---------------Vol 1 CHAPTER I. EARLY DAYS.

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 There are towns over which time seems to exercise but little power, but to
have passed them by forgotten, in his swift course. Everywhere else, at his touch,
all is changed. Great cities rise upon the site of fishing villages; huge
factories, with their smoky chimneys grow up and metamorphose quiet towns into busy
hives of industry; while other cities, once prosperous and flourishing, sink into
insignificance; and the passer by, as he wanders through their deserted streets,
wonders and laments over the ruin which has fallen upon them.
 
But the towns of which I am speaking—and of which there are but few now left
in England, and these, with hardly an exception, cathedral towns—seem to
suffer no such change. They neither progress nor fall back. If left behind, they
are not beaten in the race, for they have never entered upon it; but are content to
rest under the shelter of their tall spires and towers; to seek for no change and
to meet with none; but to remain beloved, as no other towns are loved, by those who
have long known them—assimilating, as it were, the very natures of those who
dwell in them, to their own sober, neutral tints.
 
In these towns, a wanderer who has left them as a boy, returning as an old, old
man, will see but little change—a house gone here, another nearly similar
built in its place; a greyer tint upon the stone; a tree fallen in the old close;
the ivy climbing a little higher upon the crumbling wall;—these are all, or
nearly all, the changes which he will see. The trains rush past, bearing their
countless passengers, who so rarely think of stopping there, that the rooks, as
they hold their grave conversations in their nests in the old elm-trees, cease to
break off, even for a moment, at the sound of the distant whistle. The very people
seem, although this is but seeming, to have changed as little as the place: the
same names are over the shop doors—the boy who was at school has taken his
grand-sire's place, and stands at his door, looking down the quiet street as the
old man used to do before him; the dogs are asleep in the sunny corners they
formerly loved; and the same horses seem to be lazily drawing the carts, with
familiar names upon them, into the old market-place. The wanderer may almost fancy
that he has awoke from a long, troubled dream. It is true that if he enters the
little churchyard, he will see, beneath the dark shadows of the yew-trees, more
gravestones than there were of old; but the names are so similar, that it is only
upon reading them over, that he will find that it is true after all, and that the
friends and playfellows of his childhood, the strong, merry boys, and the fair
girls with sunny ringlets, sleep peacefully there. But it is not full yet; and he
may hope that, when his time shall come, there may be some quiet nook found, where,
even as a child, he may have fancied that he would like some day to rest.
 
Among these cities pre-eminent, as a type of its class, is the town in which I now
sit down to recount the past events of my life, and of the lives of those most dear
to me—not egotistically, I hope, nor thrusting my own story, in which,
indeed, there is little enough, into view; but telling of those I have known and
lived with, as I have noted the events down in my journal, and at times, when the
things I speak of are related merely on hearsay, dropping that dreadful personal
pronoun which will get so prominent, and telling the story as it was told to me.
 
Although not born at Canterbury, I look upon it as my native town, my city of
adoption. My earliest remembrances are of the place; my childhood and youth were
spent there; and, although I was then for a few years absent, it was for that
stormy, stirring time, when life is wrapped up in persons and not in places, when
the mere scene in which the drama is played out leaves barely an impression upon
the mind, so all-absorbing is the interest in the performers. That time over, I
returned to Canterbury as to my home, and hope, beneath the shadow of its stately
towers, to pass tranquilly down the hill of life, whose ascent I there made with
such eager, strong young steps.
 
Dear old Canterbury! It is indeed a town to love with all one's heart, as it lies,
sleeping, as it were, amidst its circle of smiling hop-covered hills, with its
glorious cathedral looking so solemnly down upon it, with its quiet courts, its
shady, secluded nooks and corners, its quaint, old-fashioned houses, with their
many gables and projecting eaves, and its crumbling but still lofty walls, it gives
me somehow the idea of a perfect haven of rest and peace. It, like me, has seen its
stormy times: Briton, Dane, and Saxon have struggled fiercely before its walls. It,
too, has had its proud dreams, its lofty aspirations; but they are all over now,
and it is, like myself, contented to pass its days in quiet, resting upon its old
associations, and with neither wish nor anticipation of change in the tranquil
tenour of its way.
 
I was not, as I have said, born in the town, but went there very young—so
young that I have no remembrance of any earlier time.
 
We lived in a large, rambling, old-fashioned house in a back lane. In a little
court before it stood some lime-trees, which, if they helped to make the front
darker and more dismal than it would otherwise have been, had the good effect of
shutting it out from the bad company into which it had fallen.
 
It had at one time been a place of great pretension, and belonged, doubtless, to
some country magnate, and before the little houses in the narrow lane had sprung up
and hemmed it in, it may have had a cheerful appearance; but, at the time I speak
of, the external aspect was undeniably gloomy. But behind it was very different.
There was a lawn and large garden, at the end of which the Stour flowed quietly
along, and we children were never tired of watching the long streamer-like green
weeds at the bottom waving gently in the current, and the trout darting here and
there among them, or lying immovable, apparently watching us, until at the
slightest noise or motion they would dart away too quickly for the eye to follow
them.
 
Inside, it was a glorious home for us, with its great old-fashioned hall with dark
wainscoting and large stags' heads all round it, which seemed to be watching us
children from their eyeless sockets; and its vast fireplace, with iron dogs, where,
in the old days, a fire sufficient for the roasting of a whole bullock, might have
been piled up; with its grand staircase, with heavy oak balustrades, lit by a great
window large enough for an ordinary church; with its long passages and endless
turnings and backstairs in unexpected places; with all its low, quaint rooms of
every shape except square, and its closets nearly as large as rooms.
 
Oh, it was a delightful house! But very terrible at dusk. Then we would not have
gone along alone those long, dark passages for worlds; for we knew that the bogies,
and other strange things of which our old nurse told us, would be sure to be
lurking and upon the watch.
 
It was a wonderful house for echoes, and at night we would steal from our beds and
creep to the top of the grand staircase, and listen, with hushed breath, to the
almost preternaturally loud tick of the old clock in the hall, which seemed to us
to get louder and louder, till at last the terrors of the place would be almost too
much for us, and, at the sound of some mouse running behind the wainscoting, we
would scamper off to our beds, and bury our heads beneath the clothes, falling into
a troubled sleep, from which we woke, with terrified starts, until the welcome
approach of day, when, as the sun shone brightly in, we would pluck up courage and
laugh at our night's fright.
 
Of my quite young days I have not much to say. My brother Harry, who was two years
older than I, went to the King's School; and Polly—who was as much my
junior—and I were supposed to learn lessons from our mother. Poor mamma! not
much learning, I think, did we get from her. She was always weak and ailing, and
had but little strength or spirits to give to teaching us. When I was twelve, and
Polly consequently ten, we had a governess in of a day, to teach us and keep us in
order; but I am afraid that she found it hard work, for we were sadly wild, noisy
girls—at least, this was the opinion of our unmarried aunts, who came to stay
periodically with us.
 
I have not yet spoken of my father, my dear, dear father. How we loved him, and how
he loved us, I cannot even now trust myself to write. As I sit at my desk his
portrait hangs on the wall before me, and he seems to be looking down with that
bright genial eye, that winning smile which he wore in life. Not only by us was he
loved, almost adored, but all who came in contact with him were attracted in a
similar way. To rich or poor, ill or in health, to all with whom he was in any way
associated, he was friend and adviser. A large man and somewhat portly, with iron-
grey hair, cut short, and brushed upright off his forehead, a rather dark
complexion, a heavy eyebrow, a light-blue eye, very clear and penetrating, and the
whole face softened and brightened by his genial smile. Very kind and sympathetic
to the poor, the sick, and the erring; pitilessly severe upon meanness, hypocrisy,
and vice. He was a man of great scientific attainments, and his study was crowded
with books and instruments which related to his favourite pursuits. Upon the
shelves were placed models of steam-engines, electrical machines, galvanic
batteries, air-pumps, microscopes, chemical apparatus, and numberless other models
and machinery of which we could not even guess the uses. Thick volumes of botanical
specimens jostled entomological boxes and cases, butterfly-nets leant in the corner
with telescopes, retorts stood beneath the table, the drawers of which were filled
with a miscellaneous collection indescribable.
 
With us children he was firm, yet very kind, ever ready to put aside his work to
amuse us, especially of a winter's evening, when, dinner over, he always went into
his study, to which we would creep, knock gently at the door, and when allowed to
enter, would sit on stools by his side, looking into the fire, while he told us
marvellous tales of enchanters and fairies. It was at these times, when we had been
particularly good—or at least when he, who was as glad of an excuse to amuse
us as we were to be amused, pretended that we had been so—that he would take
down his chemicals, or electrical apparatus, and show us startling or pretty
experiments, ending perhaps by entrapping one of us into getting an unexpected
electric shock, and then sending us all laughing up to bed.
 
We always called papa Dr. Ashleigh in company. It was one of mamma's fancies: she
called him so herself, and was very strict about our doing the same upon grand
occasions. We did not like it, and I don't think papa did either, for he would
often make a little funny grimace, as he generally did when anything rather put him
out; but as mamma set her mind upon it so much, he never made any remark or
objection. He was very, very kind to her, and attentive to her wishes, and likes
and dislikes; but their tastes and characters were as dissimilar as it was possible
for those of any two persons to be.
 
She was very fond of papa, and was in her way proud to see him so much looked up to
and admired by other people; but I do not think that she appreciated him for
himself as it were, and would have been far happier had he been a common humdrum
country doctor. She could not understand his devotion to science, his eager inquiry
into every novelty of the day, and his disregard for society in the ordinary sense
of the word; still less could she understand his untiring zeal in his profession.
Why he should be willing to be called up in the middle of a winter's night, get
upon his horse, and ride ten miles into the country on a sudden summons to some
patient, perhaps so poor that to ask payment for his visit never even entered into
the Doctor's mind, was a thing she could not understand. Home, and home cares
occupied all her thoughts, and it was to her inexpressibly annoying, when, after
taking extreme care to have the nicest little dinner in readiness for his return
from work, he would come in an hour late, be perfectly unconcerned at his favourite
dish being spoilt, and, indeed, be so completely absorbed in the contemplation of
some critical case in his day's practice, as not even to notice what there was for
dinner, but to eat mechanically whatsoever was put before him.
 
Mamma must have been a very pretty woman when she married Dr. Ashleigh. Pretty is
exactly the word which suits her style of face. A very fair complexion, a delicate
colour, a slight figure, light hair, which then fell in curls, but which she now
wore in bands, with a pretty apology for a cap on the back of her head. She had not
much colour left when I first remember her, unless it came in a sudden flush; but
she was still, we thought, very pretty, although so delicate-looking. She lay upon
the sofa most of the day, and would seldom have quitted it, had she not been so
restlessly anxious about the various household and nursery details, that every
quarter of an hour she would be off upon a tour of inspection and supervision
through the house. She was very particular about our dress and manners, and I am
sure loved us very much; but from her weak state of health she could not have us
long with her at a time.
 
It was one bright summer afternoon, I remember well, when I was rather more than
fourteen years old, we had finished our early dinner, Harry had started for school,
and we had taken our books and gone out to establish ourselves in our favourite
haunt, the summer-house at the end of the garden. This summer-house was completely
covered with creepers, which climbed all over the roof, and hung in thick festoons
and clusters, almost hiding the woodwork, and making it a perfect leafy bower; only
towards the river we kept it clear. It was so charming to sit there with our toys
or our work and watch the fish, the drifting weeds and fallen leaves, to wonder
which would get out of sight first, and whether they would catch in the wooden
piles of the bridge,—for there was a bridge over from our garden into the
fields beyond, where our cow Brindle was kept, and where our horses were sometimes
turned out to graze, and make holiday. It was a very happy and peaceful spot. When
we were little, the summer-house was our fairy bower; here we could play with our
dolls, and be queens and princesses without fear of interruption, and sometimes
when Harry was with us, we would be Robinson Crusoes wrecked on a desert island;
here we would store up provisions, and make feasts, here we would find footprints
in the sand, and here above all we would wage desperate battles with imaginary
fleets of canoes full of savages endeavouring to cross the stream. Harry would
stand courageously in front, and we girls carefully concealing ourselves from the
enemy, would keep him supplied with stones from the magazine, with which he would
pour volleys into the water, to the imaginary terror of the savages, and the real
alarm of our friends the fish. With what zeal did we throw ourselves into these
fights, with what excited shouts and cries, and what delight we felt when Harry
proclaimed the victory complete and the enemy in full flight!
 
As time went on, and the dolls were given up, and we could no longer believe in
savages, and began to think romping and throwing stones unladylike, although at
times very pleasant, the summer-house became our reading-room, and at last, after
we had a governess, our schoolroom in fine weather. This was not obtained without
some opposition upon the part of mamma, who considered it as an irregular sort of
proceeding; but we coaxed papa into putting in a good word for us, and then mamma,
who was only too glad to see us happy, gave in at once. We had but just gone out,
and after a look down at the river and the fish, and across at the pretty country
beyond, had opened our books with a little sigh of regret, when we heard a footstep
coming down the garden and to our surprise found it was papa.
 
"Now girls," he said, "put on your things as quickly as you can. I
am going over to Mr. Harmer at Sturry, and will take you with me. First though, we
must ask mamma's leave. I have no doubt Miss Harrison here, will be as glad of a
holiday as you are."
 
Mamma, however, although she seldom opposed any of papa's plans for our amusement,
raised many objections. Indeed, I had for some time past noticed that she did not
like our visiting at Harmer Place. Upon this occasion she was particularly averse
to our going, and said that I "was getting too old to associate with a person
of such extraordinary antecedents as——."
 
We did not hear who the person was, for papa broke in more sternly than I had ever
before heard him speak to mamma, and said that "he differed from her entirely:
for his part he could see no harm whatever in our going, and that, at any rate
until we were of an age to judge for ourselves, no question of the sort could
arise."
 
Mamma, directly she saw he was in earnest, said no more, and we set out soon
afterwards, with the understanding that we should most probably not be back until
evening.
 
Although neither Polly nor I ever made any remark to each other about that
conversation, we—or at least I can answer for myself—were not the less
astonished at it. It seemed perfectly inexplicable to me. What objection could
there be to our going to the Harmers? I was, as I have said, past fourteen, and was
beginning to think and reason about all sorts of things, and this was a problem
which I tried in vain for a long time to solve to my satisfaction. How I pondered
the matter over in every light, but ever without success. Mamma had said it was a
person. Now, person generally means a woman, and the only women at Harmer Place
were the two Miss Harmers. Had it been a principle mamma objected to, I could have
understood it, for the Miss Harmers were bigoted Catholics. Not that that would
have made any difference with papa, who looked at these matters with a very
latitudinarian eye. "In my opinion," I have heard him say, "the sect
to which a man belongs makes but little difference, if he does but do his best
according to his belief."
 
And I remember that in after years, when we had suffered much, he warned us not to
blame a creed for the acts of its professors. "History has shown," he
would say, "that a bigot, whether he be Catholic, Protestant, or Mussulman,
will be equally a cruel persecutor of others, equally ready to sacrifice everything
which he believes to stand in the way of his Church."
 
I mention this here because I should be very sorry that the feelings of any one who
may ever come to read this story of mine should be hurt, or that it should be taken
to be an attack or even an implication against a particular form of worship.
 
I knew then that although papa objected to the extreme opinions which the Miss
Harmers held, and which had been caused by the exceptional life which they had led,
still the antecedents, to which mamma alluded, could be no question of religion.
And yet the only other female at Harmer Place was Sophy Needham, the pretty girl we
so often met there. She was an orphan village child, to whom Mr. Harmer had taken
such a fancy that he had sent her, at his own expense, to a London school, and had
her constantly staying at the house with him. But, of course, it could not be
Sophy; for I was quite sure that the fact of her having been a village girl would
not make the slightest difference in either papa's or mamma's eyes, so far as our
associating with her went; and in other respects there could be no objection, for
she was a particularly quiet, retiring girl, and was two years older than myself.
 
The objection, then, did not appear to apply to any one at Harmer Place, and I
puzzled myself in vain upon the subject; and indeed it was not for some years
afterwards that the mystery was solved, or that I found out that it was indeed
Sophy Needham to whom mamma had alluded. There is no reason why I should make a
mystery of it in this journal of mine, which will be more easily understood by
making the matter clear at once, and I will therefore, before I go on with my own
story, relate the history of the Harmers as nearly as I can as it was told to me.

---------------CHAPTER II. THE HARMERS OF HARMER PLACE.------------

 The Harmers of Harmer Place, although of ancient descent, could yet hardly be
ranked among the very old Kentish families, for they could trace back their history
very little beyond the commencement of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, of pious and
Protestant memory. About that period it is ascertained that they were small landed
proprietors, probably half gentry, half farmers. All documentary and traditional
history goes to prove that the Harmers of those days were a stiff-necked race, and
that their consciences were by no means of the same plastic nature as those of the
great majority of their neighbours. They could not, for the life of them, see
why—because the Royal family had all of a sudden come to the conclusion that
the old Roman religion, in which their fore-fathers had for so many centuries
worshipped, was after all wrong, that therefore the whole nation was bound to make
the same discovery at the same moment.
 
So the Harmers clung to the old faith, and were looked upon with grievous disfavour
in consequence by the authorities for the time being. Many were the domiciliary
visits paid them, and grievous were the fines inflicted upon them for
nonconformity. Still, whether from information privately sent to them previous to
these researches, or whether from the superior secrecy and snugness of their
"Priest's chamber," certain it is, that although frequently denounced and
searched, no priest or emissary of papacy was ever found concealed there; and so,
although constantly harassed and vexed, they were suffered to remain in possession
of their estate.
 
As generation of Harmers succeeded generation, they continued the same stiff-necked
race, clinging to their old tenets, and hardening their hearts to all inducements
to desert them. Over and over again they went through "troublous times,"
especially when those God-fearing and enlightened Puritans domineered it over
England. In after reigns difficulties arose, but the days of persecution were over
then, and they had nothing to undergo comparable to their former trials.
 
It would have been naturally supposed that as at the commencement of the reign of
Elizabeth the Harmers were by no means a wealthy race, they would speedily have
been shorn of all the little property they then possessed. But it was not so. The
more they were persecuted so much the more they flourished, and from mere farmers
they speedily rose to the rank of county families.
 
One reason, doubtless, for their immunity from more than comparatively petty
persecutions, such as fines and imprisonments, was, that the Harmers never took any
part in political affairs; neither in plots, nor risings, nor civil wars, were they
ever known actively to interfere.
 
As the Harmers were in other respects an obstinate, quarrelsome race, stubborn in
will, strong in their likes and dislikes, it was singular that they should never
have actively bestirred themselves in favour of the cause which they all had so
strongly at heart. The popular belief on the matter was, that a settled and
traditional line of policy had been recommended, and enforced upon the family, by
their priests; namely, to keep quite neutral in politics, in order that there might
be at least one house in the country—and that, from its proximity to the sea-
coast, peculiarly suitable to the purpose,—where, in cases of necessity, a
secure hiding-place could be relied on. Mother Church is very good to her obedient
children; and if the Harmers gave up their personal feelings for her benefit, and
sheltered her ministers in time of peril, she no doubt took care that in the long
run they should not be losers. And so, while their Roman Catholic neighbours threw
themselves into plots and parties, and lost house and land, and not uncommonly
life, the Harmers rode quietly through the gale, thriving more and more under the
small persecutions they suffered for the faith's sake. And thus it happened that
going into troubles as small proprietors in the reign of Elizabeth, they came out
of them in that of George, owners of a large estate and a rambling old mansion in
every style of architecture.
 
After that date, persecution having ceased, and "Priests' chambers" being
no longer useful, the Harmers ceased to enlarge their boundaries, and lived retired
lives on their property, passing a considerable portion of their time on the
Continent.
 
Robert Harmer had, contrary to the usual custom of his ancestors, six
children—four sons and two daughters. Edward was, of course, intended to
inherit the family property, and was brought up in accordance with the strictest
traditions of his race; Robert was also similarly educated, in order to be fitted
to take his brother's place should Edward not survive his father, or die leaving no
heirs; Gregory was intended for the priesthood; and Herbert, the youngest of all,
was left to take his chance in any position which the influence of his family or
Church might obtain for him.
 
Herbert Harmer, however, was not so ready as the rest of his family to submit his
judgment without question to that of others; and having, when about sixteen, had
what he conceived an extremely heavy and unfair penance imposed upon him for some
trifling offence, he quitted his home, leaving a letter behind him stating his
intention of never returning to it. Herbert Harmer was not of the stuff of which a
docile son of Holy Church is made; of a warm and affectionate disposition, and a
naturally buoyant, joyous frame of mind, the stern and repressive discipline to
which he was subjected, and the monotonous existence he led in his father's house,
seemed to him the height of misery.
 
The lad, when he turned his back on home, knew little of the world. He had lived
the life almost of a recluse, never stirring beyond the grounds of the mansion
except to attend mass at the Roman Catholic chapel at Canterbury, and this only
upon grand occasions, as the family confessor, who acted also as his tutor, resided
in the village, and ordinarily performed the service at the chapel attached to the
place.
 
Companions he had none. Gregory, the brother next to him in age, was away in Italy
studying for the priesthood; Cecilia and Angela he had seen but seldom, as they
also were abroad, being educated in a convent; Edward and Robert were young men
nearly ten years older than himself, and were when at home his father's companions
rather than his, and both were of grave taciturn disposition, ascetic and bigoted
even beyond the usual Harmer type.
 
Thrown therefore almost entirely upon his own resources, Herbert had sought what
companionship he best could. Books, first and best; but of these his stock was
limited. Religious and controversial treatises, church histories, and polemical
writings formed the principal part of the library, together with a few volumes of
travel and biography which had somehow found their way there. On a library so
limited as this the boy could not employ his whole time, but had to seek amusement
and exercise out of doors, and the only companion he had there, was perhaps of all
others the very one with whom he would have been most strictly forbidden to
associate, had their intimacy been guessed at.
 
Robert Althorpe was the son of a tenant on the estate, and was a man of thirty or
thereabouts. Originally a wild, reckless lad, he had, as many an English boy has
done before and since, ran away to sea, and, after nearly fifteen years absence,
had lately returned with only one arm, having lost the other in a naval engagement.
On his return he had been received with open arms by his father, as at that time
(that is, in the year 1795) all England was wild with our naval glory. And now
Robert Althorpe passed his time, sitting by the fire smoking, or wandering about to
relate his tales of adventure among the farmhouses of the country, at each of which
he was received as a welcome guest.
 
The sailor took a particular fancy to young Herbert Harmer, whose ignorance of the
world and eager desire to hear something of it, and whose breathless attention to
his yarns, amused and gratified him. On many a summer afternoon, then, when Herbert
had finished his prescribed course of study, he would slip quietly away to meet
Robert Althorpe, and would sit for hours under the trees listening to tales of the
world and life of which he knew so little. Robert had in his period of service seen
much; for those were stirring times. He had taken part in the victories of Howe and
Jervis, and in the capture of the numerous West Indian isles. He had fought, too,
under the invincible Nelson at the Nile, in which battle he had lost his arm. He
had been stationed for two years out on the Indian coast, and Herbert above all
loved to hear of that wonderful country, then the recent scene of the victories of
Clive and Hastings.
 
When therefore he left his home, the one fixed idea in Herbert Harmer's mind was,
that first of all he would go to sea, and that then he would some day visit India;
both which resolutions he carried into effect.
 
It was some ten years after, when the memory of the young brother of whom they had
seen so little had nearly faded from the minds of his family, that a letter arrived
from him, addressed to his father, but which was opened by his brother Edward as
the head of the house, the old man having been three years before laid in the
family vault. Gregory too was dead, having died years previously of a fever
contracted among the marshes near Rome. The contents of the letter, instead of
being hailed with the delight with which news from a long lost prodigal is usually
greeted, were received with unmingled indignation and horror.
 
A solemn family conclave was held in the old library, Edward Harmer at the head of
the table, Father Paul at the foot, and the contents of the letter were taken into
formal consideration. A joint answer was then drawn up, stating the horror and
indignation with which his communication had been received—that the anathema
had been passed against him, that to them he was dead for ever, and that they
regretted that he had ever been born at all.
 
All this was expressed at great length, and with that exceedingly complicated
bitterness of cursing, which is a characteristic of the Roman Church when roused.
At the end, each of the family signed his or her name, and the priest added his,
with a cross affixed there to, as a token for ever against him.
 
The contents of the letter which had caused all this commotion of spirit, were
briefly as follows.
 
Herbert had gone to sea, and had for two years voyaged to different parts of the
world. At the end of that time he had arrived in India, and there leaving his ship,
had determined to cast his lot. After various employments, he had finally obtained
a situation as a clerk to a planter up the country, whose daughter he had three
years afterwards married; he was now doing well, and hoped that his father would
forgive his having ran away from home.
 
So far the letter was satisfactory enough, it was the final paragraph which had
caused the explosion of family wrath against him—namely, that his wife was a
Protestant, and that having carefully examined the Bible with her, he had come to
the conclusion that the Reformed Church more closely carried out the precepts and
teachings of that book than his own. That he was afraid this would prove a serious
annoyance to his father; but that, as he was so far away, and should never be
likely to return to obtrude the new religion he had adopted upon them, he hoped
that it would be no bar to his continuing an amicable correspondence with them.
 
This hope was, as has been seen, not destined to be realized. The answer was sealed
and duly sent off, and henceforth Herbert Harmer, as far as his family was
concerned, ceased to have any existence. It was nearly twenty years before they
again heard of him, and then the news came that he had returned to England, a
widower, bringing his only son, a young man of about twenty-one years old, with
him; that he had purchased a house in the neighbourhood of London, and that he did
not intend to return to India.
 
Very shortly after his return, a letter from him was received by his elder brother,
but immediately it was opened, and the first line showed from whom it came, it was
closed unread, resealed, and returned to the writer.
 
During the thirty years which Herbert Harmer had been absent, the old place had
certainly not improved. Edward and Robert had both been married, but were, like
their brother, widowers. Edward never had children. Robert had several born to him,
but all had died quite young. The sisters had remained single.
 
It was a gloomy house in those days. They all lived together there. Father Paul was
long since dead, and Father Gabriel literally reigned in his stead—a man even
more gloomy and bigoted than his predecessors—chosen probably on that
account, as being in keeping with the character of the people to whom he
ministered. An unhappy family; unhappy in their lives and dispositions, unhappy in
the view they had taken of religion and its duties, very unhappy—and this was
the only count to which they themselves would have pleaded guilty—very
unhappy because the old line of Harmer would die with them, and that there was none
of the name to inherit after them; for that Herbert the apostate should succeed
them, that a Protestant Harmer should dwell where his Catholic ancestors had so
long lived, was never even for a moment discussed as a possibility: the very idea
would have been a desecration, at which their dead fathers would have moved in
their graves. Better, a thousand times better, that the old place should go to
strangers. And so Edward's will was made; everything was done that could be done,
and they dwelt in gloomy resignation, waiting for the end.
 
That end was to come to some of them sooner than they expected.
 
Edward and Robert Harmer had one interest, one worldly amusement, in which they
indulged. As young men they had been for some time together at Genoa, and in that
town of mariners they had become passionately attached to the sea. This taste they
had never lost, and they still delighted occasionally to go out for a day's
sailing, in a small pleasure yacht, which they kept at the little fishing-village
of Herne Bay. She was an open boat, of about eight tons, and was considered a good
sea-boat for her size. In this, with two men to sail her, under the command of an
old one-armed sailor, whom they employed because he had once lived on the estate,
they would go out for hours, once a week or so; not on fine sunny days—in
them they had no pleasure—but when the wind blew fresh, and the waves broke a
tawny yellow on the sand, and the long banks off the coast were white with foaming
breakers. It was a strange sight in such weather, to see the two men, now from
fifty to sixty years old, and very similar in face and figure, taking their places
in the stern of their little craft, while the boatmen, in their rough-weather coats
and fearnought hats, hoisted the sails and prepared for sea.
 
Very quiet they would sit, while the spray dashed over them, and the boat tore
across the surface of the water, with a smile half glad, half defiant, on their
dark features, till the one-armed captain would say, touching his hat, "It is
getting wilder, your honours; I think we had better put about." Then they
would give an assenting gesture, and the boat's head would be turned to shore,
where they would arrive, wet through and storm-beaten, but with a deep joy in their
hearts, such as they experienced at no other time.
 
But once they went out, and came back alive no more. It happened thus. It was the
3rd of March, and the morning was overcast and dull; there was wind, though not
strong, coming in short sudden puffs, and then dying away again. The brothers
started early, and drove over, through the village of Herne, to the little fishing-
hamlet in the bay, and stopped at the cottage of the captain, as he termed himself,
of their little yacht. The old sailor came out to the door.
 
"You are not thinking of going out to-day, your honours, are you?"
 
"Why not?" Edward Harmer asked; "don't you think there will be wind
enough?"
 
"Aye, aye, your honour, wind enough, and more than enough before long; there
is a gale brewing up there;" and the old man shaded his eyes with his
remaining hand, and looked earnestly at the clouds.
 
"Pooh, pooh, man!" Robert Harmer said; "there is no wind to speak of
yet, although I think with you that it may come on to blow as the sun goes down.
What then? It is nearly easterly, so if we sail straight out we can always turn and
run back again before the sea gets up high enough to prevent us. You know we are
always ready to return when you give the word."
 
The old sailor made no further remonstrance, but summoning the two young men who
generally accompanied them, he busied himself in carrying down the oars, and making
preparations to launch the little boat which was to carry them to where the yacht
was moored about a hundred yards out, with many quiet disapproving shakes of his
head as he did so. They were soon in, and launched through the waves, which were
breaking with a long, heavy, menacing roar. It was not rough yet, but even in the
quarter of an hour which had elapsed between their arrival at the village, and
reaching the side of the yacht, the aspect of the weather had changed much; the
gusts of wind came more frequently, and with far greater force, whitening the
surface of the water, and tearing off the tops of the waves in sheets of spray. The
dull heavy clouds overhead were beginning to break up suddenly, as if stirred by
some mighty force within themselves, great openings and rents seemed torn asunder
in the dark curtain, and then as suddenly closed up again; but through these
momentary openings, the scud could be seen flying rapidly past in the higher
regions of the air.
 
On reaching the side of the yacht, which was rolling heavily on the rising waves,
the one-armed sailor again glanced at the brothers to see if they noticed these
ominous signs, and if they made any change in their determination; but they gave no
signs of doing so. Their faces were both set in that expression of stern pleasure
which they always wore on occasions like this, and with another disapproving shake
of his head, even more decided than those in which he had before indulged, he
turned to assist the men in fastening the boat they had come in to the moorings to
await their return, in loosing the sails, and taking a couple of reefs in them, and
preparing for a start.
 
In another five minutes the little craft was far out at sea, ploughing her way
through the ever increasing waves, dashing them aside from her bows in sheets of
spray, and leaving a broad white track behind her.
 
The wind was getting up every minute, and blew with a hoarse roar across the water.
 
Before they had been gone fifteen minutes, the old sailor felt that it was indeed
madness to go farther. He saw that the force of the wind was already more than the
boat could bear, and was momentarily increasing, and that the sea was fast getting
up under its power.
 
But as his counsel had been already once disregarded, he determined to let the
first order for return come from the brothers, and he glanced for a moment from the
sails and the sea to the two men sitting beside him. There was no thought of
turning back there. Their lips were hard set, yet half smiling; their eyes wide
open, as if to take in the tumultuous joy of the scene; their hands lay clenched on
their knees. They had evidently no thought of danger, no thought of anything but
deep, wild pleasure.
 
The old sailor bit his lips. He looked again over the sea, he looked at the sails,
and at the lads crouched down in the bow with consternation strongly expressed on
their faces; he glanced at the dark green water, rushing past the side, and
sometimes as she lay over combing in over the gunwale; he felt the boat quiver
under the shock as each succeeding wave struck her, and he knew she could bear no
more. He therefore again turned round to the impassive figures beside him, and made
his usual speech.
 
"Your honours, it is time to go about."
 
But this time so absorbed were they in their sensations, that they did not hear
him, and he had to touch them to attract their notice, and to shout in their ears,
"Your honours, we must go about."
 
They started at the touch, and rose like men waked suddenly from a dream. They cast
a glance round, and seemed to take in for the first time the real state of things,
the raging wind, the flying scud, the waves which rose round the boat, and struck
her with a force that threatened to break her into fragments. And then Edward said,
"Yes! by all means, if indeed it is not already too late. God forgive us for
bringing you out into it; peccavi, culpa mea." And then the brothers,
influenced not by fear for themselves, but for the lives of those whom they had
brought into danger, commenced rapidly uttering, in a low voice, the prayers of
their Church for those in peril.
 
The prayer was never to be finished. The men sprang with alacrity to the ropes when
the order was given, "Prepare to go about;" but whether their fingers
were numb, or what it was which went wrong, no one will ever know. The boat obeyed
her rudder, and came up into the wind. There was a momentary lull, and then as her
head payed round towards the shore, a fresh gust struck her with even greater force
than ever. Some rope refused to run, it was but for an instant, but that instant
sealed the fate of the boat; over she lay till her sail all but touched the water,
and the sea poured in over her side. For a moment she seemed to try to recover
herself, and then a wild cry went up to heaven, and the boat lay bottom upwards in
the trough of the waves.

---------------CHAPTER III. "L'HOMME PROPOSE, DIEU DISPOSE."------------

 Mr. Herbert Harmer was sitting at breakfast reading the Times,—a tall,
slight man, of from forty-five to fifty, with a benevolent expressive face, very
sunburnt; a broad forehead, a well-defined mouth, and a soft, thoughtful
eye—careless as to attire, as most Anglo-Indians are, and yet, in appearance
as in manner, an unmistakable gentleman.
 
Opposite to him sat his son, good-looking, but not so prepossessing a man as his
father. He was about twenty-two, and looked, contrary to what might have been
expected from his birth and bringing up in a hot climate, younger than he really
was. His complexion was very fair, an inheritance probably from his mother, as all
the Harmers were dark: his face, too, was much less bronzed than his father's, the
year he had spent in England having nearly effaced the effects of the Indian sun.
He was of about middle height, and well formed; but he had a languid, listless air,
which detracted much from the manliness of his appearance. His face was a good-
looking, almost a handsome one, and yet it gave the impression of there being
something wanting. That something was character. The mouth and chin were weak and
indecisive—not absolutely bad, only weak,—but it was sufficient to mar
the general effect of his face.
 
He was toying with a spoon, balancing it on the edge of an empty coffee cup, when a
sudden exclamation from his father startled him, and the spoon fell with a crash.
 
"What is the matter?"
 
Mr. Harmer gave no answer for some time, but continued to read in silence the
paragraph which had so strangely excited him. He presently laid the paper down on
his knees, seemed lost for some time in deep thought, and then took out his
handkerchief and blew his nose violently.
 
"My dear father," the young man said, for once fairly roused by all this
emotion and mystery, "what in the name of goodness is the matter? You quite
alarm me. The bank has not broken, has it? or anything terrible happened?"
 
"A very sad affair, Gerald; a very sad affair. Your uncles are both
drowned."
 
"By Jove!"
 
This being the only appropriate remark that occurred to Gerald Harmer, there was
silence again; and then, seeing that his father was not disposed to say more, the
young man stretched out his hand for the paper, and read the paragraph which
contained the intelligence.
 
"Appalling Accident On The Kentish Coast.—The neighbourhood of
Canterbury has been thrown into a state of consternation by an accident which has
deprived one of the oldest and most highly-respected families in the county of its
heads. The two Messrs. Harmer, of Harmer Place, near Canterbury, had rashly
ventured out from Herne Bay, with three boatmen, in a small yacht belonging to
them, just before the awful tempest, which while we write is still raging, broke
upon the coast. The storm came on so rapidly that it is supposed that they were
unable to return. At present nothing certain is known concerning the catastrophe;
but late in the afternoon, a small black object was observed by one of the
Whitstable coast-guard men, drifting past at a considerable distance from shore. A
telescope being brought to bear upon it, it was at once seen to be either a large
spar or a boat bottom upwards, with a human figure still clinging to it. In spite
of the fury of the gale, a band of noble fellows put off in one of the large
fishing-boats, and succeeded in bringing off the only survivor of the five men who
had embarked in the ill-fated craft. He proved to be the sailor who generally
managed Mr. Harmer's little yacht. He is a one-armed man, and this fact, singularly
enough, was the means of his life being saved; for he had succeeded in fastening
the hook at the end of his wooden arm so firmly in the keel of the yacht, that,
even after his strength had failed, and he could no longer have clung on, this
singular contrivance remained secure, and kept him in his place, in spite of all
the violence of the waves. He was nearly insensible when first rescued, and still
lies in a precarious state, and has not yet been able to give any details of the
mournful catastrophe. The bodies of the elder Mr. Harmer, and of one of the
boatmen, were washed ashore this morning, and experienced sailors anticipate that
the remaining bodies will come ashore with this evening's tide. Several men are on
the look-out for them. The Harmers of Harmer Place are one of the oldest of the
Kentish families, and were strict adherents to the Romish persuasion. It is
believed that no male heir remains, and it is confidently stated that the large
property will go eventually towards the aggrandisement of the Church to which they
belonged."
 
"Is that last part true?" Gerald asked. "Do we get the property, or
does it go to the priests?"
 
"We shall have none of it, Gerald: of that you may be quite sure. The priests
have taken good care of that point. They would never allow the property to fall
into Protestant hands if they could help it; and my poor brothers were, as far as I
can hear, mere puppets in their hands. No, there is not the least chance of that. I
do not say that it would not have been useful had it been otherwise; for, as you
know, owing to the troubles and riots I lost a good deal of money the last three
years we were in India; and although I have enough left for us to live upon
comfortably, Harmer Place would have been no bad addition. However, that was not to
be. I have always known that there was not be the slightest probability of such a
thing, so I shall feel no disappointment about the matter."
 
"Do you mean to go down to the funeral?" Gerald asked.
 
"Yes. Yes, I shall go, certainly. My poor brothers and I have never been
friends; have not seen each other for thirty years; indeed, even as a boy I saw
next to nothing of them; however, the least I can do is to follow them to the
grave. I shall go down to-morrow." After a pause, Mr. Harmer added, "I
shall get Ransome to go down with me to be present at the reading of the will. I
know it is of no use, as everything is sure to be done in legal form; still, as I
have no desire to lose even the remotest chance of saving from the priests a
property that has been in the hands of the family for centuries, I will take every
possible precaution. I shall therefore take Ransome down with me. I think you may
as well stay here until I return: it will be a painful and unpleasant
business."
 
Gerald had not the least wish to go. "He saw no advantage in putting himself
in the way of being snubbed, perhaps insulted, and only to see a fine property that
ought to come to them handed over to found monasteries and convents."
 
So on the next morning Herbert Harmer, or Mr. Harmer, as he should now be called,
took his seat on the top of the Canterbury coach, with Mr. Ransome, his solicitor,
a shrewd man of business, beside him.
 
It was late in the evening when the coach drew up at the "Fountain," at
that time one of the most famous posting-inns in England.
 
"You stop here to-night, gentlemen?" the landlord asked.
 
"This gentleman will stop here," Mr. Harmer answered. "I want a
conveyance in half an hour's time to take me on to Harmer Place."
 
The two gentlemen entered the hotel, and had some dinner, and then when the vehicle
which was to convey him was announced to be in readiness, Mr. Harmer prepared to
start, saying, "I am afraid I shall meet no warm welcome, Ransome. I think you
may as well order a bed-room for me; very likely I shall return here to-night. If I
do not, come over early to-morrow morning."
 
Mr. Harmer leaned gloomily back in the carriage as it passed out through the town
on to the road to Sturry, and mused sadly about old times. How different, and yet
in some respects how similar, was his position now to what it was when he last trod
that road thirty years back. Then, no one had loved him; his absence would be
little missed, and even less regretted. And now, when he returned to his old home
after so long an absence, he could assuredly expect to be received with no
pleasure, with no warm welcome. His sisters he remembered but faintly; he had not
seen them more than three or four times, and they were then slim, pale girls,
unnaturally constrained in manner, with thin pinched lips and downcast eyes. It was
a short drive: in a quarter of an hour or so they passed through the lodge-gates,
the gravel crunched under the wheels for another minute or two, and then there was
a stop. Mr. Harmer alighted. The front of the house was dark, not a single light
gleamed in any of the windows, all was hushed and quiet. He pulled at the great
bell; it sounded with a loud empty clang, which seemed to grate unnaturally in the
still night air.
 
"Stop here," he said to the driver. "I may return in a quarter of an
hour."
 
The door was opened and a faint light streamed out. "Who is it?" a voice
asked.
 
"Mr. Herbert Harmer," he said, entering. There was a slight exclamation
of astonishment, and then the door closed behind him. Mr. Harmer looked round; the
old hall, seen by the faint light which the servant carried in his hand, was even
blacker and more gloomy than he remembered it as a boy. He followed the man, who in
silence led the way across it to a small sitting-room, and who, lighting some
candles standing on the mantlepiece, then withdrew, saying he would inform his
mistresses that Mr. Harmer was here.
 
It was some minutes before Herbert Harmer heard any other sound than the ticking of
a clock against the wall, then the door opened and his two sisters entered, not
quite so tall as he had expected to see them, not perhaps so old, and yet with
faces which disappointed him, faces which no human love had ever brightened, no
loving fingers caressingly stroked, no lover's lips ever kissed. Faces expressing
an abnegation of self, indeed, but without that love and charity for others which
should have taken the place of self. Faces thin and pale, as by long vigil and
fasting; and eyes which seemed at times to reach your very thoughts, and then to
droop to avoid the answering glance which might seek to fathom theirs. Habitually,
perhaps from a long residence in convents abroad, their heads were slightly bent,
and their eyes fixed on the ground, while their arms lay usually folded one on the
other. Both were singular instances of the manner in which natures, naturally fiery
and wilful, can be completely subdued and kept down by severe discipline and long
training, and of how a warm and perhaps affectionate disposition can be warped and
constrained by the iron trammels of an ascetic and joyless life.
 
When they had entered and the door was closed, they stood side by side in exactly
the same attitude, apparently not looking at their brother, but waiting for him to
speak. As he did not, Cecilia the eldest broke the silence in a harsh, monotonous
voice, speaking like one who has learnt a lesson, and who only delivers what she
has got by rote.
 
"So you have come back at last, Herbert Harmer, to the house you have
disgraced, to the home you have forfeited. We expected you; what would you have?
"
 
"Nothing," Mr. Harmer answered. "I want nothing; I am come only to
attend the funeral of my dead brothers."
 
"And would you, Herbert Harmer—apostate to the faith of your
ancestors—would you dare to follow those who died faithful to their God? They
cast you off in their life, and their dead bodies would bleed if you approached
them."
 
"Cecilia," Mr. Harmer said, much shocked, "to what end these useless
recriminations? I have trodden my path; those who are gone have followed theirs. We
shall each answer before our Maker. Why should we make earthly quarrels about
heavenly matters? Rather let us be friends, let us forget the long unfortunate
past, let us be as brother and sisters to each other, and let me try to fill to you
the place of those who are gone."
 
For the space of a minute there was no answer, and then the elder sister again
spoke, but in a changed tone, and a voice in which some natural feeling struggled.
 
"It cannot be, Herbert. We have chosen, as you say, opposite paths, and we
must keep them to the end. I do not—we do not—wish to think unkindly of
you; we will try and forget what cause we have for doing so. Even you must feel
sorrow to know that the old walls which have held the Harmers so long, will, at our
death, hold them no longer. For I tell you, brother, that it will be so. He who has
gone has left us a life interest in part of the property, as trustees only for the
good cause, and at our death it all goes to support the glory and power of the true
Church. I tell you this that you may cherish no false hopes of what is not to
be."
 
"I did not, sister. Knowing the Harmers as I know them, I was sure that
neither I nor mine would ever dwell here. Still, I owe it to myself and my son to
be present when that will is read. It is better to know for certain that the matter
is final and irrevocable."
 
"The will will be opened and read after the funeral, which will take place at
half-past eleven to-morrow. You are perfectly welcome to be present: indeed, it is
better so."
 
"I have my legal adviser with me; I should wish him to accompany me."
 
"Certainly; he will see that everything has been done in perfectly legal form.
Is there anything else you would say?"
 
"Nothing," Mr. Harmer said; and preparing to take leave, he approached
the door, near which they were standing. He stopped before them, and then, with a
sudden impulse, held out a hand to each.
 
"Oh, sisters, why should this be? Why, after so many years, should we meet and
part thus? Can we not be friends? Can we not yet love each other? Can we not be
happy together, and worship God in our own ways?"
 
Touched by the voice and manner, and by the warm, loving tone—such as for
years had not fallen upon their ears—perhaps at that moment, for nearly the
first time in their lives, they obtained a glimpse of what life might have been to
them, but was not and now never could be; the floodgates of the hearts of those two
cold, self-restrained women were all at once broken down, as never before they had
been, and, with a passion of tears, they threw themselves simultaneously on their
brother's neck.
 
