"How could I ever know how hard and how strong they were? I only seemed to touch him. I just pushed him from my path. He fell at once at my feet--dead, dead unexpectedly. Remember how it all came about. The medical evidence showed his heart was weak, and he died in the scuffle. How was I to know all that? I only knew this--he fell dead before me."
With a face of speechless awe, he paused and wiped his brow. Not a soul in court moved or breathed above a whisper. It was evident the judge was in a paroxysm of contrition. His face was drawn up.
His whole frame quivered visibly. Even Elma pitied him.
"And then I did a grievous wrong," the judge continued once more, his voice now very thick and growing rapidly thicker. "I did a grievous wrong, for which here to-day, before all this court, I humbly ask Guy Waring"s pardon. I had killed Montague Nevitt, unintentionally, unwittingly, accidentally almost, in a moment of anger, never knowing I was killing him. And if he had been a stronger or a healthier man, what little I did to him would never have killed him. I didn"t mean to murder him. For that my remorse is far less poignant. But what I did after was far worse than the murder. I behaved like a sneak--I behaved like a coward. I saw suspicion was aroused against the prisoner, Guy Waring. And what did I do then? Instead of coming forward like a man, as I ought, and saying "I did it," and standing my trial on the charge of manslaughter, I did my best to throw further suspicion on an innocent person.
I made the case look blacker and worse for Guy Waring. I don"t condone my own crime. I did it for my wife"s sake and my daughter"s, I admit--but I regret it now bitterly--and am I not atoning for it?
With a great humiliation, am I not amply atoning for it? I wrote an unsigned letter warning Waring at once to fly the country, as a warrant was out against him. Waring foolishly took my advice, and fled forthwith. From that day to this"--he gazed round him appealingly--"oh, friends, I have never known one happy moment."
Guy gazed at him from the dock, where he still stood guarded by two strong policemen, and felt a fresh light break suddenly in upon him. Their positions now were almost reversed. It was he who was the accuser, and Sir Gilbert Gildersleeve, the judge in that court, who stood charged to-day on his own confession with causing the death of Montague Nevitt.
"Then it was YOU" Guy said slowly, breaking the pause at last, "who sent me that anonymous letter at Plymouth?"
"It was I," the judge answered, in an almost inaudible, gurgling tone. "It was I who so wronged you. Can you ever forgive me for it?"
Guy gazed at him fixedly. He himself had suffered much. Cyril and Elma had suffered still more. But the judge, he felt sure, had suffered most of all of them. In this moment of relief, this moment of vindication, this moment of triumph, he could afford to be generous.
"Sir Gilbert Gildersleeve, I forgive you," he answered slowly.
The judge gazed around him with a vacant stare. "I feel cold,"
he said, shivering; "very cold, very faint, too. But I"ve made all right HERE," and he held out a doc.u.ment. "I wrote this paper in my room last night--in case of accident--confessing everything.
I brought it down here, signed and witnessed, unread, intending to read it out if the verdict went against me--I mean, against Waring.... But I feel too weak now to read anything further.... I"m so cold, so cold. Take the paper, Forbes-Ewing. It"s all in your line. You"ll know what to do with it." He could hardly utter a word, breath failed him so fast. "This thing has killed me," he went on, mumbling. "I deserved it. I deserved it."
"How about the prisoner?" the authority from the gaol asked, as the judge collapsed rather than sat down on the bench again.
Those words roused Sir Gilbert to full consciousness once more.
The judge rose again, solemnly, in all the majesty of his ermine.
"The prisoner is discharged," he said, in a loud, clear voice. "I am here to do justice--justice against myself. I enter a verdict of not guilty." Then he turned to the polices "I am your prisoner,"
he went on, in a broken, rambling way. "I give myself in charge for the manslaughter of Montague Nevitt. Manslaughter, not murder.
Though I don"t even admit myself, indeed, it was anything more than justifiable homicide."
He sank back again once more, and murmured three times in his seat, as if to himself, "Justifiable homicide! Justifiable homicide!
Just--ifiable homicide!"
Somebody rose in court as he sank, and moved quickly towards him.
The judge recognised him at once.
"Granville Kelmscott," he said; in a weary voice, "help me out of this. I am very, very ill. You"re a friend. I"m dying. Give me your arm! a.s.sist me!"
CHAPTER XLV.
ALL"S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.
Granville helped him on his arm into the judge"s room amid profound silence. All the court was deeply stirred. A few personal friends hurried after him eagerly. Among them were the Warings, and Mrs.
Clifford, and Elma.
The judge staggered to a seat, and held Granville"s hand long and silently in his. Then his eye caught Elma"s. He turned to her gratefully. "Thank you, young lady," he said, in a very thick voice.
"You were extremely good. I forget your name. But you helped me greatly."
There was such a pathetic ring in those significant words, "I forget your name," that every eye about stood dimmed with moisture.
Remorse had clearly blotted out all else now from Sir Gilbert Gildersleeve"s powerful brain save the solitary memory of his great wrong-doing.
"Something"s upon his mind still," Elma cried, looking hard at him. "He"s dying! he"s dying! But he wants to say something else before he dies, I"m certain. ... Mr. Kelmscott, it"s to you. Oh, Cyril, stand back! Mother, leave them alone! I"m sure from his eye he wants to say something to Mr. Kelmscott."
