"Yes, sir, but that"s different; as you know very well. Although he is a gentleman, he"s not in the position you are. And what was it you wanted to say to him that Sunday morning at the York Hotel?"
He put his shoulders up, and smiled as if, at least, my question did amuse him.
"All sorts of things, my dear Mrs. Merrett. I"m afraid I"m not able, at this distance of time, to furnish you with a particular catalogue.
I found your husband a somewhat interesting person; and as interesting persons are rare we sharpened our wits together on a variety of topics. I did not suppose that I should have to pay so severe a penalty for having found his society amusing. Now that matters appear to stand on a somewhat more agreeable footing, let me ask you a question or two in my turn. Do I understand you to say that your husband has--what shall I call it--disappeared?"
"I have not seen him since that Sunday morning; as you know very well."
"As I know? Not only do I not know anything of the kind, but I am curious to know on what grounds you credit me with the possession of such knowledge. It is not as though I were the last person who spoke to him. A waiter came into his room as I was going out of it. I understood that he was going to have his dinner. Didn"t he have his dinner? The landlord will be able to tell you. Probably you will be able to find a dozen persons who saw and spoke to him after I had gone. So little did I know of your husband, or--you will excuse my saying so--care to know, that I was not aware that his name was Merrett; that he had a wife; or, indeed, that he had any home save the place in which he certainly seemed to me to be entirely at home."
When he had finished I had my say. Somehow, the more affable he grew, the surer I knew that he was false.
"Mr. Howarth, sir, you can make things seem very plain and simple, and quite all right, now that you"ve had time to think them over. But how was it that when you were spoken to unexpectedly yesterday you almost tumbled down in the street when you were asked what you had done with my husband?"
"I have many worries of my own, Mrs. Merrett. Mr. FitzHoward took me unawares, as you admit. My thoughts were far away, and, as the result of his sudden intervention, I found that my nerves were more unstrung even than I had supposed. I don"t know what is the matter with me lately. My health must have run down. I seem unhinged by the slightest thing."
"You must be in a very bad state, sir, when you almost tumble down in the street because you"re asked a simple question."
"As you say, I suppose I must be."
"You must. There"s such a thing as a bad conscience, as well as bad health. And I take leave to tell you that I"m quite sure there"s more behind your words than you want me to think."
He laughed--though not so heartily as I dare say he would have wished.
"Mrs. Merrett, you"re incorrigible. Is it because you are so young that you"re so difficult to convince? My dear Edith," he turned to the elder lady--somehow I"d felt all along that he was quite as anxious to convince her as me, and that half what he was saying was meant for her address--"I will tell you the whole true tale of the beginning and the end of my connection with the individual who Mrs. Merrett now informs us is her husband. I saw him, for the first time, under very extraordinary circ.u.mstances."
"You saw Twickenham for the first time under very extraordinary circ.u.mstances."
I did not know what she meant, but his face went black again.
"What do you mean?"
"I was merely commenting on the coincidence."
"Coincidence!" I could see that angry words rose to his lips, but he choked them back again. He managed, with difficulty, to smile. "My dear Edith, I"m afraid you allow yourself to sympathise so warmly with Mrs. Merrett"s misfortune, that you confuse the issues. What has my seeing the one man to do with my seeing the other?"
"I didn"t say it had anything."
"Then why drag it in?"
"Hadn"t you better go on with your story?"
She smiled; and there was something about her smile which seemed to sting him as if she had cut him across the face with a whip. I believe he trembled; though whether it was with rage or not I could not say.
When he spoke again all his affability had vanished. His voice was dry and hard.
"We will postpone the continuation of my story, as you call it, to a further occasion. Are there any other questions, Mrs. Merrett, which you would like to ask me? Pray ask them. Whether they do or do not impugn my veracity is not of the slightest consequence. I am in the box. Nor does it matter that I have a rather pressing engagement. That I should suffer for your--may I say, erratic husband? Well, at any rate, his erratic proceeding is, I presume, only poetic justice.
Though I don"t myself see where the justice quite comes in."
I could be just as proud as him, in my way; and I let him see it. I tried to make myself as stiff as he was; though I don"t suppose I came within a mile of it.
"Thank you, Mr. Howarth, sir, but I"ve got no more questions just now which I want to put to you. You know what you do know, and perhaps one of these days I"ll know it. Until then I can only say that I"m sorry to have troubled you."
With that I opened the door and went out into the pa.s.sage, none of them moving from where they were, or speaking a word as I went. When I got into the pa.s.sage there came a pull at the front door bell, and a rat-tat-tat at the knocker.
"That"s Mr. FitzHoward," I said to myself.
As I felt convinced of it I made no bones about opening the front door, which I did do, and sure enough it was he. There he was, standing on the door-step. When he saw it was me that had opened the door he seemed surprised.
"h.e.l.lo! Is that you?" he said. "Well, I"ve come at last."
"So I perceive--and as I"m just going, we can go together."
"Has he answered that question?"
I felt a kind of want on me to keep on being haughty. If I hadn"t, I believe I should have broken down. So I put my head up in the air, and I replied:
"You"ll excuse me, Mr. FitzHoward, if I remark that whether he has or has not is my affair and not yours."
He looked at me sharply.
"Oh, that"s the time of day, is it? Then if that"s the case I"ve half a mind to go in and put the question on my own account. I"ll soon size him up."
"As to that, you are of course quite at liberty to do exactly what you please; only, if that is what you are going to do I"ll wish you good-day."
I went off down the street. He let me go a little way, and then came hurrying after me.
"What"s become of Babbacombe?"
"If you don"t mind my saying so, Mr. FitzHoward I don"t want to talk to you about nothing whatever till I"m in my own home."
"Then, if that"s how you feel, the sooner we get to your own home the better."
And he called another hansom cab. I did think of the expense, two hansom cabs in one day, but in the state of mind in which I was I didn"t feel as if I could get into an omnibus, and sit straight up in it, with the people staring at me all the way. It only wanted a very little to make me behave like a silly. I don"t believe I spoke a dozen words the whole way. Mr. FitzHoward kept trying to make me. He was the most persevering man I ever met. But I wouldn"t. So, as soon as we got in he said sarcastically:
"Well, we have had a nice little talk! You"re about the most talkative woman I"ve had the pleasure of knowing. You can be silent in one language, at any rate."
"Mr. FitzHoward, how much do I owe you for that hansom cab?"
"Owe me? Nothing. The cab was mine."
"You paid going, and I"ll pay coming back. You gave the cabman eighteenpence--because I saw you. There"s the money. I"ll be beholden to no man except my husband."
I put a shilling and a sixpence on the table. He looked at the coins, and then he looked at me. Then he took them up.
"Oh, all right. I"m willing. Money"s always welcome. It doesn"t look as if I was going to make much out of your husband, so I don"t see why I should lose on you. Besides, I can buy something with it for those two little kids of yours. I don"t suppose you can prevent my doing that. Now, Mrs. Merrett, let"s understand each other, you and I. What did Mr. John Smith say when you put that question?"
"Nothing."