It was not for long. Training and habit soon reasserted their power, and they stood
before him again, calm, but still tearful and shaken.
 
"We have been wrong, brother; but no, not so. It has been good for us to have
met you. I believe you to be a good man. I believe now that you are sincere,
although grievously mistaken. If, as will probably be the case, after to-morrow we
should not see you again—for our present intention is at once to retire from
the world—we shall always think of you with kindness, as of the only being in
it in whom we have an interest; we shall remember you with prayers to God, that you
may yet see your errors and be saved; and now, good-bye."
 
"I shall see you to-morrow?" Mr. Harmer asked.
 
"Yes, after the funeral." And they were gone.
 
Mr. Harmer again took his place in the carriage, and returned sad and thoughtful to
Canterbury.
 
At a quarter after eleven the next day, Mr. Harmer and his solicitor alighted from
a carriage at the lodge gates, and, sending the vehicle back to the town, entered
the grounds.
 
"I think you were wrong to come so early, Ransome. The service will last at
least two hours. You had much better have taken my advice, and come on by yourself
later."
 
"I shall do very well, Mr. Harmer. I can walk about the grounds. I see there
are a good many people about, and I am sure to find some one to talk to till it is
time for me to come in."
 
There were several other persons walking the same way as themselves towards the
house; but they presently met a man coming in the opposite direction,—an old
man, in a rough sailor's suit, with only one arm. When he came up to them he
stopped, looked Mr. Harmer full in the face, and then took off his hat, saying,
"God bless your honour! it's many a long year since I saw you. Do you not
remember Robert Althorpe?"
 
"Bless me!" Mr. Harmer exclaimed, shaking the old sailor warmly by the
hand. "I am indeed glad to see you, old friend. This, Mr. Ransome, is a very
old friend of mine; I may say the first I ever had. So you are still here?"
 
"Aye, aye, your honour; but I live at Herne now. I came over here late last
night, and heard you had been up at the house in the evening; so I thought you
would be coming to the funeral this morning, and made bold to wait here in hopes of
seeing you."
 
"You did quite right, and I am very glad that I met you. But there, the time
is getting on, and I must not wait. Come down to the 'Fountain' this afternoon, and
ask for me; we must have a long talk over old times, and I will see what can be
done to make you comfortable for the future. This is a dreadful business," he
added, as he turned to go up to the house.
 
"Aye, your honour, it is. God knows, I would have saved them if I could."
 
"You!" Mr. Harmer said, stopping suddenly. "What, were you with
them? I remember now that the account said it was a one-armed sailor, but of course
I never thought for a moment of its being you."
 
"Aye, your honour, it were me sure enough; but don't let me keep you now. I
will tell you the whole yarn this afternoon."
 
Mr. Harmer walked away leaving the old sailor with the solicitor, who had, from the
instant when the man said he had been present at the accident, regarded him with
the most lively interest.
 
"So you were there, my man," he said. "Well, the day is very cold, I
have some time to wait, and I daresay you have nothing particular to do, so walk
down with me to the village; we shall be able, I have no doubt, to get a snug room
with a good fire, and you shall tell me the whole story over a glass of grog."
 
When Mr. Harmer entered the house, he found the hall, and indeed the whole
dwelling, thronged with the priests and assistants of the Romish Church, in the
full robes of their office. All seemed engaged, and no one paid much attention to
him. In a few minutes a procession was formed; in the rear of this he took his
place, and it then moved with low chanting through the long passages of the house
to the chapel which adjoined, and indeed formed part of it. Herbert Harmer followed
mechanically, mechanically he took the place assigned to him there, and listened to
the solemn service. As in a dream he saw the chapel hung with black, and the
catafalque containing the coffins of his dead brothers, and the two black figures
kneeling beside them; as if it were some strange thing in which he had no part or
share. His thoughts went far back, through long years, to the time when he had last
heard those solemn chants and smelt the faint odour of the incense, the tears
welled up in his eyes, and his thoughts were still of the days of his childhood,
when a stir around him roused him, and he saw that the service was over. In a few
minutes the chapel was emptied, and all returned into the dwelling. Here a servant
informed him that a gentleman was awaiting him in the library. Opening the door, he
beckoned to Mr. Ransome to follow him, and together they went into the drawing-
room. Here he found his sisters, and several of the higher clergy who had assisted
at the ceremonial, assembled.
 
On his entrance his sisters rose to meet him, and greeted him with formal ceremony;
but Mr. Harmer thought that, under their impassive exterior, he could perceive that
they were much moved; and that, although thoroughly agreeing as they did in the
propriety and justice of the deed, they were yet sorry at heart for the coming
sentence which was to cut off their only surviving brother from all share in the
old family property. Miss Harmer then shortly introduced her brother to those
present, who received him courteously, being far too well bred men of the world to
betray the least exultation over a conquered enemy who could no longer be
dangerous, and towards whom, therefore, a generous magnanimity might be safely
displayed.
 
A few general remarks suitable to the occasion were exchanged, and then at a sign
from Miss Harmer, all took seats round the room, and a quiet business-looking man,
evidently a solicitor, approached the table with a legal document in his hand. It
was the will of the late Edward Harmer, which he opened and proceeded to read.
Divested of all legal technicalities, the contents were briefly as follows:—
 
After leaving his sisters a life interest in a considerable sum, he bequeathed the
whole remainder to his brother Robert. In the event, however, of Robert not
surviving him, he ordered that the estate should be sold, and that the proceeds,
together with all other property whatsoever of which he should be
possessed—and the amount was large, as the Harmers had not for years lived up
to their income—should be paid into the hands of two well-known dignitaries
of the Roman Catholic Church, to be expended by them in accordance with an enclosed
document.
 
When the lawyer had finished, he folded up the will, and, addressing Mr. Harman,
said,—
 
"Have you any question you would like to ask? If so I shall be happy to answer
you. This will was drawn up by me some years since at the request of the testator,
who was in good health, mentally and bodily. I was myself one of the witnesses of
his signature; the other witness can be produced."
 
"I have no question to ask," Mr. Harmer said, gravely; "the contents
of the will are precisely such as I had anticipated they would be."
 
There was a pause, and the lawyer remarked,—
 
"In that case I do not know that there is anything further to be said at
present."
 
Mr. Harmer turned towards his sister with the intention of saying farewell, when he
was surprised by Mr. Ransome stepping forward and saying—
 
"I have a remark or two to make on behalf of Mr. Harmer in reference to the
document which has just been read."
 
There was a little movement of surprise, Mr. Harmer being more astonished than any
one present, and all listened with anxiety for what was to follow.
 
"I admit on behalf of Mr. Harmer that the document which has just been read is
the last testament of the late Mr. Edward Harmer; of that no question can I suppose
arise. By the terms of that will he bequeathes the whole of his property to his
brother Robert, subject to the payment of the legacies to the Misses Harmer. In the
event of Robert not surviving him, he makes other dispositions of his property.
These it is not necessary to enter into, as that contingency has not arisen. For,
gentlemen, I am in a position to prove to you that Mr. Robert Harmer did survive
his brother; he, therefore, under the will, came into possession of the property,
and as Mr. Robert Harmer has unfortunately died intestate, at least so I presume,
Mr. Herbert Harmer, as heir-at-law, of course inherits the estate."
 
As Mr. Ransome spoke he moved to the door, opened it and called to some one who was
waiting in the hall, and Robert Althorpe entered with his hat in his hand. No one
moved, no one spoke, a stupor of blank dismay had fallen upon all present. Their
faces, which when the will was read, were bright with irrepressible exultation, now
expressed the deepest consternation. They could hardly believe that the prize which
they had made so sure of was about to be snatched from their grasp.
 
"This," Mr. Ransome said, "is Robert Althorpe, the sailor who had
charge of the little yacht belonging to the late Mr. Harmer, and who was the sole
survivor of those who embarked in her. Miss Harmer knows that this is correct. Be
so good, my man, will you, as to tell these ladies and gentlemen what you told me
relative to the death of the Mr. Harmers.
 
"Well ladies, and your honours," the sailor said, "when I felt the
boat go over I stuck to her, and never left go. I soon got my head above water, and
clambered on to her bottom. I had hardly got my breath, before I saw a head come
out of the water close by me. I held on to the keel with my hook, leaned over, and
caught him by the hair, and helped him on to the boat beside me. That was Mr.
Robert Harmer. I looked round again, and thought I saw an arm come up for a moment,
but that was all I saw of any of them, and I don't think one of them ever came up
after she upset. Mr. Robert Harmer was very weak, but he clung with me for nigh ten
minutes, sometimes washed nearly off, and getting weaker and weaker every minute,
and I saw he could not last long. We did not speak, the waves and the wind were too
high, and we were half the time under water; but I could see the poor gentleman was
praying very hard. At last a big wave came over all, and nearly carried me off, and
I had a hard fight to get back again. When I had time to look round, Mr. Robert
Harmer was gone, and that was the last I ever saw of him. Which I am ready to take
my davy."
 
When the sailor had done there was another long silence, and then Mr. Ransome
said,—
 
"This, gentlemen, is perfectly conclusive proof that Mr. Robert Harmer
survived his brother, and would be held so in any court of law. It is, I have no
question, a surprise to you, as it is to my client, Mr. Harmer; indeed, it is only
within the last hour that I have been put in possession of the fact; I am sure,
therefore, that Mr. Harmer will not wish to force upon you any sudden decision; but
I would submit to you that no question can arise either in the point of law or
fact. I would suggest to him that he should retire for an hour and then return for
your answer. In the meantime, merely as a matter of form, I have placed a person in
the hall to keep possession of the place in the name of Mr. Herbert Harmer, as
heir-at-law to his brother the late Mr. Robert Harmer. The sailor will remain here,
and you can interrogate him further on the subject."
 
So saying, and bowing to those present, who had not yet recovered sufficiently from
their dismay to utter a word, he took the almost stupefied Mr. Harmer by the arm
and left the room.
 
After they had gone there was a long and animated debate; but the conclusion at
which they most reluctantly arrived, under the advice of the lawyer who had drawn
up the will, was, that there was at present nothing to do, but to leave Mr. Herbert
Harmer in possession, and then, if upon deliberation and further advice it should
be thought right to bring the case to trial, to do so. And so they all went away,
and Mr. Harmer took possession of the home of his father; but not immediately, for
his sisters asked him to leave them a week to make their arrangements. He begged
them to stay there as long as they wished, and indeed pressed them to make it their
home. This, however, they refused to do. By the will of their brother they were
amply provided for, and they intended to travel, and perhaps finally to enter a
religious house on the Continent.
 
So in a week the old house was empty, and Herbert Harmer entered it as undisputed
master.

---------------CHAPTER IV. THE LAST OF THE HARMERS.------------

 And so in spite of all human precautions and care, the property of the old
Roman Catholic family was not disposed of for the benefit and glory of Mother
Church; but passed into the hands of the Protestant and apostate younger brother,
under whose ownership and care it changed not a little.
 
Not externally; there no great alteration was possible, unless the whole place had
been pulled down and rebuilt, but the thick trees which had crowded it in, and made
it dark and gloomy, were thinned out, so that the air and light could come in upon
it; bright flower-beds took the place of the masses of shrubbery on the lawn in
front, and as far as could be done, the whole place was cleared and brightened.
Inside, much greater changes were made—there, indeed, the old house was
completely remodelled, new paper, new paint, new furniture and fittings of every
description. Modern windows were put in where practicable, that is, wherever they
could be inserted without violent incongruity with the style of architecture; part
of the house indeed—that part containing the principal apartments—was
entirely modernized, party walls were pulled away, small rooms thrown into large
ones, the ceilings and roofs raised, bow windows thrown out, and a bright, cheerful
air given to it.
 
In the chapel adjoining the house great alterations were made. Coloured glass
windows took the place of the plain ones formerly there; these had been inserted
after a visit of inspection paid by a party of Puritan cavalry, who, not having
succeeded in finding the man of Belial of whom they were in search, consoled
themselves under their disappointment by the holy amusement of smashing the
beautiful stained-glass windows, and destroying the decoration and carvings of the
little chapel. The seats were now removed, and the shrines, hangings, pictures, and
other emblems of the Romish Church were taken down. The grand stone altar was
retained, and a large cross in black marble was placed over it, taking the place of
the wooden crucifix which had so long hung there. At the foot of the steps leading
up to the altar, and where they had so often knelt in prayer, a beautiful monument
of white marble was erected to the dead brothers, on which the sun threw strange,
solemn lights as it streamed in through the coloured windows.
 
All these changes and alterations were carried on under the personal care and
inspection of Mr. Harmer, who, with his son, came down at once to Canterbury,
taking up their residence for the first two months at the "Fountain," but
spending most of their time over at the "Place." And although when masons
and decorators once take possession of a house they generally contrive to make
their stay nearly interminable, yet, money, energy, and personal supervision will
occasionally work wonders, and in this case, in three months after taking
possession—that is, by the end of June—Mr. Harmer had the satisfaction
of seeing the work completed, and the little army of men engaged upon it fairly out
of the house.
 
As soon as they had gone into residence, the neighbouring gentry called almost in a
body. To them it possessed the charm of a new discovery; they knew the place
existed, but all they had seen of it was the lodge gate, and the twisted chimneys
of the house as they rose among the trees which shut it in from the view; that was
all. They hardly knew what it was like, even from tradition; neither their fathers
or grandfathers had ever called there; not that the religion of its owner had
constituted any serious objection to their so doing, but the Harmers led too
secluded and recluse a life to care about knowing any one. With only a very few
among the county families of their own creed had they any visiting acquaintance
whatever, and this was confined to an exchange of formal calls, or of stately
dinners once or so in the course of a year. Their only intimate acquaintances were
chosen among foreigners, ecclesiastics or others, generally Italian, whom they had
known during their long absences on the Continent; of these there had been usually
one or two staying in the house when the family were at home; beyond this they had
no friends. But now all this was to change, and the carriages of the neighbouring
gentry dashed in quick succession up the drive where once the green moss had grown
undisturbed, and gay talk and merry laughter were heard where formerly silence had
reigned almost unbroken.
 
The visits afforded great satisfaction to those who paid them. The father and son
were both much liked, and pronounced great acquisitions to the county society.
 
These visits were shortly returned, and invitations to dinner speedily followed.
But not to dinner-parties alone was the festivity confined; picnics were got up,
balls given, and it was unanimously agreed for once to overlook the fact that there
was no lady head to Harmer Place, but that mothers and daughters should accept Mr.
Harmer's lavish hospitality regardless of that fact. Indeed, the Harmers' accession
to the property gave rise to a series of feasting and festivity such as had not
been known in that part of the county for years previously.
 
Into all this Mr. Harmer entered with a fresh pleasure, and a frank joyous spirit
which charmed and attracted all. With the ladies he was an especial favourite; to
them his manners and address were so singularly different to those of the men with
whom they were accustomed to associate, that they could not fail to be greatly
impressed by it. Herbert Harmer had seen little or nothing of women, for—with
the exception only of his wife, who had always been a great invalid, and whom he
had nursed for years with almost devotional care and kindness—he had been
thrown in contact with very few English women, and he regarded the whole sex with
an almost chivalrous devotion and respect which in a man of his age was very
strange and touching. Although a very well-read man—for in his distant home
he had kept himself well supplied with the current English literature, and with
scientific works of every description—he knew very little of real life. Of
commanding intellect, had he been placed in different circumstances where his mind
could have had fair scope for its exercise, Herbert Harmer would have made a
conspicuous figure for himself; as it was, although all found in him a charming
companion and a sympathizer in their various tastes, few would have suspected how
great were the stores of knowledge which the simple-hearted childlike man had
stored up in all those years of solitary reading.
 
It was this general sympathy for the tastes of others, together with the reverence
for the sex, which led him to treat the young girl of seventeen with a deference
not inferior to that which he would have exhibited for her white-haired
grandmother, which made him so universally liked by women; and had Herbert Harmer,
although a man of forty-seven, and looking older than he was, wished to marry
again, he might have nearly taken his choice among the fair young Kentish maidens
who surrounded him.
 
Women, especially young women, appreciate a character such as this far better than
men can do. Their purity of heart recognizes instinctively its goodness and
childlike wisdom; and very many would own to themselves that, without entertaining
any passionate love for him, they could yet entrust their happiness to such a one
with a confidence far more serene and implicit than that which they would
experience in the case of a younger man.
 
Perhaps a thought as to the possibility of Mr. Harmer marrying again may have
entered into the calculations of some of the matrons with grown-up families, and
who would not have unwillingly have seen one of their daughters holding sway as
mistress at Harmer Place. But if so, it was not for long; for Mr. Harmer, upon one
occasion—when the possibility of such an event as a new mistress for his
house being forthcoming when the alterations were completed, was laughingly
suggested—resented the idea in quite a serious manner. From this it was quite
evident that the future mistress of Harmer Place, whomsoever she might be, would
enter it as the wife of Gerald rather than of Herbert Harmer.
 
Gerald was by no means so great a favourite as his father; nor, although he
earnestly desired to be popular, could he altogether succeed in his object. He
could not overcome the listless manner which his long residence in India had
rendered part of his nature; he could not acquire an interest in all the chit-chat
and gossip of country society, or manifest more than a most languid interest in the
agricultural conversations and disquisitions which formed the large staple of the
country gentleman's talk. Of the price of corn he knew nothing. Malt and hops were
mysteries, into which, beyond drinking the resulting compound, he had no desire to
penetrate. And yet he was a sensible, good-hearted young fellow enough. His
misfortune was that he had not strength of mind to adapt himself to the life and
people he was thrown among.
 
Mr. Harmer was extremely anxious that his son should marry early and well; not well
in a worldly point of view, but to some true woman, to whom he could look up, and
who would in time correct the faults of his character. Those faults his father saw
and understood; and he feared much that his weak and facile disposition would
render him liable to fall into serious errors and faults, and would be not unlikely
to lead him to be entrapped into some hasty marriage, the evil consequences of
which might be incalculable to him. Mr. Harmer therefore watched with anxiety to
see to which, among the various young girls of the neighbourhood, Gerald was most
attracted, and at first he gave his father some little trouble. New to female
society, it possessed an infinite charm to him; but he seemed to admire too
generally to devote himself to any one in particular, and although he at once
commenced a series of active flirtations, he appeared quite unable to single out
any one for especial preference. Les absents ont toujours tort; and the converse of
the proverb seemed to him to be equally true—the present are always right.
Whosoever might chance to be in his society would assuredly, for the time being,
appear to approach the nearest to perfection. Gerald Harmer was certainly a much
greater favourite with the girls than he was with their fathers and brothers. That
languid, indolent way of his, as if he rather thought that it was the duty of other
people to devote themselves to his amusement, and which made the men vote him a
puppy, was to them quite new and very amusing. Girls, too, rather like occasionally
reversing positions, and bestowing homage instead of receiving it; and so the
lively country girls enjoyed these languid flirtations with Gerald, and entered
into them with great spirit, laughing in their sleeves, perhaps, at him while they
did so, and not being in the least likely to become the victims of any very ardent
passion.
 
When the shooting season commenced, however, a great change came over him, for he
threw himself into the sport with an ardour that astonished his father. At last he
really seemed to have found something worth caring for, and in a short time, by his
devotion for field sports, he rose many degrees in the estimation of the young
squires, who agreed that Gerald Harmer had turned out a capital fellow after all,
in spite of his airs and nonsense. It is probable that he sank in the sisters'
estimation as he rose in the brothers', for he now no longer cared for female
society, and spent the whole of his time either in shooting over his own or other
estates, with parties of their young owners, or sometimes alone, with no other
companion than Long William, the keeper—or else in hunting, to which also he
took with great ardour. His sporting tastes rapidly developed; dogs, horses, and
guns occupied his whole thoughts; and few would have recognized in the figure in
shooting-jacket and gaiters, returning splashed to the head, after a hard day's
work, the indolent lounger who had considered it almost too great a trouble to
think for himself. His father observed this change with pleasure, as he had noticed
with pain his son's increasing listlessness, although he was personally a loser by
it; for Gerald had been hitherto his constant companion in his walks over his
estate, and his visits of kindness at his labourers' cottages, which, under his
care, assumed a very different and far more comfortable aspect than that which they
had worn under the old régime. Still, he felt that it might do him much
good; he thought it natural that the young man should be fond of sport, and should
seek the companionship of men of his own age; and though he missed the former
familiar intercourse with his son, he assented with a little sigh of regret to the
new state of things, and told himself that it was much better so, and was very
right and proper. Even of an evening it was seldom now that Gerald accompanied his
father to the houses of the neighbouring gentry, always pleading fatigue, or some
other excuse, for not doing so. On these occasions, when his father had started
alone, he would be sure to find some pretext, some forgotten order, or question
which must be asked, as a reason for strolling down in the course of the evening to
smoke a pipe with his inseparable ally, Long William, the keeper.
 
Of this his father of course knew nothing; but the people of the village soon
noticed these visits, and shook their heads when they saw the young squire go in at
the cottage door, for William's character stood by no means high, and such
companionship could do no good. Sometimes, too, Long William would not have
returned from his duties when Gerald sauntered down, and then the task of
entertaining him till his return would fall on William's pretty sister, Madge, who
kept house for her brother. Altogether it would have been far better for Gerald to
have accompanied his father, than to spend the evening sitting there smoking, and
occasionally drinking; not truly that he was fond of drink for its own sake, but as
he felt obliged to send Long William out for a bottle of spirits, he felt equally
bound to keep him in countenance while he drank it.
 
So things went on into the spring, and then the shooting and hunting being over,
Gerald, to his father's great annoyance, subsided into his former listless state;
indeed, into a much worse condition than he was in before. He no longer was Mr.
Harmer's companion in his rambles over the estate; he took no interest in his plans
for the improvement of the houses of their poorer neighbours; he had no pleasure in
society, which before he had so enjoyed; indeed, so entirely without aim or object
did his life seem to have become, that Mr. Harmer felt that some change was
absolutely necessary for him, and proposed to him that he should go for a few
months' ramble on the Continent.
 
This proposition Gerald embraced with eagerness, and in a few days started on his
tour.
 
Mr. Harmer had at first thought of accompanying him, but finally decided against
doing so, as he judged it better that Gerald should have to think and act entirely
for himself; for being forced to do this, and to make new acquaintances and
friends—which in travelling he could only do by exerting himself to be
agreeable—he would be far more likely to shake off his listless apathy, than
if he had some one ever with him, to arrange matters, and take all necessity of
thought or exertion off his hands.
 
And so Gerald went alone, and, as far as could be gleaned from his letters, he
certainly seemed improving. At first he wrote without much interest in what he saw,
but gradually the tone of his letters became more healthy, and when he reached
Switzerland, he wrote in quite enthusiastic terms. He had joined a party who
intended to stay there two or three months, and thoroughly wander over the various
lakes and valleys of that lovely country. He enjoyed the life immensely, was
becoming a first-rate mountaineer, and altogether he appeared to have entirely
recovered his life and spirits.
 
Mr. Harmer remained quietly at home, passing his time between his books, the
management of his estates, and the pleasures of social intercourse with his
neighbours; and few days passed without his riding out into the country, or into
Canterbury, for a visit to some among them.
 
Everywhere he continued to gain golden opinions, and became so popular that he was
requested to allow himself to be put in nomination as member for that division of
the county at the next election. This offer, although very gratifying, Mr. Harmer
declined. He was very happy and contented with his present mode of life, and had
not the least wish to take upon himself the care and responsibility of a seat in
Parliament.
 
In autumn, soon after the shooting began, Gerald returned, looking sunburnt and
healthy; full of life and of his adventures and travels, and, seemingly,
permanently cured of his listless, indolent ways. His father was much pleased with
the change, and was now quite satisfied with him; and yet at times he
fancied—but it might be only fancy—that in the pauses of conversation
he would fall into short reveries of something unpleasant; a quick, gloomy, anxious
look seemed to pass across his face, and although it would be instantly dispelled,
still Mr. Harmer could not help thinking that he had something on his mind. But if
it was so, he said no word to his father; and Herbert Harmer, even had he been sure
that such a secret had existed, which he was far from being, was of too delicate a
disposition to make the least advance towards a confidence which his son did not
seek to repose in him.
 
At last the hunting season began again, to which Gerald had been looking forward
eagerly, as he preferred it even to shooting, perhaps because it was a much greater
change, as the meets were seldom held near Canterbury, and he would have to send
his hunter on the night before, and drive over perhaps fifteen or twenty miles in
the morning. However, it happened that one of the first meets of the season was
appointed to take place near Canterbury, about three miles out on the old Dover
Road, and Gerald started off, after an early breakfast, in unusually high spirits.
 
Mr. Harmer, late in the afternoon, was in his library, which was in the front of
the house, and the windows of which commanded a view down the drive.
 
He had been reading, but the fast-closing shades of a wintry afternoon—it was
the 12th of November, had rendered that difficult, and he had laid down his book
and walked to the window, to look out at the still trees and the quiet hush of the
thickening twilight.
 
Suddenly there came on his ear a low confused sound, as of many people moving and
speaking; and then a horse's footsteps came fast up the drive.
 
He strained his eyes for the first sight of the rider, as he came round the turn of
the drive into sight.
 
It was not Gerald—it was one of his most intimate friends.
 
What could it be? He threw open the window and listened again; between the strokes
of the horses' feet in the still evening air, he could hear the confused sound of
voices and the trampling of feet coming nearer. What could it be? A nameless terror
blanched his cheek, a dim vision of the truth flashed across him. In an instant he
was at the hall-door, which he opened and went out on to the steps. The horseman
had alighted, and now stood looking pale and anxious at the door. When it opened,
and he saw Mr. Harmer himself, he shrank back as a man might, who, knowing that he
had something very painful to go through, is suddenly confronted with it before he
had quite nerved himself to undergo it. Recovering himself, however, although his
usually hearty, jovial face was blanched white, he prepared to speak. Herbert
Harmer waved him back, he could tell him nothing that could be new to him now. He
had seen his face, and hope had died with the look, and the father stood listening
with suspended breath to the irregular trampling now rapidly approaching up the
avenue.
 
"Is he dead?" he asked with his eyes, for no sound came from the lips.
"Not dead—but——" The eyes closed for a moment in answer
that they understood—not dead, but dying; and then he stood rigid and
immovable, his eyes open but seeing nothing, his whole senses merged in the effort
of hearing.
 
The gentleman who had brought the news, seeing that at present he could do nothing
there, quietly entered the house and ordered the affrighted servants instantly to
get a bed-room ready, with hot water, sponges, and everything that could be
required.
 
Mr. Harmer moved not till he saw appear round the turn of the drive the head of a
sad procession: carried on the shoulders of six men, on a door hastily taken from a
cottage for the purpose, was something in red covered with a cloak; riding by the
side were several horsemen in scarlet, most of whom, on seeing Mr. Harmer standing
on the steps, reined back their horses and returned into the village, there to wait
for news. Not that they expected any news, save one; for the man in green riding by
the head of the little procession was the doctor. He was on the field at the time
of the accident, he had already examined the injured man, had shaken his head sadly
over him, and the word had gone round—no hope.
 
His horse, a young hunter which he had only purchased a few days before, had struck
the top bar in leaping a gate, and had come down headlong on its rider, fearfully
crushing and mangling him. They carried him up to his room and laid him on the bed;
his father walking beside speechless and tearless. The only question he asked was,
"Will he ever recover his consciousness?"
 
The doctor replied, "He may at the last."
 
The last did not come till next morning, when, just as the grey light was breaking,
he opened his eyes. For some time they wandered confusedly about the room, as if
endeavouring to comprehend what had happened; then he tried to move, and a slight
groan of pain broke from him, and by the change in his expression it was evident he
remembered all. His eyes met those of his father, and fixed there with a look of
deep affection, then a sudden recollection of pain seemed to occur to him, and he
closed his eyes again and lay for sometime quite still.
 
The doctor who had his finger on his wrist motioned to the father that the end was
fast approaching. Again the eyes opened and he was evidently rallying his strength
to speak. The doctor withdrew a few paces, and the father placed his ear to the
dying man's mouth. The lips moved, but all that the hearer could catch
was—"Dear father—kind to Madge—my sake—God
forgive;" then the lips ceased moving, and the spirit was gone for ever.
 
Ten days had passed since then, Gerald Harmer had been laid in the quiet graveyard
of the village church, and his father was sitting thoughtful and alone in his
library. A knock at the door, and Mr. Brandon, the rector of the place, was
announced, and by Mr. Harmer's manner as he rose to meet him, it was evident that
he was an expected visitor.
 
"I am much obliged to you for calling so speedily," he said, after they
had seated themselves. "I have a question which weighs much upon my mind, and
which is to me an inexpressibly painful one. Yet it is one which I must ask, and
you are the only person of whom I can ask it. I may be mistaken altogether. I may
be agitating myself under some wretched misconception; God grant it may be so; and
yet I must arrive at the truth. Do you know any young person in the village by the
name of Madge? how old is she, who are her parents, and what character does she
bear?"
 
The clergyman's face became very serious as Mr. Harmer addressed him, and the
latter saw at once by his unmistakable start of surprise, and by the look of
distress which came across his face, that he not only knew such a person, but that
he was very well aware why the question was asked.
 
Mr. Harmer laid his face in his hands and groaned; this was almost harder to bear
than his son's death. It was some time before he looked up again. When he did so,
the clergyman said in a tone of deep feeling and commiseration—
 
"It is a truly sad affair, my dear sir; indeed, I question if you yet know how
sad. The name of the young girl of whom you ask was Madge Needham; she lived with
her brother, one of your keepers. I hardly know how to tell you what has occurred.
She had been for some time in delicate health, and was standing at the door of her
cottage when she saw a little crowd coming down the village street. She carelessly
asked a lad who was running past what it was, and was told that they were carrying
home your unfortunate son who had been killed out hunting. The boy ran on; she said
nothing, but closed the door of the cottage. The shock had struck home. That night
a little child was born into the world, who before morning had lost both father and
mother."
 
Mr. Brandon ceased, his voice faltered as he spoke, and the tears fell from his
eyes. Mr. Harmer hid his face in his hands, and sobbed unrestrainedly; he was
inexpressibly shocked and grieved. At last he said—
 
"Is the child alive?"
 
"Yes; a young married woman in the village who had just lost a baby of her own
has taken it for the present. She consulted me about it only this morning, and I
told her that in a short time when I could approach the subject with you, I would
do so, although I did not expect that the opportunity would have occurred so soon.
Still, I thought it right, painful as it must be to you, that you should know the
truth. I believe from what I have heard that there can be no question as to the
paternity of the infant, as I heard, late in the spring, rumours of your son being
frequently down at the cottage. But it did not reach my ears until after he had
gone abroad, consequently I could do nothing in the matter but hope for the best,
and trust that rumour was mistaken."
 
After another short silence, Mr. Harmer said—
 
"Mr. Brandon, I am very much indebted to you for what you have already done in
the matter; will you further oblige me by acting for me in it? If the woman who has
now charge of the child is a respectable and proper person, and is willing to
continue the care of it, so much the better. If not, will you seek some one who
will do so? Make any arrangements in the way of money you may think fit. By the
way, the east lodge, which is the one farthest from the village, is at present
unoccupied; let them move in there. I will give orders that it shall be made
comfortable. Will you see to this for me? So much for the present; we can make
other arrangements afterwards."
 
And so it was carried out. Mrs. Green, the woman who had first taken care of the
child, with her husband, a steady working carpenter, moved into the east lodge.
They had no other children, and soon took to the little orphan, and loved her as
their own. To them, indeed, the adoption of the child proved of great benefit. The
lodge was made comfortable; a piece of ground was added to it, and put in order for
a garden; a handsome yearly sum was paid; and the husband had steady work upon the
estate.
 
Long William, the keeper, had a sufficient sum of money given him, to enable him to
emigrate to Australia.
 
Upon the death of his son, Mr. Harmer went abroad for three or four years, and then
returned again to the old place. The shock which he had undergone had aged him
much, and at fifty-one he looked as old as many men of sixty. He still kept up the
acquaintance of his former friends; but although fond of quiet social intercourse,
he ceased altogether to enter into general society, and devoted himself entirely to
study and scientific pursuits.
 
It was a little before Mr. Harmer's return, that Dr. Ashleigh established himself
at Canterbury, having purchased a practice there. They met accidentally at a
friend's house, and soon became very intimate with each other. They were mutually
attracted by the similarity of their tastes and pursuits, and by each other's
intellectual superiority and goodness of heart. They were indeed kindred spirits,
and their society became a source of the greatest mutual pleasure and
gratification. Whenever Dr. Ashleigh could find time from his professional
pursuits, he would drive over to pass a few hours of scientific research and
experiment with his friend; and if anything should occur to prevent the visit being
paid for a few days, Mr. Harmer would, in turn, come over for an evening to the
doctor's, at Canterbury.
 
In the mean time little Sophy Needham was growing up. She was not a pretty child,
but had an intelligent face, with large thoughtful grey eyes.
 
It was some time after his return from abroad before Mr. Harmer trusted himself to
ride out at the east gate. At last, one day—it was the anniversary of his
son's death—he did so, and stopping there, fastened up his horse, and went in
to see the child, then exactly four years old.
 
At first she was inclined to be distant and shy; but when once she had recovered
sufficiently to fix her large grey inquiring eyes upon him, she went to him
readily, and in five minutes they were fast friends; for indeed he was one of those
men whom children instinctively feel to be good, and take to as if by intuition.
 
After this he would frequently go down to see her, and take her little presents of
toys and dolls. Until she was ten years old she went to the village school, and
then he sent her to London to a good school, to be educated as he said, for a
governess. When she came home for the holidays, he would frequently have her up for
a day to the house, and would interest himself greatly in her talk and growing
knowledge.
 
It was some little time after his return from abroad that Mr. Harmer received a
letter from his sisters, who had since they left been travelling and living abroad,
saying, that if he were still of the same mind, and would repeat his invitation,
they would be glad to come and stay with him for a time, as they longed to see the
old place where they had lived so long. Although much surprised, Mr. Harmer
willingly assented, and his two sisters soon afterwards arrived. Their visit, at
first intended only to last for a few weeks, lengthened into months; then they went
away for a time, but soon returned, and took up their abode there permanently.
 
Whatever their motives may have been originally in returning to the place, they
unquestionably became very much attached to their brother, and were far happier
than they had ever before been during their lives: they pursued their religious
exercises, he his scientific pursuits, without interference from each other, and as
the genial intercourse and kindness of their brother brightened their days, so did
their affection and interest soothe his. Their presence was a relief to the
previous silence and monotony of the house, and their management took all household
cares off his hands.
 
On one subject alone had any disagreement arisen, and that was the presence of
Sophy; but here their brother at once so decidedly, and even sternly, stated that
his wishes on that point were to be considered as law, and that no interference
with them would be for a moment tolerated, that they were obliged at once to
acquiesce, although they still, as much as they dare, kept up by their manner a
protest against her presence.
 
Sophy now, during her holidays, stopped entirely at the house, occupying a position
something between that of visitor and humble companion. The girl accepted her lot
with rare tact for one of her age. She felt her anomalous position, for she had, at
Mr. Harmer's wish, been made acquainted with her history, as he was sure that,
sooner or later, she was certain to be informed of it. She was of a quiet, retiring
manner, self-contained, and thoughtful, and manifested a quiet deference for the
Miss Harmers—with which, however much they might have wished it, they could
have found no fault—and a warm, though subdued, affection for Mr. Harmer.
 
And thus matters stood when this story began.

---------------CHAPTER V. TESTAMENTARY INTENTIONS.------------

 All this history of the Harmers I have told nearly as I heard it, passing
briefly over such parts as were not essential to the understanding of the story,
and retaining all that was necessary to be told in order that the relative position
of the various inmates of Harmer Place may be quite understood by any one who may
hereafter read this story of mine. And having done so, I can now proceed with the
regular course of my journal.
 
That visit of ours to Harmer Place was a very memorable one, and exercised not a
little influence upon my fortunes, although certainly I little dreamt at the time
of our return that evening, that it had done so. To Polly and I it had been simply
an extremely pleasant day. We had rambled about the garden with Sophy Needham, and
had taken tea in the summer-house, while papa and Mr. Harmer were at dinner. We had
then gone into desert, and, that over, had again rambled out, leaving the gentlemen
over their wine. It was while thus engaged, that a conversation took place, which I
did not hear of for more than a year afterwards, but which entirely altered my
worldly prospects. It was began by Mr. Harmer, who had been for some time sitting
rather silent and abstracted.
 
"I think it is high time, my dear doctor, for me to speak to you frankly and
openly, of what my intentions are in reference to the disposal of my property. I
mentioned somewhat of this to you four or five years since, but I should like now
to speak explicitly. I am aware that such matters are not usually gone into; but I
think in many cases, of which this is one, it is right and better that it should be
so. I have no relations whatever in the world, with the exception of my sisters,
who have an ample life provision, and Sophy Needham, my son's child. My property is
very large; I have the Harmer estates, my own savings in India, and the
accumulation of my brothers, who never lived up to their income for very many
years. In all about seven thousand a year. As I have said, Sophy Needham is my only
connection in the world—you my only friend. To Sophy I have left half my
fortune, the other half I have bequeathed to your children. Do not start, my dear
Ashleigh, or offer any fruitless objection, my decision is fixed and immovable. For
the last thirteen years my existence has been brightened by your friendly
intercourse, in you I have found a scientific guide and friend; indeed, I may say
that my life as far as this world is concerned, has been entirely made what it is,
tranquil, contented, and happy by your friendship. Ten years ago you will remember
I begged you to retire from practice, and to take up your abode here with your
family, upon any terms you might name, but in fact as my adopted family. This offer
you, from motives I could not but respect, declined. You loved your profession, and
considered it incompatible with your duty to leave a career of active usefulness.
Things, therefore, went on as before. Towards Sophy my intentions were not fixed,
but she has turned out a very good girl, and I shall therefore leave her half my
fortune, about seventy-five thousand pounds. Had I any other relation, or any
person who could have the smallest claim upon me, you might hesitate; as it is, not
even the most morbid feeling of delicacy can tell you that you are depriving others
of their expectations. Being so, let the matter be tacitly understood, and say
nothing whatever about it; you ought not to have known of it till my death, just
suppose that you do not know of it now. You will ask me why have I then told you.
For this reason. I wish to benefit your children. My life is uncertain; but I may
live for many years yet, and my money might come too late to do good. Your son may
have spent the best years of his life struggling in some profession which he does
not like; your daughters may have suffered too. I therefore wish at once to place
Harry with the best man in the profession he wishes to enter, which I have heard
him say is that of a civil engineer, and I shall allow him a hundred and fifty
pounds a year for the present. Your daughters I should wish sent to some good
school in London to finish their education; and when the time shall come, when such
an event may be considered probable, I should wish it to be publicly known that
they will each have upon their wedding day ten thousand pounds. Your son shall have
a like sum when the time comes for him to enter into a partnership, or start in
business for himself. These sums to be deducted from their moiety of my fortune at
my death. And now, doctor, let us shake hands and not mention the matter again, and
as you do not seem to be drinking your wine, let us go out and join the young
ladies in the garden."
 
It was not until after several further discussions upon the subject of Mr. Harmer's
kind intentions towards us that papa agreed to accept his offer. When he at last
consented to do so, no time was lost in carrying out the plans, and in a month or
two Harry went up to London to be articled to a well-known engineer. As for us, it
was settled that Miss Harrison should remain with us until Christmas, and that
after the holidays we should go up to a school near London. How delighted we were
at the prospect, and how very slowly that autumn seemed to pass; however, at last
the time came, and we started under papa's charge for London. When we were once
there, and were fairly in a cab on our way to school, we felt a little nervous and
frightened. However, there was a great comfort in the thought that there would, at
any rate, be one face we knew, that of Clara Fairthorne, who came from our part of
the country we had met her at some of our Christmas parties, and it was by her
parents the school had been recommended to papa. But although we felt rather
nervous, it was not until we were in sight of the school that our spirits really
fell; and even at the lapse of all these years, I do think that its aspect was
enough to make any girl's heart sink, who was going to school for the first time.
 
Any one who has passed along the road from Hyde Park Corner to Putney Bridge may
have noticed Grendon House, and any one who has done so, must have exclaimed to
himself "a girls' school." Palpably a girls' school, it could be nothing
else. With the high wall surrounding it, to keep all passers-by from even imagining
what was going on within, with the trees which grew inside it, and almost hid the
house from view, with its square stiff aspect when one did get a glimpse of it, and
with its small windows, each furnished with muslin curtains of an extreme whiteness
and primness of arrangement, and through which no face was ever seen to glance
out,—certainly it could be nothing but a girls' school.
 
On the door in the wall were two brass plates, the one inscribed in stiff Roman
characters "Grendon House;" the other "The Misses Pilgrim," in
a running flourishing handwriting. I remember after we had driven up to the door,
and were waiting for the bell to be answered, wondering whether the Misses Pilgrim
wrote at all like that, and if so, what their character would be likely to be. In
the door, by the side of the plate, was a small grating, or grille, through which a
cautious survey could be made of any applicant for admission within those sacred
precincts.
 
On passing through the door, and entering the inclosure, one found oneself in a
small, irregular piece of ground, dignified by the name of the garden, although,
from its appearance, it would be supposed that this was a mere pleasantry; but it
was not so. Indeed, no such thing as a pleasantry ever was or could be attempted
about anything connected with "Grendon House." Certain it is that nothing
in the way of a flower was ever acclimatized there. The gloom and frigidity of the
place would have been far too much for any flower known in temperate climates to
have supported.
 
I remember, indeed, Constance Biglow, who had a brother who had just started on an
Arctic expedition, lamented that she had forgotten to ask him to bring home some of
the plants from those regions, as an appropriate present for the Misses Pilgrim,
for their garden. I know at the time we considered it to be a very good, although a
dreadfully disrespectful, joke towards those ladies.
 
In spring, indeed, a few crocuses (Miss Pilgrim spoke of them as croci) ventured to
come up and show their heads, but they soon faded away again in such an uncongenial
atmosphere. The only thing which really flourished there was the box edging to the
borders, which grew luxuriantly, and added somehow to the funereal aspect of the
place. It was no wonder nothing grew there, for the house, and the high walls, and
the trees within them, completely shaded it, and cut it off from all light and air.
Round the so-called flower-beds the gravel path was wider, and was dignified by the
name of the carriage drive, though how any coachman was to have turned a carriage
in that little confined space, even had he got through the impassable gate, was,
and probably ever will remain, a mystery.
 
Behind the house was the playground, a good-sized triangular-shaped gravelled yard,
for Grendon House was situated at the junction of two roads, and the house itself
stood across the base of the triangle they formed. This playground was several
times larger than the garden, and was indeed quite extensive enough for such games
as we indulged in. It was, of course, surrounded by the high wall, with its belt of
trees, underneath which was a narrow strip of border, divided into regular
portions; and here the girls were permitted to prove the correctness of the axiom,
that plants will not live without light or air.
 
So much for the exterior; inside, if the sensation of gloom and propriety which
pervaded the very atmosphere could have been got rid of, it would have been really
a fine house.
 
The hall, which was very large, extended up to the top of the house; from it, on
the ground floor, led off the dining and schoolrooms, large, well-proportioned
rooms, but very cold and bare-looking, especially the former; for the schoolroom
walls were nearly covered with maps of different countries, some rolled up and out
of use, others hanging down open; beside them hung genealogized trees of the
various monarchies of Europe; while in the corner was a large stand with a black
board for drawing diagrams in chalk. Nothing else in either of them but bare walls,
and equally bare forms and tables.
 
There was another little room opening from the great hall: this was the cloak-room,
where the girls put on their bonnets and shawls before going out for their walks.
It was here that, when they were able to slip out from the schoolroom, they would
meet to talk in English for a change, and interchange those little confidences
about nothing in which school-girls delight. This room looked into the garden; and
to prevent the possibility of any one who might be—which nobody ever
was—wandering there, looking in at the window, white silver paper, with
coloured flowers under it, was stuck on to the glass, something in the manner of
decalcomanie, only that extraordinary and difficult name was not at that time
invented.
 
Upstairs was the drawing-room. It was here that the Misses Pilgrim received
visitors to the girls, and here that the lady professors, who came twice a week to
teach music, imparted lessons in singing and on the pianoforte to the pupils.
 
This room was a model of propriety and frigidity—if there be such a word, for
no other will describe the effect produced. The curtains were of white muslin, so
stiff and carefully arranged that they might have been cut out of marble. The
chairs were of some light wood, with gilding on them, and so extremely fragile,
that it was only with the greatest caution and care that any one could venture to
sit down upon them; there were couches too, here and there, but these as seats were
altogether out of the question, being so covered with Berlin work of every kind,
and antimacassars of such stiffness and intricacy of pattern, that no one would
ever have thought of assuming a sitting position even upon the extreme edge of
them.
 