They all fell back reverently. They stood in the presence of death and of a mighty sorrow. Sir Gilbert still held Granville"s hand fast bound in his own. "It"ll kill her," he muttered. "It"ll kill her! I"m sure it"ll kill her! She"ll never get over the thought that her father was--was the cause of Montague Nevitt"s death. And you"ll never care to marry a girl of whom people will say, either justly or unjustly, "She"s a murderers daughter".... And that will kill her, too. For, Kelmscott, she loved you!"
Granville held the dying man"s hand still more gently than ever.
"Sir Gilbert," he said, leaning over him with very tender eyes, "no event on earth could ever possibly alter Gwendoline"s love for me, or my love for Gwendoline. I know you can"t live. This shock has been too much for you. But if it will make you die any the happier now to know that Gwendoline and I will still be one, I give you my sacred promise at this solemn moment, that as soon as she likes I will marry Gwendoline." He paused for a second. "I don"t understand all this story just yet," he went on. "But of one thing I"m certain. The sympathy of every soul in court to-day went with you as you spoke out the truth so manfully. The sympathy of all England will go with you to-morrow when they come to learn of it.... Sir Gilbert, till this morning I never admired you, much as I love Gwendoline. As you made that confession just now in court, I declare, I admired you. With all the greater confidence now will I marry your daughter."
They carried him to the judge"s lodgings in the town, and laid him there peaceably for the doctors to tend him. For a fortnight the shadow of Gildersleeve still lingered on, growing feebler and feebler in intellect every day. But the end was certain. It was softening of the brain, and it proceeded rapidly. The horror of that unspeakable trial had wholly unnerved him. The great, strong man cried and sobbed like a baby. Lady Gildersleeve and Gwendoline were with him all through. He seldom spoke. When he did, it was generally to murmur those fixed words of exculpation, in a tremulous undertone, "It was my hands that did it--these great, clumsy hands of mine--not I--not I. I never, never meant it. It was an accident.
An accident. Justifiable homicide.... What I really regret is for that poor fellow Waring."
And at the end of a fortnight he died, once smiling, with Gwendoline"s hand locked tight in his own, and Granville Kelmscott kneeling in tears by his bedside.
The Kelmscott property was settled by arrangement. It never came into court. With the aid of the family lawyers the three half-brothers divided it amicably. Guy wouldn"t hear of Granville"s giving up his claim to the house and park at Tilgate. Granville was to the manner born, he said, and brought up to expect it; while Cyril and he, mere waifs and strays in the world, would be much better off, even so, with their third of the property each, than they ever before in their lives could have counted upon. As for Cyril, he was too happy in Guy"s exculpation from the greater crime, and his frank explanation of the lesser--under Nevitt"s influence--to care very much in his own heart what became of Tilgate.
The only one man who objected to this arrangement was Mr. Reginald Clifford, C.M.G., of Craighton. The Companion of the Militant Saints was strongly of opinion that Cyril Waring oughtn"t to have given up his prior claim to the family mansion, even for valuable consideration elsewhere. Mr. Clifford drew himself up to the full height of his spare figure, and caught in the tight skin of his mummy-like face rather tighter than before, as he delivered himself of this profound opinion. "A man should consult his own dignity,"
he said stiffly, and with great precision; "if he"s born to a.s.sume a position in the county, he should a.s.sume that position as a sacred duty. He should remember that his wife and children--"
"But he hasn"t got any wife, papa," Elma ventured to interpose, with a bright little smile; "so THAT can"t count either way."
"He hasn"t a wife AT PRESENT, to be sure; that"s perfectly true, my dear; no wife AT PRESENT; but he will probably now, in his existing circ.u.mstances, soon obtain one. A Man of Property should always marry. Mr. Waring will naturally desire to ally himself to some family of Good Position in the county; and the lady"s relations would, of course, insist--"
"Well, it doesn"t matter to us, papa," Elma answered maliciously; "for, as far as we"re concerned, you know; you"ve often said that nothing on earth would ever induce you to give your consent."
The Gentleman of Good Position in the county gazed at his daughter aghast with horror. "My dear child," he said, with positive alarm, "your remarks are nothing short of Revolutionary. You must remember that since then circ.u.mstances have altered. At that time, Mr.
Waring was a painter--"
"He"s a painter still, I believe," Elma put in, parenthetically.
"The acquisition of property or county rank doesn"t seem to have had the very slightest effect one way or the other upon his drawing or his colouring."
Her father disdained to take notice of such flippant remarks. "At that time," he repeated solemnly, "Mr. Waring was a painter, a mere ordinary painter; we know him now to be the heir and representative of a great County Family. If he were to ask you to-day--"
"But he did ask me a long time ago, you know, papa," Elma put in demurely. "And at that time, you remember, you objected to the match; so of course, as in duty bound, I at once refused him."
"And what did your father say to that, Elma?" Cyril asked, with a smile, as she narrated the whole circ.u.mstances to him some hours later.
"Oh, he only said, "But he"ll ask you again now, you may be sure, my child." And I replied very gravely, I didn"t think you would.
And do you know, Cyril, I really don"t think you will, either."
"Why not, Elma?"
"Because, you foolish boy, it isn"t the least bit in the world necessary. This has been, all through, a comedy of errors. Tragedy enough intermixed; but still a comedy of errors. There never was really any reason on earth why either of us shouldn"t have married the other. And the only thing I now regret myself is that I didn"t do as I first threatened, and marry you outright, just to show my confidence in you and Guy, at the time when everybody else had turned most against you."
"Well, suppose we make up for lost time now by saying Wednesday fortnight," Cyril suggested, after a short pause, during which both of them simultaneously had been otherwise occupied.
"Oh, Cyril, that"s awfully quick! It could hardly be managed.