Well, if _this_ is what the n.o.bility are a coming to, the sooner them Republicans have it all their own way the better, I say!" exclaimed Mrs.
Brown, throwing herself back in her chair and folding her arms.
Detective Setter here joined the Duke of Hereward, and deferentially drew him away to the other end of the room, and whispered:
"I beg your grace not to remain here, subjected to the insolence of this mad woman, whose every second word is treason or blasphemy, or worse, if anything can be worse. Leave me to deal with her. A very little more, and I shall arrest her on the grave charge of conspiracy."
"No, Setter, do nothing of the sort. Use no violence; utter no threats.
_Now_, if ever--here, if anywhere--is a crisis, at which we must be not only "wise as serpents, but _harmless_ as doves," if we would gain any information from this woman," answered Salome"s husband, as he walked back and rejoined Mrs. Brown.
"Will you tell me, _on any terms_, where the Lady of Lone is to be found?" he inquired.
"Humph! I like that! Aren"t you a sharp? You _can"t_ call her the d.u.c.h.ess, and you _won"t_ call her Miss Levison, so you call her the Lady of Lone, anyway!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown, with a chuckling laugh.
"But, will you, _for any price_, tell me where she has gone?"
repeated the duke.
"As to where Miss Salome Levison has gone, I would not tell you to save your life, even if I could. I could not tell you, even if I would. I left her sitting in her bed-chamber at Elmthorpe House, on that Tuesday afternoon after her false marriage. She was sitting clothed in her deep mourning travelling suit, as she had put on again for her father directly the wedding breakfast was over. She looked the very image of sorrow and despair. She did not tell me where she was going. I don"t believe she even knew herself. There, that"s all that I have got to tell you, even if you had the power to put me on the rack, as you used to have in the bad old times!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown, once more folding her arms and settling herself in her chair.
The Duke of Hereward walked toward the detective officer.
"There is nothing more to be learned from the woman, at present, Setter.
We have already gained much, however, in the knowledge of the base calumny that drove the d.u.c.h.ess from her home. It is a relief to be a.s.sured that she has not fallen among London thieves. She has probably gone abroad. You must inquire, discreetly, at the London Bridge Railway Stations, for a young lady, in deep mourning, travelling alone, who bought a first-cla.s.s ticket, on Tuesday evening. There, Setter! There is a mere outline of instructions. You will fill it up as your discretion and experience may suggest," concluded the duke, as he drew on his gloves.
"I would suggest, your grace, that we go to St. Margaret"s Old Church, where this strange marriage, in which they try to compromise you, is said to have taken place, and which is close by," said the detective.
"By all means, let us go there and look at the register," a.s.sented the duke.
They took leave of Mrs. Brown, and left the house.
Five minutes drive took them to Old St. Margaret"s.
They were fortunate as to the time. The daily morning service was just over, and the curate who had officiated was still in the chancel.
The Duke of Hereward went in, and requested the young clergyman to favor him with a sight of the parish register.
The curate complied by inviting the two visitors to walk into the vestry.
He then placed two chairs at the green table, requested them to be seated, and laid before them the bra.s.s-bound volume recording the births, marriages and deaths of this populous, old parish.
The Duke of Hereward turned over the ponderous leaves until he came to the page he sought.
And there he found, duly registered, signed and witnessed, the marriage, by special license, of Archibald-Alexander-John Scott and Rose Cameron, both of Lone, Scotland.
"The mystery deepens," said the duke as he pointed to the register.
"It is incomprehensible," answered the detective.
"That is my name," added the duke.
"Some imposter must have a.s.sumed it," suggested the officer.
"Then the imposter, in taking my name, must have also taken my face and form, voice and manner, for though, upon my soul, I never married Rose Cameron, there are two honest women who are ready to swear that I did!"
whispered the duke, with a humorous twinkle in his eyes; for there were moments when the absurdity of the situation overcame its gravity.
The duke then thanked the curate for his courtesy and left the church, attended by the detective.
"Where shall I tell the cabman to drive?" inquired Setter, as he held the door open after his employer had entered the cab.
"To Elmthorpe House, Kensington. And then, get in here, with me, if you please, Mr. Setter. I have something to say to you," answered his grace.
The detective gave the order and entered the cab.
The duke then made many suggestions, drawn from his own intimate knowledge of the tastes and habits of the d.u.c.h.ess, to a.s.sist the detective in his search.
"You may safely leave the whole affair in my hands, sir. I will act with so much discretion that no one in London shall suspect that the d.u.c.h.ess of Hereward is missing. For the rest, I have no doubt that we shall soon find out the retreat of her grace. A young lady, dressed in elegant deep mourning, and travelling unattended, would be sure to have attracted attention and aroused curiosity, even in the confusion of a crowded railway station. We are safe to trace her, your grace," said Detective Setter, confidently.