The room was literally crowded with tables of every imaginable shape and form,
generally on twisted legs, and looking as if a breath would upset them. On these
tables were placed works of art and industry of every description. Vases of wax
flowers and fruit, Berlin wool mats of every colour and pattern, inkstands of
various shapes and sizes, books of engravings, stuffed birds under glass shades; in
short, knicknacks of every sort and kind, and on a great majority of them were
inscribed, "Presented to Miss Pilgrim, or Miss Isabella Pilgrim, by her
attached pupils on her birth-day;" or, "Presented to the Misses Pilgrim
by their attached pupil so-and-so on the occasion of her leaving school."
 
Through all this it was next to impossible to move without the greatest risk of
bringing some of the little fragile tables down with a crash, and visitors would
generally, after a vague glance of perplexity round, drop, or rather lower
themselves carefully, into one of the little minikin chairs, as near as possible to
the door.
 
So chilling was the effect of this room, so overwhelming its atmosphere of
propriety, that many fathers and brothers who have come up from the country to see
their daughters or sisters after a long absence, men with big voices and hearty
manner, have felt so constrained and overpowered by it, that in place of taking
them into their arms with a loud-sounding kiss, they have been known to hold out
their hand in a most formal manner and to inquire almost in a whisper as to their
state of health. In this drawing-room the elder girls used to practise, and if any
visitor was shown up there the proper form to be observed was to rise from the
music-stool, walk to the door, and then, making a deep curtsey, to leave the
room—a performance not unfrequently completely astounding any one strange to
the ceremonies inculcated at young ladies' schools as being suitable to occasions
like this.
 
It will be judged from all this that "Grendon House" was a model academy,
and indeed it was. The only wonder is that it did not turn us all into the stiffest
pieces of prim propriety possible; but somehow it did not; for I think, on looking
back, that a merrier and more lively set of girls it would be difficult to have
found, and yet we most certainly had not much to be merry about. "All work and
no play makes Jack a dull boy." It may be so, but it decidedly did not have
that effect upon Jack's sisters. We certainly did work very hard. I suppose it was
necessary in order to cram all the accomplishments girls are expected to know into
our heads; but however it was, I am quite sure that in those two years I was at
school, I worked more hours and steadier at them, than Harry ever did in four; he
allows it himself, and I am sure it is generally the case, that girls work
infinitely harder than their brothers, and certainly have no amusement or
recreation at all in proportion. I suppose it is all right, but yet I do think that
if we worked a good deal less, and played a great deal more, we should know quite
as much, and be far more healthy and natural than we are.
 
However, I am not writing an essay, or I should have a great deal more to say on
this point; as it is I must leave it for abler hands, and go back to my story.
 
When we first caught sight of Grendon House our spirits fell many degrees, and when
we entered its solemn portals we felt terribly awed and uncomfortable. We were, of
course, shown up into that dreadful drawing-room, and I think papa was as much
affected by it as we were; he certainly was not a bit like himself, and he stayed a
very short time talking to Miss Pilgrim, who came up in great state, and in a very
stiff silk dress, which rustled alarmingly as she walked, to receive us. Miss
Pilgrim was small but stately, almost overpoweringly so. Her hair was arranged in
little stiff ringlets on each temple; her nose was very prominent; her lips thin
and rather pinched; her eyes bright and searching; she was, on the whole, in good
keeping with the room, and yet I thought that, although she looked so sharp, and
spoke so shortly and decidedly, that she was kind at heart, and that I should like
her. And I may say I did; she was, although strict and sharp with us girls—as
indeed she had need to be—kind-hearted and thoughtful, and I parted with her
when I left school with regret. Her sister Isabella was so exactly the counterpart
of herself that one description will do for the two; and, except that she wore her
hair in flat braids instead of in ringlets, and that she was not quite so sharp and
decided, although equally kind, she might have been easily mistaken for her elder
sister.
 
When papa got up to go away, I could not help crying a little; for, though I was
fifteen, I had never been away from home before. However, I soon came round after
he was once fairly gone. Polly was longer recovering herself; but she, too, soon
got over it, when I told her that if we cried the girls would be sure to call us
cry-babies.
 
Presently Miss Pilgrim, who had considerately left us for a few minutes to let us
have our cry out, came back again, and took us up to show us our room, where we
could take off our things. She also kindly sent for Clara Fairthorne, so that we
might go down into the schoolroom with some one we knew. It was rather an ordeal
going in there, and seeing all the faces lifted up from their work to look at the
new comers. However, it was not so bad as we had expected; they did not stare at us
disagreeably, nor did they, when we went out into the playground afterwards, ask us
so many questions as papa had warned us they would. Indeed, there was no occasion
for their doing so, as they had heard all about us from Clara. One or two of them
took us under their special protection, as it were, for the first few days, and we
felt at home very much sooner than I had expected that we should do. We were about
twenty in all, from Annie Morgan and Selma Colman, the two parlour boarders, down
to Julia Jackson, a West-Indian child of eleven years old, the darling and pet of
the whole school.
 
I am not going to write a long account of my schooldays. The daily routine of one
girl's school is so much like that of another, that there is nothing new to be told
of it; the little disputes, the rivalries, the friendships sworn to last for life,
but which seldom survive a year or two of occasional correspondence,—all
these things have been so frequently told, that I shall not repeat them, but shall
only mention briefly such incidents as had an effect upon my after life.
 
The account of one day's work is a description of all. Breakfast at eight; school
from half-past eight until twelve; then a walk for three-quarters of an hour.
Dinner at one; play for half an hour; school from two till half-past five; another
half-hour's play; tea at six; school till eight; then to bed.
 
Looking back upon it now, I wonder how I, and all the countless girls who go
through such slavery as this, keep their health and spirits. Our walk was no
recreation to us; we went, two and two, through the streets, or into Kensington
Gardens—the same walks week after week—till we knew every stone on the
pavement we walked on. It was a dreadfully formal affair, and I think I would
rather have been in school. The only play we really had was the half-hour after
dinner and the half-hour after tea, and also on Saturday afternoons. Then, indeed,
we made up for all the day's repression,—running, jumping, skipping,
laughing, and shouting like mad girls, till I am sure sometimes we scandalized the
whole neighbourhood, and that passers by on the other side of the high wall paused
in astonishment at such an outburst of joyous cries and laughter. Even at this
time, as at all others during the day, we had to speak French, not a word of
English being allowed to be spoken in "Grendon House;" and I remember
congratulating myself that French girls laughed the same way as we did, for we
should certainly have been obliged to laugh in French, had such a thing been
possible. I was very good friends with all my schoolfellows, and, indeed, there was
very little quarrelling among us,—just a sharp word or two, and a little
extra stateliness and ceremony for a day or so; but even this was uncommon, for we
had neither time nor opportunity to quarrel. My greatest favourite was Ada
Desborough, who was a month or two younger than myself. Ada was tall, slight, with
a very pretty figure, and a particularly easy, graceful carriage. She was lively,
talkative, full of fun,—indeed inclined, to be almost too noisy, and it was
easy to see she would turn out a perfect flirt.
 
Ada and I would sometimes quarrel, and she would take up with some one else for
three weeks or a month, and then come back to me all of a sudden, and be as
affectionate as ever. She was such a warm-hearted girl it was impossible to be
angry with her; and, on the whole, she was by far my greatest friend all the time I
was at Grendon House. It was through Ada that the only break which ever occurred in
the monotony of our life at Grendon House took place. Ada's mother, Lady Eveline
Desborough, lived in Eaton Square, and Ada generally went home from Saturday
afternoon till Sunday evening. Sometimes, perhaps twice in a half-year, she would
bring an invitation from her mamma for three or four of us to go there to spend the
next Saturday afternoon with her. I was always of the number, as being Ada's
particular friend. We looked forward to these little parties as a change; but there
was not any great amusement in them.
 
Lady Desborough was the widow of General Sir William Desborough, and moved in quite
the extreme fashionable world. She was a tall, elegant woman, with a haughty,
aristocratic face. She used, I really think, to try and unbend to us girls; but her
success was not great: she was so tall and haughty-looking, so splendidly dressed,
and her attempt at cordiality was so very distant that we were all quite awed by
it.
 
The programme of the afternoon's amusement was generally as follows. We would go
first either to the Polytechnic or the Zoological Gardens, or, in fact, wherever we
chose, under the escort of Lady Desborough's housekeeper, a respectable middle-aged
woman, who used to let us wander about and do just as we liked. This part of the
day was really enjoyable; when we got back to Eaton Square, we had our tea together
in the small room behind the dining-room, where Lady Desborough dined in solitary
state. This was great fun. Ada made tea with a vast affectation of ceremony, and
the laughing and noise we made were prodigious, and would have scandalized Miss
Pilgrim, could she have heard us; and we should not have ventured to indulge in it,
had not Ada assured us that the partition was so thick that it was quite impossible
for our voices to penetrate to the next room. When tea was over, we quieted down
gradually at the thought of what was in store for us, for when Lady Desborough had
finished her dinner, and gone up into the drawing-room, we were sent for, and went
up-stairs, putting on our best company manners, as inculcated at "Grendon
House," and seated ourselves on the edges of the chairs, in the primest of
attitudes, with our feet perfectly straight, and our hands folded before us. We
would first have a little frigid conversation, and Lady Desborough would then ask
us to oblige her by playing on the piano, and as we always, by Miss Pilgrim's
order, brought a piece of music each with us, there was no possibility of evading
the infliction, but each had in turn to perform her piece; and then we sat stiff
and uncomfortable, till the welcome intelligence came that Miss Pilgrim's servant
was at the door with a cab.
 
After the first year I was at school had passed, and when we were about sixteen,
the stiffness of these visits wore away, but we never were quite comfortable with
Lady Desborough; and, indeed, did not enjoy our visit as much even as we had done
the year before, for we were too old to go now sightseeing under the housekeeper's
care, and our merry teas were exchanged for stiff dinners with Lady Desborough.
 
Ada had one brother, whom I have not yet spoken of. He was five years older than
she was, and she always spoke of him in enthusiastic terms; but I never saw him
except the twice I went to Eaton Square, in my first half-year. He was then rather
more than twenty, and seemed a quiet young man, and I thought a little shy, and out
of his element with us five girls. He was tall, and dark like his sister, but with
a thoughtful, studious face, very unlike hers. Ada said that at ordinary times he
was full of fun. All I can say is at these two visits I saw nothing of it. He had,
I believe, entered the Guards, but after a short time determined to see some active
service, and accordingly exchanged into the Lancers, I understood from Ada, very
much to his mother's dissatisfaction.
 
I have now briefly told all the events which occurred in my two years at school,
which had in any way a bearing upon my after-life. I have told them all at once, in
order that I may not have to go back to my schooldays again, which, indeed, were
monotonous enough. I have read and heard that in some schools the girls engage in
all sorts of fun and flirtation and adventures. It may be so; I do not know. I can
only say we had no such goings on at "Grendon House," but, although
naturally lively and full of fun enough, were certainly a quiet, well-conducted,
ladylike set of girls, and no such nonsense, as far as I ever heard, entered into
any one of our heads.
 

---------------CHAPTER VI. THE BISHOP OF RAVENNA.------------

 The autumn sun was blazing down upon the ancient city of Ravenna, and, over
the flat pestilential country around it, an unwholesome malarious vapour hung thick
and heavy. Perhaps in all Italy there is no more unhealthy spot than is the
neighbourhood of Ravenna. The whole country is a swamp, the water oozes up in the
fields at the very foot of its walls, and the agriculturist has but to sink a
bottomless tub in the ground and he will have a well full to the brim, which no
amount of drawing upon will exhaust. The city itself sits lonely and deserted
amongst her green rice-grounds and swamps; her wide streets are empty, her churches
without worshippers, her aspect mournful and desolate in the extreme. And yet this
was once a mighty city, second only to imperial Rome in magnitude and importance,
the seat of Emperors, and the cradle of Christianity. The swamps then were not in
existence, but the bright waves of the Adriatic broke close to its walls, and the
Roman galleys lay moored in the port of Classis within bow-shot range. The sea is
far off now, and the rice-grounds stretch away level and flat where the waves
broke. Classis has disappeared, and has left no sign; the hungry morasses have
swallowed every stone and vestige, and the ancient church of St. Apollinarius alone
marks where the place once stood; while, where the galleys anchored, the thick
groves of the pine forest extend for miles in an unbroken shade. The emperors and
exarchs, the Gothic and Frank monarchs, the conquerors innumerable who in turns
lorded it there; the great family of Polenta, the patrons of art, who for centuries
were her masters;—all these are gone, and their tombs alone tell that they
ever existed: and now it lies forgotten and alone, visited only for the sake of its
early Christian churches, with their glorious mosaics.
 
Perhaps in all Italy there was at that time no city which, for its size, contained
so large a number of priests; probably its hush and quiet suited them; but nearly
every other person in the streets was an ecclesiastic, and the clang of the bells
calling to prayer from their picturesque round campaniles never ceased. It was past
mid-day, and mass was over in most of the churches, when two aged women, in black
dresses and thick veils, which entirely concealed their faces, rang at the bell of
the Bishop's palace. The door was opened by a man in a sort of semi-clerical
attire. On giving their names, he bowed respectfully, and saying "His lordship
is expecting you," led the way up some wide stairs, through a long corridor,
and then signing to them to wait a moment, he entered the room; returning in a few
seconds, he requested them to enter, and closed the door behind them. It was a very
large room, although its length was comparatively greater than its width. A range
of bookshelves, extending from the floor to a height of about five feet, ran
completely round it, and upon the dark-panelled walls were hung a long series of
portraits, probably those of the bishop's predecessors in office. Above, the
ceiling was divided by a richly-gilt framework into a number of irregular
partitions, in which were inserted a fine series of paintings by ancient masters,
the subjects of which were not all so strictly Scriptural as might have been
expected in the palace of a Church dignitary. The light entered by a very large
window at the end of the apartment, the panes of which were of the small diamond
pattern. With his back to this window, by the side of a large chair, in which he
had apparently been sitting reading when his visitors were announced, stood the
Bishop of Ravenna. Although he had returned from mass some quarter of an hour, he
still wore a part of the robes in which he had officiated. It is probable that as
he expected the ladies who had just entered, and as he was particularly anxious
upon this occasion to impress their minds strongly, he had purposely retained these
insignia of his office to add to the power which he had for many years been
accustomed to exercise over them. Not, indeed, that the bishop needed any
adventitious aids to his personal appearance. He was a tall, stately figure, but
little bent with the weight of the seventy years which had passed over him. His
hair was silver white, but the lines of the face were still strong and marked. His
manner was very variable,—at times commanding, even harsh; at other moments
mild and persuasive. As an orator he had few equals in his Church,—the
varying modulations of his voice alternately awing and melting his audience. He
advanced to meet the two women, who, their veils raised now, hurried towards him,
and knelt at his feet to receive the blessing which he impressively bestowed upon
them. That done, he raised them, and placed them in chairs facing the one he
himself occupied.
 
"My dear sisters," he began, in Italian, "I received your note
before I went out this morning, telling me that you were here, and would call upon
me after mass. I was indeed glad to hear of your coming. It is three years now
since I last saw you. It was in a humbler lodging than this that you then visited
me."
 
"My sister and myself were indeed glad to learn that your services to the
Church had met the reward so richly deserved," the elder of the two women
said.
 
The bishop waved his hand deprecatingly.
 
"The Church has far too highly honoured my poor services," he said;
"and indeed I should have been well content to have remained in the sphere in
which I had so long worked; but it was not for me to oppose my will to that of
those who know far better than I can do what is best for our holy Church. And you,
sisters, how has it fared with you these three years? Not badly in health, I should
say, for you are in no way changed since I saw you last."
 
"Our health is good, truly, father, but our minds fare but badly. We are weary
of this long struggle, which has ended only in defeat, as our letters have told
you; and now we hope that you will grant the prayer we have so often made, and
allow us to retire into a convent for the rest of our days."
 
"But your struggle has not ended in a defeat," the bishop said, ignoring
the request contained in the last part of the speech. "No defeat can come
until the end of a battle. It is true that the news which you send me is very bad.
It is bad that the apostate who wrongfully holds Harmer Place is still impenitent,
still more bad that he should have determined to will the property which rightfully
belongs to the Church away to other hands. But that I know that in this you are
weak, that your hearts turn towards him who is unworthy of it, I should long since
have called down the anger of an offended God upon him."
 
"No, no, father," the younger of the two women, who had not as yet
spoken, said; "he is mistaken, grievously mistaken indeed, and we lament it
with tears, while we pray for him continually; but in other respects he is very
good, very kind to all, most of all to us."
 
"That may be, sister Angela," the bishop said, sternly. "It is easy
to be kind in manner when all goes well with you in the world; it is easier and
more pleasant, but it is mere outside. What avails this if within all is rotten, if
the vital point of all is wanting? Such a man is but a whited sepulchre.
However," he continued, more mildly, "for your sake, my sisters, the
Church has been content to wait; for your sake it has forborne to use the power of
cursing and anathema which is confided to her, here upon earth; for your sake it is
content to remain tranquil under the privation of the worldly goods which in her
hands would have done such incalculable good, but which are now devoted to far
different purposes."
 
Here the bishop paused, and there was silence for a little, and then the elder
sister again asked,—
 
"And our request, father; will you grant us now that we may retire to a
convent? Our task is done here."
 
"Your task is not done," the bishop said, sternly, "and may not be
relinquished. Our path in this life must be regulated by our duty, not our wishes.
Your duty is plain,—to endeavour to restore to the Church that property of
which it has been unjustly defrauded. No one can perform this but you; and although
at present things have worked but ill, yet no one can say what may yet occur. You
have already, in your brother's present position, a striking instance of the
unexpected way in which the events of this world occur, and how little we can
foresee the intentions of God. Who can say, therefore, that in time this great
wrong may not be rectified, and that the will of your dead brothers, those true
children of the Church, may not yet be carried into effect? Events have indeed
turned out badly, but there is no ground for losing hope; and you, who have
hitherto worked so well for the good cause, I little looked to see shrink from your
allotted task; I expected better things of you, sister Cecilia and sister
Angela,—you, of all women, having once put your hands to the plough, I did
not think to see turn back from the labour."
 
"But we have tried hard, father, very hard for many long years," Cecilia
Harmer said, "and it is only because we find that our work has come to
nothing, that it is over, as it were, that we would gladly retire to die in peace
and quietness. It is eighteen years since we left the convent we had entered, when
the news came of our nephew's death. You bade us go, and we went. For eighteen
years we have worked and hoped. Hope and work are over now; let us rest."
 
"It has been so long, father, such weary years, almost without hope all the
while; we are so tired—so, so sick of the world. Oh, father, let us go back
to our convent!" the younger sister almost wailed, plaintively.
 
"My dear sister," the bishop said, and this time his voice was soft and
persuasive, "we have all our trials; life is no rosy path, but is paved with
the sharp stones of duty; but yet we must all tread it as unflinchingly as we may,
looking for strength where only it can be found. To you has been confided a great
and important mission. You have the opportunity of doing great things for the Holy
Church. You have that great and glorious object in view, and you are, moreover,
filled with the pious hope of saving a lost soul, and that the soul of your erring
brother. It is a task which the angels themselves might be glad to perform. To the
Church is given all power here, to bind and to loose, and, for your sakes, I have
promised you that your brother's errors shall be passed over. Prayers are offered
up that he may be forgiven; and when the time comes, rest assured that at least no
testimony shall be made against him; and that if the Church cannot bless, it will
at least not curse the mistaken one. Every allowance has been and will be made for
his youth at the time he forsook the right path, and the strong influences brought
to bear upon him; his life has been, as you have testified in your letters, save as
to this grievous falling off, an exemplary one; and I trust that, when at last
stricken with illness, he will turn back as a wandering sheep to the fold. These,
my sisters, are the inducements—a lost soul to be saved, the Church to be
strengthened. Not often are such inducements offered. But," and here he raised
and hardened his voice, "it is not by inducements only that the Church acts,
but by orders and threatenings. Upon you a certain burden has been placed, hard to
bear, perhaps, but not beyond your strength. From this task you must not shrink;
your private wishes are as nothing in the balance. You have a duty, and would fain
escape it to pass your life in the way it would please you in a convent; you would
say, to serve God there, but He will not be so served; He has given you another
sphere, other tasks. The convent is for those who see no path of active usefulness
traced out for them—not for such as you. Who can tell what may yet occur? I
at first acceded to your request, and allowed you to retire from the world, until
your nephew's death clearly indicated that Providence had not destined the property
of the Church to pass from the apostate father to the heretic son. Then your path
of duty was clear; and although at present the future looks dark, although your
brother is obstinate in his recusancy, and although he may talk of leaving his
property to others, yet the case is by no means hopeless. He may repent and turn;
this girl whom he has adopted may displease him; he may die without a will. These
and many other contingencies may arise, but until his death your task cannot be
ended."
 
"But he is younger than we are; he may survive us both," the elder sister
said.
 
"He may, but he may not; but that does not alter your path of duty," the
bishop answered. "But one thing I will concede. Just at present your presence
in England can do little or no good. You have my consent, therefore, to your
entering a religious house, and remaining there until you shall hear, from the
person whom you have informed me has undertaken to let you know what is passing
there, that some change has taken place, either in his sentiments towards this
girl, or in his health. This may be weeks, months, or even years. When that word
comes, you must be prepared to go instantly back, and to do whatever I, or any one
who may speak in my name to you, may direct you."
 
"Thank you, dear father," the elder sister said, while even Angela
acquiesced mutely; "to this we are ready, quite ready, to agree. We know the
importance of our success to the Church; we grieve over seeing the property pass
away into the hands of others; and I, for my part, seem to feel a presentiment that
the time will come before long when we shall be successful. Three times, lately,
Robert and Edward have come to me in my sleep, and have told me to hope on, for
that the light will yet shine through the darkness. You have yourself told me,
father, that there is much in dreams."
 
"Undoubtedly, sister; the Church has in all ages maintained that at times
revelations are made to the faithful in dreams, and by apparitions, at which the
vulgar mock. And now return to your hotel. You shall hear from me in the course of
the day; and if, as I believe, you would rather be within reach of my ministration,
than go among strangers, I will speak to the superior of an establishment here, who
will, I am sure, gladly receive you as inmates."
 
Again the sisters knelt before him, and received his blessing, and then returned
through the quiet streets of Ravenna to their hotel.
 

---------------CHAPTER VII. SOCIETY GRACIOUSLY CONDESCENDS.------------

 For upwards of a year after Mr. Harmer had spoken to papa relative to the
intended disposition of his property, the matter was not mentioned to any one, but
was known only to Dr. and Mrs. Ashleigh, my brother Harry, himself, and his
sisters. At the end of that time he made public his intentions, and spoke of them
openly. He did this for reasons connected with Sophy Needham, for whom he was
desirous of obtaining suitable society. At the time the matter gave papa a good
deal of annoyance. Much as he was generally liked and esteemed, there were people
found, as there always are found upon every occasion, who made ill-natured remarks
upon our good fortune, and who really seemed by their talk to be personally
aggrieved at Mr. Harmer's kind intentions towards us. Had they been asked why they
were so, they probably could not have replied; for as Mr. Harmer had—with the
exception of his sisters, who were amply provided for—no relation in the
world, it was evident that there was no one who could be considered as wronged or
injured by this disposition of his property. However, so it was; and, although papa
received the sincere congratulations of all his old friends, I think he felt a good
deal the ill-natured remarks, which came to his ears, of people for whose opinion I
should have thought he would have cared nothing whatever. I was rather surprised at
this; for if there was one person more than another who had by his whole life and
conduct showed that he did not care for money, it was papa. He might, therefore,
have well afforded to laugh at such accusations as this; but I suppose no one,
however conscious of rectitude, likes to be spoken ill of, even by people whom he
despises, and whose opinion about others he would treat with contempt.
 
This was not, however, of long continuance, for, as far as we were concerned, the
talk and wonder soon died away, and things settled down into their usual state; but
it was not so as regarded Sophy Needham. The announcement that she was to be the
heiress of half of Mr. Harmer's large fortune, elicited the greatest reprobation
and disgust among the very portion of the population who had been most cordial in
their congratulations as to the destination of the other half; namely, among the
country gentry, the clergy—a very numerous and powerful body in
Canterbury,—the professional men, and respectabilities of the place.
 
"To think that that girl,—that——[and they called poor Sophy
very hard names],—that young person, should be raised up into one of the
richest heiresses of that part of the country, was a scandal to morality and an
outrage to public decency. Her elevation was offering a premium to immorality among
the lower orders. Did Mr. Harmer suppose that a person of that kind, however
wealthy, would be received into society? No, indeed; the thing was quite out of the
question."
 
This was the first outburst of opinion among the upper two hundred of Canterbury.
 
By degrees, finding that Mr. Harmer did not concern himself greatly with what was
said about him, and that he showed no sign of changing his declared intentions in
deference to the popular voice, society gave up talking so much about it; but its
opinion was, it declared, unchangeable as to the objectionable nature of his
conduct.
 
I think it likely that Mr. Harmer, who loved peace and quiet above all things,
would have suffered matters to remain as they were; but papa had a serious talk
with him on the subject. He pointed out that Sophy was now eighteen years old, that
the mere declaration of Mr. Harmer's intentions towards her had not been of any use
in procuring her friends of her own age, and that, for her sake, he ought to again
re-enter society. She was growing up knowing nothing of the world; and should
anything happen to Mr. Harmer, she, being left entirely unprotected and alone,
would fall an easy prey to some fortune-hunter of the worst kind, and her fortune
would thus, instead of a benefit, turn out a positive evil to her.
 
Mr. Harmer acknowledged the truth of all this, and agreed with the doctor, that
reluctant as he felt to change his present studious and retired mode of life, he
ought still, for her sake, to make an effort to re-enter society.
 
Accordingly, the next day he ordered his carriage, and made a long round of visits
to his old friends in the town and precincts; for, although he had ceased to visit,
he had still kept up a casual acquaintance with those he had before known, and
indeed had met many of them during his frequent visits to papa.
 
Mr. Harmer's calls were everywhere received with pleasure, and his frank, winning
manner seemed at once to place him upon a familiar footing with those of his
friends with whom he had once been such a favourite. He apologized for the hermit
life he had so long led; said that circumstances had induced him to determine to
abandon it, and that he hoped that they, their wives, and daughters would show that
they forgave him by calling at Harmer Place. But at the end of the day, if well
satisfied with the reception he had personally met with, he was unable to persuade
himself that he had made the slightest progress, as far as Sophy—who was the
real object of his visits—was concerned. A cordial invitation had been in
each instance given him to repeat his calls, but in no case had more than an
evasive answer been returned in reply to his invitation to the ladies of the
family.
 
On the day succeeding these visits the interchange of calls which took place at
Canterbury was quite without precedent. The great question which every one had to
ask was, "Should they go over to Harmer Place to call upon Sophy Needham?
" It would hardly have been supposed necessary to have asked a question upon
which they had, three months before, decided unanimously in the negative; but then
it is so easy to say you will not do a thing before you have been asked—so
very difficult to refuse when you are. Indeed, many of the Canterbury ladies were
now sorry that they had spoken so very decidedly, and were ready to admit that
there was really a good deal to be said in favour of calling upon the poor girl.
 
However, fortunately for these vaccillating creatures, and happily for the
propriety and strict respectability of the town, the heads of the society, from
whose dicta there was no appeal, sternly said that such a thing was, of course, out
of the question; and society in general naturally followed suit, repressed a little
sigh of regret, and agreed that it was quite out of the question. Had the
population of Canterbury been differently proportioned to what it was, the answer
might have been otherwise. Had there been young men in the place, who might have
won the heiress, their mothers might have rebelled against the edict of exclusion,
and for their sons' sake have called upon Sophy Needham; but, as I shall explain in
its proper place, there were no young men in Canterbury, and therefore no motive
for any one to rebel against constituted authority, or to outrage propriety by
calling at Harmer Place.
 
Papa, when informed of this decision, was very indignant and angry—much more
so than he had been by the recent aspersions on himself. He even went so far as to
say, that if this were Christian charity, he would rather fall among heathens. He
exerted himself to the utmost to bring matters about, but the other ladies would
not call unless the ladies of the precincts did, and the ladies of the precincts
would not. However, it was not papa's way to give up anything he had once
undertaken, and he accordingly one day sat down and wrote as follows:—
 
"My dear old Friend,
 
"Although our correspondence has been pretty regular, it is now three years
since we met, and I want you, your wife, and daughter to come down and stay a week
with us, either before or after Christmas, as may suit you best. Your diocese can,
I am sure, do without you for a little while, and I know you will be glad to see
again the old place, where you lived so long; and it would give us all great
pleasure to enjoy your society once more. At the same time, I tell you frankly that
it is in your power to confer a great favour and benefit both upon myself and upon
another old friend of yours, Herbert Harmer.
 
"You will remember he brought up the child his son left behind him, that he
sent her to school, and, in fact, adopted her as his own. All this happened when
you were here. In my last letter I told you that he intended to leave her half his
fortune, about ￡75,000. He is now naturally anxious to introduce her into society,
in order that she may see the world, and make some suitable match, as otherwise the
poor girl would, at his death, be nearly certain to be snapped up by some worthless
fortune-hunter. Now you will hardly believe me when I tell you that the Christian
matrons of this town shake their garments at the poor child, and insist that her
presence would be a contamination to the pure atmosphere they breathe.
 
"Sophy is a quiet, modest, ladylike girl, and I am greatly interested in her.
But here I can do nothing. I am sure that the great proportion of the ladies would
be willing enough to call upon her, but they are like society in general—a
mere flock of sheep, who will only follow where the bell-wethers lead them. Now,
the two or three ladies who act in that capacity to Canterbury society consider
that this poor little lamb will taint the whole flock, and therefore pronounce her
infect and excommunicated.
 
"My dear old friend, I rely upon you and your kind wife to take off the ban
these Pharisees have lain upon her. If you will both go over, during your stay
here, to call upon her, Canterbury will be only too glad to do the same. If a
bishop and his lady pronounce her visitable, who shall say them nay? I know, old
friend, that in the eyes of yourself and your wife the sin of this poor girl's
parents will not affect her. She is not to blame, and why should their faults be
visited upon her? But I know that upon this head I need say nothing. Your wide
views of Christian love and charity are so well known, that any word upon the
subject would be superfluous. If you will do this, my dear bishop, you will confer
an inestimable benefit upon Herbert Harmer and his grand-daughter; and you will
very greatly oblige,
 
"Yours, very truly,
 
"Alfred Ashleigh."
 
All turned out as papa had hoped. The bishop, with his wife and daughter, came down
to spend a week with us. The day after they arrived we had a perfect levee of
visitors; and when the room was at its fullest, Mr. Harmer came in, being, of
course, in complete ignorance that the visit had been principally brought about for
his especial benefit. The bishop greeted him warmly, for they mutually esteemed and
liked each other.
 
"I am very glad, Mr. Harmer, to hear from our friend, the doctor, that you
have given up your hermit-mode of life, and are going out into the world again. I
suppose all these years you have been hoarding up treasures: your house must be a
perfect scientific museum by this time; and the doctor tells me that your library
is nearly perfect, of its kind. I must really come over some day before I leave and
inspect your collection."
 
Mr. Harmer expressed the gratification the visit would afford him.
 
"I shall certainly come," the bishop went on; "it will give me great
pleasure. Let me see. To-morrow I shall be engaged in calls upon my friends in the
town; suppose we say the day after. What do you say, my dear?" he asked,
raising his voice, to his wife, who was sitting on the other side of the room,
"I am going over the day after to-morrow to see Mr. Harmer's museum and
library; will you and Gertude accompany me? Your adopted daughter," he added,
turning to Mr. Harmer, "must be growing quite a young woman by this
time."
 
"Certainly, my dear," his wife answered, "I should like it very
much."
 
Mr. Harmer's face flushed with pleasure, and he wrung the bishop's hand. It was
easy to see that he felt the kindness, and saw the true motive of the offer to
brings his wife and daughter to Harmer Place. As to the remainder of those present,
they were simply astounded. The buzz of conversation ceased throughout the room,
and a dead silence ensued. As for myself, I should certainly have laughed out
loud—had not the silence been so great that I dared not do so—at the
general look of dismay in the female faces, and of rather amusement on the part of
the gentlemen, who I could guess had been vainly urging their wives to call. The
conversation presently became general again, but the effort was too great to be
continued long; and in a very few minutes most of those present took their leave,
only to be succeeded by fresh callers, until half-past four, after which hour it
was the strict etiquette of Canterbury that no visits were permissible.
 
On the appointed day the visit was paid. I accompanied them in the carriage, and
papa rode on horseback.
 
The Miss Harmers were away, as, indeed, had been the case since Sophy had left
school and taken up her permanent residence there. Sophy was pale, and evidently
very nervous; and in her manifest desire to please it was easy to see that she was
much affected, and deeply grateful for the kindness which would be the means of
removing the disadvantages under which she had laboured, and which had weighed much
upon her mind. However, before the visit, which lasted some time, as the library
and collection of scientific apparatus had to be inspected, was over, she had
recovered her usual placid demeanour.
 
This visit had the consequences which papa had predicted from it. Society
unanimously agreed that although certainly it was a strange, a very strange step
for the bishop and his lady to have taken, still as they had done so, there could
be no harm in every one else doing the same; in fact that it would only be what was
right and proper. The ladies whom papa had rather irreverently spoken of in his
letter as the bell-wethers of the flock, held out to the last and declared that
they could not reconcile it to their conscience, or to their sense of what was due
to their husbands' position. But the flock were no longer obedient to their lead,
and indeed whispered amongst themselves, that a bishop's lady, who was moreover the
daughter of a peeress, must know a good deal better what was proper and right than
a mere canon's wife could do; and the consequence was that from that moment the
influence of these ladies over Canterbury society waned much, and the opposition to
poor Sophy recoiled upon the heads of those who had made it. In a short time every
one in Canterbury and the neighbourhood called at Harmer Place, and the general
verdict upon Sophy was decidedly satisfactory. She was pronounced quiet, self-
composed, and ladylike; and indeed Sophy evinced none of that nervousness which she
had shown upon the occasion of the bishop's visit. To him she felt she owed all; to
these people nothing. So, although perfectly polite and courteous, she was yet
composed and tranquil; and some of the ladies who had called, quite prepared to be
very patronizing and kind, found any such line of conduct completely out of the
question. There was a quiet dignity and self possession about her which became her
much. She was the well-bred hostess receiving her grandfather's guests, and few
girls enacting such a part for the first time could have played it so well.
 
For three or four months after the bishop's visit had given the signal for society
to admit Sophy Needham within its circle, the intercourse was restricted to morning
calls of an extremely formal nature, which seemed by no means likely to bring about
the result, to obtain which Mr. Harmer had emerged from his solitude; he made up
his mind, therefore, to break the ice, which again seemed setting over the surface
of the Canterbury society, by giving a series of picnics and open air fêtes.
The first of these took place early in June, when I was away at school; but I heard
full particulars of it upon my return. The whole of the inhabitants of Canterbury
and the neighbourhood whose position rendered them eligible were invited, together
with the officers of the garrison, a very necessary addition at Canterbury, where
dancing young men are almost unknown. A large marquee was erected and boarded for
dancing, a quadrille band brought down from London, and the military band engaged
for the afternoon. Archery butts were set up, bowling-greens mowed and rolled, and
coloured lamps placed in all the walks, to be illuminated after dusk. People met at
between three and four, had a substantial tea at six, and a magnificent supper at
eleven. Nothing, in short, which taste and an unlimited purse could do, was
neglected, and the result was a splendid success. And yet early in the evening a
difference had arisen which would have marred the pleasure of the whole scene had
it not been for the firmness of Mr. Harmer. It seemed that soon after nine o'clock
when it began to get dusk, some of the ladies of the precincts had objected
strongly to the coloured lamps which had just been lighted, and which began to
sparkle in the trees and grass by the side of the various walks. Not in themselves,
for they allowed the effect to be very pretty; but as offering inducements and
pretexts for isolated couples to stroll away, and get entirely beyond maternal
supervision. Two of the ladies waited upon Mr. Harmer as a sort of deputation from
the others, and it happened that one of them was the chief of the party who had
opposed Sophy Needham's introduction into society, but who had at last come to the
conclusion that, as others were going, it would be showing a want of Christian
feeling to refuse to do as others did. These ladies recited to Mr. Harmer the
objections they entertained, and concluded—
 
"The lighted walks will tempt the young people to stroll away and get quite
out of our sight, and as all these thoughtless officers are sure to persuade them
to walk there, it will lead to all sorts of silly nonsense and flirtation."
 
"My dear ladies," Mr. Harmer said, "as to the result I entirely
agree with you, and as I, although I am an old fellow now, do like to see young
people enjoying themselves, it is precisely for the very reason that you have
alleged that I have had the garden lighted up."
 
There was nothing to reply to this, but one of the ladies said rather
angrily—
 
"Of course, Mr. Harmer, you can do as you like, but we shall forbid our
daughters to walk there."
 
"My dear madam," Mr. Harmer said, gently, "you can equally of course
do as you please; but it appears to me, and it will appear to every one else, if
you issue such an order, that you can have but a very poor opinion of, and very
slight confidence in, the principles of your daughters. You show, in fact, that you
cannot trust them to stroll for a few minutes, with gentlemen they have never met
before, in well-lighted walks, where there will be dozens of other couples
similarly enjoying themselves. Were I in your place, I should hesitate greatly
before I laid such a serious imputation upon my children."
 
The deputation retired greatly crestfallen, and the result was that for that
evening the young Canterbury girls were for the first time in their lives nearly
emancipated from maternal supervision, and enjoyed the evening proportionately,
flirting with a zest all the greater for its being an amusement indulged in for the
first time, and making their mothers' hearts swell, and their mothers' hair
figuratively stand on end at such unheard of goings on. Another consequence of the
lighted walks was that many families of girls who had never hitherto been allowed
to dance except in quadrilles, now found themselves allowed to waltz as they
pleased. Not that their mothers' views of the extreme impropriety of such dances
had undergone any change; but that of two evils they chose the least, and thought
it better to have their daughters waltzing under their eyes, than that they should
be wandering away altogether beyond their ken.
 
Why is it that mothers are so much stricter than fathers? It is certain that it is
so, and upon this occasion, while the mothers were inwardly bewailing the conduct
of their daughters, the fathers, although many of them clergymen, were looking on
with beaming faces on the young people enjoying themselves so thoroughly; and more
than one would have been delighted, could such a thing have been permitted, to have
put his clerical dignity aside, and his clerical white neckcloth into his pocket,
and to have joined heartily in the fun.
 
They did what they could to add to the general enjoyment, and several times some of
them gathered into a little knot, with two or three of their wives, and sung some
old glees—"Five times by the taper's light," "The winds
whistle cold," and "The chough and crow;" and splendidly they sang
them too. They had some famous voices among them, and I do not think I have ever
heard those fine old glees better sung than I have heard them at Canterbury.
 
Sophy, of course, attracted much attention throughout the evening, and was
constantly the centre of a little group of officers, not a few of whom would have
been very willing to have turned their swords into ploughshares for her sake, and
to have devoted their lives to the care of her and her possessions.
 
Sophy, however, by no means appeared to reciprocate their feelings in her favour.
She was naturally of a quiet and retiring disposition, and did not care for
dancing; and therefore, under the excuse of attending to her guests, she danced
very little; when she did so, her conversation was so simple and straightforward,
that any attempt at flirting upon the part of her partners was out of the question.
Altogether, although the success of the fête was brilliant, as the officers
agreed on their way back to barracks, and that nothing could have been better done,
still, as far as Sophy was concerned—and several of them had previously
announced their intention of going in for the heiress, and had even exchanged bets
upon the subject—the affair was a failure. However, they consoled themselves
that there was plenty of time yet, especially as Mr. Harmer had announced at
supper, that another fête would take place that day six weeks, upon the 28th
of July, to which he invited all friends.
 
This fête completely roused Canterbury from its usual lethargy, as Mr.
Harmer's return to the abode of his father had done twenty years before. Every one
gave parties; picnics upon a large scale were organized to different places in the
neighbourhood, and the officers of the garrison gave a ball.
 
At the second of Mr. Harmer's fêtes Polly and I were present, as it came off
just at the end of our holidays. I need not describe it, as it was in most respects
similar to the first, and was just as great a success. I enjoyed myself very much,
and danced a great deal with the officers, who did not seem to consider my being a
schoolgirl any bar to me as a partner, as I had expected that they would have done.
When not dancing I amused myself in watching Sophy. I knew that Mr. Harmer wished
her to marry, and I was interested to see with what sort of a man she was likely to
be taken. But Sophy was so quiet, that she did not seem to care in the least with
whom she danced, or to evince the slightest preference for any one. There was,
however, one thing I noticed, and that puzzled me a good deal at the time. I never
spoke to any one about it, but as events turned out, I afterwards bitterly
regretted that I had not done so. I noticed early in the evening a remarkably
handsome man, standing by himself, and watching Sophy as she danced. I did not know
him, and asked a lady next to me, who he was.
 
"That is Robert Gregory, my dear, the son of Mr. Gregory, the hop-factor, who
died about two years ago. He was thought to have been a wealthy man, but he died
worth next to nothing. It was supposed that this son of his—who is, I am
told, one of the most idle and worthless young men in the country—squandered
it all away. He was absent some years in London, and went on terribly there, and it
is said that his poor old father was silly and weak enough to ruin himself paying
the worthless fellow's debts. I am surprised to meet such a person in respectable
society; but I suppose Mr. Harmer knew nothing about him, and only invited him as
the son of a man who stood well in the town."
 
Robert Gregory was certainly a very handsome man, of a powerful build, about twenty
eight years old. But as I watched him, his face seemed to me, not to be a pleasant
one, but to have a bold and defiant expression. It might be merely the effect of
what I had just heard; but certainly the more I looked at the man the more I felt
repelled by him. He was still watching Sophy, and as I mechanically followed the
direction of his gaze, I distinctly observed her, to my intense surprise, glance
two or three times in his direction, not mere ordinary glances, which might fall
upon any one, but positive stolen looks, which rested upon him, and were
unmistakably in answer to his. After this I could not help watching them whenever I
was not dancing, and I observed her once or twice in the course of the evening, as
she passed by where he stood, exchange a word or two with him, not naturally and
openly, but speaking as she walked past, so that no one, not watching as I was
doing, would have noticed it.
 
I thought, as I have said, a good deal about it at the time. I did not like to
speak to papa upon such a subject, as it might seem like prying, and, had there
been nothing in it, it would have caused a great deal of unpleasantness; still, I
do think that I should finally have done so, under promise of secrecy, had I not
started for school next day. Before Christmas came round, when I left school and
came back for good, I had forgotten all about the circumstance, and even had I not
done so, should certainly not have mentioned it after all that lapse of time.

---------------CHAPTER VIII. INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD.------------

 About three months after I left school for good I received an invitation to
go up to London and stay for a month with Ada Desborough. This was a great event.
Ada told me that her mother was going to give a grand ball, at which she was to
come out, and that I should be formally introduced to the world upon the same
occasion; and she remarked that she flattered herself that society in general ought
to rejoice at the advent of two such charming votaries at its shrine. She added, in
a postscript, that her brother Percy would be at home on leave.
 
I was, of course, delighted at the prospect of a month of real London life, with
its balls and operas, and looked forward to my visit as if going into fairy-land.
Mr. Harmer, when he heard of my invitation, made me a very handsome present to buy
myself dresses fitted for the occasion. I had, therefore, a fortnight of excitement
and preparation, as my morning and walking dresses were made at Canterbury; but my
ball-dresses were ordered of a London dressmaker, as mamma thought that Canterbury
fashions would not do for me at Lady Desborough's.
 
At last all was ready, and I started for town. Papa put me in charge of a lady of
his acquaintance, who was also going to London, and then said good-bye, with many
comic injunctions as to my behaviour in good society.
 
Nothing particular happened on our journey to London, and when I got out at the
station, a tall footman, whose face I remembered, came up and touched his hat, and
asked what luggage I had.
 
Lady Desborough had sent her carriage to meet me, and I began to realize the fact
that I had all at once become a young woman.
 
I felt a little flurried when we drew up at the house in Eaton Square, and the tall
footman knocked at the door, in a way I thought unnecessarily loud and important.
 
However, I soon felt at home when Ada came flying downstairs into the hall, and
kissed me as warmly as she had done three months before when we parted at Miss
Pilgrim's.
 
"Come along, Agnes, dear; never mind your things; they will be all brought up
safe. Your room is next to mine, with a door between, so we shall be able to talk
as much as we like. Mamma is not very well, and is lying down, and you will not see
her till dinner-time, so I have got you all to myself for three hours. There, that
is your room, and this is mine."
 
Very snug and comfortable they looked, with two large fires blazing in the grates,
which gave a cosy look to the rooms, and caused me to forget the unusual grandeur
of the furniture; for I should, I think, have otherwise felt not a little awe-
struck, it was all so very different from my quiet old-fashioned low-ceiled room,
with its white hangings, down in Canterbury.
 
However, I had no time to notice much then, for Ada, in her impulsive way, was
already occupied in taking off my wraps; this done, she again kissed me, and then
made me seat myself in a chair in front of the fire, while she nestled down on a
low stool beside me.
 
"There, Agnes, now you will get warm again. Do you know you are looking very
well after your journey, and are certainly even prettier than when I saw you last.
I begin to think I was very foolish to have you here at all: you will quite eclipse
poor little me."
 
I laughed at the nonsense she was talking, for Ada was one of the loveliest girls I
ever saw, and I—well, I believe I was pretty, but certainly nothing to
compare to Ada. We chatted merrily over old times, and then Ada gave me the list of
our engagements, which quite frightened me, at the number of titled people I was
going to visit. At last it was time to get ready for dinner; so I went into my own
room, where I found Ada's maid had already unpacked my boxes, and put all my things
away ready for use into the drawers and wardrobes. I was therefore able to take my
time dressing, talking to Ada the while through the open door.
 
When we went down into the drawing-room ready for dinner, we found Percy sitting
reading by the light of the bright fire. He must have heard the rustle of our
dresses as we entered, but he continued reading to the last moment; then closing
his book, reluctantly as it were, rose to speak to us. As he did so he gave quite a
start; he had evidently expected to meet the schoolgirl he had seen nearly two
years before, looking demure and half frightened at his mamma's presence, and I
certainly felt flattered at the evident surprise and admiration his face expressed
when his eyes fell upon me. It was my first effect, and I could not help colouring
up and feeling gratified.
 
"I need not say how do you do, Miss Ashleigh," he said, coming forward to
shake hands with me. "Your looks speak for themselves. I should hardly have
known you; how you have grown, and how very pretty you have become."
 
I coloured high in laughing confusion, and Ada said, coming to my relief,
"Really, Percy, how sadly gauche and unpolished you are in your way of paying
compliments: the idea of telling a young lady just come out, that she has grown
very pretty; just the sort of thing you might have said to a little child, or a
milkmaid. You might have conveyed the idea, which in itself is true and
unexceptionable, in some delicate way in which it would have been acceptable. Grown
pretty, indeed! You never had much manners, Percy, but the Lancers certainly have
not improved you."
 
"I really beg your pardon, Miss Ashleigh," he said, colouring almost as
much as I had done, "but I felt so much surprised for a moment at the change
in you, that I was obliged to express myself in the most straightforward way: had
what I said been less true, I should have put it into some different form."
 
"That is better, Percy," Ada said, approvingly.
 
"Agnes, make one of your best Grendon House curtsies."
 
I swept to the ground in a deep reverence, and then having quite recovered my
confusion by seeing Percy embarrassed by Ada's attack, I was able to take my own
part in the conversation; and—accustomed as I was to wordy skirmishes with
papa and Harry—with Ada on my side, we soon completely silenced Percy, who,
indeed, in a war of words, was no match for either of us alone.
 
Percy Desborough was, in my opinion, a handsome man; and yet, perhaps, as I am
prejudiced in his favour, my opinion may not be worth much, and I do not think
girls in general would have thought him so. He was now nearly twenty-three, about
middle height, rather slight, with a lithe, sinewy figure: very upright. His brown
hair was brushed back with a wave from his forehead, for in the year of grace,
1848, young men had not taken to cutting their hair like convicts, or charity boys.
He had a thoughtful and yet a quick eye, a firm, resolute mouth, and a white and
thin, but very nervous hand. He looked a soldier every inch, of the type of which
our Indian heroes are made; thoughtful, studious men, with warm hearts, and iron
resolutions, with manners quiet and gentle, but with the fiery courage of a Bayard.
He was as far removed from the ordinary drawing-room soldier as can well be; men
who, doubtless, when necessity comes, are, as every English gentleman must be,
brave as far as personal courage goes, but who care little for their military
duties, contenting themselves with going through the daily routine, reserving all
their best energies for the evening. Men with a rather supercilious smile, and
languid air, with a great flow of small talk and compliments: men much given to
stroking their moustache and whiskers, and with an amazing idea of their own powers
of fascination; not, indeed, that I blame them for that, for we girls do make such
fools of them, that it is no wonder they should consider that as far as we are
concerned they are invincible. Percy was, on the other hand, almost shy with women,
and was very studious, especially in all matters relating to his profession. He
expected, Ada told me, to embark for India with his regiment in about a year's
time, and he was working very hard at Hindostanee and the other Eastern languages,
in order to qualify himself for a staff appointment.
 
Lady Desborough presently came down. She was extremely gracious and cordial, and,
although it was not more than six months since she had seen me, she assured me that
I had very much improved, especially in figure and carriage,—the points, she
observed, in which young girls generally fail; and she said she should be quite
proud of two such belles as Ada and myself to introduce into society.
 
We dined earlier than usual, and did not sit so long at the table. This was a great
relief to me, as I hardly felt enough at home to have quite recovered from my old
sense of oppression at the extreme stateliness of the meal. The reason for this
change was, that we were going to the opera in the evening. We had dressed for it
before dinner, so that there was no time lost, and we entered Lady Desborough's box
a little before the overture began. Lady Desborough insisted on us girls taking the
front seats. She sat between us, but rather farther back, while Percy stood
sometimes behind Ada, sometimes behind me.
 
While the overture was going on, Ada told me to look down upon the sea of heads
below. It was wonderful, but yet a little confusing, there were so many men looking
up with opera-glasses, and a great many of them seemed gazing right into our box.
 
"How very rude they are, Ada!"
 
Ada laughed. She had often been there before, and was accustomed to it.
 
"My dear, it is the greatest possible compliment to us. All these lorgnettes
turned to our box proclaim us indisputable belles. Men would not take the trouble
to look at us if we were not pretty. There, child, don't colour up so; the only way
is to look perfectly indifferent, as if you were quite unconscious of it."
 
It was easy advice to give, and I followed it to the best of my power; but I felt
very hot and uncomfortable till the curtain drew up, and then I was too entirely
absorbed in the music to have noticed it, even if the whole house had been looking
at me.
 
It was to me an evening of enchantment. The opera was "Lucrezia Borgia,"
with Alboni as Orsini, and I had never before conceived it possible that the human
voice was capable of producing such exquisite full liquid notes as those which
poured from her, seemingly without the slightest effort. It was marvellous, and I
was literally enchanted; and even between the acts I did not recover sufficiently
from the effect it produced on me to listen to Ada, who wanted to talk, and tell me
who every one was in the different boxes.
 
When we reached home, Lady Desborough said it was quite a treat going with any one
who enjoyed herself as thoroughly as I did. The first time Ada went she did not
seem to care in the least about the music, and only occupied herself in asking who
all the people were.
 
The next day we went for a drive in the park, and I was quite astonished and
delighted at the number and beauty of the carriages and horses; for in our walks at
school, we had only kept in the secluded parts of the park and gardens, and had
never been allowed to go near the fashionable quarters. It was quite a new pleasure
to me. But whatever I felt, I knew it was right and proper to sit quite still, and
to look passive and quiet as Ada did, especially as numbers of ladies in carriages
bowed to Lady Desborough, and men on horseback lifted their hats, or sometimes rode
up to the carriage and spoke. Ada knew most of them by name, but very few to speak
to, as her mamma had not been in the habit of taking her out to drive with her, or
of introducing her to any one, as she was not yet out. But now as we were to appear
the next evening in public, Lady Desborough introduced several of the gentlemen to
us, and some of them rode for a little way by the side of the carriage, talking to
her ladyship, and sometimes exchanging a few words with Ada and myself. That
evening we were a quiet little party, and after Ada and I had played some of our
old school duets together, we went to bed quite early, in order to be fresh for the
next day's fatigues.
 
What an exciting day that was! Early in the morning Gunter's men came and took
possession of the dining-room, turning it completely upside down. A large cartload
of benches and tressels came at the same time, and they took the dining-table away,
and erected a large horse-shoe table in its place. In the mean time the
upholsterer's men were hard at work in the drawing-room. First they removed all the
furniture from it; then they took out the window-sashes, and erected a most lovely
little tent over the whole balcony, lined with white and blue muslin, and furnished
with couches, forming a most charming place to go out into between the dances.
Having done this, they stretched a drugget over both drawing-rooms, and placed
forms round the room. As soon as they were gone, Ada and I came into it, and
performed a waltz on the drugget, which was pronounced stretched to perfection.
About this time Percy arrived from Covent Garden, where he had been to see that the
flowers which had been previously ordered were coming. Scarcely had he arrived when
two carts drove up to the door full of them. We thereupon formed ourselves into a
council of taste, and the flowers were distributed under our supervision in the
hall, in the room behind the dining-room—which was to be for tea and
ices—on the landings of the staircase, and in the grates of the drawing-
rooms. The conservatory had been filled the day before, and a perfumed fountain
from Rimmel's, placed there to play during the evening. When all was done, we
pronounced the effect to be charming. Lady Desborough, at Ada's request, came down
from her room, where she had been all the morning, to inspect the arrangements,
which she pronounced exceedingly good. Indeed it looked extremely well, for the
drawing-rooms, which were very large and handsome, had been repapered specially for
the occasion, Lady Desborough being determined that nothing should be wanting, and
their effect, with the pretty tent outside, and the large boudoir opening from the
farther end, was really lovely. When she had inspected everything, she said that
she particularly wished us to lie down for a time in the afternoon, and to get a
short sleep if possible, if not to take a book, but at all events to keep quiet, in
order that we might be fresh in the evening. This advice we of course had to
follow, but it was very unpalatable to us both, as we were girls enough to enjoy
all the bustle immensely; still there was no help for it; and so we went up to our
rooms, where lunch, by Lady Desborough's orders, was brought up to us. After that
we lay down, but I don't think either of us closed our eyes. I am sure I was far
too excited at the thought of the evening before me. Presently Ada came into my
room, and said that lying down was out of the question, so we wheeled two easy
chairs before the fire, and sat there and chatted quietly.
 
By six o'clock the supper was all laid, under the superintendence of Gunter's
managing man himself, and the effect, when we went in to see it on our way down to
dinner in the back dining-room, was certainly superb. Even Lady Desborough
condescended to express her conviction to Gunter's managing man, that nothing could
be better.
 
After this, the house subsided into quiet, and soon after seven we went up to
dress. We had thus nearly three hours before us, as it was quite certain no one
would come before ten; and I confess I did not see how we could possibly occupy all
that, and was half inclined to side with Percy in his remarks as to the absurdity
of our being so long at our toilet. However, Ada paid no attention to what he said,
and, of course, I went up-stairs with her. It was very pleasant up there, and we
chatted a long time, sitting before Ada's fire, before we made any signs of
beginning to dress.
 
Presently a knock at the door interrupted us, and we were told that the hairdresser
was below.
 
"I will go down first, Agnes; you get on with your dressing. I shall not be
twenty minutes at most."
 
While I was dressing a small parcel was brought up, which had been left at the door
for me. It contained a note and a small jewel-box. The note was from Messrs. Hunt
and Roskell, saying, "That they had received orders from Mr. Harmer, of
Canterbury, to send me a cross, the choice of which he had left with them, and a
small chain to suspend it round my neck. That they trusted the jewel would give me
satisfaction; but that, if I wished, they would exchange it for any other in their
shop, if I would favour them with a call." The contents of the case were a
small cross, composed entirely of very large diamonds, of the value of which I had
no idea, but which looked very lovely, and a small chain to hang it round my neck.
I said nothing to Ada, although the door was open, as I wished to surprise her.
 
Ada's maid seemed a long time to me putting the finishing touches to my dress; for
I was not accustomed to all these little minuti?; but at last it was done, and I
turned round to go into Ada's room—she having been dressed by Lady
Desborough's own maid—when she came into the room to me, and as she did so we
uttered an exclamation of mutual admiration. Ada certainly looked lovely; she was
dressed in white silk, with white tulle over it, which was looped up with scarlet
flowers, and she had a wreath of the same, with green leaves in her dark hair;
round her neck was a beautiful necklace of pearls of great value, which was, I
believe, a family heirloom.
 
My dress, like hers, was of white silk, with a skirt of lovely Brussels lace, a
present from Mr. Harmer, over it. This was slightly looped up with blue forget-me-
nots, and I had a wreath of the same flowers in my hair.
 
"Oh Agnes," Ada exclaimed, after our first burst of mutual
congratulations was over, "Oh, Agnes, what a lovely diamond cross; where did
you get it from? you never showed it me before."
 
I explained to her the manner in which I had just received it.
 
"Well, Agnes, that Mr. Harmer of yours is a trump, as Percy would say. What a
beautiful thing. Have you any idea of the value of it?"
 
I knew nothing of the value of diamonds, and suggested twenty pounds.
 
"Twenty pounds, you silly child," Ada said; "you don't deserve to
have presents made you. If I know anything of diamonds, it is worth two
hundred."
 
"You don't mean that, Ada," I exclaimed, quite frightened at the idea of
carrying such a valuable thing round my neck; "you are only laughing at
me."
 
"I can assure you I am in earnest, Agnes; they are quite worth that; they are
splendid diamonds, and the cross looks quite a blaze of light on your neck."
 
We were down stairs by a quarter to ten. Percy was already there, and paid us both
many nonsensical compliments. Lady Desborough soon came down, and also expressed
herself highly pleased with our appearance. She fully endorsed what Ada had said as
to the value of the cross, and said that it was worth more than Ada had put it at,
perhaps nearly twice as much.
 
"Now," she said, when Percy had gone out of the room to fetch something
he had forgotten, "I wish to give you a last piece of advice. I give it to
you, Miss Ashleigh, as much as I do to Ada, for as you come out under my charge, I
consider myself as responsible for you equally. To you, Ada, I say be very careful
you do not let your high spirits run away with you; above all, do not become noisy:
I know well what your tendency is. This does not apply to you, Miss Ashleigh, for
although you have good spirits, I know you are not likely to let them run away with
you as Ada is. Do not either of you, I beg, dance more than once, or at most twice
with any gentleman. This applies equally to you, Miss Ashleigh, as the heiress to a
considerable fortune. It is incumbent on you both to be very careful with whom you
dance,—I mean, dance frequently: there is nothing more damaging to a girl
than that her name should be mentioned as seen flirting with any but a most
eligible party; and as at present you do not know who is who, you cannot be too
careful."
 
Here Percy's return interrupted any further advice which Lady Desborough might have
been disposed to have tendered us; and in a few minutes the visitors began to
arrive, and my first ball began.
 
I may here mention, with reference to Lady Desborough's remark about my being an
heiress, that Clara Fairthorne had brought the news to school, when Mr. Harmer's
intentions with respect to us were publicly announced, and from that time we were
generally known there by the nickname of the "heiresses."

---------------CHAPTER IX. THE OLD STORY.------------

 I never enjoyed myself in my life as much as I did at that ball. Lady
Desborough introduced a good many of the first comers to me, and Percy brought up
more. He had engaged me for the first waltz, and he presently asked me for the
first polka after supper; and my card was soon quite full for the whole evening.
 
At some times I should have been sorry for this, as one does not like to be obliged
to refuse any very eligible looking man who may be introduced to one. Besides, it
prevents dancing a second dance with any particularly pleasant partner,—that
is, of course, unless one has the coolness to turn out some one already on the
list, which at that time I certainly had not.
 
But that night I preferred having fresh partners every dance. It was all so new to
me, and I wanted to see everything; and in this way I was less engaged in
interesting conversation, and was able to give more attention to what was going on.
 
It was a brilliant scene. The élite of London society were there, and very
beautiful were many of the faces, and very exquisite the dresses. Not one of them
all through was more lovely than Ada, and almost every one of my partners remarked
to me how very lovely she was; indeed, she made quite a sensation.
 
The men I was not so much struck with. They were very distinguished-looking and
very gentlemanly and polished in manner,—very, very different from what few
young men there were at Canterbury. But they had a languid air about them which
impressed me unpleasantly. They gave me the idea that they had gone out so much
into society that they had quite ceased to care for dancing, and that even
conversation was too much labour to be undertaken; and I knew it was bad taste, but
I certainly preferred as partners the officers I had met at Canterbury to these
languid young Guardsmen and scions of nobility.
 
For myself, I could not understand how any one could help dancing with spirit to
that inspiring music; and the only drawback to my enjoyment was that the rooms were
so very full that one was dreadfully squeezed and knocked about. However, on my
venturing to remark to one of my partners that the room was extremely full, I found
that I knew nothing about it, for he answered,—
 
"Dear me! Do you think so, now? Why, every one has been remarking to me how
pleasant it is that the rooms are not crowded."
 
I found afterwards that my partner was right, and that I had shown my ignorance;
for, at some of the balls I went to afterwards, the crush was so great that dancing
was literally an impossibility.
 
I felt very thankful I had been to the opera, for most of my partners, on finding I
was fresh from the country, asked that question, having, I suppose, no other topic
in common with me. Had I danced oftener than once with some of them, no doubt my
conversations would have been more lively. As it was, with a few exceptions, they
were not interesting. But they all danced well, and that part I did enjoy most
thoroughly. Most of all I liked my dances with Percy, for he told me who every one
was, and did it really good naturedly, while some of my other partners, who had
done the same, had been as sarcastic and ill-natured about every one, as if they
thought that it must give me pleasure to hear other people run down; whereas, when
they were making depreciating remarks upon other girls' dresses and manners, I
could not but feel quite uncomfortable in wondering what they would say about me
presently.
 
Percy managed to take me down to supper, carrying me off from my last partner in a
very dexterous manner; and, what was very nice, he managed to get me a place next
to Ada, who had been taken down by young Lord Holmeskirk, a very pleasant young
fellow in the Guards. Ada introduced him to me at once, and he pleaded very hard
for a dance after supper; I told him that my card was full, but he urged it so much
that I said at last I would dance with him if he would manage it for me, but that I
had not the least idea how it was to be done. I may here say that he did so; the
second dance after supper, coming up to me as I was leaning on Percy's arm, after
my polka with him, and saying, in the quietest way, "I believe I have the
pleasure of this dance, Miss Ashleigh," he carried me off immediately the
music struck up, before my real partner, whoever he was, could find me. Not being
accustomed to this sort of thing, and not having the least idea who it was I was
engaged to, I felt quite nervous and uncomfortable for the next dance or two,
expecting that every gentleman who came near me was on the point of reproaching me
for having broken my engagement to him. And, indeed, to the very end of my stay in
London, I could never bring myself, in spite of what Ada told me about every one
doing so, to turn off a partner in this way without feeling that I was doing
something very wrong. I dare say my conscience would have been blunted in time, but
as it was I never arrived at that point. Lord Holmeskirk turned out the most
pleasant partner of all I had been introduced to, and I could chat with him with
more freedom,—he was so perfectly natural and unaffected.
 
We were a very merry little group at supper; what I ate I have not the slightest
idea. Percy kept my plate constantly filled, but, with the exception of
strawberries and cream, I did not recognise a single thing he gave me. Then we
pulled crackers, and found the mottoes within them of a singularly silly and
unsatisfactory nature.
 
At last we got up from supper, and went up to the drawing-room, and then the
gentlemen, at least those of them who were fortunate enough to find seats, sat
down; and when they once did so, I began to think they would never come up again,
they were such a terribly long time; and it seemed such a waste to be sitting still
doing nothing, with that splendid music ready to go on again. While they were
downstairs I was introduced to several ladies, to whose houses I was going in the
next few nights with Lady Desborough and Ada.
 
At last the gentlemen came up again, and we began to dance as if to make up for
lost time; for the dancing was certainly better than before supper, and my partners
more agreeable and chatty; besides, some of the people had left, so that there was
more room, and I enjoyed it accordingly. I think every one else did the same, for
there seemed to me to be much more lively conversation and flirting going on than
before supper.
 
I have said that I only danced once with each partner, but there was one exception:
this was Lord Bangley, a captain in the Guards. He was introduced to me early in
the evening, before my card was full, and he begged so earnestly for two dances
that I had no excuse for refusing him; but of all the partners I had that evening,
I disliked him certainly the most. He was a handsome man, that I could not deny;
but that was all I could say for him. He was tall and very stiff—so stiff
that his head seemed set too far back—with a supercilious sneering manner, a
very harsh unpleasant voice, and an insufferable air of arrogance and conceit.
 
Ada told me next day that Lord Bangley had condescended to express to her his great
approval of my appearance and manner. I curtsied low when Ada told me, but all that
I could say was, "that the feeling was by no means reciprocal."
 
Presently the room began to thin in earnest, and there was a great noise outside,
in the intervals of the music, of shouting for carriages and prancing of horses;
and then, in a very short time, they were all gone, and there remained in the great
drawing-room only Lady Desborough, Ada, Percy, and myself.
 
"What do you think of your first ball?" Lady Desborough asked.
 
"Oh, delightful!" we exclaimed simultaneously; "we could have gone
on dancing all night."
 
"It has gone off very well indeed, and I am perfectly satisfied with
everything. But now let us go off to bed; we shall have plenty of time to talk it
all over in the morning."
 
It was, however, very long before Ada and
 
I went to bed. We took off our ball-dresses, let down our hair, put our feet into
slippers, and then sat by the fire in my room talking over the evening, and our
partners, and our impressions of everything.
 
At last I said, "If we do not go to bed soon, Ada, we may as well give up all
idea of going at all. It is nearly six o'clock."
 
Ada rose to go into her own room.
 
"We have a good five hours to sleep yet. We shall not breakfast till twelve.
Good night, dear."
 
After this memorable entrée into society, we were out nearly every night,
until, before the end of a month, I had had quite enough of parties and balls, and
was really glad when we had a quiet evening to ourselves.
 
Sometimes, before going to the balls, we went to the opera, which, I think, after a
time I liked more than the parties. Percy always accompanied us there, but he did
not often go the balls, which I was sorry for; I liked him so much as a partner,
and I could talk with him, so much more naturally and freely about every one there,
than I could with my other partners.
 
For the first few nights I went out, Lord Bangley was very attentive to me; but I
disliked him so much that at last I always was engaged when he asked me to dance;
and, although he was very slow to see that any one really could dislike dancing
with so very exalted a person as himself, he at last was forced to adopt that
conclusion, and so gave up asking me, which was a great relief to me, for his
disagreeable manner quite oppressed me.
 
Ada, one morning at breakfast—at which meal, by the bye, Lady Desborough
never appeared—was laughing at me about him, when I said, sharply, that I
could not bear him, and that I had shown him so most unmistakably.
 
"I am glad to hear you say so, Agnes," Percy said; for by this time Ada
had pointed out to us the extreme absurdity of our being constantly together for
two months, and calling each other Miss Ashleigh and Mr. Desborough all that time.
So Percy, having obtained my willing consent, took to calling me Agnes, while I
don't think I called him anything; but really Percy came almost naturally to my
lips, for Ada had so often spoken of him to me by that name. "I am very glad
to hear you say so, Agnes; Bangley is hated by his brother officers, and and is
what I should call, although an earl's son, a downright snob;—a snob, because
he is conceited about his advantages of person and position;—a snob, because
he is a narrow-minded, empty-headed coxcomb."
 
"Well done, oh! most outspoken brother," Ada said. "Pray what
offence has poor Lord Bangley given you for all this outburst?"
 
"No particular offence, Ada; but I can't bear the fellow."
 
"Curious, now," Ada said, rather mischievously; "I never heard you
say anything against him before: your dislike must be of very recent origin."
 
"Recent or not recent," Percy said, dogmatically, "I can't bear
him."
 
After I had been three weeks in London, Lady Desborough asked me to stay two months
instead of one, as I had originally intended. She kindly said that it was so very
advantageous and pleasant for Ada having me with her, and, indeed, pressed me so
much that I saw she really wished it, and on my part I was only too glad to prolong
my stay.
 
I was quite at home now in society, and knew nearly every one, and enjoyed the
conversation now as much, or more, than the dancing. Ada told me one morning, when
I had been there about five weeks, that I was getting a perfect flirt—quite
as bad as she was—indeed worse, because quieter—and therefore much more
dangerous.
 
"There is Lord Holmeskirk, Agnes: he is quite assiduous in his attentions to
you. Now, Percy, you have certainly nothing to say against him, for he is an
exceedingly nice, unaffected fellow."
 
"Holmeskirk," broke in Percy, "why, he is a mere boy!"
 
"He is an officer in the Guards, Percy. He is, I grant you, two years younger
than your sapient self; still he is more than three years older than Agnes. Don't
mind what he says, my dear: you have my free consent and approbation. I only wish
it had been my magnificent self at whom he had deigned to throw his
handkerchief."
 
"Nonsense, Ada. I do wish you would get out of the way of always talking such
ridiculous nonsense;" and Percy got up quite crossly, and went straight out of
the room.
 
Ada lifted her eyes in comic amazement and penitence.
 
"Dear me! to think of my having angered his royal highness! Did I say anything
very dreadful, Agnes? I do not remember his being so fierce with me since I was
twelve years old. One would think he had been crossed in love. Eh, Agnes! what do
you say to that?" she asked, with rather a mischievous tone.
 
"I am sure I do not know," I said, composedly.
 
"Oh, you are sure you do not know! Well, let us see if we can guess. Not long
ago, when Lord Bangley was in question, he became furious against him; now, he is
enraged with me for recommending that nice little Lord Holmeskirk. Put two and two
together, my dear, and four is the undoubted result."
 
"What nonsense you are talking, Ada!" I said, colouring greatly.
"Your brother no more thinks anything about me than—than—"
and I stopped for a comparison.
 
"Than you do about him," Ada suggested.
 
"He thinks nothing of me," I said, ignoring her suggestion, "except
as an old school-fellow and friend; and I really am surprised, Ada, that ever you
should talk such nonsense."
 
"Very well, my dear," Ada said, tranquilly; "then I will say no more
about it. I certainly thought I had an average amount of perception, and could see
as far into a brick wall as my neighbours; but it seems I cannot. I know, now, that
my brother, who never cared for music, and who never went ten times to the opera in
his life, only goes every night we do because he has acquired a sudden taste for
music. Still, in that case, you will allow it is odd that he should sit so much
behind your chair, and talk to you all the time the music is going on. No doubt,
however, he is criticising the performance for your benefit; but, as he never
speaks loud enough for me to hear, of course I could not guess that. Another thing
too, is, to say the least of it, strange—Percy, till you came, was at work
all day in his room upon Sanscrit and Hindostanee, and smoking so, that, in spite
of the double doors which he has on purpose, the upper part of the house used quite
to smell of his cigars, and I was always expecting mamma to complain about it. It
is, then, certainly strange that he should now find time to idle away all his
morning with us, and to ride out by the side of our carriage in the Park of an
afternoon. However, I dare say all this is because he has finished his study of
Eastern tongues, and is arrived at perfection in them. How stupid I have been not
to have thought of all this before!" and here Ada went on sipping her coffee,
as if quite convinced that she had been altogether in error.
 
Honestly, I was astonished. It had seemed so natural having Percy always with us,
so pleasant listening to his sensible conversation, so different from the light
flow of badinage we heard of an evening—it seemed such a matter of course, to
enjoy the little quiet—well—flirtation at the opera, that, up to this
moment, I can say honestly that it had never seriously entered my head that Percy
Desborough cared for me. As, however, I thought over all our conversation together,
not so much what he had said as the way in which he had said it, the conviction
came over me that perhaps Ada was right after all; and the colour came mounting up
into my face, till I felt a deep crimson even over my forehead.
 
Ada was watching me, although she did not seem to be doing so; and guessing, from
what she could see of my face, that I had arrived at the conclusion that it was as
she said, she jumped up from her chair, and, kneeling down by me in her old
impulsive way, she put her arms round me, and kissed my burning cheeks.
 
"You dear, silly, blind Agnes! you know I am right, and that Percy loves
you."
 
I was silent a little, and then I said—
 
"But are you sure of what you say, Ada?"
 
"Quite sure, Agnes: he has not yet said as much to me, but I know it just as
well as if he had. Have I not seen the way he looks at you when you are not
noticing him? My dear child, I am quite sure about him. But about you, Agnes, do
you care for him?"
 
"I never thought of him so, Ada—never once. I liked him very much
indeed, but it never entered my mind that he cared for me in that way; so I never
thought of it."
 
"But now you know he does?" Ada persisted, kissing me coaxingly.
 
"Ah, but I don't know yet, Ada; so you will get no answer from me on that
head. But, oh, Ada!" I exclaimed, suddenly. "What would Lady Desborough
say? Oh, I do hope it is not true! What would she say to Percy falling in love with
a country doctor's daughter?"
 
Ada did not look at all alarmed.
 
"My dear," she said, laughing, "I do not think you need trouble
yourself on that score. Country doctors' daughters, in general, are not heiresses
of twenty-five thousand pounds. Mamma is, no doubt, ambitious, and expects that I
shall make a great match; and had Percy been like other people, and remained in the
Guards, and stayed at home, I dare say she would have thought nothing under a
duke's daughter good enough for him. As it is, all that is changed. She was very
angry indeed with him about it, but she has given it up now. Here he is in a
regiment which in a year or so will go on foreign service; he is mad enough to
intend to go with it, and where is he then? You may be quite sure of one thing,
Agnes. My mamma is a very excellent woman, but she knows far too much of human
nature not to have weighed in her mind, and accepted the possibility of Percy's
falling in love, before she invited a very pretty girl like you to spend a month in
the house at a time she knew Percy would be at home on leave."
 
I had no reply ready to this argument of Ada's, which I knew enough of Lady
Desborough to feel was true; so I kissed her, and told her that she had talked
quite nonsense enough for one morning, and that it was quite time to get ready to
go out.
 
The last three weeks I spent in Eaton Square were perhaps more happy than the
previous time, but I don't think they were so pleasant; that is, I did not feel so
much at home. Before, I had been with Percy as I might have been with a brother, or
rather, perhaps, with a cousin; but now, to feel in my heart—as I now did
feel—that he looked at me in quite another way, made me feel different, and
at times a little awkward with him. Before, if Ada left the room for any thing, I
continued to chat with Percy as unconcernedly as if she had been present; now, I
made some excuse to accompany her, or, if obliged to remain, rattled on about
anything that came uppermost, to prevent the conversation by any possibility taking
a serious turn.
 
Ada told me one day that Percy had asked her the reason of my remaining away so;
but I told her she had no one to blame but herself, who had made me uncomfortable
by talking nonsense to me about him.
 
"But he is very much in earnest, Agnes. He spoke to me last night, and said he
was only waiting for an opportunity of speaking to you. You won't say 'no,' will
you, Agnes darling?"
 
She asked in her coaxing way, kissing me as she used to do at school when she
wanted me to do anything for her.
 
I did not answer. I felt very very happy to know now for certain that he loved me,
still, I could not answer that question except to himself, especially to Ada, who
would be sure whatever she promised me, to tell Percy. So I said at last,
"There is no use, Ada, in his speaking to me now at all. I would never accept
him or any other man, even if I loved him with all my heart, until my father had
seen and liked him."
 
"But how is Dr. Ashleigh to see Percy?" Ada asked, with a dismayed face.
 
"Of course, Ada, it is not for me to make arrangements for your brother,"
I said quietly; and then, after a pause, seeing her blank dismay, I went on,
"It is not for me to suggest, Ada; but as you have promised to come down for a
week to us, in another six weeks when the season is over, on your way to Lady
Dashwood's, I have no doubt that papa would be very happy to see your brother if he
should be happening to accompany you."
 
I was conscious that although I said this laughingly, I was blushing crimson; but
still I felt it was better so than that Percy should ask me now, for I quite meant
what I said about papa's consent; but I was by no means sure of my own resolution
if he asked me, which he was certain to do if I did not somehow put it off. Ada
looked me full in the face, she saw that it would be as she wished, and she took me
very gently in her arms, and we kissed each other lovingly, as if in pledge of the
nearer relationship we were to bear. And then she made one more effort.
 
"But could you not say 'yes,' now, Agnes, and refer him to your papa? It would
be the same thing, and put him out of his suspense."
 
"No, Ada," I said positively; "it would not be the same thing at
all. If I said 'yes,' but which, mind, I have not said that I ever shall do, papa
would be sure to give his consent because he loves me. But before I am engaged to
any one, I should like papa to see him and like him first, and then when he tells
me he approves my choice, I shall know he really means what he says."
 
After this, I have no doubt Ada told him something of what I had said, for from
that time they ceased to try and contrive tête-à-têtes between
us, and I saw that Percy was content to wait till the time I had indicated. So I
was much more comfortable with him. His leave expired, and he went away three or
four days before my visit ended. I took care the last day or two not to be alone
with him, for I confess I doubted my own resolution as much as I did his. However,
nothing was said till he was going, and then as he was saying good-bye, he held my
hand and said, "Then I may hope to see you again in six weeks, Agnes?"
and he looked so earnestly at me, that my stupid colour would come rushing up.
 
"Yes," I said, as steadily as I could, "papa will be very glad to
see you, if you should happen to be accompanying Ada."
 
For a moment longer he held my hand, and it seemed to me that he drew me a little
towards him as if he were going to kiss me. If Ada had not been in the room, I
believe he would have done so; as it was, he lifted my hand and pressed it to his
lips, kissed Ada heartily, and was gone.
 
The very last ball I went to before I left, a circumstance happened which gave me
great pain at the time. I was dancing with Lord Holmeskirk, with whom, indeed, I
danced more perhaps than with any one else, and we were speaking of my leaving on
the following day, and he remarked almost seriously how much I should be missed, to
which I replied with laughing disbelief. After the dance was over we took our seats
on a sofa placed in a conservatory on the landing, half way up the stairs, and
which was otherwise unoccupied. It was quite surrounded by flowers, so that
although any one who came up-stairs could see us, still no one could hear what we
said.
 
When we had sat down Lord Holmeskirk said, "So you do not think you will be
missed, Miss Ashleigh? Now I can assure you that at least by me your absence will
be keenly felt." And then without further introduction, he made me an honest
straightforward offer.
 
I felt very surprised, and very very sorry, and told him so. I had looked upon him
as a very pleasant partner, and had liked him very much, and I assured him that I
had never for a moment imagined that he had regarded me in any other light.
 
"I don't suppose you love me now, Miss Ashleigh," he said earnestly.
"There is no reason in the world why you should; but don't you think you could
some day. Is it quite impossible that you may in time get to care for me?" And
the honest young nobleman looked so pleadingly up in my face, that I could hardly
restrain my tears.
 
"Lord Holmeskirk," I said, "I am very sorry indeed for what you have
said to me. I am grieved that I should unwittingly have obtained the love of a true
heart such as yours is without being able to requite it. It will be a matter of
lasting regret to me. But it would be cruel kindness to deceive you. I cannot
encourage you even to hope. There are many here far more fitted than I am to win
your love, and whose rank would render them far more suitable matches for you than
I could be. Your parents——"
 
"I can assure you," he began, earnestly, "I have their consent; I
have already spoken to them."
 
"I esteem you still more for having done so, Lord Holmeskirk, and I am touched
at their willingness to receive me; still, their consent must have been the result
rather of their affection for you, than their own real approval of it."
 
I saw at once in his open face that it was so, and that his parents' consent had
been reluctantly given.
 
"It could not be otherwise," I said; "they naturally wish you to
choose one who, from her rank and connections, may strengthen your position,
however high that may be. And now, I can only say again how sorry I am for the pain
I have given you, but that it cannot be. I shall always remember you with esteem
and regard, and nothing will give me greater pleasure than to hear you have made
some happier choice."
 
The young man saw that any further appeal would be hopeless, and the tears stood in
his honest grey eyes.
 
"Thank you very much for your kindness, Miss Ashleigh, but, believe me, I
shall ever regard you——" "as a friend," I said, rising,
and making a movement to the staircase. He offered me his arm, and as we went up I
began chatting on indifferent subjects, as I did not wish any one to even guess
what had taken place. As we walked round the room, we passed by where the countess,
his mother, was sitting. I saw she looked at us anxiously, and as her son caught
her eye, he shook his head slightly in answer to the question she asked, and I
could see her eyes open, first in astonishment, and then soften with a variety of
emotions,—sorrow for her son's disappointment,—pleasure that he was not
going to make a match which she could not have thought suitable. As we passed
again, she stopped us, and spoke a few words to me, for I had frequently spoken to
her before, and had liked her much, for she was a kind, motherly sort of woman,
though she was a countess. She said she heard this was my last ball, and that she
should quite miss my face amongst the dancers.
 
"It is a fresh, happy face, my dear, and I hope it may continue so. Good-bye;
you have my best wishes;" and she shook hands with me very kindly and
affectionately, in a way which seemed to say a very great many things which she
could not well express.
 
When I got back that evening, Ada, who had been rather silent on our way home, came
into my room, as she usually did, for a talk, and said, "Agnes, I was going
down the stairs to get an ice, and I saw you and Lord Holmeskirk go into the
conservatory together, and you were there when I came up again, and I am quite sure
by both your looks that he has made you an offer. Well?"
 
"What do you mean by well?" I asked, for I felt a little hurt that, after
what I had said to her about Percy, she should ever dream of the possibility of my
accepting any one else.
 
"Of course I mean what did you answer? Don't keep me waiting, Agnes: you don't
know how anxious and impatient I have been to get home to ask you."
 
"After what I said to you about Percy, Ada," I said, rather coldly,
"I should have thought it hardly necessary to ask. Of course I refused
him."
 
"There, you dear Agnes," Ada said, almost crying on my neck, "don't
be angry with me; but I have been so nervous, though I knew you would say 'no.'
Still, it must require so much courage to refuse a nobleman; I know I never
could;" and so she went on till she coaxed me into a good humour again, and we
talked a long time before we went to bed. And so my gaieties ended, and next
morning, bidding adieu to Ada and Lady Desborough, who was very gracious, and even
kissed me, I started for Canterbury, under charge of a lady who was going down, and
whom I met by arrangement on the platform of the station.
 

---------------CHAPTER X. SUNSHINE AND SHADOW.------------

 Although I had enjoyed my trip to London immensely, yet I was very, very glad
to get back to my dear old home again; happier even than before, for now, in
addition to all my former home-pleasures, I had a secret source of happiness to
muse over when alone. How bright life appeared to me, how thankful I felt for all
my deep happiness, and how my heart seemed to open to all created things!
 
I had only one cause for sorrow, and that one which had for years been seen as a
dim shadow in the far distance, but which had been for the last two or three years
past increasing in magnitude, growing from vague ill-defined dread, to the sad
certainty of coming grief. I mean the rapidly failing health of mamma.
 
From my farthest back remembrance of her she had never been strong. Not, perhaps,
suffering from any decided pain or illness, but weak and languid, and unequal to
any unusual exertion. For years the great part of her time had been spent on the
sofa, but during the last few months she had been unmistakably failing; on my
return home after my visit in London I found that there was a marked change in her
appearance, and that she had grown decidedly thinner and weaker in that short time.
 
Papa, I could see, was very anxious about her; he was a good deal more at home now,
and spent as much time as he could spare in the room with her, bringing his books
in there, and sitting to study where she could see his face, and so close that she
could exchange a few words with him occasionally without having to raise her voice.
Ill as mamma was, I think she was never so happy in her married life as she was at
that time. She now no longer troubled herself with domestic arrangements, but left
all that to me, and was content to lie, holding a book in her wasted hands, and
looking fondly across at her husband at his reading. When papa was there she liked,
I think, best being alone with him and her thoughts; but when he was out, I used to
take my work and sit beside her, and talk when she felt inclined, which was not
often. Indeed, I had only one long conversation with her, which was about a month
after I came back.
 
She had been lying very quiet one day, not speaking at all, but watching me while I
worked, when she said:
 
"You have told us all about your trip to London, Agnes, and about your
gaieties and amusements; but I do not think you have told all. As you sit there I
can see sometimes the colour come up over your face, and your lips part a little,
and your eyes soften, while your fingers lie idle on your work. Have you not some
pleasant thoughts, dearest—some sweet hope for the future which you have not
yet spoken of? Tell me, darling. I have not much longer to be with you, and it
would make my last time more happy to be able to think of your future as somewhat
secured, and to picture you to myself as mistress of some happy home. Am I right,
my child? Have you some such hope?"
 
Kneeling down beside her, when my tears suffered me to speak, I told her all that
had passed between me and Percy, and that, although not yet actually engaged, we
should be when he came down, if papa and she approved of him; and I explained to
her the reason why I had not at once told them about it was, that I wished them to
see him with unbiased eyes first of all, and to like him for his own sake, before
they did for mine. Mamma asked me several questions about Percy's dispositions and
habits, which I answered as minutely and fairly as I could; when I had done she
said:
 
"I think from what you say, my darling, he will make you very happy, and I
shall be able to trust you to him. I shall look forward to seeing him. I am very
glad you have told me, my child; I shall have pleasant thoughts of the future now,
in addition to all my happy memories of the past."
 
From this time mamma grew fonder than ever of having me with her, and would watch
me as she watched papa. She liked me best to sit on a low stool beside her, so
close that without exertion she could softly stroke my hair, and let her poor thin
hand rest on my head. I did not go out anywhere, except over to Sturry. There I
went as often as I could; for I liked Sophy, and loved Mr. Harmer, as indeed I had
good reason to do. About him papa was very uneasy; he had had a rather severe
stroke of paralysis when I was away in London, and, although he had greatly
recovered from it, he still felt its effects, and papa said that he must be kept
very quiet, for that any excitement might bring on another and fatal attack.
 
The first time I went over to see Mr. Harmer, I was quite shocked at the change
which had taken place since I had last seen him, little more than two months
before. He rose to meet me when I went into the library where he was sitting, with
quite his old smile of welcome, and I did not so much notice the change till he was
fairly on his feet. Then indeed I saw how great it was. His old free, erect bearing
was gone, and he stood upright with difficulty, and when he tried to walk, it was
in a stiff and jointless sort of way, very painful to see. But the greatest
alteration was in his voice; formerly he spoke in such a frank, hearty, joyous way,
and now each word seemed to come out slowly and with difficulty. Although papa had
warned me that I should see a great change in him, I had no idea of such a terrible
alteration as this, and it was so great a shock to me, that I could not help
breaking down and crying.
 
"You must not do that," Mr. Harmer said, placing me in a chair at one
side of him, while Sophy, who had gone in with me, sat on the other, and he took my
hand in his own, and held it there the whole time I was with him. "You must
not cry, Agnes; I am getting an old man, and could not, in the ordinary course of
nature, have expected to have lived many years more. I have led a very happy life,
and have innumerable blessings to be thankful for; not the least, although that may
seem selfish on my part, that there are some who care for me in my age, and who
will be sorry when I am taken away. There, my dear, dry your eyes, and give me a
full description of all your gaieties in London."
 
I told him all about what I had been doing, where I had gone, and everything I
could think of likely to amuse him, and was still in the middle of my story when
Miss Harmer came in.
 
"I am very sorry to have to disturb you Miss Ashleigh," she said, after
shaking hands with me, "for I know how much my brother enjoys a talk with you;
but your papa's orders were so very strict, that on no account should he be allowed
to talk for long at a time, that I really must put a stop to your
conversation."
 
I had not seen Miss Harmer for some time, for she and her sister had been away on
the Continent for two years previously, and had returned only on receipt of the
news of their brother's illness.
 
When Miss Harmer spoke, I got up at once to leave, feeling a little ashamed of my
own thoughtlessness, for papa had particularly warned me before I started, not to
talk long; but I had quite forgotten his injunction, in the pleasure Mr. Harmer had
evidently felt in listening to me.
 
"You see, my dear," he said, "I must do as I am told now; but you
will come again soon to see me, will you not?"
 
I promised to come as soon as I could, and from that time whenever mamma could
spare me, I went over for half an hour's chat with Mr. Harmer, very often at first,
but as he got better, and mamma became weaker, of course my visits became very much
less frequent.
 
During my visits at this time, I was a good deal puzzled about Sophy. There was
something in her manner, which I could not at all understand. She was evidently
extremely attached to her grandfather, and was unwearied in her constant attention
to him; and yet at times it appeared to me that her thoughts were far off from what
was passing before her, and that after one of these fits of abstraction she would
rouse herself with almost a start, and then glance furtively at Mr. Harmer, as if
afraid that he had noticed it. When he praised her too, which he often did to me,
for her care and kindness to him, I fancied that she almost shrank from his praise
in a sort of pained way, as if she felt that his commendation was undeserved. I
daresay at any other time I might have thought a great deal about this; but as it
was I had so much to occupy me. What with my mother's almost daily increasing
weakness; what with the rapidly approaching visit of Ada and Percy; what with my
own grief and my own happiness, I had no thoughts to give to Sophy. Perhaps on my
walk home from Sturry, I wondered and puzzled as to her conduct; but once past my
own doors, all thought of her and her mysterious ways, were laid aside till I
started for my next visit to Harmer Place.
 
I have not mentioned that after I had told mamma about Percy, I suppose she must
have hinted something to papa; at any rate he wrote to Percy, saying that hearing
from his daughter that he proposed accompanying his sister Ada on a visit to Lady
Dashwood's, he should be very glad if, like her, Percy would take Canterbury on his
way, and stay for a week with us. Percy answered the letter in the affirmative.
Papa's eyes rather twinkled with amusement as he one day at breakfast told me in a
casual sort of way that he had written to Mr. Desborough, asking him to stay with
us while his sister did, and that he had heard that morning that his invitation was
accepted.
 
I know I tried to look unconscious, but finally had to go round the table and
rumple papa's hair all over, and tell him that he was a dear old goose.
 
It was about two months after my return from London that I received a letter from
Ada, saying that her brother had obtained leave of absence again, and that the
season was now quite over, and London dreadfully hot; that she longed to be out of
it and in the country again, and that if convenient she would come on that day
week, and that Percy would accompany her. I had been expecting this news for some
time, still, now that it had come—now that I knew for certain that in another
week Percy would be with me—it was very difficult to realize, and very hard,
indeed, to go about looking tranquil and unconcerned under sister Polly's watchful
eye and sly remarks. Polly was now at home for the holidays, and during the week I
many times wished her back at school again, for she was really a serious plague to
me. She had somehow guessed, or fancied she guessed, the state of things between
Percy and me, and she was constantly making remarks about their coming visit, and
then slyly watching me to see the colour which would, on the mention of his name,
mount up into my cheeks. I had, as a girl, a dreadful habit of blushing, which, do
what I would, I could not break myself of. It was very tiresome, and I would have
given anything to have cured myself of the trick.
 
So now, what with Polly's mischievous hints and my ridiculous habit of blushing, I
was made quite uncomfortable for that week. At last I had to tell her she was
annoying me very much, and that if she did it when they came down I should be
seriously angry with her. When she saw I was quite in earnest, she pretended to be
very penitent, although I am sure she was only amused; however, she gave it up as
much as she could for the time.
 
At last the day came for them to arrive, and I went down to the train to meet them
with papa and Polly. I proposed this myself, as it was much less embarrassing to
meet in all that bustle and confusion than in the quiet of our hall.
 
Presently the train came up, and I saw Ada's face at the window. We were soon at
the door and helped her out. When I had kissed her I shook hands with Percy and
introduced him to papa, and they went off together to look after the luggage,
leaving us three girls talking on the platform. Altogether it had been much less
embarrassing than I had feared. Papa ordered a man to take the boxes round to our
house, and we started to walk, retaining the same order; we girls together in
front, and papa and Percy behind. So down Westgate, across the bridge over the
Stour, and under the noble old gate, which, so many centuries back, frowned down
upon the haughty priest à Becket, as he passed under it upon that last
journey to Canterbury from which he returned alive no more. It was an old gateway
then, but still capable of a sturdy defence against the weapons of the time; for on
either side the city walls stretched away, lofty and strong. Now, at this point
they are gone, and the old gateway stands isolated and alone; but it is still
strong and well preserved, and looks as if, unless disturbed by the hand of man, it
could bid defiance to the action of time for many a century yet to come. Under this
we walked, and then down the High Street, with its quaint, high-gabled, overhanging
houses, and up the narrow lane which led to our house. After we had lunched, we
went up into the drawing-room, to mamma, who was very pleased to see Ada again,
with her bright face and happy laugh,—for I did not mention in its proper
place that Ada had spent one of her Christmas holidays with us. Mamma looked very
earnestly at Percy, as if she could read his character at a glance, and listened
very attentively to all he said. As we went out of the room—which we did in
about a quarter of an hour, for mamma could not bear so many in the room for long
together—she kissed me, as I lingered behind the others, and pressed my hand
lovingly, and I could see she was quite satisfied.
 
I did not see much of Percy for the next two days, at which I was very glad, for I
could not help feeling a little awkward; and although I endeavoured to soothe my
conscience by telling myself that had I not put him off he would have proposed to
me when I was staying in London, yet I could not help feeling that somehow I had
invited him down here on purpose for him to ask me to be his wife. For these two
days he was as much as he could be with papa, accompanying him in his drives and
rides, and I could see by papa's manner that he really liked him very much. To me
he was very nice, not at all showing me any marked attention so as to be
perceptible to any one else; and yet I could feel there was something different in
his tone of voice and manner when he addressed me to what he used when he spoke to
others. Ada and I found lots to talk about when we were alone; for although she had
written very often, and given me very full accounts, still there was an immense
deal to tell me about all the different balls she had been to since, and what
engagements had been made during the season; I found, too, although this was a
subject Ada was very chary of speaking of, that she herself had refused one very
good offer, and that she was rather under the ban of her lady-mother's displeasure
in consequence. "She consoles herself, however," Ada said, "with the
conclusion, that there are even better matches to be made than the one I refused,
and that I must have set my mind on being a duchess; for that any idea of love is
necessary for a marriage, is a matter which never entered her mind." Ada was a
little bitter upon the subject, and I was sorry to see she was likely to have
disputes with her mother upon the point; for there was no doubt that Lady
Desborough was a very worldly woman, and I was quite sure that Ada, although at
times thoughtless and fond of admiration, would never marry any one, however high
his rank, to whom she had not given her heart.
 
The third morning of their visit I was up early, and went for my usual little
stroll in the garden before breakfast. I had not been there many minutes before
Percy joined me, and when we went in together we were engaged. I do not tell how it
came about, what he said, or how I answered him. There is very little in the words
thus spoken to interest others, although so unutterably sweet to listen to. To me
there is something almost sacred in the thought of that time; far too sacred to be
told to any one; and even now, eight years after, my cheeks flush, my eyes fill
with tears, and my fingers quiver at the thought of those few words, and of the
kiss by which our engagement was sealed. Oh Percy, Percy, could we but have seen
the future then! But, perhaps, better not—better, certainly, for I have at
least the pleasure left me of looking back upon that short space of intense
happiness—a memory which is all my own, and which nothing can take away from
me. I do not know how I made breakfast that morning—I am sure I must have
made all sorts of blunders; but Ada, who at once saw what had happened, and Polly,
who I think guessed, chattered away so incessantly, that I was not obliged to take
any part in the conversation. Ada afterwards told me that in the first cup of tea I
gave her no milk, and that she saw me put no less than eight pieces of sugar into
the second. I only hope the others were better, but I have serious doubts on the
subject. After breakfast was over, papa went into the study, and Percy at once
followed him in there. As soon as the door closed upon them, Ada came round, and
kissed me very warmly and lovingly; and Polly, as soon as she saw by our manner
that her suspicions were correct, and that Percy and I were engaged, first nearly
suffocated me with the violence of her embraces, and then performed a wild and
triumphant pas seul round the breakfast-table, in a manner directly opposed to the
injunction and teaching of the Misses Pilgrim and "Grendon House."
Altogether she was quite wild, and I had the greatest difficulty in sobering her
down, especially as Ada was rather inclined to abet her in her folly.
 
I shall pass very briefly over the remaining ten days that Percy and Ada stayed
with us, for indeed that happy time is more than even now I can write about calmly.
Papa's and mamma's consent was warmly given, and they were very much pleased with
Percy. The only drawback to papa's satisfaction at the match, was the fact of Percy
being in the army, and the thought of my going abroad. Percy, indeed, offered to
leave the service, but this I would not hear of. I knew how much he was attached to
his profession, and I had no objection to the thought of going abroad; and my
money, with his pay and allowance from his mother, would enable us to live in
luxury in any part of the world.
 
Two days after our engagement took place I received a very nice letter from Lady
Desborough, saying how pleased she was to hear of Percy's choice, and its success.
She said a good many kind and complimentary things, to which I did not, even at the
time, attach much importance, for I knew well that it was only the fact of her son
choosing, greatly against her wishes, an active military life, which made her
regard with approval his engagement with myself. However, I did not fret seriously
about that; she gave her consent, and that was all that was required, while I had
the hearty approval of my own dear parents in my choice. I believed Percy loved me
with all his heart, and I certainly did him with all mine. So the time they stopped
with us went over very happily and quickly. Nothing was said before they went away
about our marriage; indeed, mamma was so very ill, that it was a question which
could not be discussed, as of course I could not have left her in the state she was
in, and how long she might remain as she was no one could tell.
 
However, it was willed that her stay with us should be even more brief than our
worst fears had whispered. Percy and Ada had not left us much more than a month,
when papa said at breakfast one morning: "Agnes, I wrote yesterday to Harry to
come home; write to-day to Miss Pilgrim, asking her to send Polly home to-
morrow." It did not need for me to look in his face; the quiver of his voice
told me his meaning: they were to come home to see mamma before she died. What a
dreadful shock it was. I had long known mamma must leave us soon, but she had so
long been ill, and she changed so gradually, that, until papa spoke that morning, I
had never realized that her time was so near at hand. Yet, when I recovered from
that terrible fit of crying, I remembered how I could count back from week to week,
and see how the change, gradual as it seemed, had yet been strongly marked, and
that the last two months had wrought terrible havoc with her little remaining
strength.
 
At the beginning of that time she had been up nearly all day, lying on the sofa. As
time went on, she got up later and went to bed earlier; at the end of the month,
papa had taken to carrying her in, and now, for the last ten days, her visits to
the drawing-room had ceased altogether. She was wonderfully calm and patient, and
through all those long months of illness, I never heard a murmur or word of
complaint pass her lips.
 
Polly arrived the day after I wrote, and was, poor child, in a dreadful state of
grief. Harry came the day after: to him the shock was greater than to any of us. He
had not seen her fading gradually away as we had, and although from our letters, he
knew how ill she was, he had never until he came back completely realized it.
 
I pass over the week which mamma lived after Harry's return, as also the week after
her death. These solemn griefs are too sacred to be described. Do we not all know
them? For are not these great scenes common to every one? Have we not all of us
lost our darlings, our loves? Is there not an empty chair in every household; a
place in every heart where one lives who is no longer seen on earth; a secret
shrine whence, in the dead of the night, the well-known figure steps gently out,
and communes with us over happy times that are gone, and bids us hope and wait for
that happier meeting to come, after which there will be no more parting and tears?

---------------CHAPTER XI. LAYING A TRAIN.------------

 It was not for three weeks after mamma's death that I again saw Mr. Harmer,
and then he came over in his carriage to say good-bye to me, as he would not see me
again for some little time, for I was going away for a month with papa to Ramsgate
for a change.
 
In truth we both needed it. I was pale and nervous; all the scenes and emotions of
the last three months had shaken me very much, and I think that had I not gone to
the sea-side I should have had a serious illness of some sort. Papa, too, looked
ill and worn. He had felt mamma's loss very much; and, indeed, the long watching
and the constant noting the signs of her rapid decay, all so clear to his medical
eye, must have been a terrible trial.
 
The house, too, was now so dreadfully lonely and dull that I became quite affected
by it, and began to feel my old childish terrors of the dark passages, and the
midnight sounds of the old house grew upon me again: in fact, I became sadly
nervous and out of sorts, and a change was absolutely necessary.
 
Harry had gone back to his work in the North, and Polly to Grendon House, so papa
and I had only ourselves and each other to think of.
 
When Mr. Harmer called, I found him very much better than when I had seen him last.
His difficulty of utterance had quite passed off, and he was able to walk again
nearly as firmly and freely as he had before. He was very kind to me, as, indeed,
he always was; and sympathized with me so gently and feelingly upon the great loss
I had sustained, that he soothed rather than opened the recent wounds. Altogether,
his visit did me good; and I was very glad to find him so much better than I had
expected, for, although papa had told me that he was getting round wonderfully, and
was likely, unless he had another seizure, to live for many years, I had not hoped
to see him as well as he was. He did not at all mind papa's going away, for he had
promised to come up twice a week from Ramsgate to see him, and he could be
telegraphed for at any moment should anything occur to render such a step
necessary.
 
So papa and I went down to Ramsgate for a month, and a very great deal of good it
did us. The fresh air and sea-bathing soon cured my nervousness, and the change of
scene and the variety and life of the place—so different from the quiet
sleepiness of Canterbury—gradually softened the bitterness of my grief; while
nearly every day I had letters from Percy—long, loving letters, very cheering
and dear to me—painting our future life together, and making me feel very
happy; so happy, that I sometimes blamed myself for feeling so, so soon after my
dear mother's death. It was a tranquil, quiet life, and I rapidly recovered my
health and strength again. I had no acquaintances down there, for Ramsgate is too
near to Canterbury for the people from there to visit it. Besides, Canterbury is a
great deal too genteel to patronize so exceedingly vulgar a place as Ramsgate. I
had a chatting acquaintance with several of the boatmen, and papa was very fond of
sitting of an evening at the end of the pier, on the great stone posts to which the
steamers are fastened, and talking to the fishermen of the wrecks they had known on
those terrible Goodwins, and of the vessels which had been lost in trying to make
the entrance to the Harbour. I also struck up a great acquaintance with the old
bathing-woman—not, certainly, from any use that she was to me, for I would
never let her take me by the hands and plunge me under water as I saw some girls
do, but I used to talk to her of an evening when her work was done, and she was
hanging up the towels to dry. She was a very worthy old body, and not so
frightfully ugly as she looked in her bathing-costume, with her draggled clothes
and weather-beaten bonnet, but was a quiet respectable-looking old woman. She had
been a bathing-woman there for years and years; and had, I have no doubt, saved up
a snug little sum of money. She told me that she had a married daughter who lived
near London, and who had a very nice cottage down at Putney, and who let part of it
to lodgers; and she hoped that if I were ever going near London, I would patronize
her. I told her that there was not the remotest probability of such a thing; but
she suggested that I might know some one who might one day go, and, accordingly, to
please her, I took the address down in my pocket-book, but certainly without the
remotest idea that it would ever turn out of the slightest use to me.
 
Papa, on his return from his visits to Canterbury twice a week, always brought back
some fresh topics for conversation. He was at all times fond of talking over his
day's visits, and told me so much about his patients that I grew quite interested
in his accounts of the improvement or otherwise of those who were seriously ill,
and was pleased or sorry as his report of their state was good or the reverse. This
had always been papa's habit, partly because he felt so much interested in his work
that his patients were constantly in his thoughts, and partly because when we were
at home he always had soups, jellies, and other strengthening food made for those
among his poorer patients as required such treatment.
 
One evening when papa came back, he looked vexed and thoughtful; however, I asked
no questions for I knew that if he thought right he would tell me presently what it
was. When we had finished our dinner we strolled out on to the esplanade in front
of our house. He lit his cigar, and we leant on the rail and looked down upon the
shipping in the harbour, in the gathering twilight, and at the light on the Goodwin
which was as yet but just visible. For some time papa did not speak; at last he
took his cigar out of his mouth, and said, "I am vexed, Agnes; or rather
troubled. I will tell you why: you are a discreet little woman now, and so I can
trust you with what I have seen."
 
He again paused, and took two or three quick puffs at his cigar, as if in angry
thought of how he should begin, and then went on.
 
"There lives near Canterbury, Agnes, a lazy, bad, dissolute man, named Robert
Gregory. I do not suppose you have noticed him, although you may have possibly met
him casually. He is, as I have said, a bad man, and bears a character of the worst
description. Some eight or ten years since, when he was a very young man, he went
up to London, and by his extravagance and bad habits there, he ruined the old man,
his father, and brought him prenaturely to the grave.
 
"This man, Agnes, is good-looking, and yet with a bad face. It is rather
coarse perhaps, more so than it was ten years since when I first saw him, for that
sort of face, when it once begins to go off, loses its beauty rapidly; still, I
allow, much as I object to the man, that he is handsome. It is just the sort of
face likely to attract a young girl who is new to the world. A face apparently
frank and good-natured, and yet with something—imperious and even defiant
about it; very taking to the young, who cannot help feeling flattered by seeing
that the man, who looks as if he neither cared for nor feared any other living
thing, should yet bow to them; that the fierce eye should soften, and the loud
voice become gentle when he addresses them. Altogether a dangerous man for a young
girl to know, a very dangerous one for her to love. To a man like myself,
accustomed from habit and profession to study character, he is peculiarly
repulsive. His face to me is all bad. The man is not only a blackguard, and a
handsome blackguard, but he is a clever and determined one; his face is marked with
lines of profligacy and drunkenness, and there is a passionate, dangerous flash
about his eye. He has, too, seen the world, although only a bad side of it; but he
can, when he chooses, lay aside his roughness and rampant blackguardism, and assume
a tolerably gentlemanly, quiet demeanour, which would very well pass muster with an
inexperienced girl. In short, my dear, if I were asked to select the man of
all others, of those with whom I am acquainted, whom I would least rather meet in
any society where my daughter, or any young girl might see him, I should
unhesitatingly say—Robert Gregory. Fortunately for society here, the man, by
his well-known drunken and bad character, has placed himself beyond its pale, and
so he can do it no great harm. It was only the last time that I was in Canterbury
that I heard, and I acknowledge that I heard with great pleasure, that Robert
Gregory was so deeply in debt that writs were out against him; and that unless he
went away he would in a short time be consigned to a debtor's prison, so that
Canterbury, at any rate for some time, might hope to be free of him. Well, my dear,
I daresay you are wondering what all this long story about a person of whom you
know nothing can be going to end in, but you will see that it is all very much to
the point. To-day I was rather earlier than usual in my visit to Mr. Harmer. I was
driving fast, and as I turned the corner of the road where the plantation in Mr.
Harmer's ground begins, I saw a man getting over the hedge into the road. Probably
the noise he was making breaking through the twigs, together with the turn of the
road, prevented his seeing or hearing the gig until he was fairly over; for as he
jumped into the road and looked round I was not twenty yards off, and could hear
him swear a deep oath, as he pulled his hat down over his eyes, and turned his back
to me as I drove past to prevent my seeing his face; but it was too late, for I had
recognized Robert Gregory. Of course I said nothing; but as I drove up to the
house, looking over the grounds, I saw Sophy Needham coming up through the trees
from the very direction from which I had seen him come out. She was at some
distance off, and I was almost at the door, so I could not have stopped to speak to
her without being noticed, even had I wished it. She did not come into the room
while I was there, so that I had no opportunity of questioning her about it, even
had I made up my mind to do so; indeed it was so delicate a matter that I could not
have spoken to her without previous reflection.
 
"Altogether the affair has a very curious and ugly look. It could hardly be a
mere coincidence, that he should be getting over the hedge from the
plantation—where he could have no possible reason for going except to see
her—at the very time of her coming away from that part of the grounds. It
looks very like a secret meeting, but how such a thing could have been brought
about is more than I can imagine. But if it is so, it is a dreadful business."
 
We were both silent for some time, and then I said,—
 
"Do you know, papa, I remember meeting the man you speak of at the fête
at Mr. Harmer's last year."
 
"Now you mention it, Agnes, I recollect that he was there. I wondered at the
time at his being invited, but I supposed Mr. Harmer had known his father as a
respectable man, and had asked the son, knowing nothing of his character, or the
disrepute in which he was held. I did not notice him much, nor did I see him dance
with Sophy; had I done so I should have warned Mr. Harmer of his real
character."
 
"He did not dance with her, papa," I said, rather timidly, for I was
frightened at the thought of what dreadful mischief had resulted, which might have
been averted had I spoken of the matter at the time. "He did not dance with
her, but he had some sort of secret understanding with her; at least I thought
so;" and I then told him all I had observed that evening at the fête.
"I should have mentioned it at the time, papa, for it perplexed me a good
deal, but I went back to school next day, and never thought of it from that day to
this."
 
"Do you know, Agnes," papa said, throwing away his cigar, and taking
three or four turns up and down in extreme perplexity, "this is very serious;
I am quite frightened to think of it. What on earth is to be done?" and papa
took off his hat and rubbed his hair back from his forehead. "How very
unfortunate that you did not speak of what you noticed at the time. I am not
blaming you; going off to school, as you say, of course put it out of your head;
besides, you did not know the man as I do, and could not guess what terrible
results might be growing out of what you saw; you could not, as a mere girl, tell
how bad it is for a young woman to have a secret understanding of that sort with
any man—how fatal, when with such a man as Robert Gregory.
 
"Had I known it at that time, I might have done something to put a stop to it.
It would, in any case, have been a delicate matter to have interfered in, merely on
the grounds of what you noticed, and which Sophy would, of course, have disputed;
still I might have warned Mr. Harmer against allowing such a man to enter his
doors, and I would have spoken when Sophy was present, and said how bad his
character was, so as to have opened her eyes to the real nature of the man. It
might have done no good. A girl is very slow to believe anything against a man she
loves. Still it would have been something; and had there been any opportunity, I
could have related some stories about him, which I knew to be true, which must have
convinced her that he was a thorough blackguard.
 
"It might have been quite ineffectual; still it might possibly have done good.
But now—really, Agnes," he said, stopping short, "I don't know what
to do: it is a dreadful affair. There, don't distress yourself, my
child"—for I was crying now—"matters may not be as bad as we
fancy, although I confess that I do not see any possible interpretation which can
put the affair in a better light. The only question is, what is to be done?
 
"To begin with, we are, you see, placed in a peculiarly delicate position in
respect to Sophy. In case of any scandal being discovered through our means, and
Mr. Harmer altering his will in consequence, you might benefit from it, and it
would place my conduct and motive for interfering in a very false and unpleasant
light. In the next place, in Mr. Harmer's present state of health, the agitation
such a disclosure would produce, would not improbably—indeed, would be very
likely to—bring on another paralytic fit, and cost him his life. The only
thing I can at present think of is to appeal to Sophy herself.
 
"I fear that would hardly be successful, as the secret understanding between
them must have gone on for more than a year, to our knowledge, and we dare not even
think in what relation they may now stand to each other. Still it must be tried.
Should that fail, as I feel it is quite certain to do, an appeal must be made to
him. He may be bought off. Of course, with him it is a mere question of time. If he
waits till Mr. Harmer's death, which may not occur for years yet, Sophy is sure to
be a wealthy heiress; if he marries her before that, Mr. Harmer will infallibly
alter his will. He would, no doubt, still leave her something, for he loves her too
much to leave her a beggar even in a moment of anger.
 
"So you see it is quite a matter of calculation. Robert Gregory has waited
until now, but he must be getting desperate. This writ, of which I spoke, may
induce him to come to some sudden decision—no one can say what. It is
altogether a very bad business, and a difficult matter for any one, far more for
myself, to meddle in. However, something must be done: that much is certain. To-day
is Wednesday. I had not intended to go into Canterbury again till Saturday, but now
I shall go on Friday. So we shall have to-morrow to talk over what is the best
thing to be done, and how I am to set about it. It is getting late, Agnes: it is
time to be going in."
 
I shall never forget that evening, as we turned and strolled along the edge of the
cliffs towards home. I thought I had never seen such a beautiful night. The tide
was high, and the sea was very calm, and hardly moved under the warm autumnal
breeze, but broke on the beach far below our feet with a gentle plash. Out at sea
the lights on the Goodwin shone clear and bright; while far away to the right,
looking like a star near the horizon, we could plainly see the Deal light. Below us
lay the harbour, with its dark shipping, and its bright lamps reflected in the
still waters within it. Sometimes, from the sea, came up faint snatches of songs
from parties in boats enjoying the lovely evening.
 
Above it was most beautiful of all. The sky was a very deep blue, and I do not
think I ever saw so many stars as were visible that lovely September night. The
heavens seemed spangled with them, and they shone out clear and bright, with none
of the restless, unquiet twinkle they usually have, but still and tranquil,
seeming—as they never do seem except on such nights as this—to hang
suspended from the deep blue above them. The moon was up, but it was only a thin
crescent, and was lovely in itself without outshining the glory of the stars. It
was a glorious night, and, absorbed as we were with our own thoughts, and troubled
by what had occurred, we could not help feeling soothed and elevated by the
wondrous beauty of the scene we looked upon.
 
Had papa known all that had passed at that interview between Sophy Needham and
Robert Gregory, he would not have ridden out to Ramsgate with his news, but would
have acted upon it there and then, and perhaps I should never have written this
story; or, if I had done so, it would have been very different to what it is.
 
Long afterwards I learnt the history of that interview, and of many others which
had gone before it; and so I shall again have the pleasure of dropping that first
personal pronoun of which I am so tired, and of relating the story as it was told
to me.
 

---------------CHAPTER XII. THE EXPLOSION.------------

 There are some boys so naturally passionate and vicious, in whose

dispositions the evil so strongly predominates over the good, that we are obliged
to own that under no conceivable course of training could they have turned out
otherwise than bad. Some faults might have been checked by early firmness, some
vices eradicated by judicious kindness and care, yet nothing could ever have
altered the radical nature; nothing could ever have made a fair, straight tree out
of that crooked and distorted sapling. Such a character was that of Robert Gregory,
and in his case there was no countervailing force, either of judicious kindness or
of proper severity, to check the strong tendency to evil in his disposition. His
mother had died when he was an infant, and his father—who had married late in
life, and who had no other children,—indulged his every whim, and neither
thwarted him in any desire, nor punished him for any fault; and so he grew up an
idle, passionate, turbulent boy, pursuing his own way, and laughing to scorn the
entreaties and prayers of his weak father. As time went on, his character
developed; he chose his companions from the wildest and least reputable youths of
the neighbourhood, and soon became even wilder and less reputable than the worst of
them. He at length led such a life, that his father was only too glad when he
expressed a desire to go up to London, in hopes that there, with other companions
and habits, he might yet retrieve himself. Robert Gregory was not all bad, he had
his good points, and with other training might have turned out, if not a good man,
at any rate not the character that Dr. Ashleigh had described. He was good-natured
and even generous—by fits and starts certainly—but still enough so to
make those who knew him as a boy, before he had got entirely beyond all control,
regret that his father, by his weakness and injudicious kindness, was allowing him
to grow up a curse to himself and a nuisance to the whole neighbourhood. Any hopes
his father may have entertained of his reformation from the influence of a life in
London, were destined to be very shortly extinguished. He wrote at first flaming
accounts of the grand friends he was making, but lamenting their expensive way of
living, and begging more money to enable him to do as they did. For months, for
years, the letters came regularly, and always demanding money, sometimes very large
sums. Some of these letters were accompanied by plausible tales that he wished to
oblige his great friends, through whom he shortly expected to obtain a lucrative
appointment. At other times he told the truth—various losses on the turf, or
heavy gambling debts which must, he said, be paid, or his honour would be
irretrievably lost. The old man patiently answered these constant demands upon him,
and paid without a complaint the large sums required. He truly, although weakly,
loved this reprobate son of his: he knew that no remonstrances could now avail: he
feared so to alienate the liking which his son still felt for him by remonstrances
which would irritate, without reforming him, and so he continued to pay, and pay.
"The boy can have it but once," he said to himself; "as well now as
at my death; there will be enough to last my time." But there hardly was.
After Robert had been six years in London, during which he had only paid three or
four flying visits to his native place, he received a letter from his father,
asking him to let him know the total amount of his debts; as he would rather settle
the whole at once and set him clear, than be continually asked for money. Robert
consequently sent him a list, which even he had grace enough left to be ashamed of.
However, the enormous amount was paid without a word; but a week afterwards a
letter came from his father, saying that in six years he had spent no less than
￡40,000, and that now there only remained the house in which the old man lived and
a small farm which yielded a bare ￡200 a year; that this he would not touch, and
that not one single penny would he farther advance his son; but that if he chose to
come down and live with him, that he would meet with a hearty welcome, and with not
one word of reproach for the past. Seeing no other course open to him, Robert
Gregory came back sulkily enough to the old house, where, as has before been said,
the old man did not live many months.
 
Long as was the list of debts which Robert had sent up from London, it had by no
means comprised the whole of them. At his father's death, therefore, he was obliged
to mortgage the farm to nearly its full value, to satisfy the most pressing of his
creditors, and then, for the first time in his life, Robert Gregory asked himself
how he was to live. It was by no means an easy question to answer; indeed, think
the matter over as he would, he could imagine no mode by which, even had he been
inclined to work, which he was not, he could have earned his living. It was while
he was vainly, week after week, endeavouring to solve this problem, that the
intention of Mr. Harmer to make Sophy Needham his heiress was made public. Robert
Gregory hailed the news as a direct answer to his question—he would marry the
heiress. He did not jump at the conclusion in haste; he inquired closely concerning
the habits of the family at Harmer Place, of whom previously he had known nothing
except by name; he found that their life had been hitherto one of seclusion, owing
to the ascetic life of the Miss Harmers, and the studious one of their brother; he
heard of Sophy Needham's birth and origin, and he heard, too, that society refused
to visit her, and at last he said to himself confidently and firmly, "I will
marry her." Having arrived at this determination, Robert Gregory at once
proceeded to act upon it, and soon had his whole scheme arranged to his
satisfaction. He felt that the matter was one which required time, and he
accordingly sold the farm for two or three hundred pounds beyond the amount for
which it was mortgaged, and on this sum he calculated to be able to live until he
was able to marry Sophy.
 
This done, putting on a shooting suit, he day after day concealed himself in the
grounds at some distance from the house, at a spot from which he could see when
Sophy strolled out, and could watch the direction she took. One day he perceived
that the course she was following in her ramble would lead her close to the
boundary of the property; making a circuit, he took his position on the other side
of the hedge, and therefore off the Harmer estate. When Sophy came along, and he
could see that she was immediately opposite him, separated only by the hedge, he
discharged both barrels of his gun. Sophy naturally uttered an exclamation of
surprise and alarm, and this was all he needed.
 
As if astonished at finding a lady so close to him, he crossed the hedge, and
lifting his hat, he apologized deeply for the alarm he had given her, trusted that
the shock had not been serious, and in fact made so good a use of his time, that he
managed to detain her in conversation for a quarter of an hour.
 
Robert Gregory, it has already been said, was a handsome man with a good figure.
His conversation and manners might not have passed muster in critical society,
still he had seen enough of the world to be able to assume the air of a gentleman
sufficiently well to deceive a girl who had hardly ever conversed with a young man
before in her life; his address to her was straightforward and outspoken, and yet
with something deferential about it to which Sophy was quite unaccustomed, and
which gratified her exceedingly.
 
The attempt of Robert Gregory was well-timed. Sophy knew that Mr. Harmer had
proclaimed her his heiress, and she felt, and felt keenly, that society refused to
call upon her or recognise her; she was naturally a sensitive, shy girl, and the
accident of her birth had been a constant pain and sorrow to her, and she was,
therefore, in exactly the frame of mind to receive with greedy pleasure the
expression of Robert Gregory's deference and distantly expressed admiration. She
noted no bad expression in the handsome face which smiled upon her, she detected no
flaw in the fine figure which bent a little as he spoke to her; she only saw one
who treated her—her whom the world scorned and repelled—with respectful
deference and admiration; and from that moment her heart went out freely and fully
towards him.
 
As he was leaving her, Robert Gregory mentioned that he lived on the other side of
Canterbury, but was out for a day's shooting on the neighbouring estate. He said
that on that day week he should again be there, and asked her if she frequently
walked in that direction; he urged that he should feel really anxious to know if
she had suffered from the effect of the sudden alarm he had given her, and that he
hoped she would be kind enough to let him know how she was.
 
Sophy coloured and paused, and then said that she frequently walked in that
direction, and that if he happened to see her as she went past, she should of
course be happy to assure him that she was not in the least upset by the little
start that she had had. And so they parted, and Robert Gregory felt, that as far as
she was concerned, the game was won.
 
Again and again they met, and before very long he spoke of love to her; and Sophy,
whose life had been hitherto a joyless one, gave him her heart without concealment,
and found that, for the first time, she had discovered happiness. But that
happiness soon had its alloy of trouble. When Christmas came, and the Bishop and
his wife called, and society in general followed their example, Sophy naturally
wondered, and asked Robert why he did not do the same. He was prepared for the
question, which he knew must come sooner or later, and his answer had long been
determined upon. He at once said that he threw himself entirely on her mercy, and
even if it were the signal for his dismissal from her side for ever, he would tell
her the truth. He told her that, owing to want of control as a boy, he had been
when a very young man, spendthrift and wild, and that he had dissipated his fortune
in folly and amusements. That the Christian propriety of Canterbury had taken upon
itself to be greatly scandalized thereby; and that although he had long since given
up his former courses, and had returned and lived happily and quietly with his old
father, although that father himself had never complained to him, or, he believed,
to any one, of his previous folly, yet that society in general had taken upon
itself to refuse its assent to the welcome of the prodigal, but had indeed desired
him to go into a far country and be fed upon husks.
 
Sophy, instead of being shocked at all this, clung to him, as might have been
expected, all the closer. The well-affected scorn and bitterness with which he
spoke of the Christian charity of society, struck, as he had intended it should, a
sympathetic chord in her own breast; for had not she, too, been declared under the
ban of society, and for no fault or sin of her own? It is true, society had now
condescended to visit her, but why? Was she any better or more honourably born than
before? Had her conduct in any way softened them towards her? Not a bit. A bishop
had said that she might be visited, and so the world had graciously extended its
hand and received her into its fold. But although Sophy accepted the offered hand,
she hated the giver of it; and although she arrayed her face with a placid smile as
she entered into society, it only covered a sense of bitter outrage and of
indignant contempt. Nursing, as she did, feelings like these, it was with an
absolute sense of pleasure that she found that her lover, like herself, was deemed
an outcast. To her it was but one more new tie between them; and when Robert had
finished his confession, her own rage and wrongs against society broke out in a
stream of bitter, passionate words, and Robert Gregory found there was far more in
the ordinarily tranquil, quiet woman before him than he had ever given her credit
for. However, her present frame of mind was most favourable for his plans, and he
therefore took good care to keep alive her resentment against the world, in order
to bind her more closely to himself. It was soon after this that the fêtes at
Harmer Place were given. Robert Gregory managed to obtain an invitation, but
arranged with Sophy that he would not dance with her, alleging the truth, that if
he did so, society would be sure to poison Mr. Harmer's mind against him, and
render his consent to their marriage out of the question; and Sophy was content to
follow his guidance in all things, and to see everything with his eyes.
 
The real difficulties of Robert Gregory's course were only yet beginning. Sophy
was, indeed, won; but it was Sophy's money, and not herself, that he cared for; now
Sophy's money at present depended upon Mr. Harmer, and not upon herself; and Robert
feared that in the event of a runaway match, Mr. Harmer would very materially alter
his will. Still, on the other hand, her grandfather was extremely fond of her; he
had no one else to leave his money to, and he might in time reinstate her in his
favour. At last he asked Sophy if she thought Mr. Harmer would, after a time,
forgive her if she made a runaway match with him, for he had no hope of ever
obtaining his consent beforehand. Sophy was very loath to answer the question. She
was quite ready to marry Robert, but she shrank from the thought of paining the old
man who had been so kind to her. However, as Robert again and again returned to the
point, she at last came to discuss it as calmly as he did.
 
"Yes, she thought Mr. Harmer would be reconciled to her; she believed he would
miss her so much, that he would be sure to forgive her in a short time; it was not
in his nature to bear malice to any one. Yes, he would soon come round; indeed, she
was certain that if Robert would but make himself known to him, that Mr. Harmer
would not care for what other people said, but would judge for himself, and would
esteem and like him as she did."
 
This course Sophy pressed very much upon her lover, with many loving entreaties and
tears, for she really loved Mr. Harmer truly, and shrank from grieving him. These
entreaties, however, Robert always gently, but decidedly put aside. He said that
Mr. Harmer would be certain to believe the edict of society against him, would
decline to grant him any opportunity of justifying himself, and would refuse to
allow him to enter the house. Besides he would be just as angry at discovering the
secret understanding which existed between them, as he would be at their marriage,
and he would be certain to forbid all intercourse between them, and perhaps even
insert a condition in his will forbidding her to marry him under pain of the
forfeiture of his fortune. For Robert made no secret from Sophy that her money
would be of the greatest use to them; not, as he put it, that he cared for money
for its own sake, but that if they were rich they could spend their life abroad,
where no scoff or sneer of society could reach them, and where they should never be
disturbed by the sarcasms and whispers of the world; while they, in their turn,
would be able to show society how heartily they despised it, and how well they
could do without it.
 
Sophy, in her present state of mind, thought all this very grand and heroic, and
really believed that her lover spoke in a noble and disinterested manner; and as
she was herself perfectly conscious of the advantages of wealth, she quite agreed
that, if possible, her fortune should not be sacrificed.
 
Robert, then, at last, succeeded in persuading her that a runaway match was the
only alternative, and as she really believed that she would be very soon forgiven
by Mr. Harmer, it was at length arranged to take place shortly. This was in the
spring of the year, and their secret acquaintance had then continued eighteen
months. The date was fixed for the elopement, when the paralytic stroke which Mr.
Harmer had put a stop to all their plans; and this for two reasons: pressed as he
again was for money—for his creditors, who had been only partially paid
before, were now becoming clamorous—Robert Gregory felt that with Mr. Harmer
at the point of death it would be perfect madness to run the risk of Sophy being
disinherited, when a few weeks might leave her the undisputed owner of ￡75,000; so
although sorely harassed for money, he was content to wait. The other reason was
that Sophy was full of remorse at the thought that she had been at the point of
deserting her benefactor. She met Robert now very seldom, but devoted herself to
Mr. Harmer. As, however, the weeks ran on, he slowly but surely recovered health
and became his former self, and her constant attendance on him was no longer
needed; so she fell back to her old habits; her meetings in the plantation became
more frequent, and his influence resumed its power over her. Robert Gregory had
discernment enough to suit his behaviour to his words: when the old man was at his
worst, he was full of tender commiseration for her; when he began to recover, he
pretended a warm interest in his health, although inwardly he was filled with rage
and chagrin at his convalescence. At length his own affairs arrived at such a
crisis that he was in momentary fear of arrest, and he felt that once in prison his
union with Sophy must be postponed at any rate till after Mr. Harmer's death,
which now again appeared to be a distant event. He, therefore, once more began to
persuade Sophy to elope with him; but he had a far more difficult task than before.
All his old arguments were brought forward; but it was some time before he could
succeed. Gradually, however, her old habit of listening to his opinion prevailed;
she allowed herself to be persuaded that her grandfather might now live for many
years, and that he could for a short time dispense with her services; that as she
had been so useful to him during his illness, and as he must be more attached to
her than ever, it was quite certain that he could not for long remain proof to her
entreaties for forgiveness.
 
And so at last, but not without many tears and much bitter self-reproach, Sophy
consented to an elopement—consented at that very interview coming from which
Dr. Ashleigh surprised Robert Gregory—who, elated by his success, was making
his way off without observing his usual care and precaution.
 
At breakfast on the following morning, Mr. Harmer remarked that Sophy looked pale
and ill; she answered that her head ached sadly, but that she had no doubt a stroll
in the grounds would do it good. After breakfast she accordingly went out, and,
after wandering for some time carelessly in sight of the house, she made her usual
circuit to avoid observation, and then entered the plantation near the road. She
found Robert Gregory waiting for her under the tree where they had now met for just
two years, sometimes once a week, sometimes once a month, according to the time of
year, and the opportunities Sophy had for rambling about. Robert looked anxiously
at her as she came up, to see if there were any signs of flinching or drawing back
in her pale face, but there were none. Sophy was quiet and shy, but she had a fund
of quiet determination and courage within her. He kissed her tenderly. "You
are looking pale this morning, little one."
 
"I daresay," she answered, "for I have not closed my eyes all night.
Is everything ready?"
 
"Quite. I shall be with the gig in the road just outside that gap, a minute or
two before a quarter past eight; if you will get here a few minutes after that
time, we shall be able to catch the nine o'clock train to London easily. I shall
take you to an Hotel near Euston Square, and we will go on by the early train to
Scotland, and shall be half way there before they find out in the morning that you
are gone. You can trust me, dearest?"
 
"Yes, Robert," Sophy said quietly. "I have trusted you all these
meetings here, and I have found you an honourable gentleman, and I am not going to
distrust you now. I feel sure that all will turn out as we wish, and that grandpapa
will forgive me very soon, and take us both into favour; and I hope that in a
fortnight we shall be back here again, forgiven and welcome." Sophy spoke
cheerfully, for she really believed what she said.
 
"Are you sure to be able to slip out unobserved?"
 
"Quite sure, Robert. I shall go up to bed at eight, and ask not to be
disturbed, as I wish to sleep. I shall bring a bag with me, and shall put on a
thick veil, so as not to be recognized by any one as we go through Canterbury. I
have, as I told you, plenty of money. Good-bye now, Robert, I must not wait here
any longer."
 
"Good bye, dear, till this evening."
 
He looked after her as she went lightly away among the trees, her footsteps
scarcely sounding in the limp, new-fallen autumn leaves, and a shade of compunction
came over his face. He was certainly a blackguard, he knew it well, but, by
heavens, he would try to make this little girl happy. They would be rich some day,
and then they would travel for years, and when he came back his evil name would
have died out, and he could then lead a quiet, happy life, perhaps at the old house
there; and then—and then, who knows; perhaps little children would grow up
round him: surely then he must be happy. Could it be—good God! could it be
possible that he might yet turn out a good man after all? "Yes, there was hope
for him yet." And as Robert Gregory turned away, there was a tear in his eye,
which was even now growing heavy and red from long excesses and hard drinking, and
a sigh, and a half prayer from the heart, from which for long years such things had
ceased to rise.
 
The next morning at ten o'clock, as Sophy had not come down to breakfast, Mr.
Harmer, as he went into the library, desired the servant to take his compliments to
Miss Needham, and inquire how she felt. Presently the servant came into the library
looking very pale and scared. "If you please, sir, Miss Sophy is not in her
room, but there was this letter for you laying on the table." So saying, the
girl hastily left the room, to relate to the other servants the extraordinary fact
that Miss Sophy was not in her room, and that her bed had not been slept in.
 
The letter to Mr. Harmer was as follows:—
 
"My dearest Grandpapa,
 
"If you were other than you are, this letter would not be written; I should
not dare to plead my cause with you; but I know you so well—I know how kind
and good you are—and so I venture to hope for your forgiveness. I am very
wicked, grandpapa; I am going away without your consent to be married. He—my
husband that is to be—is named Robert Gregory. He has told me frankly that
men do not speak well of him, and that when he was young he was wild and bad. He
tells me so, and I must believe him; but he must have been very different to what
he is now—for now I know him to be good and noble. I have known him
long—I own it with shame that I have never told you before, and many tears
the concealment has cost me; but, oh, grandpapa, had I told you, you would have
sent him away, and I should have lost him. He and you are all I have in the world;
let me keep you both. He showed me kindness when all the world, except you—my
kindest and best of friends—turned their backs upon me, and I could not give
him up. While I write now, my eyes are full of tears, and my heart bleeds to think
of the pain this will give you, after all your goodness to me. Oh, forgive me. Do
for my sake, dear, dear grandpapa, see him and judge for yourself. I only ask this,
and then I know you will forgive him and me. Write soon to me—only one
word—say you forgive me, and let me be your little Sophy once more. I shall
not love you the less for loving him, and much as I love him, without your
forgiveness my life will indeed be miserable.
 
"Write soon, grandpapa—write soon, and say you forgive me, and that I
shall again be your own—
 
"Sophy."
 
Presently the Misses Harmer—who always breakfasted much earlier together, and
then retired to a dressing-room they had fitted up as a small oratory—were
surprised at loud talking, and confusion in the house. In a short time their own
maid knocked at the door, and then came in with a face full of excitement, to say
that Miss Sophy had not slept in her bed, and that they had searched the whole
house, and found no signs of her.
 
"Does my brother know?" Miss Harmer asked, after hearing the whole story
very quietly to the end.
 
"I can't say, ma'am; there was a letter on Miss Sophy's table, which Mary took
into Mr. Harmer, in the library, when she first found it, and he has not come out
since."
 
The Misses Harmer, with their usual deliberate walk, went down stairs, and then
into the library.
 
Mr. Harmer was sitting at the table, with his back to the door, and did not turn
round at their approach. They went up. Beside him on the table lay an open
letter—the one from Sophy;—in his hand was a pen, and before him a
sheet of paper. On it he had written: "My dearest Sophy, come back; I
forgive"—but the handwriting was strangely indistinct, and the last
word, the word "forgive," was large and sprawling, like a schoolboy's
writing, and then the pen stopped, and had stopped for ever;—Herbert Harmer
was dead.

---------------CHAPTER XIII. A BAD BUSINESS.------------

 "Mr. Harmer is dead! Sophy Needham is missing!"

 
Such was the news a groom, riding into Canterbury for a doctor, brought; such was
the telegram which a friend at once sent down to us at Ramsgate.
 
Mr. Harmer dead! Sophy Needham missing! It flashed like wildfire through
Canterbury, and the quiet old town was again shaken out of its lethargy by the
intelligence. Mr. Harmer, during his lifetime, had been a standing topic of
conversation; he had on several occasions quite roused it from the even tenor of
its way, but this last sensation was greater and more astounding than any of its
predecessors, and Canterbury enjoyed it with proportionate gusto.
 
"Sophy Needham eloped with that notorious reprobate, Robert
Gregory"—for the Misses Harmer, by their invectives on reading the
letter, at once had told those round them with whom Sophy had fled— "and
poor Mr. Harmer gone off in a fit in consequence!!" It was indeed a terrible
affair, and it was not mended in the telling. By the time the tale had made its
round, it had swollen to extraordinary proportions—fresh additions were made
by each mouth through which it passed, until at last it was extremely difficult to
find out what the truth of the matter was.
 
From the simple report that Sophy Needham had eloped with Robert Gregory, and that
it had killed poor Mr. Harmer, the transition was easy to—"and he had
killed poor Mr. Harmer;" and details of the supposed murder grew till it
became a tragedy of the most coldblooded description.
 
The groom's statement that the Misses Harmer were in a dreadful state about it,
soon lost the last two words, and grew into,—"The Misses Harmer were
also attacked, and were lying in a dreadful state."
 
Altogether, although Robert Gregory and Sophy were undoubtedly much to blame, and
had acted very wrongly, I believe they would hardly have recognised themselves or
their doings, in the two fiends in human shape, whose deeds were commented upon in
Canterbury that afternoon.
 
The next day the real truth of the story became known, and there was some feeling
of disappointment that things were not as bad as had been reported; but even then
the opinion in respect to Sophy and her lover were hardly modified;—give a
dog a bad name and you may as well hang him.
 
This couple had been accused of murder and violence, and, although the charge was
now disproved, yet it was universally agreed that these crimes might, and in all
probability would have been perpetrated, had the fugitives been detected at the
time of their flight. Sophy's conduct was so atrocious, her ingratitude to Mr.
Harmer so base, that there was no question that a nature so depraved would hesitate
at nothing. The ladies of the Canterbury society were the more inclined to insist
upon this, as it justified the views they had originally entertained of the
impropriety of calling upon the young person at Harmer Place, and the doubts, they
now affirmed they had always experienced of the possibility of such a person ever
turning out otherwise than badly. They felt, therefore, that they had attained a
great triumph over their husbands, who had been, on the whole, inclined to differ
from their opinions. They had always, they said, predicted something of the kind
from the time when they had heard of Mr. Harmer's intention towards her, and it
really appeared to them to be almost a judgment upon him, for his infatuation, and
for his venturing to fly in the face of the public feelings of morality and
propriety in the way he had done.
 
Some of the husbands, indeed, even now ventured to offer excuses for Sophy, and to
point out that a good deal might be urged in her behalf—her lonely position,
her ignorance of the world, and of the character of the man she had gone off with;
and, still more, the temptation to which she would be exposed by such an
unprincipled blackguard as Robert Gregory. But these suggestions were
contemptuously put aside. The bad character of the man, in place of being a
palliation, was an aggravation of the offence, and this was satisfactorily proved
by that argumentum ad hominem in which women so delight.
 
"You know very well, my dear, that if your own daughter had gone off with such
a man, you would have considered it a very much worse business, and have been far
more angry about it, than if she had run away with some gentleman of position and
character; so how can you now talk such nonsense as to say that the man's bad
character is a palliation of her fault?"
 
I have often wondered why it is that we women are so much more severe upon
offenders of our own sex than men are. Is it that men know so much more of life and
human nature than we do? Is it that they know how comparatively few women ever are
seriously thus tempted during their lives, and how hard it is to withstand great
trials of this kind? Is it because they know, too, that very few of us who are so
loud and so bitter in our contempt for those who fall, but would, if placed under
the same circumstances, and exposed to the same temptation, have acted precisely in
the same way? I think it must be that; and when I hear women so loud and bitter in
their denunciations, and when I see men look grieved and sorry, but say nothing, I
cannot help thinking sometimes, that it would be better if we judged not so harshly
and scornfully of those who have fallen under a temptation to which we, through
God's mercy, have never been exposed.
 
Of course, next to the startling events which had taken place, the great question
upon which the interest of Canterbury was fixed, was whether Mr. Harmer had
destroyed his will or not before he died. But this was a point upon which no one
could enlighten them, and all awaited with intense interest the day of the funeral,
after which it would, of course, be known all about it.
 
To us at Ramsgate the news came with a terrible shock. Papa, who had settled to
have gone over on that day, had, from some reason or other, postponed it to the
next; consequently, he was with me when the boy arrived from the station with the
telegram at about twelve o'clock.
 
It happened to be a wet day, so that, contrary to our usual habit, we were indoors
when the boy came up with the note. Papa signed the receipt, and the lad left
before he opened it. When he did so, he glanced at the contents, and dropped it on
the table with almost a groan.
 
"What is it, papa?" I asked, dreadfully alarmed; "may I read it?
" Papa motioned assent, and my heart almost stood still as I read the terrible
tidings—
 
"Mr. Harmer is dead; Sophy Needham is missing."
 
It was a dreadful shock; and yet we had talked and thought so much the last two
days of Sophy and Robert Gregory, and of the consequences the discovery of their
connection might have upon Mr. Harmer, that it could be hardly said to come upon us
as a surprise. For some time we were too shocked to speak at all. At last I
said—
 
"Poor Mr. Harmer! how dreadful!"
 
"Rather poor Sophy," papa said. "Unfortunate, misguided girl, how
bitterly she will repent this! What a life-long remorse hers will be! She has
sacrificed the happiness of her own life by joining it to that of Robert Gregory,
and she has caused her benefactor's death; and whatever be the folly, whatever the
terrible fault of Sophy's conduct now, undoubtedly she loved him dearly."
 
While papa was speaking, another telegram arrived, and this time from Miss Harmer,
for the former one was sent by a friend who had heard the news, and knowing our
interest in it, had at once forwarded it to us, while the groom who brought it in,
was searching for a doctor to go over at once. Miss Harmer's message was
only—
 
"Please come at once. My brother is dead."
 
On the receipt of this, we consulted a timetable, found a train would start in half
an hour, and in a few minutes papa started, leaving me to cry over the news I had
heard—to cry as much for Sophy as for Mr. Harmer—(for, from what papa
said, she was indeed to be pitied), and to look forward anxiously to his return
with full particulars of the terrible event.
 
I shall tell the story of his visit to Harmer Place, and its results, as he told it
to me; and I may here mention that in future, in this narrative of mine, I shall
always drop the first person when I am telling of events at which I was not
myself present, and shall relate them in the order in which they happened, and not
when they were told to me, which was not, in some cases, till years after.
 
When Dr. Ashleigh arrived at Harmer Place, he was shown at once into the drawing-
room, where in a few minutes he was joined by the Misses Harmer.
 
As nothing has been said of the personal appearance of the Misses Harmer from the
time when their brother met them, twenty-one years before this date, and as they
will in future play a far more important part in this narrative than they have
hitherto done, it is proper to say what they were like at this period.
 
The Misses Harmer, when their brother left England in the year 1795, a boy of
sixteen, were aged respectively twenty and twenty-one, and were consequently at the
time of his death, in the year 1848, seventy-three and seventy-four. At the time
when they were last described they were extremely similar in appearance, and,
indeed, might almost have been mistaken one for the other, but there was now a
great and marked difference between them: the younger sister looked the elder of
the two by at least ten years. The ascetic life, the severe self-repressive
discipline to which they had subjected themselves, seemed to have worn out the one
sister while it had but hardened the other—hardened her till her impassive
face had a stony and petrified appearance. Of the two, she had, perhaps, been
originally the woman of the stronger passions and the more determined will; and yet
her more vigorous constitution had enabled her to support that lonely, hard,
loveless life, and to come through it harder and sterner than before, while her
weaker sister was fast succumbing to the long and weary struggle.
 
Angela's bended head was more bowed now than of yore, her look more mild and
gentle; the light of that peace which was to her fast approaching—when
watching, and penance, and tears should be all over—seemed to shine already
on her face, and to soften its hard, unhappy outlines.
 
Cecilia was more upright than before. The comparatively cheerful life she had led
at her brother's house for nearly twenty years, had, to a certain extent, worn off
the look and habit of repression and humility which she had gained from her early
residence in a convent, and afterwards with her stern elder brothers. She had too,
for all these last twenty years, been working with a purpose—a vague one
indeed, and, seemingly, a hopeless one, but yet to her a holy purpose, worthy of
her dedicating her life to attain—namely, the hope that her brother might yet
return to the old faith, or that, if he died before them, he might leave them his
property; so that, in either of these cases, the Roman Church might reap the rich
harvest which her elder brothers had intended for it. This hope had been to a great
extent defeated by the declared intentions of Herbert Harmer, and yet she clung
desperately to it.
 
The Bishop of Ravenna had cheered them all this time with his letters and his
counsel; but even he had almost given up all hope of ever winning their rich
property for the Church; but Cecilia never despaired, and when she had hurried back
again on the news of Mr. Harmer's first paralytic seizure, it was with the strong
hope and conviction that he would yet on his deathbed alter his will, abjure the
errors of the faith he had adopted, and be received and forgiven by Mother Church.
However, events had not turned out as she had hoped. Herbert Harmer had died a
member of his new faith, and the estate was certainly not willed to the sisters,
and Cecilia, while she endured a true sense of sorrow for her brother's loss, yet
mingled with it a deep feeling of disappointment and rage, and a stern
determination that the labour of her life should not be frustrated.
 
Doctor Ashleigh, when they entered the room, saw at once that both sisters were
much agitated, and yet in a different way. Both had evidently been crying; but Miss
Harmer seemed endeavouring to keep down her grief by a fierce, angry determination;
while Angela's sorrow was mingled with a strange, timid, anxious manner, which Dr.
Ashleigh could not understand.
 
"You received our message, Dr. Ashleigh, and are aware of the terrible event
which has taken place here?"
 
"I am, Miss Harmer, and am indeed shocked to hear it."
 
"You have heard that our brother was murdered?"
 
"Murdered!" Dr. Ashleigh said aghast; for he had heard some of the
floating rumours as he passed through the town, but had quite disbelieved them.
 
"Yes, Dr. Ashleigh, my brother was murdered—killed by the conduct of
that wretched, ungrateful woman; murdered as much as if she had stabbed him to the
heart."
 
"Really, Miss Harmer," the Doctor said, "you alarmed me for a moment
into believing that my old friend had met his end by foul play. Sophy's conduct is
inexcusable, and I do not wish to enter into any defence of it; but still she can
hardly be termed a murderess."
 
"I can see no distinction, Dr. Ashleigh," Miss Harmer said; and as she
spoke her tall figure seemed to gain additional height, her eyes flashed, and her
colour rose angrily. "My brother, Dr. Ashleigh, was on the fair way to perfect
recovery—you, yourself, told me so—and that only some sudden shock
would be likely to throw him back again, but that another attack would probably be
fatal. That shock, this wretched girl deliberately and knowingly gave him, and I
say she is as wilfully the murderess of the man who had picked her from the kennel
where she was born, as if she had given him poison. I pray that her sin may be
punished by divine law, if it cannot be by human. I pray that the man for whom she
has murdered my brother may turn out a constant retribution and curse to her. May
she never know happiness again. May her children, if she bear them, cause her the
misery she has brought on us. May——"
 
"Hold, Miss Harmer!" Dr. Ashleigh said sternly, stepping forward and
laying his hand impressively on the excited woman's arm. "Forbear! Blessings
and curses proceed from God alone. At present your grief at this sad affair urges
you to say things which in your calmer moments you would be, I am sure, the first
to regret. This unhappy girl has assuredly grievously erred, and grievous have been
the consequences; and she will, undoubtedly, have to expiate it by a life-long
sorrow and repentance—and her bitterest enemy need wish her no worse
punishment than her own thoughts and the husband she has chosen."
 
"We need not discuss the question, Dr. Ashleigh!" Miss Harmer said,
angrily. "Nothing will ever alter my feelings towards this wretched girl!
Nothing can ever soften the horror and loathing I feel towards her! Nothing shall
ever induce me to see her face again! She may be beyond human law, but in my sight
she is a murderess!"
 
Dr. Ashleigh saw that in Miss Harmer's present state of nervous and excited
feeling, any argument which he could urge would be only vain, and would, indeed,
tend to heighten her anger. He therefore remained silent.
 
Angela Harmer had not yet spoken, but it was evident that she—as far as her
milder nature could go—sympathized with her sister's anger, and yet sorrow
was with her predominant. She had seated herself in a large arm-chair by the fire,
on entering; and most of the time she sat with her face hidden in her hands, and
the Doctor could see the tears trickle through her withered fingers. Sometimes,
however, when her sister was speaking she looked up with an anxious deprecating
glance, but Cecilia heeded her not; but, when she had done speaking, walked up and
down the room with her hands tightly clenched, her eyes flashing with
anger—even through the tears of sorrow which rolled unheeded down her
cheek;—her whole form so inspired by her emotion, that Dr. Ashleigh could
hardly believe her to be the quiet self-contained woman he had known so long.
 
At last she became more calm, stopped before him, and said, "Dr. Ashleigh, you
were our brother's greatest friend; may I ask you to see to all arrangements
connected with his funeral. We should wish him to be buried in such state as is
becoming to the last of an old race. Alas! that he cannot be laid where his fore-
fathers have been! Will you see to all this?"
 
"I will, Miss Harmer, willingly. I do not know whether you have any particular
wishes as to where he should be laid? I have heard him express a preference for the
village churchyard here. I do not know whether he has mentioned his wishes in his
will."
 
"I know nothing of the will whatever!" Miss Harmer said positively, and
Dr. Ashleigh noticed her sister cast one of the frightened glances towards her
which he had before perceived. "I know nothing whatever of the will," she
repeated steadily; "but if he expressed any preference for Sturry, let it be
so. And now, Dr. Ashleigh," and here her voice softened, "I do not know
that we have any more to say: you will wish, of course, to go up to see our poor
brother. We shall see you, I hope, to-morrow or next day." So saying, the
Misses Harmer took their leave of Dr. Ashleigh, and retired to their own rooms,
while he took the well-known way to his old friend's bed-room.
 
As he went up-stairs he met Mary—the girl who had been Sophy Needham's
maid—coming down. Her eyes were red with crying. She curtsied to the Doctor
as he passed—for they all loved him, and he had ever a kind word for all he
met. "This is a sad affair, Mary!" he said.
 
"Dreadful, Sir," the girl answered. "Will you please to tell me what
has become of Miss Sophy? We are all so anxious to know the real truth."
 
"I am afraid she has eloped with Mr. Gregory," the Doctor said, gravely;
"there is no secret about it."
 
"I was afraid she was gone, Sir, when I went into her room this morning, and
found the bed had not been slept in, and the letter for Mr. Harmer on the table. It
gave me such a turn, Sir; you might have knocked me down with a breath."
 
"Did Mr. Harmer say anything when you gave him the letter?" the Doctor
asked, anxiously.
 
"No, Sir! I gave him the letter and went straight out, for I was frightened;
he was sitting at the table just as he was when we found him dead—just the
same. He was a kind, good master, Sir, as ever lived—never angry or put out;
and he forgived Miss Sophy with his dying breath." And the girl began to cry
again.
 
"How do you know he forgave Miss Sophy?" Dr. Ashleigh asked, stopping,
for he was just continuing his way up-stairs. "How do you know he forgave Miss
Sophy?"
 
"This way. Sir. When the Misses Harmer went into the room, I went and stood at
the door to listen, for we all wanted to hear what had become of poor Miss Sophy.
They went up to the table and leant over him, and gave a cry; and I ran in, and
they were lifting him up, and on the table before him was a letter he had just
begun to write, it was only five or six words, but I saw it began 'My dearest
Sophy;' I did not read anything else, but the last two words were 'I forgive.' They
were writ very large indeed, and I could not help seeing them, Sir, as I helped to
lift him up. After he had been carried up-stairs I went into the library to get
that letter, Sir—for I knew it would be a great comfort to poor Miss
Sophy—but when I got there it was gone. I asked the servants but none of them
had seen it, so I suppose one of the Misses Harmer had taken care of it."
 
"I am very glad you told me this, Mary, very glad! It will indeed be a great
comfort to your poor young mistress." So saying the Doctor went into the dead
man's room.
 
Mr. Harmer lay on his bed, and the warm light of the afternoon sun streamed bright
and full upon his face. It was tranquil and peaceful as in life, and his lips were
parted in a calm smile—a smile as of the peace and forgiveness he felt as he
died.
 
The Doctor looked into his old friend's face, and the tears welled up into his
eyes. "He died as he lived," he said to himself, "forgiving as he
also would be forgiven. Dear old friend, we have spent many a happy hour together;
yet, dying as you died, how can I grieve for you?"
 
The Doctor stood for some time sadly musing by the bed-side; and then turning
softly away, was soon on his way back to Canterbury, where he gave the necessary
orders and then returned to Ramsgate.

---------------CHAPTER XIV. MISSING!------------

 Mr. Harmer died on Friday morning, and it was arranged that his funeral
should take place on that day week. On the day preceding Dr. Ashleigh left Ramsgate
early, and went direct to his own house, to see several patients who were to call
upon him there prior to his going out on his rounds. Most of those he expected had
called, and he was sitting alone in his library when the door opened and the
servant announced "Mr. Gregory."
 
Dr. Ashleigh rose from his seat, with a cold, haughty look on his face, such as had
not for many years been seen upon it. Robert Gregory's face wore a mingled air of
anxiety and triumph, slightly veiled under an expression of gravity and decorum
which he had assumed as suitable to the occasion. He was evidently much embarrassed
how to begin, and the extremely repellant and hostile expression of Dr. Ashleigh's
face did not assist him in his difficulty.
 
"May I ask," the Doctor said, "to what I owe this visit?"
 
"I have called, Dr. Ashleigh," Robert Gregory began, in a voice to which
he in vain attempted to give its usual loud, careless tone. "I have called
from my wife to ask you—you to whom she alone could apply at the present
time—to give her some intelligence respecting the death of her
grandfather."
 
"If the unfortunate girl who has become your wife will call upon me herself, I
will give her every information and assistance in my power. With you I will hold no
communication whatever."
 
Robert Gregory bit his lips angrily, and his eye flashed: he was a man but little
accustomed to be thwarted. However, as he felt that any outburst of anger would
only injure his cause, and could do him no good, after a momentary, but fierce
struggle with himself, he went on quietly.
 
"You are naturally indignant with me, Dr. Ashleigh. I know that after the sad
consequences which have ensued you cannot be otherwise, and am aware that it is
useless my making any excuses or protestations. I know that the only way in which I
can ever justify the course I have taken will be by making Sophy happy, and by
proving that her love and confidence in me are not so greatly misplaced, and that,
after all, I am not so utter a scamp as the world gives me credit for."
 
Undoubtedly the man had carefully thought over beforehand what he intended to say,
and yet he spoke earnestly, for he really meant what he said, and Dr. Ashleigh, a
shrewd observer of men, saw that he did so, and his face rather softened in its
expression. Robert Gregory observed the change, and went on.
 
"I myself should never have come on this errand could she have done so. But
the truth is a friend telegraphed the news to me, and the message reached me only
on Monday morning, as I was returning leisurely from the north. Sophy is nearly out
of her mind, and the doctor I called in to see her fears that she will have an
attack of brain fever. I should not have left, but her cry was unceasing to know
the details of his death, and whether he said a word of forgiveness to her. I came
down by this morning's train, and return by the one o'clock to London."
 
Dr. Ashleigh was softened now; he saw by the man's anxious face and changed voice
that he was truly in earnest, and that although he had unquestionably wooed and
married Sophy for her money, yet that he did really care for herself, and the
Doctor thought that her chance of happiness was, after all, better than he had
imagined it.
 
"I am sorry to hear what you say about your wife," he said, in quite a
different tone to that which he had previously adopted, "although I cannot say
I am surprised. The knowledge that the news of her flight had caused Mr. Harmer's
death must of necessity be a terrible grief and sorrow to her. On that head,
however, I truly rejoice that I can give her some consolation and alleviate her
remorse. Mr. Harmer forgave her. Her letter was taken in to him, and he was found
dead with it before him, and a sheet of paper on which he had begun a letter to
her. The last words he ever wrote were: 'I forgive.' Tell her this from me."
 
Robert Gregory's face lit up with pleasure, and this time the emotion was not
purely of a selfish kind. He was glad, very glad for Sophy's sake to hear that Mr.
Harmer had forgiven her before he died; indeed, even for his own sake he felt the
news to be a relief. Hardened as he was, he could not have felt easy with the
knowledge that that good old man had died invoking a curse upon him with his last
breath. But although for both these reasons he received the news with pleasure, it
was as nothing to the satisfaction he felt at the account which had been given him
of Mr. Harmer's death; for it was quite evident from it that he had died leaving
his will unaltered—he had died a few minutes after finding Sophy was gone,
with his unfinished letter of forgiveness before him—had probably never even
risen from his chair, and had certainly taken no steps towards altering or
cancelling his will. Gratified as he felt, however, he speedily repressed all show
of his feelings, for he felt that Dr. Ashleigh was watching him, and he knew that
his good will and countenance would be of great service at this time; besides
which, for Sophy's sake, he wished to stand well with him, for Sophy, he knew,
esteemed and loved Dr. Ashleigh more than any other man, now Mr. Harmer was dead.
He, therefore, after a minute's silence, said with an air of frankness:
 
"I am, indeed, glad to hear what you tell me, Dr. Ashleigh. It will be an
immense relief to poor Sophy, and even to myself, for it is not pleasant to lie
under the curse of a dead man; besides which, it would be idle of me to pretend
that I am not very gratified to hear that Mr. Harmer took no steps towards altering
his will. As you, a man of the world, will naturally suppose, Sophy's wealth was
the great inducement to me, when I first sought her; and although I trust to prove
to her and to you, that I have now learnt to love her truly for herself, I am
still, of course, very glad to hear that her property is not forfeited. It is now
time that I should return to the train, and I hope that my news may have a good
effect upon Sophy's health. I shall be down again the day after to-morrow, not to
attend the funeral, but to be present at the reading of the will, which will, I
suppose, take place afterwards."
 
"It will," Dr. Ashleigh said. "Miss Harmer wrote to the solicitor in
London yesterday, informing him of her brother's death, and begging him to be down
at the funeral, which takes place at two o'clock. And now, Mr. Gregory, will you
say to Sophy, that her grandfather forgave her freely and at once, and that it is
not for me, whom she has not injured, to judge more severely than he has done; will
you tell her from me, that in my daughter and myself she will find friends glad to
welcome her back, and to forget the past. For yourself, Mr. Gregory, it would be
folly to say that a strong prejudice does not exist, you best know whether justly
or not. However, these days are past, and it is now, according as you treat Sophy,
that you will be received, at any rate by us. Make her happy; try and dry the tears
which the consequences of her love for you have caused to flow, and you will find
that we shall be glad to know you as Sophy's husband."
 
So saying, Dr. Ashleigh held out his hand to the man before him, and Robert
Gregory, as he grasped it, experienced a feeling of real gratification. He knew
that this was a truly good man, and that his course towards Sophy was in no way
altered by the fact of her being an heiress, but because she had been forgiven by
his old friend Mr. Harmer, and for the sake of the many years of affectionate
intercourse he had had with herself. He was gratified, too, by what the Doctor had
said respecting himself, for the countenance and friendship of a good man can be
appreciated even by the worst character. And so Robert Gregory took his leave of
Dr. Ashleigh and returned to town with a softened, although exultant heart. The
Doctor then went over to Harmer Place and saw the sisters. They passed most of
their time in their own rooms, engaged in earnest prayer for the benefit of their
brother's soul; and once, when the Doctor had been there, they spoke to him in
glowing terms of the power which their church possessed to forgive all sins, even
the greatest. While they thus spoke their eyes lit up with a strange, passionate
fervour of religious zeal—that fierce, burning zeal, which has for so many
centuries made men equally ready to martyrize others or to die martyrs
themselves—that zeal which has led some to give up all worldly goods, and
live the life of wandering beggars, and others to allow no scruple to interfere
with any deed which can enrich and benefit the church to which they belong. To
these remarks Dr. Ashleigh returned no answer; he was at all times indisposed to
enter into religious arguments, and with women in the exalted state of mind in
which the Misses Harmer were, it would have been worse than useless. On this
occasion, however, he found them both in a calmer state, and he mentioned to them
that he had seen Robert Gregory, and that he spoke of coming up on the part of his
wife after the funeral. For a minute or so they were silent, and then Miss Harmer
said, with stern vehemence,—
 
"Let him come—I presume it is his right; but never again while I live
shall the murderer of my brother darken this door."
 
The Doctor half smiled at the idle threat, while Angela Harmer glanced up at her
sister from under her drooping eyelids.
 
"I should, perhaps, rather say," Miss Harmer corrected herself, "as
long as I am in this house; if he enter, I leave it. Harmer Place shall never hold
together for one day the sisters of Herbert Harmer and his murderers."
 
The Doctor was silent, for he thought that what she said would certainly turn out
correct, for he did not deem it probable that Robert Gregory, when he came into
possession, was at all the man to invite the two Misses Harmer to take up their
abode with him.
 
The next night Dr. Ashleigh did not return to Ramsgate. Harry was to arrive by the
late train from the North, and after the funeral they were to go down to Ramsgate,
where it was arranged they should stop for a week or two. After that, as we should
be well able to afford it, papa had settled to go on to the Continent for the
winter with me.
 
Accordingly, the next day Herbert Harmer was laid in his grave in the quiet
churchyard of Sturry. Agreeably to Miss Harmer's wishes, the funeral was celebrated
with a pomp which he who had gone had never desired for himself while alive. The
hearse and mourning-coaches, each with their four horses and tossing feathers, the
man in front with the tray of sable plumes, the mutes in long array—all was
done in the best style, and people came in from quite a long distance to see it. A
good many of his old Canterbury friends sent their carriages to join the
procession, but there were not many real mourners among those who followed. The
first mourning-coach contained Dr. Ashleigh, his son, and the solicitor, who had
arrived just as the cortège was starting; the other coaches contained the
principal tenants, who had liked their late landlord, and who had always found him
compliant and kind in the extreme; they had, however, very seldom seen him, as
since his son's death he had gone very little himself among his tenants, although
he had always kept himself well informed concerning the affairs of each of them. As
the procession wound through the village many a blessing and prayer was murmured
for the dead man; there, indeed, he had been a benefactor; many a sick bed, many an
aching heart had his bounty relieved; and they blessed his memory, blessed him as
thousands had done before them—thousands lying in agony in London hospitals,
some never to go out again alive, many more to be restored in health and strength
to their families; these had poured out countless prayers for the unknown
benefactor who had endowed this ward, added that comfort, or whose munificent
donations had enabled the hospital largely to extend its benefits; and doubtless
their prayers were not the less heard that no name was uttered, and that they went
up for their unknown friend.
 
And so Herbert Harmer slept the sleep of the blessed in the quiet churchyard, and
the funeral cortège went back to Harmer Place.
 
The doctor had been much affected by the service over his old friend. Harry, too,
was much moved, but in his case it was more the thought of the grave he had last
stood beside, and her over whom he had heard the service read two months before.
 
Mr. Petersfield, the solicitor, was calm. With him it was a pure matter of
business. He had hardly ever seen the dead man; he knew him only as one of the
wealthiest and most eccentric of his clients; he had heard from his partner that he
was a man of sterling worth; but Mr. Ransome had always managed Mr. Harmer's
business, and he himself knew nothing about it. Mr. Ransome had died six months
before, and it would have been his duty, in a short time, to have made himself
thoroughly acquainted with Mr. Harmer's affairs; as it was, he knew very little
about them.
 
During the short ride to and from the church there was hardly a word exchanged in
the carriage, as Dr. Ashleigh was an entire stranger to the solicitor. When they
reached the house they were shown into the drawing-room; into which, a few minutes
later, Robert Gregory was ushered.
 
"How is your wife, Mr. Gregory?" the doctor asked, as he shook hands.
 
"She is very ill, doctor, but I left her certainly calmer and more tranquil,
and I trust, from what the medical man said last night, that she will escape any
serious attack of brain fever. The news you sent her was a very great consolation
to her, but she is still in terribly low spirits."
 
Here the conversation was interrupted by the entrance of the Misses Harmer, who
bowed to Dr. Ashleigh, his son, and the solicitor, all of whom they had seen
before, but who took no notice whatever of the presence of Robert Gregory.
 
The Misses Harmer were accompanied, or rather followed into the room by a
gentleman, whom it was easy to see by his dress was an ecclesiastic of the Romish
Church, and who was an entire stranger to Dr. Ashleigh.
 
"This gentleman," Miss Harmer said, introducing him, "is Father
Eustace, a friend of ours for many years, and who, having heard of our loss, has
come over from abroad to assist and comfort us with his presence and advice."
 
Father Eustace was a pale, ascetic looking man, with large, eager bright eyes; his
complexion was dark and swarthy, and he looked every inch what he was—an
Italian. He spoke English with a strong foreign accent, but still grammatically and
pretty distinctly. He bowed courteously to those present, and then took his seat,
and during what followed occupied himself in closely scrutinizing their
countenances, especially those of Dr. Ashleigh and Robert Gregory, as if desirous
to judge for himself how nearly they tallied with the description he had received
of them.
 
The Misses Harmer were very pale, but had a quiet, fixed look about them, in which
Dr. Ashleigh thought he read their determination to listen with composure to the
reading of the will, which would place the hated Robert and Sophy Gregory in the
position of master and mistress of Harmer Place.
 
For some little time after they had taken their seats there was a dead silence, as
if each were waiting for the other to begin. At last Mr. Petersfield said—
 
"With your permission, Miss Harmer, I will at once proceed to read the will of
my late client, Mr. Herbert Harmer. Will you be good enough to hand it to me?"
 
"I have not any will of my brother in my possession," Miss Harmer
answered, coldly.
 
"Not in your possession, madam? But you are doubtless aware where your late
brother was in the habit of keeping his important documents?"
 
"I have looked, Mr. Petersfield, among his papers, but I have found no will
among them."
 
There was a pause of blank astonishment.
 
"How is it, Mr. Petersfield," Dr. Ashleigh said, gravely, "that you
have not Mr. Harmer's will in your custody?"
 
"It was in our hands, doctor, until about two months ago, when Mr. Harmer
wrote to me, saying that he was desirous of making some slight alterations in it,
and requesting me to forward it. I did so, in charge of one of my clerks. On the
day he came down here, some friend of Mr. Harmer's died—I understood it was
Mrs. Ashleigh—and he told my clerk that he did not feel equal to attend to
business, but that if he would leave the document with him, he would look it over,
and write to me to send down again in a short time to make the alterations he
required. I did not hear any further from him, and therefore supposed that he had
either changed his mind in reference to the alteration, or had forgotten the matter
altogether. I remember, when my clerk came back, he told me that he had ventured to
suggest that so valuable a document ought to be kept in a safe place, and that Mr.
Harmer had smiled, and answered, 'You need not be afraid on that score. I have a
place to put it in where all the burglars in the world could not get at it."
 
There was again a blank silence, and then the solicitor went on—
 
"In any case, madam, I think it but right that we should search Mr. Harmer's
library thoroughly."
 
"Certainly, Mr. Petersfield; you are quite at liberty to search where you
like. Father Eustace, will you do me the kindness to accompany these
gentlemen."
 
Father Eustace at once rose, and preceded the others to the library.
 
"This looks a very strange business, Mr. Petersfield," Dr. Ashleigh said,
on their way thither.
 
"Very—very much so indeed, doctor, and I do not think our search here is
likely to be attended with any success."
 
The library was thoroughly ransacked. Every drawer was pulled out and examined for
secret hiding-places; the books were all taken down from their shelves to look
behind them; every place, possible and impossible, was searched, but, as the lawyer
had predicted, without the slightest result. Harry and Robert Gregory performed the
active portion of the work, the doctor and Mr. Petersfield directing their
operations, and examining the piles of papers which came to light during the
search. All were very silent: they were too interested and excited to talk. From
time to time Robert Gregory muttered savage execrations between his teeth; but,
with that exception, the search was conducted in silence.
 
The priest sat quietly and watched them—watched them, and not their
proceedings: in these he seemed to have no curiosity, his attention being directed
entirely to the way in which they each bore their disappointment.
 
The search lasted for an hour. By that time the place had been completely
ransacked, and every possible place examined; and the whole floor of the room was
closely covered with books, papers, scientific apparatus, and the accumulated
litter of years. When all was done, and it was evident that no corner remained
unexplored, the searchers rested from their work, wiped the perspiration from their
foreheads, and looked at their leader for further instructions.
 
Dr. Ashleigh drew the solicitor to a door which led into the garden, opened it, and
went out with him, so that they could converse without restraint from the presence
of the priest.
 
"This is an extraordinary business, Mr. Petersfield," Dr. Ashleigh said;
"what do you think of it?"
 
"Do you consult me professionally, Dr. Ashleigh?" the lawyer asked, in
return.
 
"Certainly I do," Dr. Ashleigh said vehemently. "Mr. Harmer was one
of my oldest and my dearest friends; and even were I not so deeply interested in
the discovery of the will as I am, I would spend every penny I have in the world in
seeing his wishes carried out. You are aware of the nature of the will?"
 
"In a general way I am. My late partner, Mr. Ransome, who has managed Mr.
Harmer's business ever since he came to England, some twenty-three years ago, told
me that Mr. Harmer had left all his property, with the exception of some
comparatively small legacies, between your children and his illegitimate
grandchild, Miss Needham—now, as I understand, Mrs. Gregory."
 
"Precisely," Dr. Ashleigh said. "This is the disposition he publicly
announced that he had made of his property; and in the event of this will not being
found, I presume the Misses Harmer, as his only relations, will inherit everything?
"
 
"Clearly so, doctor. It is a most awkward business. However, we cannot now
determine what steps to take: we shall have plenty of time for that hereafter. Is
there any other place you can suggest as worth searching—his bed-room, for
instance?"
 
"None at all," the doctor answered. "Mr. Harmer was a man of the
simplest personal habits. His bed-room is furnished just as it was in India—a
plain French bedstead without hangings, an India matting on the floor, a few cane
chairs, and a small chest of drawers. No, it is no use searching there."
 
"Or anywhere, I believe, frankly," Mr. Petersfield said. "Wherever
the will may be, we shall never find it."
 
So saying, they returned into the library. Father Eustace was sitting unmoved in
the chair where they had left him. Harry was pacing up and down that portion of the
floor which remained free from the books and instruments, sometimes stopping and
looking out of the window, and drumming on the panes with his fingers in a state of
angry impatience; he was anxious and uneasy, but he could not believe that the will
was more than mislaid for a time.
 
Robert Gregory had cast himself sullenly into an arm chair, and sat with his elbows
on the arms, and his chin resting on his hands. His face was flushed, his eyes wide
open, and his lips set hard. A deadly sensation of despair was stealing over him,
which he in vain strove against. Was it possible that, after all these years of
scheming and watchfulness, his prize was to be snatched from him in the moment of
success? He could not and would not believe it, and yet he had a hopeless feeling
in him which told him that the will was either lost or destroyed, and that it would
never be found or heard of again. When Mr. Petersfield said, "We can do no
good here—let us return to the drawing-room," he rose, and followed the
others mechanically.
 
The Misses Harmer were sitting as they had left them, stiff and composed, the stern
look upon their faces, a red spot in the centre of their cheeks, and a strange
light in their eyes.
 
"You have not found my brother's will?" Miss Harmer asked, as they came
in.
 
"As you are probably pretty well aware, Miss Harmer, we have not found it. And
now let me ask you distinctly, do you, or do you not, know where your late
brother's will is?"
 
Miss Harmer paused for a moment, and Mr. Petersfield and the doctor saw that she
glanced towards Father Eustace, who was looking on the ground.
 
"I do not know where my brother was in the habit of keeping his various
documents."
 
"I said nothing about various documents, Miss Harmer," Dr. Ashleigh said,
sternly. "I asked you, do you, or do you not, know where the will is?"
 
"I do not," Miss Harmer said, steadily. "Should you find the will,
you will, I presume, let us know?"
 
"Should I find it, I will do so."
 
"It is not easy to find what has never been lost," Robert Gregory said,
bitterly.
 
Miss Harmer faced round at once upon this new antagonist, as if glad to turn her
face from the stern, searching look of the doctor. She and her sister had risen
from their seats now, and none of the others had seated themselves. Father Eustace
had moved across and taken his place by them, as if to support them by his
presence; the others stood in a group together, with Dr. Ashleigh slightly in
advance.
 
"As for you, sir," Miss Harmer broke out, addressing Robert
Gregory—"as for you, as I have already told Dr. Ashleigh, I look upon
you and the woman you call your wife, as the murderers of my brother; and now,
having struck him down, and seeing him laid in his grave, you would fain come here
to grasp at his property. Why do you come here to ask for his will? What is so
likely as that, when he heard of that ungrateful girl's conduct, that conduct which
gave him his deathblow, he tore his will into fragments?"
 
"But, Miss Harmer," Dr. Ashleigh said, in his quiet, firm voice,
motioning Robert Gregory, who had advanced to reply to the attack upon him, to be
silent. "But, Miss Harmer, we know that such was not the case; we know that he
was found in the same position in which he was sitting when he received Sophy's
letter. We know that he did not leave the room, and that no one entered it. We know
that there were no fragments of paper scattered about, as there would in all
probability have been had he destroyed the will in the way you suggest; and lastly,
Miss Harmer," and here the doctor advanced a step nearer and spoke even more
impressingly, "lastly, we know that such an intention was farthest from Mr.
Harmer's mind; for that he began a letter, which is, or has been in your
possession, a letter to Sophy expressing his full forgiveness. So that in your
bitter anger against the poor girl, you are acting in direct contradiction to the
dying words of your brother."
 
The two Misses Harmer and Father Eustace were evidently staggered by this attack.
Miss Harmer's cheek, which had flushed up when she attacked Robert Gregory, turned
deadly pale again, and she shrank back as if she had received a blow. She was a
little time before she answered, and then the change of her voice showed how much
she was unnerved:
 
"How do you know what you say, Dr. Ashleigh? Have you been enquiring about
among my servants?"
 
"I should think, Miss Harmer, you must by this time know me well enough to be
aware that I am not a man given to enquiring among servants. I was simply told the
matter, the truth of which you do not and cannot deny; and for Sophy's sake I was
delighted to hear it. I was glad, also, for the sake of him who is gone to know
that he died with words of forgiveness on his lips; a forgiveness which you have
taken upon yourself to conceal and to refuse."
 
Miss Harmer evidently quailed before Dr. Ashleigh's words. He saw his advantage,
and continued solemnly, pointing with his finger towards her as he spoke—
 
"And now listen to me, Miss Harmer. I believe, I more than believe, that will
to be concealed, and that you know its place of concealment. Now I, your dead
brother's greatest friend, warn you solemnly. I speak in his name and my own, and I
warn you not to destroy that document. It is your dead brother's will, and if you
destroy it may his curse light upon you."
 
"Cease, sir," Father Eustace said, interposing himself between Dr.
Ashleigh and the sister, now pale and almost gasping for breath; "cease these
impious insults!"
 
Dr. Ashleigh waved him aside, and seeing the effect he was producing, continued in
the same earnest voice, never removing his eyes from the sisters' faces—
 
"I warn you if you destroy it, your dead brother's voice will cry from the
grave. There will be no more peace for you in this world or the next. His curse
will follow you here, and plead against you at the judgment-seat of God."
 
"Come," he said, turning to his companions; for Angela Harmer had sunk
nearly lifeless in a chair, and Cecilia would have fallen had not the priest, who
had in vain endeavoured to check the doctor's solemn denunciation, supported her.
"Come, let us leave this;" and the four men in silence went out, entered
Dr. Ashleigh's carriage, which was in waiting, and drove off.
 
END OF VOL. I.

---------------Vol 2 CHAPTER I. A FAMILY CONCLAVE.------------

 For some little time after Dr. Ashleigh's carriage drove off from Harmer
Place, not a word was spoken. The scene through which its occupants had passed, had
left a deep impression upon them—even upon Mr. Petersfield, who was by no
means of a nature to be easily moved. Dr. Ashleigh felt greatly the words he had
spoken, the wrong which had been committed, and the thought of his children's
altered future. Harry felt more indignant than hurt; he was too astonished and
angry to reflect yet how much it would affect himself. Perhaps if he had one wish
more predominant than another, it was that the Misses Harmer were but men—men
of about his own age, and that he could get them into some quiet spot—by
Jove, would not he find out where the will was hidden!
 
But Robert Gregory felt the disappointment with all its force. To him the blow had
been so overwhelming and crushing, that his fierce temper was beaten down and
mastered by it; and he had borne it with a sense of dull despair, very unlike the
passionate outburst of wrath which might have been expected from him. Only when
Miss Harmer had turned upon him so fiercely, had the blood rushed to his cheek, and
had not Dr. Ashleigh interposed, he would doubtless have given way to a burst of
passion; but with a great effort he had checked himself; desperate as he was, he
knew that Dr. Ashleigh stood in a far higher and better position in the case than
he did himself; it was to his interest that the doctor should take the lead, for he
felt that what hopes remained rested solely in him.
 
Dr. Ashleigh was certainly favourably impressed with his conduct throughout this
trying interview; he knew that to this man the loss of the will was a terrible
blow, the defeat of all his plots and schemes, and he was surprised and pleased
that he had behaved with so much self-control, and had avoided creating a stormy
and violent scene.
 
"Mr. Gregory," he said at last, breaking the silence for the first time
as they were entering Canterbury, "I know that this is a grievous blow to you,
as it is to us all. I think you had better follow out your original plan of
returning this evening to your wife in London. You can safely leave the matter in
my hands; I am, for the sake of my children, interested in this affair equally with
yourself, and you may rely that I shall spare no pains to come to the bottom of it.
What search and stir is made, will come with a far better grace from me than from
yourself, and you may depend upon my letting you know, the instant the slightest
clue is gained to the mystery."
 
Robert Gregory in a few words thanked the doctor, agreed that such a course was
best, and that at any rate until Sophy was perfectly recovered, he would leave the
affair in his hands.
 
Dr. Ashleigh then turned to Mr. Petersfield and asked him if he would come on to
Ramsgate, and stay the night with him, to chat over the affair in quiet, and
determine upon the best course to be pursued. Mr. Petersfield agreed to stop for
the night, saying that he must return to town by the early train in the morning,
but that if they would promise that he should do that, he would accompany them.
 
As this was arranged, they drove into the station, and here the party separated;
Dr. Ashleigh, Harry, and Mr. Petersfield to go on to Ramsgate, Robert Gregory to
return to London. The latter preserved his quiet demeanour until he was alone in a
railway carriage, and then he gave full vent to his fury and disappointment. He
raved aloud; he cursed himself, his fortune, and all connected with him; he poured
imprecations of every kind and description upon the heads of the Misses Harmer; and
his last exclamation as he flung himself down in a corner of the carriage, was,
"Let them beware, for by——I will find it, if it is in existence,
if it costs me my life!—or," he added, after a pause, "them theirs!
"
 
I now resume my own narrative. How surprised I was that evening when they came in.
Of course, just at first I was too much occupied in kissing Harry—whom I now
saw for the first time, as he had only arrived from the North the evening
before—to notice anything strange about their manner. Then papa introduced me
to Mr. Petersfield; and after I had spoken a word or two to him, and had time to
look at all their faces, I saw that there was a great gloom upon them, greater even
than the occasion warranted; for I had been expecting some little joking remark
from papa about my being a woman of property now, so that I was the more struck by
the subdued expression of his face.
 
"Is anything the matter, papa?" I asked, quietly.
 
"Yes, my dear, a great deal is the matter, I am sorry to say. Mr. Harmer's
will is missing."
 
"Missing, papa!" I exclaimed, almost incredulously.
 
"Yes, my love; you must not take it too much to heart; it may come to light
yet, but at present it is missing."
 
I sat down with a faint feeling in my heart. It was not that I cared for the money
for its own sake; but I thought of Lady Desborough, and I felt a rush of coming
trouble sweep round me. However, after a moment, I drove back the feeling, and
asked, in as cheerful a voice as I could,—
 
"But how is it missing, papa?"
 
"Ah, my dear, that is the rub. Mr. Harmer had it in the house, and now it is
nowhere to be found. We all believe—indeed, there can be little
doubt—that Miss Harmer has concealed it, or, at any rate, that she knows
where it has been hidden away. I have noticed the last week a strange manner, a
sort of secret understanding between the sisters, but thought little about it at
the time. Now, however, I can understand it all by the light of the present state
of affairs; and I remember now, what I smiled at at the time as an impotent threat,
that Miss Harmer said, in her passion, that while she lived, Sophy's husband should
never enter the doors of Harmer Place."
 
"But, papa," I said, "she has a very good life-income; why should
she do such a thing as this?"
 
"There are several reasons, my dear; but we will talk them over after tea. I
am hungry and tired, and I am sure Mr. Petersfield and Harry are the same; so let
us have tea at once; that will do us all good, and we shall be able to look at
matters in a far more cheerful light afterwards. What are you going to give us, my
dear?"
 
"Cold pie, papa, and some fresh-boiled mackerel, and a dish of prawns and some
muffins."
 
"Capital! Now we will go and wash our hands, and make ourselves comfortable,
and by that time you will be ready for us."
 
They were soon down again, and seated round the table, and papa began to question
Harry about his work in the North; and Harry, who was never depressed above five
minutes about anything, entered into a most amusing description of his life on the
railway; and we were all laughing merrily, in spite of our troubles, before tea was
over. I am sure no one who had looked in upon us would have guessed that we had
that day as good as lost ￡50,000 between us. When we had done, papa said,—
 
"There, my dear, we are all a hundred per cent better. Now, as we have taken
one great consoler—tea, let us take another—tobacco. I am sure Harry is
dying for a pipe; and although I do not often smoke indoors, on this special
occasion I will make an exception. What say you, Mr. Petersfield?"
 
"I am very fond of a good cigar," the lawyer said, producing a cigar-
case; "but will not Miss Ashleigh object?"
 
"Not at all," I said. "Harry always smokes when he is at home, and I
am quite accustomed to it. If I find it too much, I can easily open the window a
little."
 
The tea-things were soon cleared away, and we took our seats round the fire. For
although the weather was not actually cold, we usually had a fire in the evening,
as, indeed, by the seaside one can do almost all the year round with comfort. Papa
sat on one side, I on a stool by him, Harry next, and Mr. Petersfield on the other
side. As soon as the cigars and pipe were fairly alight, the table cleared, and we
alone, papa began,—
 
"Now, my dear, I will answer the question you asked me before tea; and I shall
do so at length, as what I am saying to you may be some sort of guide and
assistance to Mr. Petersfield, who—from his late partner, Mr. Ransome, having
had the management of Mr. Harmer's affairs—does not know very much of the
business."
 
Papa then explained the whole history of the Harmers nearly as I have told it,
although of course in far fewer words. "Thus you see," he concluded,
"there are several reasons which we may suppose, actuate the Miss Harmers. The
first and principal, is the religious question. The Misses Harmer were, as I have
said, educated in a convent; they were brought up to, and have ever since lived a
life of ascetic severity. They have been taught to look upon the advancement of
their Church as the thing to be striven for upon earth, the summum bonum to be
aimed at. They were accustomed to consider the Harmer estate as destined to go to
the furtherance of that object; and when Herbert Harmer by the accidental death of
his two brothers, suddenly succeeded to it, they looked upon it as absolutely
stolen from the Church, to which it was, by the elder brother's will, to have gone.
They then left the house, went abroad, and did not return until the death of Gerald
Harmer seemed again to open the way for them. They have since resided there off and
on, in hopes probably that their brother might return to his old faith, might die
without a will, or, in fact, that some unexpected contingency might happen. The
last three or four years since Mr. Harmer's declared intentions relative to Sophy
and yourselves, they have very much intermitted their visits, and only returned on
the news of their brother's first paralytic seizure. Thus, you see, the last twenty
years of their lives, may be said to have been given to the endeavour; and the
temptation to them to suppress the will is of course enormous, in order that the
property may come to them, and afterwards, as their eldest brother intended, to the
Romish Church. They have, besides this, another motive now, and one which, no
doubt, greatly soothes their consciences. They are mercilessly severe upon Sophy,
they look upon her as their brother's murderess, and they therefore have the
twofold satisfaction of punishing her—and so of avenging their brother's
death—and of enriching their own Church."
 
"Strong inducements, my dear sir," Mr. Petersfield, who was a bachelor,
said, "religion and malice, the two strongest motive powers in the female,
especially the elderly female, mind."
 
"Mr. Petersfield," I said, "remember that I am here, and that you
are talking treason."
 
"I apologize humbly, Miss Ashleigh," he said, smiling. "But
really," he continued to papa, "what you say explains the whole matter,
and gives it an even more awkward appearance, in my eyes, than it had before. The
question is, what is to be done?"
 
"Ah! what is to be done?" papa repeated; "that is indeed a difficult
question to decide upon. I believe the will to be in existence, and I do not think
they will venture to destroy it; it is one thing to allow a will to lie hid in a
secret drawer, another to take it out and deliberately burn it: one requires a very
different degree of courage and hardihood to the other. No, I do not think they
will venture to destroy it."
 
"I do not think they will," Mr. Petersfield said; "they quailed so
unmistakably under your denunciations. Do you know, doctor, I give you great credit
for that, it was grand, sir!" and the lawyer rubbed his hands at the thought.
"I give you my word, I never saw anything better done in the whole of my
professional experience."
 
Harry laughed. "Yes, father, you actually alarmed me at the time; you were
awfully impressive."
 
Papa could not help smiling a little. "Was I?" he said. "Well, I
meant to be. I the women to be extremely superstitious; I have heard them confess
to a belief in spirits and apparitions; and it flashed across me that the best
thing I could do, to prevent them destroying the will, was to touch them on that
score, and I do think it is safe for a time. One of the worst features to my mind
is the appearance of that Father Eustace. Where does he come from? Who sent for
him? They said he had come from abroad, and as he is an Italian, they must have
telegraphed for him."
 
"I think I can find that out," Harry said. "Dick Thornton, who is
one of the telegraph clerks, was at school with me, and I have no doubt I can get
out of him who the message was sent to, and who sent it, even if I cannot get the
words themselves."
 
"Do," Mr. Petersfield said; "that message might be of great value to
us."
 
"By the way, Mr. Petersfield," papa said, "there is a point which
has just occurred to me, which may serve to guide us materially in our search. Do
you keep all Mr. Harmer's deeds and papers?"
 
"Not all; we keep the title-deeds of the property, and that sort of thing, but
he himself keeps the copies of his tenants' leases, and papers of that kind, to
which he may have occasion to refer in his dealings with them. But why do you ask
the question?"
 
"It is a very important one, my dear sir, and I am pleased with your
answer."
 
"How so?" the lawyer asked, rather puzzled.
 
"In this way: if the will had been the only important document at Harmer
Place, it might have been kept in any of the drawers we searched to-day, and the
Misses Harmer might have removed it last week, and either destroyed or concealed it
in their rooms, or in any other place, where we could never find it. Now, we have
every reason to believe it is not so, for in that case, they would have left the
leases, and other documents, and we should have found them. It is quite clear to my
mind, then, that Mr. Harmer had some secret place of concealment, to which he
alluded when he told your clerk that all the burglars in the world could not find
it; and in this place of concealment the whole of these papers, together with the
will, are stowed away, and the Misses Harmer, who no doubt know of the existence of
this place of concealment, will be perhaps content to let them remain there, and
relying upon the secrecy of the hiding-place, will not be tempted to destroy the
will."
 
"Capital, my dear sir," Mr. Petersfield exclaimed energetically,
"you are quite right, and it is indeed, as you say, a great point gained.
Before, we had a solitary document to look for, which might be contained and hid
away in any small space, a drawer with a double bottom, a woman's desk, or sewed up
in her stays—I beg your pardon, Miss Ashleigh—in fact, in any small
out-of-the-way corner. Now we have some regular receptacle to look for, capable of
holding bulky documents—at any rate, a good-sized box. This is indeed a great
point gained. There the will is beyond doubt, for I think the Miss Harmers' faces
were quite sufficient evidence that it is not destroyed; besides, we may reasonably
suppose that the box is not concealed about the Misses Harmer's rooms, but is where
it was originally placed by their brother; the question arises, 'Where the deuce is
that?'"
 
"I can guess where it is," I said.
 
"Where?" the other three exclaimed, simultaneously.
 
"In the 'priest's chamber,' wherever that may be," I answered. "I
remember well, that when I was once talking to Mr. Harmer about the old times, and
old houses and their hiding-places, he said that Harmer Place was celebrated as
having one of the snuggest hiding-places in the kingdom, and that many a priest had
lain hidden there for months. I asked him if he knew where it was, and he told me
that he did; for that when a boy he had gone into it on some occasion or other with
his father, and that when he came back and took possession of the house, he had
again examined it, and found it such a snug hiding-place, that he used it as a sort
of strong room; he promised that some day or other he would show it to me, but I
never thought to ask him, and, unfortunately, he never mentioned it again."
 
"By Jove," Harry exclaimed, "we shall find it yet!" while papa
and Mr. Petersfield uttered exclamations of surprise and satisfaction.
 
"Sure enough, doctor, the will is in the 'priest's chamber.' The only question
is, how are we to find it, and how are we to get into it when we do?"
 
"I should think there can be no difficulty about that," Harry said;
"all we have to do is to go before a magistrate, and swear that the will is
there, and get a search warrant to examine for it."
 
Mr. Petersfield smiled. "You would find a great difficulty in getting such a
warrant."
 
"Why so?" Harry asked indignantly. "Do you mean to say that if we
knew there was a will hidden in a certain place, which will left us all the
property, that we should have no right to go in and search for it?"
 
"It would be a very delicate matter indeed," Mr. Petersfield said,
"very delicate; but still not impossible. By the 7 and 8 statute of the 14 of
George, chapter 29, s. 22, it is enacted that if any person shall either during the
lifetime or after the death of any person steal, or for any fraudulent purpose
conceal any will, codicil, or other testamentary instrument, they shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof, be liable to various punishments.
And by the same statute, chapter 29, s. 63, it says if any credible witness shall
prove upon oath before a justice of the peace, a reasonable cause to suspect that
any person has in his possession, or on his premises, any property whatsoever, or
in respect to which any such offence (such as stealing a will, &c.,) shall have
been committed, the justice may grant a warrant to search for such property, as in
the case of stolen goods. Now by this Act it is clear that a warrant could be
obtained upon an affidavit that you believed, as you do believe, that the will
exists; but that would not allow you to pull the house to pieces, and it is quite
certain that in no other way would you discover a chamber built for the purpose of
concealment, and which you say baffled the priest-hunters of the old time—men
who were pretty well accustomed to the finding of this sort of hiding-place, and
who knew exactly where they were likely to be situated. You would never find it;
and even while you were searching for it, Miss Harmer might enter by the secret
door—wherever that may be—and abstract or destroy the will, without
your being one bit the wiser; or, at any rate, she would be certain after you had
given up the hopeless search and left, to destroy the will to prevent the
possibility of your ever trying again with better fortune. No, your best course is
to find out, first, where the chamber is; next, how to get into it; and when these
two points are discovered, we can arrange about going in and taking possession of
the will without asking any one's leave in the matter. That is, I believe, our only
chance of recovering it—by strategy. Take one of the servants into your pay,
and get her to search for the chamber. This I leave to you, as of course you are
acquainted with some of the domestics. I do not know that I have anything more
which I can suggest at present. Should anything strike me, I will write from town,
and, as I go by the early train, I will now, with your permission, retire to bed.
You will of course write to me immediately you find out anything which may seem to
you to have the smallest bearing upon the affair. I should especially advise that
you do not hint to any one your belief in the existence of the will, as it may get
to Miss Harmer's ears; and although, if she believes that no search is being made
for it, she may be content to let it remain for years concealed as at present, you
may be assured that should she believe that you are working to find it, either she
or the priest will destroy it at once." We all agreed in the propriety of
following this advice, and then separated for the night.
 
The next morning I got up at six, to make breakfast for Mr. Petersfield before he
started. He was pleased at my having done so. We had not much time for talk, but
before he went, I said,—
 
"Honestly, Mr. Petersfield, do you think we shall ever find the will?"
 
"Honestly, my dear Miss Ashleigh, I am very much afraid you never will. It is
a lamentable affair, and I am certain in my own mind that it is in existence, and
that its place of concealment is known to the Misses Harmer; but under the
circumstances of the case, I feel assured that, even on their death-beds, there is
no chance of their ever revealing where it is. Your only chance, in my mind, is in
finding the hiding-place; direct all your energies to this point; find that
chamber, and you may be assured you will find the will."
 
When the others came down to breakfast at nine o'clock, I proposed that we should
return at once to Canterbury; but papa said that this affair would cause so much
talk and excitement in the place, that we should be quite overwhelmed with calls
from every one, and have to repeat the whole story a dozen times a day, which would
be a terrible infliction, and that as he and Harry would be mostly out, I should
have to bear the whole brunt of the attack. So it was settled that we should stay
there, at any rate a week or ten days longer, until the first stir and excitement
were over. So papa and Harry went over every day to Canterbury, and I remained
quietly down at Ramsgate. For some days they brought back no news of any
importance, but one day towards the end of the week papa came back to dinner alone,
and Harry did not arrive until nearly ten o'clock. As he came in he told us that he
had had a long chat with his friend Thornton of the telegraph office.
 
"And what have you learnt, Harry?" I asked.
 
"I will tell you all about it, my dear, directly I have made myself
comfortable;" and he proceeded with the most provoking coolness to take off
his coat and gloves, and to arrange himself in a chair before the fire. "Now I
will tell you. I went down to the station to-day, and there I saw Dick Thornton. He
shook hands with me, and said—what every one says—'This is a bad job,
Harry.' 'A devilish bad job' I answered."
 
"Never mind the expletives, Harry," I put in, "we can imagine
them."
 
"Don't interrupt me, Agnes, or I won't tell you anything. 'I want to have a
chat with you, Thornton,' I said. 'When can I see you?' 'I don't get away from here
till six.' 'Well, suppose you come round to our place and have a chat with me when
you get away.' 'Done,' he said. Accordingly I had a snug little dinner cooked, got
a bottle of wine up from the cellar, and at about half-past six Dick came in. After
we had dined, and had talked over the whole affair, I told him he could do me a
great service by telling me whether the Misses Harmer had sent off a telegraphic
message, and if so, where. 'It would lose me my place, if it were known I had told
you, Harry,' he said. 'I know it would,' I answered; 'but what you say will not go
any further; indeed it is more as a matter of curiosity that we may find out where
the priest came from, than from any action we can take from it.' 'Well, Harry,' he
said, 'I will tell you all about it, and you can make what use you like of it; the
place is not so first-rate that I should care very much if I did get the sack in
consequence. One of the servants from Harmer Place—I should say Miss Harmer's
own maid, for she was a stiff foreign-looking woman—came down upon that
Friday afternoon, with a note and a message. I was alone at the time, for the other
clerk happened to be away. The message was in Italian; it was that which made me
notice it particularly, and when I got home I took the trouble to get a dictionary
to see what it was about. I could not make much of it, and I forget the Italian
words, but the English was—"To the Bishop of Ravenna, Italy. He is
dead—much can be done, if lawful, for the mother—send advice and
assistance." 'And did you get an answer,' I asked. 'Yes, the answer came on
Sunday morning; I always attend there between half-past nine and half-past ten. It
was also in Italian. "All is lawful for the mother—advice and aid have
started."'"
 
"Father Eustace to wit," papa said.
 
"That is all," Harry concluded, "that Thornton told me. Of course I
said I was very much obliged to him, and that I would take good care that it never
was known from whom I got the information. And now, I suppose the mother they talk
of means Mother Church, but who is the Bishop of Ravenna?"
 
"I remember," papa said thoughtfully, "that about three years ago
Miss Harmer said she was delighted to hear that the confessor, or visitor, or
whatever they call him, of the convent where they formerly lived so many years, and
where they always stayed whenever they went upon the Continent, had just been made
a bishop; and her only regret was that it was to some place in the north of Italy,
whereas their convent was at Florence. I remember the fact specially, because,
after the sisters had left the room, their poor brother said to me, 'Between you
and I, doctor, I should have been much better pleased to have heard that the
excellent priest had received his promotion to heaven. That man has had a complete
ascendancy over my sisters for many years. He is, I believe, some four or five
years younger than they are, but at any rate he has been the confessor or whatever
it is of their convent, ever since they were there, twenty-four or five years ago.
He is, I judge by what they say, a gloomy fanatical man, whose ambition is to do
service to his Church, and, I suppose, rise in it—at any rate, he has a
complete ascendancy over them, by his ascetic life and devotion to the Church. They
correspond with him frequently, and I cannot help thinking that his advice and
orders—given in his letters, and whenever they go over there, which they do
constantly—have tended greatly to make them the gloomy unhappy women they
are. They were, it is true, brought up with extreme strictness and austerity, but I
cannot help thinking that much of that would have worn off, if it had not been for
this man's influence.'
 
"No doubt," papa continued, "Mr. Harmer was right, and all their
actions are dictated by this priest; it was he who ordered them to make friends
with their brother, at Gerald Harmer's death, and to come over here and take up
their abode,—I know they were at that convent when they heard the news, and
that they had announced their intention of staying there permanently—and now
he has sent over this Father Eustace. The man looks a religious enthusiast, and
there is no doubt that he will never allow them to change their minds even were
they disposed. Altogether, my children, it is evident the only remaining chance is
to find out the secret chamber. If we can discover that, well and good; if not, it
will be wiser for us, painful as the disappointment is, to give up all hope of
finding the will, and to endeavour to go on as if it had never had an existence. It
is a most unfortunate affair now, Sir John having died."
 
"It is, indeed," Harry answered, "Sir John would have pushed me on,
and I should have had no difficulty, even without capital, in making my way."
 
Sir John, to whom papa alluded, I should say was the engineer to whom Harry had
been articled. Harry's time had run out now three or four months, and he was only
remaining in the North on a small salary, completing the piece of work on which he
was engaged. His old master had died only a month before this time. When this piece
of work was finished, Harry had intended buying a partnership in some good
business, with the ￡10,000 Mr. Harmer had promised him for the purpose.
 
"Yes, it is very unfortunate his having died," Harry said; "unless
one has a good patron of that sort to push one on, it makes up-hill work of it. Not
that I care much; I can fight my way well enough;" and Harry stretched his
great shoulders, and looked as confident and cheerful as if he had just gained a
legacy, instead of losing one. "I shall go back in another two or three days
to my work," he said; "it will not last much more than another month; and
in the meantime I shall be on the look-out for something else."

---------------CHAPTER II. SWIFT RETRIBUTION.------------

 Sophy Gregory might have excited pity even in the minds of her enemies could
they have seen her as she lay, pale and sad, in her lonely room, during the long
hours of the day upon which her husband had gone down to hear the reading of the
will of Mr. Harmer. The week which had passed since she left home had indeed been a
terrible one. Her punishment had followed, bitter and heavy, ere the fault was
scarce committed. Only one day of happiness and life, and then that crushing blow
which met her the very day after her marriage, in the words of the telegraphic
message, "Mr. Harmer is dead." It had reached them at York, where, after
wandering through the old streets, they had come back to their hotel to lunch. It
lay upon their table. Robert had opened it eagerly. Sophy needed not that he should
tell her what were its contents. The sudden start, the deadly pallor, the look of
horror that he could not control, told their tale too plainly. Her grandfather was
dead; she had killed him.
 
She did not faint, she did not scream; one faint, low, wailing cry broke from her,
and then she stood, rigid and immovable, her eyes open and staring, her lips
parted, and every vestige of colour gone from her face. One hand clasped her
throat; the other, clenched and rigid, rested on the table.
 
Robert Gregory forgot his own heavy interest in the news, forgot that a fortune
might have been gained or lost by the few words of that telegram. Sophy's face
frightened him as he had never been frightened before. He spoke to her, he called
her every loving name; but it was of no avail. No movement of the rigid face, no
change in the fixed eyes, showed that she had heard him. He dared not touch her;
she might break into dreadful shrieks—her reason might be gone. What was he
to do? He pealed at the bell, and then went to the door, and told the waiter who
answered it to beg the landlady to come up instantly. In another minute the
landlady arrived, all of a fluster—as she afterwards expressed it when
describing the matter—at this sudden summons, and at the brief account the
waiter had given her of the manner of Robert Gregory.
 
"My wife has had a terrible shock; she has just heard of the sudden death of
her father, and I don't know what to do with her. She does not hear me; I am afraid
she is going to be ill or something terrible. For God's sake speak to her, or do
something or other." Such was the hurried greeting which met her at the door.
 
The landlady was somewhat accustomed to sudden emergencies, but she saw at a glance
that this was beyond her, and she said to the waiter, who had followed her up, to
hear, if possible, what was the matter,—
 
"James, the lady is ill. Send Hannah here with some cold water, and my scent
bottle, and run across to Dr. Cope's opposite, and tell him to come over at once.
If he is out, run for the nearest doctor."
 
Then, closing the door, she advanced towards Sophy.
 
"Don'tye, don'tye, take on so, dear!" she said, in a kind, motherly way,
as if she was speaking to a little child; "don't, now, for your husband's
sake; try and rouse yourself, dear." But it was no use. There was a slight, a
very slight quiver of the eyelids, but no other sign of life or movement.
 
The landlady paused. She was almost as much frightened at Sophy's face as Robert
Gregory had been, and she dared not touch the rigid hand. They stood, one on each
side of her, watching her helplessly; with faces almost as much blanched by
apprehension as was her own and listening breathlessly for the footstep of the
doctor outside. It was not long in coming, although it seemed an age to them. He
entered quietly: a tall, slight man, with silvered hair, and took the whole state
of things in at a glance.
 
"A sudden shock?" he asked; and then gave orders to the servant to bring
such things as were necessary. Then he spoke to Sophy, and put his finger upon the
motionless wrist. "It is a serious case, sir," he said to Robert,
"very serious; the shock to the brain has been very great. I must bleed her;
it is the only thing to be done. Help me to place her upon the sofa."
 
Between them they gently lifted the rigid figure and placed her, half sitting, half
lying, upon the sofa. There was no sign of consciousness. In another minute the
doctor had opened a vein in her arm. At first no blood came, then a few dark drops,
and then gradually a steady stream.
 
The doctor gave a sigh of relief. Still the blood flowed, on and on, till Robert
Gregory was frightened at the quantity, and looked anxiously at the doctor, who,
with his fingers on her pulse, was watching Sophy's face. Presently a change came
over the stony expression, the eyes lost their fixed look, the eyelids began to
droop down, and the whole figure to yield; then, as she fell back on the sofa, he
prepared to stop the bleeding.
 
It had had its effect; Sophy had fainted. The first crisis was over, but not as yet
was the danger past. Very anxiously they watched her waking, and intense was the
relief when they found that she was conscious of what had happened; but there were
still grave apprehensions for the future. Weak as she was, she was in a state of
almost delirious grief and excitement; indeed, at times her mind wandered.
 
No reproaches which the Misses Harmer had lavished upon her were one-tenth as
severe as those she bestowed upon herself. Over and over again she called herself
her grandfather's murderess. Constantly she pictured up harrowing scenes of his
death, and how he had died, invoking the curse of heaven upon her and hers with his
latest breath. Above all, she insisted on returning at any rate to London, that
Robert might go down to Canterbury to hear the particulars.
 
The doctor had a long talk next day with Robert, who explained, to some extent, the
facts of the case.
 
"I hardly know what to do, Mr. Gregory. Your wife is in a most critical state.
She has set her mind upon going to London, and ill as she is, I almost question
whether there would not be less danger in her doing so than remaining here in her
present state of nervous anxiety. It is most essential that, if possible, her mind
should be relieved of the present strain, and that she should obtain some
intelligence as to the last moments of her adopted father. You tell me that he had
a seizure before; it is likely, therefore, that the present attack was very sudden,
and in that case he may not—probably would not—have said anything
against her. This alone would be a relief to her; and, at any rate, she would be
pacified by knowing that she was doing all she could to learn the truth. I fear
that brain fever will be the termination of her attack, but its character may be
modified if her present anxiety is to some extent allayed. By applying to-day at
the railway office, you can have a carriage with a sleeping couch ready by to-
morrow, and I should advise your taking her up without delay. Of course, upon your
arrival there, you will at once call in medical assistance."
 
And so it was carried out. Sophy bore the journey better than could have been
anticipated; indeed, the very fact that she was getting nearer to Canterbury
soothed and satisfied her. But she was still in an almost delirious state of
remorse and grief. The doctor who was called in to her had shaken his head in
talking over her case with her husband, and had told him that unless her mind could
be relieved from the terrible weight upon it, he would not answer for her reason.
 
And so, leaving a nurse to take care of Sophy, Robert Gregory went down to
Canterbury and saw Dr. Ashleigh. The news which he brought back of Mr. Harmer's
forgiveness before his death, saved her from an attack of brain fever, if not from
entire loss of reason. And yet, although it allayed her fears, and relieved her
mind of the harrowing pictures of her grandfather's death which she had before
conjured up so constantly, it scarcely lessened her sorrow and remorse; indeed, the
knowledge that his forgiveness had been so instant, and his last thoughts those of
kindness to her, caused her to reproach herself more than ever; but her grief was
now quieter, and the doctor believed that she would escape the fever he had feared
for her. She could now shed tears, and in long and bitter fits of crying found
exhaustion and relief. In another two or three days she was calmer and better.
 
Robert had been everything which was kind and consoling to her, and very gentle and
thoughtful in his talk and manners. In her wildest outbursts of grief she had never
blamed him for his share in her fault, and would not listen to the reproaches
which, in the hope of relieving her conscience somewhat, he would have gladly
bestowed upon himself. But this Sophy would not allow. He had not deceived a
benefactor; he had been actuated only by his love for her, and his entreaties for
her to elope with him had been but natural; it was she only who had been wrong and
wicked in neglecting her plain duty, and in deceiving her more than father; and
upon her, and her only, must the blame and grief fall.
 
She was very quiet and pale, as she lay that day that he had gone down to the
funeral, and she waited and thought all those long hours that he was abroad. She
thought a good deal of the future, and planned that they should go upon the
Continent first for a while, and upon their return spend the great proportion of
their income in doing good, living quietly themselves upon very little; she thought
that in any other way she should feel as if this fortune were a curse to her, for
it had never even occurred to her that Mr. Harmer might have altered his will.
 
It was late in the evening before Robert returned; he came in quiet and grave, but
with no sign of passion or disappointment upon his face as he kissed her, and asked
her how she had been all the long day. Robert Gregory was not a good man. In many
respects he was bad and vicious; but, as in most men, there was some good in him,
and what there was came out at its brightest in his relations with Sophy.
 
Deep as had been his disappointment, bitter and fierce the invectives and curses
which, during his journey, he had showered upon the Misses Harmer, his own
unfortunate luck, and upon the world in general, yet, as he approached the hotel,
he curbed himself in, and became calm and quiet. As he thought of her love and
suffering, of the sacrifices her attachment for him would entail upon her, and upon
her trust in himself, he determined that, come what might, she should not see his
disappointment, and that in addition to her other troubles, she should never come
to know that he had married her for her money; and as he came into the room where
she was lying, pale and weak, upon the sofa, his brow cleared, his voice softened,
and he tried, and tried hard, that she should see no sign in his face of that
bitter sense of disappointment he was feeling in his breast.
 
Sophy answered his inquiries as to her health, and then, as he sat down on a chair
close to the sofa, so that she could lean her head upon his arm, and look up into
his face, she said,—
 
"I am afraid that this has been a very painful day for you, Robert?"
 
"Not very pleasant, love," he said, almost cheerfully; "but, of
course, I had made up my mind for that."
 
"Did you see the Misses Harmer, Robert, and did they say anything about me?
"
 
"I saw them, Sophy, but we did not exchange many words."
 
"And Dr. Ashleigh, did he speak as kindly as before?"
 
"More so, Sophy; he could not have been more kind; he took me back in his
carriage to the station."
 
Sophy looked pleased. There was a little silence. Robert did not know how to
announce his intelligence, and his wife considered all that part of the affair as
so much a matter of course that she did not even think it necessary to ask any
question about it. In a short time Sophy went on,—
 
"Do you know, Robert, I have been thinking so much about the future, and I
think that when we come back from our travels we ought to put aside almost all our
money to do good with."
 
"My dear," Robert said, gently, "I hardly think we need enter into
that now, for an event has occurred which will alter all our plans. The fact is,
darling, the will is missing."
 
"The will missing, Robert!" Sophy repeated, opening her eyes in
astonishment—"how can it be missing?"
 
"It is a curious business, darling, and looks very bad. Mr. Harmer, it seems,
had it down some little time since to make some slight alteration. We know that he
did not destroy it upon that morning, but it is not to be found, and there is
strong reason for supposing that the Misses Harmer have concealed it. In that case,
although it may yet turn up, still we must look the worst in the face, and consider
that it is very probable that it may never be heard of again."
 
"And in that case should I get nothing?" Sophy asked, eagerly.
 
"Not one penny, Sophy; it will all go to the Misses Harmer."
 
Sophy closed her eyes, and leaned back, with a faint "Thank God!" She
looked upon it as a punishment—as a sort of atonement for her fault. Then in
an instant a fresh thought struck her. How would Robert bear it? Would he love her
any the less, now she was penniless, instead of being a great heiress? And she
looked up again with a frightened, inquiring glance into his eyes. He bore it well,
and said, gently,—
 
"We must bear it bravely, Sophy. It is, of course, a heavy blow. I have never
disguised from you how I am situated. Still, darling, we must do our best, and I
have no doubt we shall pull through somehow. I am very sorry for your sake, dear,
and I bitterly accuse myself for tempting you. It will be a different life from
what you expected, but I will try hard to make it easy for you."
 
He spoke tenderly and earnestly, for he, at the time, almost felt what he said.
Sophy had raised herself, and, as he finished, was crying softly, with her head
upon his shoulder, but her tears were quite different to those which she had shed
during the last week.
 
"I am not crying, Robert, because I have lost the fortune—I am crying
because I am so happy. I know now that you love me quite for my own sake, and not
for my money."
 
"You did not doubt it, did you, Sophy?" her husband asked, rather
reproachfully, although he felt that he was but a hypocrite while he said so.
 
"I never really doubted you, Robert—no, no—I would not have
married you if I had. At times, when I felt low, I could not help wondering how
much my money had to do with it, but I always drove away the thought, dearest, as
an injustice to you; and now I shall never think so again. Do you know, Robert,
this news has been quite a relief to me? I should always have felt that the wealth
was a burden; and now that I am punished for my fault, I shall not reproach myself
quite so much with it. But I am sorry for your sake, dear. It must be a great blow
for you, and I feel how kind it is of you to hide your disappointment for my sake.
I will try very hard, Robert, to make it up to you by loving you more and more; and
you shall see what a useful little wife I will make you as soon as I get strong
again, which I mean to do very fast now."

---------------CHAPTER III. THE SEARCH COMMENCED.------------

 Papa wrote several times in the fortnight following the funeral of Mr. Harmer
to Robert Gregory, in answer to his letters inquiring what progress he was making
towards the discovery of the will. At the end of that time I received a letter from
Sophy, and from the handwriting I could see how ill and shaken she must be. Her
letter was very, very pitiful; she was still evidently suffering the greatest
remorse and sorrow for the death of Mr. Harmer, and she said "she was sure she
should never have recovered at all had she not received the news of the forgiveness
he had written to her before he died." It had been a dreadful shock to her;
but she accepted the loss of her fortune as a deserved punishment for her wicked
conduct. "My husband," she said, "is very kind indeed to me; and it
is on my account entirely that he regrets the loss of the fortune, as he says that
my listening to him has been my ruin." If the will was not found shortly, he
intended to get something to do, and she meant to try to get some pupils for music.
She begged me to write to her, for that I was the only person she could hope to be
a friend to her now.
 
Of course I answered her letter, and from that time we kept up an occasional
correspondence.
 
Papa told me that in his early letters to him, Robert Gregory had expressed his
determination to discover the will at all hazards, but that he had now, to a
certain extent, acquiesced in papa's view, that an unsuccessful attempt would be
certain to prove the signal for the instant destruction of the will, and that
therefore nothing should be attempted unless success was pretty certain. Robert
Gregory was the more obliged to acquiesce in this decision, as far as he was
personally concerned, for he was unable to appear in Canterbury, as he would have
been arrested if he had done so.
 
We returned from Ramsgate, as we had agreed upon, about a fortnight after the
funeral. Harry having already left for the North, papa would still further have
postponed our return; but I said it would be very unpleasant whenever we returned,
and we might as well go through it sooner as later.
 
Indeed, I got through the next fortnight better than I had expected. Every one, of
course, came to call; but by that time people had heard pretty well all there was
to tell,—namely, that the will was missing,—so that all I had to do was
to receive their condolences. Almost all were, I believe, sincerely sorry for us,
and every one remarked what an extraordinary business it was; indeed, popular
opinion was strongly against the Misses Harmer, whom every one accused of having
hidden the will. However, papa and I were careful never by any remarks of ours to
appear to confirm these suspicions, as it was evidently our best policy to keep
quiet, and let the matter seem to drop.
 
In the meanwhile I had commenced taking steps towards what was now our only hope,
the discovery of the "priest's chamber."
 
The day after I returned from Ramsgate, I went round the garden to see how things
were looking after my long absence, and I found our servant Andrew—who acted
in the general capacity of coachman, groom, and gardener, having a boy under him to
assist in all these labours—busy banking up some long rows of celery, an
article on which he particularly prided himself. Andrew had been in papa's service
a great many years, and papa would not have parted with him on any account. He was
a very faithful, attached old man. When I say old man, I believe he was not more
than seven or eight and forty; but he looked much older: his face was pinched and
weatherbeaten, he stooped very much, walked with a short, quick, shuffling step,
and looked as if he were momentarily on the point of falling. This was not to be
wondered at, for he had never, as long as I can remember, had any legs to speak of;
and now there did not seem to be the least flesh upon them. They looked, as Harry
once said, exactly like a pair of very crooked mop-sticks; and as he always dressed
in drab breeches and gaiters to match, it showed the extraordinary thinness of his
legs to the greatest advantage. Andrew, however, had not the least idea but that he
was an active, able man; and, indeed, would sometimes in confidence lament to
me,—
 
"Master going out in wet, cold nights to visit patients."
 
"But it is much worse for you than for him, Andrew," I would urge;
"you are outside all in the wet, while he is inside in shelter."
 
"Lor', Miss Agnes, it is no account along of me. I am a young man by the side
of master. He must be nigh fifteen years older than I am."
 
And so he was; but papa was a hale, active man, whereas poor Andrew looked as if a
strong wind would blow him off his seat on the box. Even when he was at his best,
and came to papa when we first went to Canterbury, and he was only thirty, I have
heard papa say that he never had been at all strong; and yet he was so willing, and
careful, and indefatigable, that papa put a great value on him.
 
Andrew ceased from working among the celery when I came up, and, touching his hat
to me, inquired how I had been all this longtime.
 
"Bad doings at Harmer Place, Miss," he said, after a few remarks about
the weather, the garden, and the horses.
 
"Are there, Andrew?" I asked; "anything new?"
 
"Very bad, Miss; half the servants have had notice to leave. There's my Mary,
who has been there three years last Michaelmas, and who your papa was kind enough
to recommend there as housemaid—she's got warning, and she came to me last
night as savage as ever was; not because she was going to leave, miss—don't
go to think such a thing; but she wanted to have given warning at once, when we
found that Miss Harmer had hid away the will, and cheated you all out of your
money. But I said to her, 'Don't you go to do nothing in a hurry, Mary; the will is
hid away, and you may be useful somehow in watching what they two old
cats—saving your presence, Miss Agnes—is up to. At any rate, you wait.'
And now she's got warning to go, and she's as savage as may be that she did not
have the first word. Didn't she let on to me last night though, till her mother up
and told her to sit down and hold her tongue; but it were enough to aggravate the
girl, surely."
 
"I am sorry to hear that she will have to leave, Andrew, both for her own sake
and because she might, as you say, have been useful to us in making a few
inquiries."
 
"That's just what I said to my son Thomas last night when Mary came in with
the news; but he said that it did not matter so much on that account, because his
Sarah's not got warning to leave, and she will find out everything that is
wanted."
 
"And who is your son Thomas's Sarah?" I asked, smiling.
 
"She is the under-housemaid, Miss; and she used to go out walks with Mary on
her Sunday evenings out. Thomas, he used to go out to meet his sister, and so met
Sarah too; at last he goes to meet her more than Mary, and, I suppose, one of these
days they will get married. She is one of the few that are to stay, Miss, for most
of the old ones are going because they don't mean to keep so many servants, and
they have got some new ones coming. All those who are going were recommended to Mr.
Harmer by Master; and they seem to have picked them out a-purpose. Now Sarah was
not; she came from the other end of the county, and was recommended to Mr. Harmer
by some lady last year, at the time of all those grand doings over there; and as
they don't know that her young man Thomas is my son, seeing he is in service in
another place, they have not given her warning to go."
 
"And do you think, Andrew, that Sarah would be willing to do anything to help
us?"
 
"Lor' bless you, Miss, she would do anything for you; she said the other day
she would, and that she did not care whether she lost her place or not; she did not
want to stop with thieves. Oh, you may depend on her, Miss."
 
"Well, Andrew, do you think I could get her to come here and have a talk with
me quietly?"
 
"Sure enough, Miss Agnes. To-day is Friday. On Sunday evening she goes out,
and will walk into town with Mary—and for the matter of that, with Tom
too—and she can very well come here; no one will know her in the dark, and so
she will be quite safe."
 
Accordingly, on Sunday evening our maid came in to say that Andrew's daughter,
Mary, and another young woman, were in the hall, and would be glad to see me. And
so Mary and Thomas's Sarah were shown in. Mary I knew well; indeed she had learnt
her work with us as under-housemaid before she went to Mr. Harmer's. She was a
stout, well-made, active girl, with a good-natured honest face, but I should have
had some hesitation in entrusting any delicate and difficult task to her. Thomas's
Sarah, I felt at once, had tact and intelligence sufficient for my purpose, and I
was sure that I could trust her, and that she would do exactly for what I required.
 
Thomas had certainly shown good taste in his selection, for his Sarah was a very
pretty little girl,—a slight active figure, a bright clear complexion, brown
hair waving back off her forehead, a cheerful smile, large speaking eyes with a
little touch of sauciness in them—which I fancied would sometimes vex and
puzzle Thomas, who was a steady matter-of-fact young groom, not a little—and
a very prettily cut nose and mouth. I was altogether very much taken with her
appearance.
 
I asked them to take seats, and Sarah at once began:—
 
"Miss Ashleigh, I am told by"—and here she paused a little,
coloured, and ended by telling a story and saying—"Mary, that I could be
of service to you. I can only say that I shall be glad to do so by any means in my
power; we are all at Harmer Place very sorry at your losing your rights, and should
rejoice to see you restored to them."
 
Sarah expressed herself so well that I was really quite surprised. I thanked her
for her offer, and said, "You can, indeed, do us a service which may turn out
of great importance. Now I do not disguise from you, it will cost you your place if
you are discovered; but I need not say that we will take care that you shall be no
loser by that. Now I will at once tell you how we stand at present, and what we
want to find out. We know, or at least are nearly sure, that the will exists, and
that it is with some other papers large enough to fill a good-sized box. Now we
strongly believe that this box is hidden away in a secret room we know to exist in
the house; and what we want to find out is, where is that secret room? It must be a
pretty good size—I mean much larger than a mere closet—because we know
people used to lay hid there in old times." Sarah nodded, as much as to say
that she had heard legends of the "priest's chamber." "Now, Sarah,
the first thing we want to discover is the whereabouts of this room—and this
can only be done in one way. I want the exact dimensions—that is to say, the
measure, the height, length, and breadth, of every room, passage, closet, and
staircase in the old part of the house; because as this room existed in the old
time, it is only in the central part of the house, which was the original building,
that the secret chamber need be looked for. When I have got all these measurements,
and put them all down upon paper, I shall see where there is a space to fill up. Do
you understand?"
 
Sarah did not quite understand; so I got a sheet of paper, drew a rough plan of a
house, and explained the matter more fully.
 
Sarah understood now, and at once entered into it with all her heart.
 
"You see," I said, "we want the exact position of the doors,
windows, and chimneys. Here is a small pocket-book and pencil: take one page for
each room; mark down first in this way, the extreme length and breadth, then the
positions of the doors and windows thus, and put 'in small figures' their distances
from each other."
 
I then showed her a small plan of Harmer Place, which I had drawn from my
recollection of it, and Sarah understood perfectly what she had to do.
 
"Make a notch the length of a yard on the handle of your broom," I said,
"and measure the exact length of the bottom of your apron. With your broom you
can get the height of the room, and with your apron the other measurements, so that
you will be able to get all the sizes; and even if you are disturbed, no one would
have the slightest idea of what you are doing."
 
I then asked her to measure the room we were in, and to make a little sort of plan
of it, and I found her so quick and intelligent, that I felt certain she would
execute her task with sufficient accuracy to enable us to find out where the secret
room was situated.
 
The two girls then took their leave, and I really felt strong hope in the success
of my plan—not indeed that it was mine, for it was Harry's idea entirely, and
I only gave her the instructions he had previously given me.
 
After this, a small packet arrived every week, sent by Sarah, through Thomas, to
his father, containing seven or eight leaves of the pocket-book.
 
In little more than a month we had all the measurements, and were enabled to make
out the entire plan, in doing which, of course our previous knowledge of the house
assisted us greatly. Papa assisted me in this. I had not, at first, told him
anything of what I was doing, as I wished that, in case by any chance my scheme was
detected, he should be able to say that he knew nothing about it. At last, however,
I was obliged to let him into the secret, and when I told him, he was very much
interested and pleased; and I do not think that I should ever have succeeded in
putting the parts together, and certainly have never arrived at any accurate
conclusion, without his assistance.
 
When it was done, we found the blank space precisely where we had anticipated that
we should do. It is difficult to explain the exact position, but I will endeavour
to do so.
 
On entering the house, from the front, one found oneself in a large square hall,
from one side of which the library opened, and from the other the dining-room.
Opposite to the front door was an immense fireplace, in which still stood two large
iron dogs, and in which in winter a great wood fire always blazed; on one side of
this fireplace, the grand staircase went up, and on the other a passage led down to
a room which had originally been a drawing-room, but which, from its windows being
at the back of the house, had been long since turned into a kitchen; the
fireplace of this room stood back to back to the one in the hall. It was in
the block contained in the square formed by the backs of the kitchen and hall, the
staircase and the passage, that we came to the conclusion that the secret room must
be, for, even allowing for immense thickness of masonry, there was yet a large
space unaccounted for. On the floor above there was also a space, directly over
this, considerably larger than would have been required for the chimneys of the
hall and kitchen fire, even had there been two of them—which there were not,
for Sarah found that the chimney of the hall made almost a right angle, and ran
into the kitchen chimney.
 
Papa, after going very carefully into the measurements, came to the conclusion that
the room itself was situated nearly over the hall fireplace; that it might be some
seven or eight feet long, by five or six wide, and that it could be little over six
feet high. He thought it was approached by some short staircase opening into the
hall fireplace, or into one of the bedrooms above, which abutted on the vacant
space on that floor. One of these rooms had been occupied by Herbert Harmer, and
the other had been, and was still, Miss Harmer's room.
 
Indeed papa suspected both entrances to exist, as by them, in case of necessity,
provisions could be so much more readily and secretly supplied, and escape made in
some disguise from the one exit, should an entrance be forcibly made at the other.
 
"All this is mere guesswork, my dear; but when there is so much ground to go
upon as we have got, one can guess very closely indeed to the truth."
 
"And where should you think, papa, that the entrance is most likely to be
discovered?"
 
"Most likely in the hall fireplace. The back and sides, if I remember right,
are formed of iron, with rude ornaments upon it. The mantelpiece, too, is of old
oak, and is covered with carving; undoubtedly in some of all this the secret spring
is concealed. The hall is the best place to try for another reason; early in the
morning, and at various times indeed, Sarah might search among all these ornaments
and knobs for the spring, and if any one came suddenly into the hall, her presence
there would appear only natural; whereas in either of the bedrooms, and especially
that of Mr. Harmer, which is not now in use, she could hardly be often without
exciting suspicion."
 
Sarah came on the following Saturday evening, and I showed her the plan we had
made, and explained to her where we thought the entrance was, and how she was most
likely to find the secret spring.
 
Sarah was much pleased with the success which had so far attended her efforts, and
promised to find the spring if it existed. She said she would get up half an hour
before the other servants, and try every knob and roughness on or near the grate.
 
However, week after week rolled on, and every Saturday came a message, "No
result;" and the week before Christmas she sent to say she had tried every
possible place, but could not find any signs of it. I sent back in answer to ask
her to try all the stones and bricks as far up the chimney as she could reach.
 
With Christmas, Polly came home from school, and this time to stop for good, for
papa could not very well afford to keep her at so expensive a school as Grendon
House; and indeed we wanted her bright face and happy laugh back again among us.
Papa's practice was not very lucrative; it was a large, but not a good-paying one.
A great proportion of it lay among the lower classes; in any serious cases among
them he was always ready to give his time and skill. Indeed for the last three
years, since there was an apparent certainty that we should be all so handsomely
provided for, papa had purposely given up much of his paying practice. Many among
the upper classes have the habit of calling in a medical man on the slightest
pretext, and like him, indeed, to call regularly, and have an hour's chat on all
sorts of subjects; this time papa could not spare, and indeed I know that he said
to two or three of his very best patients,—
 
"You have nothing serious the matter with you. All you want is a little
occasional medicine, and a good chat of a day to do you good and cheer you up; this
I have no time to give you, when I have half a dozen dying people waiting anxiously
for me. Send to Harper; he is a clever fellow; knows all about everything; will
amuse you more than I do. He has a large family, and your money will be of use to
him. If you get seriously ill, and want me, I will of course come to you."
 
So papa had gradually withdrawn himself from much of his paying practice; he had
still an income sufficient to keep us comfortably, but it was not nearly what it
had been four or five years before. However, he was quite content to work as he
did, giving his skill and time to those who most required but were least able to
pay for them.
 
Harry came home, too, a little before Christmas. He had finished his last piece of
work, and had now obtained an appointment of ￡150 a year to superintend a railway
in the course of construction in the north of Ireland.
 
The evening after Christmas Day I received a note from Sarah, saying, that that
morning, she had, in feeling up the chimney, found a projecting knob immediately
behind the mantelpiece; that on pressing this it went into the wall, and that every
time it did so, she could hear a click, but that she could not find that anything
else moved.
 
"Hurrah, Sarah!" Harry shouted when I read the note aloud; "we are
on the right track. 'The king shall enjoy his own again!'" he sang in his
stentorian way.
 
"I really do begin to think we are on the track," papa said. "You
must tell Sarah that no doubt there is some other spring which must be pressed
either together or before or after this; for generally there were two springs to
these old hiding-places, in case one should be touched accidentally."
 
This I told Sarah, who came on the next Sunday evening to see me. She had rather
began to despair before; but now that she had found something tangible she became
quite enthusiastic, and said that she was determined to find the other spring if
she were years engaged in the search. She was now certain that we were right, that
the secret chamber existed, and that the entrance was there, of neither of which
facts had she been quite sure in her own mind before.
 

---------------CHAPTER IV. EVIL DAYS.------------

 With the cheering thought that she was punished, and that perhaps her fault
was thus in some little way atoned for, and with the happy conviction that her
husband loved her for her own sake, and not for that of her money, Sophy Gregory
recovered from the weight of her sorrow and remorse more quickly than could have
been expected; and by the end of another ten days she was able to leave her room,
and go for a little walk leaning upon Robert's arm. That evening they were sitting
before the fire; Robert looking moodily into it, but sometimes rousing himself and
trying to talk pleasantly to Sophy, who was watching him a little anxiously, when
she said, after one of these pauses,—
 
"I think, Robert, now that I am getting strong again, we ought to talk about
the future. I am sure that by the time we have paid all we owe here, we shall not
have much left out of our hundred pounds."
 
Sophy might have said, "my hundred pounds;" for it was she who had
furnished the funds for their elopement. Mr. Harmer had been in the habit of giving
her money from time to time, for which she had little use; and this had, at the
time she left home with Robert Gregory, accumulated to rather more than a hundred
pounds.
 
"The first thing to be done, Robert, is to find some very cheap lodgings. How
cheap could you get two little rooms?"
 
Robert roused himself; he was pleased at Sophy's broaching the subject; for he had
been all day wondering what they were to do, as of course it was out of the
question that they could remain where they were. It was a small private hotel where
Robert had gone the night of their return from Scotland, thinking that their stay
there would not have exceeded three or four days at most, whereas now it had run on
to more than a fortnight.
 
"You are quite right, Sophy, although I did not like to begin the
conversation. It seems so hard for you, accustomed as you have been to luxury, to
go into all the discomfort of small lodgings."
 
"My dear Robert," Sophy said, "please don't talk in that way. I am
your wife, and shall be very happy anywhere with you; besides I have not been
always accustomed to luxury. I was born and lived until I was twelve or thirteen in
a cottage as a poor village girl. And please do not remind me of scenes where I had
no right, and where I never deserved to have been. Do not let us think of the past
at all, Robert; it is perhaps not very pleasant for either of us. Let us think of
the future—it is all before us, and we are not worse off than thousands of
others; but you did not answer my question, how cheap could we get a little parlour
and bedroom?"
 
"We could get them, Sophy, in some out-of-the-way place, such as Islington, or
Camberwell, or Chelsea, at about twelve shillings a week; but remember, they would
be very small."
 
"That is of no consequence at all," Sophy said, cheerfully. "Now I
will tell you what I have been thinking of. I have been thinking that when we have
gone into some little lodgings, and people come to know us, the tradesmen round
will let me put some cards into the windows, saying that a lady wishes to give some
lessons in music, French, and German. If I charge very little, say one shilling an
hour, I should think I might get five or six daily pupils, which would bring us in
some thirty or thirty-six shillings a week, and we might manage on that, Robert,
for a time; after paying our bill here, there will be enough to keep us for some
time till I can get some pupils."
 
"Sophy," Robert said, in a deep, husky voice, "God forgive me, I
have been a great scoundrel. I have ruined you. I have dragged you down to this;
and here are you now, hardly able to walk, offering to support us both. Oh, Sophy,
I wish to heaven I had never known you." And the strong, bad man put his face
between his hands and fairly cried.
 
"But I do not wish so, Robert," Sophy said, getting up from her seat,
taking his hands from his face, kissing him fondly, and then seating herself on his
knees, and nestling up to him as a child might have done; "I do not, and
therefore why should you? Would it not be a pleasure to you to work for both of us,
if you had any way to do so? but as of course you cannot, why should I not have the
pleasure? It need not in any case be for long, dear. Agnes Ashleigh in her letter
this morning says that she does not give up hope, and that she has already got a
servant at Harmer Place to look for the secret chamber; let us wait for the issue
of the search, and let me do as I propose for that time. If after a time the will
cannot be found, will it not be better for us to go either to Australia or America?
I hear any one can get work there, and we will both work and get quite rich, and
that will be much more enjoyable than owing it to another. I am sure Dr. Ashleigh
will lend us enough money to take us out there. What do you think, Robert?"
 
"Yes, darling, it will be far best. I shall never do any good here: out there
I may. But I shall not give up the will for a long time yet; but once assured,
quite assured, that it is not in existence, I shall be ready to start with you at
once."
 
And then they talked over a new life in a new land, as thousands and thousands have
done since then; and the future looked bright and happy out there. Australia is
indeed a land of promise, a bright star in the horizon, to countless numbers whose
fate it never is to reach it; but who have yet—when almost hopeless of
keeping themselves afloat in the fierce struggle for existence in this crowded
land—looked longingly over across the wide ocean, and said, "At the
worst, we can go there, where every strong arm and willing heart is welcome. If we
cannot get on here, we will go." Perhaps they never do go, but still it has
served its purpose; it has given them hope when hope was most needed, and when
without it they might have yielded in despair to the reverses of fortune.
 
The next morning Robert Gregory started in search of lodgings, and returned in the
afternoon, saying that he had found some across in Lambeth, which were very small,
but were clean and respectable, and which were to be had for the twelve shillings a
week. Into this they moved next day, and they found on paying their hotel bill,
that they had twenty pounds left out of Sophy's hundred, and this they calculated
would, with care, last for three months. The lodgings, which were situated in King
Edward Street, Westminster Bridge Road, consisted of a parlour, and bedroom behind
it. The parlour was very small, but clean, and Sophy felt quite happy as mistress
of her little domain, which under her care soon assumed a homelike appearance.
 
The first step was to clear away those innumerable extraordinary knicknacks with
which small lodging-house keepers delight to cumber their rooms. The inevitable
shepherdesses and imitation Bohemian glass vases on the mantelpiece, the equally
inevitable shells on coloured worsted mats, and the basket of wax fruit under a
glass shade, standing on the little round table in the middle of the window.
 
These alterations the landlady complied with without hesitation, rather pleased
indeed that these valuables should be placed beyond risk of breakage; but the next
change proposed was evidently very wounding to her feelings, and was not complied
with until it was made the sole condition on which her lodgers would take the rooms
beyond the first week for which they had engaged them.
 
Over the chimneypiece was a glass, about three feet by two; it could not fairly be
termed a looking-glass, for its ripply surface seemed agitated as by a gale, and no
reflexion which it gave back in the slightest degree resembled the original. Still
it was to a certain extent ornamental; for it was enclosed in a wide, dark wood
frame, with a gilt ornament at each corner, which in summer Mrs. Billow protected
by elaborate fly-papers of red, blue, and yellow. As this glass, although not
useful, was so ornamental, no objection was raised to it. On the walls round the
room were suspended a great variety of pictures, mostly landscapes, in the pure
tea-tray style. These as a general thing, although by no means ornamental in
themselves, yet served to enliven the very dingy paper, and to them too, as a
whole, no objection was taken; but on the side opposite to the fireplace hung
two half-length portraits, which at once inevitably and unpleasantly attracted the
attention of any one entering the room—almost, indeed, to the exclusion of
everything else. These were the portraits of Mr. Billow, the landlord, and his
wife, taken when they were much younger, probably at the time of their nuptials.
These paintings were in the early Pre-Raphaelite style. Their dresses were of an
elaborate description; the lady in green silk, with a gold brooch of immense size
and massive pattern; the gentleman in blue coat, black satin waistcoat, showing an
immense extent of white shirt, and a resplendent watch chain. Their faces were
charmingly pink and white, perfectly flat, and with an entire absence of shade.
They were alike characterized by a ghastly smile impressed upon them, and a staring
fixed look in the eyes very painful to behold. This stare of their eyes looked into
every corner of the room, and could in no way be avoided. Robert declared that it
was as bad as a nightmare; and even Sophy, disposed as she was to be pleased, and
to like everything, confessed that she really should feel uncomfortable with those
staring eyes constantly watching her. Mrs. Billow urged that they were considered
remarkable pieces of art, and had been very much admired; indeed that when they
were first painted the artist had frequently asked permission to bring strangers in
to see them, as they were quite an advertisement for him.
 
Sophy seeing that Robert was about to express an opinion respecting the portraits
which would irreparably injure the feelings of their landlady, hastily said,
"That, beyond question, they were remarkable paintings; but that she had been
ill, and that the eyes had such a very lifelike expression, that she should never
feel quiet and alone with them looking at her."
 
Mrs. Billow thereupon acceded, and the cherished portraits were removed upstairs to
her own bedroom, leaving two large light patches upon the dingy paper. They were,
however, partially covered by two framed prints, which were displaced upstairs to
make room for the portraits.
 
After a few days, when they were settled, and found that they should be
comfortable, Robert wrote to Miss Harmer, requesting that Sophy's things might be
forwarded to her there.
 
In a few days a railway van arrived with quite a number of packages. All Sophy's
wearing apparel, her work-table, her desk and music-stand; all the paintings she
had executed under a master at school, and which had been framed and hung in the
drawing-room at Harmer Place; her books; her grand piano, given to her by Mr.
Harmer when she left school, and which was much too large to go into their little
room, and was therefore sent to a warehouse for the present, to be reclaimed or
sold, according as their circumstances might demand; and lastly, a pony-carriage,
with two beautiful ponies, which Mr. Harmer had presented to her a few months
before his death.
 
This was at once sent to be sold, and the money it fetched was a welcome addition
to their little store, which the amount to be paid for the conveyance of all these
things had nearly exhausted.
 
The ponies and carriage fetched seventy guineas, and Robert was at once anxious to
move into larger lodgings; but Sophy persuaded him to wait as they were for the
present, at any rate, until they saw what success attended her project for
teaching. The only thing to which she would agree was that a few shillings should
be laid out in repapering their sitting-room; and when this was done with a light,
pretty paper, all the tea-tray landscapes removed, and her own paintings hung up in
their place, the room looked so different that Sophy was quite delighted with it,
and even Robert allowed that, although very small, it was really a pretty, snug
little room.
 
In a short time, Sophy went round to the various tradesmen in the neighbourhood
with whom they dealt, and asked them to allow her modest little cards to appear in
their windows; and in a month she had obtained two pupils, three times a week, for
an hour in French or German, and three every day for an hour in music—in all
twenty-four shillings a week.
 
It was tedious work, no doubt; but Sophy felt so much pleasure in bringing home her
earnings at the end of the week, that, as she said, she really liked it. Besides
this, it was a break to the monotony of her life; for, after a while, Robert took
to going out after breakfast and not returning until five o'clock to dinner, being
engaged, as he said, in looking for something to do; and, indeed, he did believe
that he was trying very hard to get employment, although he had not the least idea
what kind of work he needed. He sauntered across the bridge, went into a public-
house to read the paper, and look through all the advertisements in the vague hope
of seeing something to suit him. Three or four advertisements, indeed, he answered;
but received no reply. Still he comforted himself with the assurance that it did
not matter for that—the will was sure to be found; and that it was therefore
really as well that he should not undertake a situation which he should, when he
became a rich man, be sorry that he had filled. For the same reason he tried hard
to persuade Sophy not to enter into the teaching business, as it would be
humiliating to look back upon afterwards; but Sophy replied that she could see
nothing to be ashamed of in the remembrance that she had tried her best to get her
living, at a time when she had thought it necessary that she should do so. And in
this particular she insisted on having her own way.
 
After another month Sophy got four more pupils, but two of them were in the
evening, and this brought with it a more than countervailing drawback; for Robert
was now left at home by himself on the evenings when she gave her lessons. Finding
his own society dull, he would saunter out to seek other companionship, and on one
or two of these occasions he came back with his face flushed, his tread unsteady,
and his voice thick and uncertain; and Sophy felt with a terrible fear that his old
habits were coming back upon him, and that, even for her sake, he could not keep
from drink. On the morning after the first time that this happened, he was very
penitent, called himself hard names, and promised that it should not happen again;
but after a time he ceased to make excuses for himself, but was only sulky and
sullen of a morning as if he resented the reproaches which Sophy never made.
Sophy's evil time was coming, and she felt it; the bright smile with which she had
lit up their little home, came only with an effort now; the roses which had began
to bloom in her pale cheeks, faded out again, but she bore it unflinchingly. Sophy
was a quiet, undemonstrative girl, but she had a brave heart; she felt that she
deserved any punishment she might receive, and she tried hard to bear it
uncomplainingly. When Robert found this, and that no cold looks or reproaches
greeted him, he did try hard to please the patient loving woman who had suffered so
much for his sake, and withdrew himself, for awhile, from the new friends he was
making. Sophy on her part gave up her evening pupils, and stopped at home with him;
and so for a time things went on smoothly again.
 
Sophy had now become accustomed to the place, and had learned from Mrs.
Billow—who was a good-hearted, talkative old woman, in a very large cap, and
who waited upon them herself—all about their various neighbours. King Edward
Street was a quiet, semi-respectable little street, and although it was a
thoroughfare leading into the Westminster Bridge Road, very few people except its
own inhabitants ever passed through it. It was, it seemed, quite a little
professional colony. Next door, in the parlours, played first violin at a theatre
on that side of the water, and the one beyond that was second cornet at the
Adelphi. The two sisters in the house opposite danced in the ballet at the opera,
and worked as milliners in their spare time; next door was a comic singer at
Cremorne; and beyond him again lived a leading star and his wife—who was a
singing chambermaid, both at the Victoria. They were a kindly, cheerful lot,
sociable among themselves, and ready to do any kindness or service to each other.
There were a few black sheep among them, but the very blackest of all, Robert and
Sophy now suspected Mr. Billow himself, to be.
 
Mr. Billow was a bad-tempered, cross-grained old man, dirty, and almost always
unshaven, very unlike the pink and white gentleman which his portrait represented
him to have been; indeed it is almost certain that his habits must have changed
greatly for the worse since that was taken; for it was otherwise inconceivable how
he could ever have got himself up in that dazzling degree of cleanliness, both of
face and shirt front. Mr. Billow's ordinary custom was to get drunk three or four
times a day, and then to doze by the fireside into a state of comparative sobriety.
All this was bad, but it was not the worst.
 
Mr. Billow was supposed to be a retired watchmaker, living upon his savings, but he
was in reality engaged in a far more profitable trade than that had ever been. At
various times of the day ill-looking fellows would lounge in at the little front
gate, and instead of going up the stairs to the front door, would knock at the
window, and be admitted by a little door under the steps into the kitchen. Mr.
Billow would then postpone his sleep for a few minutes, tell Mrs. Billow to
"hook it;" and when alone, would enter into a low but animated
conversation with his visitors, who had generally small parcels of goods to display
to him; the ownership of these, after much altercation, generally changed
hands—that is to say the nominal ownership, the real owner being some third
person, whose rights and interests were entirely unrepresented and overlooked.
Sometimes men would come in the same way late of an evening, with a bundle too
large to be carried openly through the streets in the broad daylight; and on all
these occasions Mrs. Billow was dismissed while the conversation was going on.
Once, too, at three or four in the morning, Robert Gregory hearing a noise below,
went down, stairs and found Mr. Billow engaged over a fire in the kitchen,
apparently cooking. Finding that all was safe, Robert had gone up to bed again, and
in the morning, Mrs. Billow mentioned casually that Mr. Billow had started very
early, and that Robert had found him cooking his breakfast. But Robert knew that if
Mr. Billow had required breakfast at any hour, his wife would have had to get up to
prepare it; he had moreover detected that the smell of the ingredients in the pot
on the fire, much more resembled the fumes of melting metal, than the savory steam
of Mr. Billow's breakfast. He was therefore confirmed in what he had previously
strongly suspected, namely, that his landlord was neither more nor less than a
receiver of stolen goods. Sophy objected to this, "Why then should he let
lodgings?" But Robert told her, with a laugh, that this was merely a blind to
deceive the police as to the character of the house. Sophy when she made this
discovery, wished at once to leave their lodgings, but Robert said that it could
make no difference to them what the old rogue was; that the lodgings were clean and
comfortable, and that it would be a pity to change without some better reason. And
so, this time against Sophy's judgment, they determined to stay for the present as
they were.
 

---------------CHAPTER V. OVERTURES FROM THE ENEMY.------------

 I have as yet said nothing about my own feelings during these three months,
nor told how I bore the loss. At first I felt it very, very much. I made sure the
will was gone for ever; and although I had concerted with Harry our plan to find
the secret chamber, and pretended to believe in it, I did so with the same feeling
with which, as a child, one pretends a chair is a ship, and makes voyages upon it;
shouting as lustily as if on board a real vessel, apparently quite as anxious if an
imaginary wind arises and threatens to wreck our bark, and making our escape on to
the sofa, which represents a desert island, with as much joy as if our rescue had
been all real.
 
We elders smile at these pretences, and wonder at the lively interest, the loud
joy, and the terrible panics with which children enter into these imaginary games
of theirs; but I am sure we often play at ships too. We make believe that our barks
are going safe to port, and sing p?ans of joy, while in our heart of hearts we know
it is quite otherwise, and that a disastrous shipwreck is inevitable; we ignore the
threatening black cloud on the horizon, and congratulate ourselves that the sun is
shining so brightly. Some of us, indeed, do this through long, long
years—play it till the curtain falls, and all play is over.
 
I do not think that men thus wilfully shut their eyes as we women do: they have not
the same happy faculty for self-deceit. But do we not all know many women who are
for ever playing this game of ships? Do they not cling confidently all their lives
to the idea that the bark to which they have entrusted themselves and their
fortunes is indeed a gallant vessel, built of true heart of oak, marked A 1, fit to
contend against any tempest and storm whatever, and certain to make a delightful
and prosperous voyage to the end—cling to it even when the rotten timbers
show through as soon as the fresh paint wears off, even when the water pours in
through the leaky sides, and she tosses about without helm or rudder, a mere sport
to every breeze? Happy are the women who are adepts at playing at this
game—happy those who can go through life persisting in it; driving back with
angry self-reproach any thought which may intrude itself that their dolls are not
princesses—that the idol which they worship is not a god after all, but a
mere image, made of very common clay indeed.
 
So I played at ships with myself, and made believe that we were certain to find the
secret chamber. After a time, indeed, I did come to believe in it—that is,
after we had put the plan together, and found out whereabouts it lay,—but
even then an incredulous doubt would occasionally occur, which, however, I never
allowed to stop there long. All this wore me very much—this constant anxiety,
this endeavour to be cheerful, this trying to believe that all would be right yet.
 
When the news of Mr. Harmer's death came to us at Ramsgate, I had written to Lady
Desborough, and had received in reply from her a letter of condolence, which
indeed, from the tone it was written in, resembled rather one of congratulation. It
was evident that Lady Desborough considered that ￡25,000 at once was a very much
more comfortable thing than ￡10,000 on my marriage, and the remaining ￡15,000 at
some uncertain, and perhaps distant, period. Ada and Percy both wrote, really
sympathizing with me in the loss of so very dear and kind a friend.
 
When, however, I had to write, ten days after, and say that the will was missing, I
confess that I did so almost with the feelings of a man signing his own death-
warrant. I wrote to Ada this time, and related the whole history to her. I told
her—what I tried to believe myself—that we might find it yet; indeed,
that we did not by any means give up all hope. I said that we felt quite sure that
it was concealed in a secret chamber, and that until we found that chamber we
should never give up the search. In truth, I was a coward—I dreaded what
might happen if I said that all hope was gone, and that I had no idea of ever
finding it; for that I knew would bring on a crisis from which, although I felt
sure it must some day come, I shrank with a terrible fear. I believe now that if I
had allowed to myself that it was hopeless, I should, whatever came of it, have
written and said so; but I was playing at ships, and I really persuaded myself that
I believed as I wrote.
 
Ada's answer came in a day or two; it was, as I knew it would be, everything which
was kind and affectionate. She "was sorry, so, so sorry for us all," and
she was indignant and furious against "those dreadful old hags," as she
irreverently termed the Misses Harmer, "and she should only like—"
and Ada's wishes and intentions towards them were terrible. Nothing indeed could be
kinder or more satisfactory than the first part of Ada's letter; but when she came
to write about her mamma, her pen evidently went slower, and her words were
cautiously chosen. Mamma, she said, was very sorry indeed to hear of the will being
missing, and indeed was made quite ill by the news. She begged her to say how much
she condoled with me upon it, and what a dreadful affair it was. "In
short," Ada finally scribbled, evidently puzzled how to put it—"in
short, you know exactly what mamma would say under the circumstances."
 
Ada and I continued to correspond regularly, and I kept her posted up in the
proceedings of our plot to discover the chamber. In answer to the joyous letter I
wrote to Ada after Christmas—saying that we had discovered one of the secret
openings which opened the door, and had now every hope of finding the
other—Lady Desborough herself wrote, for the first time since the will had
been lost. She said how glad she was that, after all, it seemed by what Ada said,
we were likely to find the missing will, and regain our fortunes. She stated that
she had always expressed herself as certain that the infamous conspiracy against us
would be defeated, and she wound up by saying that she sincerely trusted that the
document would be discovered before long, both for my sake and Percy's, who, she
believed, would sail for India in the following autumn.
 
As I read this letter, it appeared to me that the pith of the whole contents was
contained in that last line. To me it said as plainly as if she had so written
it—"He goes to India in the autumn, but, of course, unless you find the
will before that, he will have to go without you." I was neither hurt nor
surprised at this. I knew Lady Desborough well enough to be perfectly assured that
with her consent I should never marry Percy unless I regained the lost fortune.
 
Percy's letters to me were always alike; he told me that he did not care whether I
had the fortune or not. That for my own sake he should of course have preferred
that I should have had money, in order that in our Indian home we might be
surrounded by more comforts and luxuries, but that for no other reason did he in
the least care. That, of course, his pay as a cornet was next to nothing, but he
expected that before many months he should get a step. He calculated that his
lieutenant's pay in India, with the staff appointment—which he made sure,
from his proficiency in the native languages, he should speedily
obtain—together with the ￡300 a year his mother allowed him, would enable us
to live in tolerable comfort.
 
He spoke always of the ￡300 a year as if it were a certainty, but I was sure that
in case of his marrying me his mother would at once stop it.
 
Lady Desborough, although she lived in so fashionable a style, was by no means a
very rich woman. Her income, with the trifling exception of her pension as a
General's widow, was derived entirely from property she possessed previous to her
marriage, and which had been settled upon her at that time. Of this she had the
entire income during her lifetime, and could leave it as she chose between her
children.
 
Percy's letters to me were very loving and tender, and he was never tired of
drawing happy pictures of our future. My answers to him, since the loss of the
will, were not less loving, perhaps, than before; but they were far less confident
and hopeful, and I could not trust myself to speak much of a future which I so
feared in my heart could never come for me.
 
Altogether, I was very nervous and anxious all this time, and I looked forward to
Sarah's communications with feverish eagerness. I felt that to me far more depended
on the discovery of this will than the mere matter of money. It was not the
question of wealth or the reverse, it was—a life of happiness with Percy, or
one of solitary unhappiness. Had it not been for the search Sarah was making, which
kept hope alive, I should have felt it even more than I did. But when the secret
spring was found, I did begin to think that all would come right again.
 
On New Year's Day we had a great surprise—a letter came to papa from Miss
Harmer; a messenger brought it, and it was sent in just as we had finished dinner.
Papa opened it, glanced it through, and gave a long whistle of astonishment.
"The man who brought this is not waiting, I suppose?" he asked the
servant.
 
"No, sir, he said that he was told there was no answer."
 
"You can clear away the dinner things at once, and put the dessert on."
 
We were all quiet while this was being done, wondering what it could be
about—and papa was evidently waiting only till the servant left the room to
read the letter to us. When she had finished, and had gone out, without any preface
he opened the letter and read it aloud:—
 
"Dear Dr. Ashleigh,
 
"The will of our late brother Herbert not having been found, and it therefore
being now extremely improbable that it ever will be so, my sister and myself have
naturally, as his only relatives, come into possession of his property. At our
death that property will go, as originally intended by our elder brothers, to the
destination from which it was only diverted by one of those extraordinary
combinations of events by which Providence sometimes upsets our best-laid plans. My
brother Herbert had, however, some property of his own, which he acquired in India,
in addition to that which he inherited from his brothers. The amount of this
property was, our man of business informs us, about ￡30,000. This sum we propose
to devote to carrying out a portion of his expressed wishes. We are willing
therefore to pay over at once the sum of ￡10,000 to each of your children—on
the one condition that not one single penny shall they ever directly or indirectly
bestow to or for the benefit of the person formerly known as Sophy Needham, and now
as Sophy Gregory, she having by her conduct caused our brother's death. And that
they all bind themselves to this condition under an oath solemnly taken on the
Bible, and under penalty of forfeiture of the amount should this condition not be
strictly observed.
 
"Awaiting your reply,
"&c., &c.,
"Cecilia and Angela Harmer."
What an astonishment that was to us, and in what silent amazement we looked at each
other when papa had finished reading the letter.
 
No one spoke for some time.
 
At last papa said, "This is a very serious question, my dears; and the offer
ought to be thoroughly discussed before being either accepted or refused. ￡10,000
each is a handsome provision for you. It will start Harry in a good business, and
it will enable you girls to marry well and yet to feel that you bring your share to
the expenses of the household." And here papa glanced at me, and I saw at once
that although he had never spoken to me on the subject, he had yet thought a good
deal about my engagement with Percy. He then went on: "All this is the bright
side of the picture—now for the reverse;—you are unquestionably
entitled to a much larger amount, and those who make this offer are the very people
who are keeping you out of it. Then, too, the condition about Sophy is most
repugnant; as you would naturally have wished in the event of your accepting this
sum, to make her at any rate an equal participator in it with each of yourselves.
The matter is one which must be thought over very seriously, and no conclusion
should be hastily arrived at. Talk it over quietly together: it is a question on
which I would rather give no opinion whatever, but leave you to decide it entirely
by yourselves."
 
"There is one thing, papa, you have not mentioned," Polly said, "and
that is, that if we take this money we must give up all search for the will; we
cannot accept the Misses Harmer's money, and then get their servants to work
against them."
 
"Certainly, my dear; that must of course be quite understood. If you accept
this money, you must give up all further search for the will, and dismiss all idea
of ever hearing of it again. There, don't say any more about it now. Let us have a
glass of wine and some nuts, and after that I shall go into my study, and you can
talk it over among yourselves."
 
When papa left us, we drew round the fire, and Harry said the first thing to be
done was to smoke the calumet of council; accordingly in a minute or two he was
puffing clouds of smoke from an immense meerschaum, of which he was very proud.
 
"Now," he said, "the council is begun; let my sisters speak."
 
Neither of us took advantage of the invitation, but sat looking steadily into the
fire.
 
Polly—who was now sixteen, and who had grown up a very dear, loveable
girl—was seated between us, in a high-backed, old-fashioned chair, with her
feet on a low stool. I have not hitherto described her, and I could not choose a
moment to do so in which she would look prettier than she did as she sat there;
with the light on the table behind her shining on the gold of her hair, and her
face lit only by the dancing light of the fire. She was a blonde, her hair looked
almost brown in shadow; but when the light fell on it, it had still the bright
golden tinge that every one had admired when she was a child. Her eyes were a pure
blue, her complexion was bright and clear, she had a particularly lithe lissom
figure, and her small head was very gracefully set on her neck and shoulders. She
was very lively and full of fun; indeed I sometimes had to call her to order. She
was a little positive and wilful sometimes, but she was a very loving and loveable
girl. She was at present hardly as tall as I was, but as she had another year to
grow, it was very probable she would be the taller in time. She had very long
eyelashes, nearly the longest I ever saw, and these added greatly to the effect of
her great blue eyes. The mouth and nose might both have been better, but for all
that she had grown into a very pretty girl.
 
"Well, girls, what do you think about this offer of ours?" Harry
repeated, finding that neither of us answered him.
 
My own mind was pretty well made up on the subject, but I wished to hear what the
others thought, so I said, "What do you think yourself about it, Harry?"
 
Harry did not seem more inclined to give an opinion than we had been, for he sat
and puffed out such huge volumes of smoke, that Polly threatened to take his pipe
away if he did not smoke more quietly. At last he took it from between his lips,
and began: "The fact is, girls, I am loath to give my opinion, not because I
have not one, but because I do not wish to influence you. Your cases are so very
different from mine, that there is no comparison at all between us. I am now just
twenty-one; I am in a position to keep myself, and consequently the advantage this
sum of money would be to me, is not sufficient to counterbalance the repugnance I
feel—as far as I am concerned—to taking the money from these women who
have robbed us. Still understand, I am not so much against it as to decide to
refuse it, should you both agree to accept it. This is rather a suggestion of mine,
as it were, than a positive and final opinion. I mean to say that for my own sake I
certainly would not accept of the offer, but you are so differently placed that if
you give your vote for accepting it, I shall be quite ready to agree with
you."
 
Harry made this unusually long speech, for him, with some difficulty. I could see
that personally he was very strongly opposed to taking any favour from the Misses
Harmer, after the way in which they had treated us. Being quite of the same opinion
myself, I thought the matter was settled, as I made sure Polly would refuse. When
Harry had done, he took another puff or two at his pipe, and then turning to Polly,
who was next to him, said,—
 
"Now, Polly, you have heard what I have to say, let us have your
opinion."
 
For some time sister Polly did not answer, but sat gazing into the fire, with the
long lashes nearly shading her eyes, and looking more womanly and thoughtful than I
had ever seen her before. At last, without moving, or lifting her eyes, she
said,—
 
"I think we had better accept."
 
Harry, evidently surprised, gave one or two short puffs at his pipe. I was myself
astonished. I had made sure that Polly would of all the three be the most indignant
and determined to reject the offer; for she had been most bitter in her invectives
at the Misses Harmer, and money had at present no particular value in her eyes.
However, I made no remark expressive of my surprise, but only said,—
 
"Let us have your reasons, Polly."
 
"Yes," Harry repeated, "let us have your reasons."
 
Polly was again silent a little, and sat thoughtfully twining her long taper
fingers one over the other; then without looking up she asked,—
 
"Is it understood and agreed between us that two votes carry the day?"
 
"Certainly," I said, knowing that my vote would be on Harry's side.
 
"Quite so," Harry agreed, "if you two girls make up your minds that
it is best to accept this offer, I, as I said before, shall offer no
objection."
 
"Well then, Harry, I say—accept, and I will tell you why;" and now,
although Polly had not changed her attitude, she spoke clearly and firmly, and her
eyes were fixed on the fire with a steady resolute look. "But you must both
agree not to interrupt me till I have done."
 
"I promise," Harry said, looking rather puzzled at Polly's very unusual
demeanour.
 
"I promise," I repeated, amused and rather surprised, too.
 
"Very well," Polly said, "please remember that. Now, Harry, you are
a great big strong fellow, but you know you are hardly fit to entrust any delicate
business to, and that in any affair of that sort you would know no more than a
child."
 
"Well, Miss Polly," Harry said in astonishment, taking his pipe out of
his mouth, "you are a pretty cool hand to talk to your elders; what next, I
wonder!"
 
"You promised not to interrupt, Harry. As I said, you are very good and kind,
and all that, but you know you are not—not so to say sharp."
 
I could hardly help laughing, Harry's eyes opened so very wide in amazement at the
girl's remarks, and Polly herself was looking so very serious and earnest.
 
"Now we women——"
 
"We women, indeed!" Harry repeated.
 
"Yes, we women," Polly continued unmoved,—"I have left school
now, and I am more of a woman as far as these things go than you are of a
man—we women look very deeply into these matters. Now there is only one of us
three, who, as we stand at present, will be greatly affected by this gift. I do not
say that ￡10,000 is not a nice sum to have, or that it might not some day assist
me to get a husband, but at present I can manage very well without
one——"
 
"I should think so," put in Harry.
 
"And you can get on without it, and keep yourself comfortably. Therefore to us
the money has no peculiar charms at present, and we might both be rather disposed
to refuse it, than to accept it as a gift from people who have robbed us of a large
sum. There is a good deal in that, Harry, is there not?"
 
Harry nodded; he had not yet sufficiently recovered from the astonishment into
which the position of superiority taken up by Polly had thrown him, while I on my
part could not fancy what was coming next.
 
"Well you see, Harry, we have agreed that we neither of us are in a position
rightly to estimate the value of this ￡10,000 at present. Now Agnes, on the
contrary, is in a position to appreciate it keenly."
 
Here Harry again opened his eyes, and looked at me with such astonishment, that I
really thought he must fancy that I wanted the money to pay off a gambling debt or
something of that sort.
 
"Agnes appreciate it!" he exclaimed.
 
"Of course," Polly said; "and please do not interrupt me so, Harry.
Now this ￡10,000 will, in all probability, be the turning-point in Agnes's life,
and her future happiness or unhappiness may depend upon it. Let us see how she is
situated. She is engaged to Percy Desborough——"
 
"Thank goodness," Harry muttered to himself, "she has said something
I can understand at last."
 
"She is engaged to him, and he is a capital fellow; but for all that unless we
find the will, or she has this ￡10,000, she knows, and I know it by her face, that
it may be years before she marries Percy Desborough, if she ever does so."
 
"By George," Harry exclaimed, taking his pipe suddenly from his mouth,
and jumping up from his chair,—"By George, if I thought for a moment
that Percy Desborough——"
 
"There, you will interrupt me, Harry," Polly said, looking for the first
time up from the fire with a little glance of amusement into his angry face.
"Do sit down and hear me out, and you will see that there is no vengeance to
be taken upon any one."
 
Harry looked more than half inclined to be very angry; however he resumed his seat,
and took short sulky puffs at his pipe.
 
"The fact is, Harry, you have heard of Lady Desborough, and from what you have
heard you must know——"
 
"My dear Polly," I interrupted in my turn, assured at last that she had
intuitively arrived at a correct conclusion about the state of my engagement with
Percy,—"My dear Polly——"
 
"My dear Agnes," she said, "you promised to hear me out. But, my
darling,"—and she spoke in a very soft tender voice, turning round to
me, and laying her hand on mine,—"you know what I am going to say to
Harry; if it is painful, will you go away till I have done? Harry must hear it
before he can come to any correct conclusion about this money."
 
I shook my head silently, but pressed her hand, which, while she went on, still
remained resting in mine.
 
"Lady Desborough," and now she was looking steadily into the fire again,
as if she read there all she was saying, "is a proud woman of the world, very
ambitious, and very self-willed. Had Percy followed her wishes, and remained in the
Guards, she would have expected him to have made a first-rate match; as it is, she
could not hope that any earl's daughter would unite her fortunes to those of a
cornet in a cavalry regiment, and troop with him out to India. When Percy therefore
succeeded in persuading our Agnes here, that it was the best thing she could do,
Lady Desborough was delighted at the match, which, with Agnes's ￡25,000, was
vastly better than she could have expected. But when Mr. Harmer dies, what happens?
Agnes has no fortune. All this time that I have been at school since Mr. Harmer
died, and the will was missing, I have wondered and thought over what Lady
Desborough would do. I came to the conclusion that she would wait for a bit, and
would take no decided steps until it was clear that the will would never be found,
but that unquestionably when it was proved to be gone she would interfere to break
off the engagement between Percy and Agnes. I come back here, and what do I find? I
find very little said about the engagement, and Agnes looking pale and depressed.
Percy's letters come regularly; Agnes takes them up into her room, and comes down
again after a very long time, with flushed cheeks, and a soft look, and yet not
perfectly happy—that is not brightly happy. What does this mean? Just what I
had anticipated. Percy is unchanged; the money, in his eyes, makes no difference
whatever, but there is an obstacle somewhere; that obstacle being of course Lady
Desborough. Probably by the continuance of the correspondence, she has not yet
given up hopes of the will being found, and has not therefore taken any decided
step, but has, I should imagine, plainly shown what her intentions will be if the
fortune is not recovered. In support of this view, I see Agnes absorbed in the
result of this search for the secret room; I saw her delight when one of the hidden
springs was found—and this not because Agnes loves money, but because she
loves Percy Desborough, and knows that without the fortune she cannot be married to
him."
 
"Why cannot Percy marry her in spite of his mother?" Harry growled in an
unconvinced way. "He is not a boy; why can he not do as he likes?"
 
"Because his present income and his future fortune depend upon her. I heard
Agnes say so the last time I was at home. She could refuse to allow him one penny,
and leave every farthing she possesses to Ada. You don't suppose that a subaltern
in a cavalry regiment can keep a wife on his pay, even if Agnes would marry him
under the circumstances, which she would not. Is all this true, Agnes darling?
" she said, turning again to me, and this time I saw the tears were brimming
up in her great blue eyes.
 
"You are certainly a witch, Polly," I answered, trying to smile, but the
tears were stealing down my cheeks too, as I got up and kissed her flushed face
very tenderly and affectionately. To me all this was a perfect revelation. Here was
my little sister Polly, whom I had always looked upon as a mere child, thinking and
talking like a woman, and a very sensible, loving woman, too. I felt that in that
half hour's conversation my child-sister was gone for ever, and that I had gained
in her place a dear friend in whom I could trust and confide every secret of my
heart. As for Harry, he was completely silenced.
 
"Well, oh most sapient brother," Polly asked, turning to him in her old
laughing way, "do you confess that all this never entered into your mind;
indeed, that you knew no more about it than the man in the moon?"
 
"By Jove!" Harry said with a great effort, "I confess you have
fairly astonished me, as much by yourself as by your story. I think that you are
right, and that in these matters you are more of a woman than I am of a man. How
you found this all out I cannot conceive; it certainly never entered into my head.
I thought of the effect which the money would have upon myself, and upon you, but
Agnes I hardly took into consideration. I thought of her marriage with Percy as a
sort of settled thing, and knowing him to have a handsome allowance, I never gave
her case a second thought. But I see you are quite right, and that we must, of
course, accept this money."
 
"Indeed, we will not," I said; "with my consent, this money shall
never be accepted."
 
"That is not fair, Agnes," Polly said. "You know we agreed that two
votes should carry the day."
 
"I did, Polly; but I have a right to say what I think about it before it is
put to the vote. I acknowledge all that Polly has said about my affairs to be true.
I allow that I do believe that my marriage with Percy depends upon this will being
found. But for all that, I say we cannot take this money. These women have robbed
us of ￡25,000 each; they have robbed Sophy of ￡75,000; robbed us as actually as
if they had stolen it from our possession—and now they offer, as a gift,
￡10,000 each to us. If we take it, it is on an understanding that we renounce all
further claim, that we receive it as a free gift from these enemies of ours; and by
this act not only should we, as it were, pledge ourselves to make no further
efforts to find the will, we should not only sell our birthright to our enemies,
but we should be bound to desert Sophy, and so leave her in hopeless poverty, for
without our assistance she has not the slightest chance of ever finding the will.
All this would be a miserable degradation—a degradation so deep that nothing
could satisfy our own consciences to it; even my marriage to Percy could not
reconcile it to myself, and he himself would blame me for it. No, no, dears, this
would be a shameful action. Let us refuse it at once. You, I know, would do it for
my sake; but I would not do it for myself, much less allow you to do so. We have
really, at present, strong hopes of finding the will; let us trust to that; let us
believe that in the end we shall be righted. If not, God's will be done. The evil
may seem to prosper at present, but at any rate let us make no terms with it."
 
Polly and Harry were both silent. Polly was crying fast now—crying, that her
little scheme for my happiness had failed; but yet they both felt as I did, and she
could urge nothing further.
 
"There, dears, I know you both agree with me in your hearts, so let us say no
more about it."
 
And so it was settled; and when papa came in soon after, I told him that we were
unanimously of opinion that the money could not be accepted. Papa then said, that
although he had not wished to bias us in our decision, yet that he quite agreed
with us, and was very glad we had so decided. So the next day he wrote to Miss
Harmer, acknowledging the receipt of her letter, and stating that, for various
reasons into which it was not necessary to enter, we felt ourselves obliged to
decline the offer. This affair had one consequence among us, and that was, that
Polly henceforth occupied a very different position amongst us from what she had
heretofore done. Harry looked up to her as a prodigy of intellect and acuteness;
and I myself felt deeply not only her intelligence, but the thoughtful, loving
kindness she had evinced towards me. From that time Polly became quite one of
ourselves; and, indeed, I think that insensibly she fell into her natural position
as the clever one of the family.

---------------CHAPTER VI. THE PRIEST'S CHAMBER.------------

 I was very glad that Polly had left school and come home for good. It was far
more cheerful and pleasant than it had been at all since I left school. Polly made
the place so cheerful with her bright happy smile, and was so full of life and fun,
that I never found time to sit and muse, and wonder and fret over the future, as I
had done before she came home. She never left me long alone for any time, but every
day would make me go out for long walks with her, and indeed devoted herself
entirely to cheering and amusing me. Papa too very much recovered his spirits under
her genial influence; and altogether she made our home much brighter and more
cheerful than before.
 
So our life went on for nearly three months, and then one Friday evening I was told
that Sarah was below waiting to speak to me. I was rather surprised, for she had
been to the house very seldom before, and then always on Sunday evenings.
 
However, the moment she came in, I saw that she had something very important to
tell. Her bright face was quite pale with excitement, and her whole figure was in a
nervous tremble.
 
"Oh, miss," she burst out directly the door was closed behind her,
"Oh, miss, I have found the secret door!"
 
Although I had tried all along to hope that she would some day do so, that hope had
been so long deferred that it had almost died away; and now at the sudden news, I
felt all the blood rush to my heart, the room swam round with me, and I sat on a
chair quite overwhelmed by the sudden shock.
 
"Shall I get you some water, miss?"
 
"No, no, Sarah, I shall be myself in a minute or two."
 
I had to sit quiet a little time, before I could steady myself sufficiently to
listen to the account of the wonderful discovery, which was to lead to fortune and
happiness. Then I said,—
 
"I am not very strong, Sarah, and the surprise has been almost too much for
me, for I own I hardly expected that you ever would find it. Now tell me all about
it, or stay, let me ask papa and my sister to come in to share in this wonderful
news of yours." So saying, I ran down to the study where papa was busy
writing.
 
"Papa," I said, "I want you to come up stairs directly."
 
"What for my dear? I am really very busy at present."
 
"Never mind, papa; but put by your writing at once and come up. Sarah is here,
and oh, papa, she has found the secret door."
 
"That is news, indeed!" papa said, pushing back his chair at once;
"I am sure I never expected it."
 
So saying, he followed me upstairs. I called Polly as we went up, and she came
running up after us, and as she went into the drawing-room with me, I whispered to
her that the secret door was found. She gave me a little squeeze of congratulation,
and I saw that even in that first flush of pleasure at the news, it was only the
consequences to me that she thought of, and that her own personal interest in the
matter never entered into her mind.
 
"Well, Sarah," papa began, "so I hear you have discovered the secret
entrance at last."
 
"Yes sir, I have. From the time I found the first spring at Christmas, I have
never ceased looking for another one. I had felt every knob on the fireplace
and chimneypiece, and every stone up the chimney as far as I could reach. You know,
sir, it is only in the half hour I get of a morning by being up before the other
servants that I can try; indeed I only have half that time, for I must get some of
the shutters open and appear to have began to do something to account for my time.
Well, sir, at last I really seemed to have tried everywhere, and I almost gave up
all hope of finding it, although I had quite made up my mind to go on searching as
long as I stayed there, even if it was for ten years. Well, sir, yesterday morning
I quite got out of temper with the thing, and I sat down on the ground in the great
fireplace quite out of heart; my face was quite close to the great iron dogs,
so I said, "Drat you, you look for all the world as if you were putting out
your long tongues at me;" and I took hold of the tongue nearest to me, and
gave it a twist, and do you know, sir, it quite gave me a turn to find that the
tongue twisted round in my hand. I twisted and twisted till the tongue came out in
my hand, then I touched the spring behind the mantel, but nothing moved; then I
tried the tongue of the other dog, and that came out too; but still nothing moved.
Just then I heard the cook moving in the kitchen, so I had to put the tongues back
again and go to my work; but all day I hardly knew whether I stood on my head or my
heels, I wanted so much to see whether anything would come of it. Well, miss, this
morning I got up quite early, and unscrewed the dogs' tongues, and looked in the
places they had come out of, but could not see anything. Then I pushed the sharp
end of the tongue into the hole, and twisted and poked about, but I could not find
anything moved; then I put that tongue in again, and tried the other, and directly
I pushed the sharp end in, I felt something give way, and then I heard a click. I
jumped up and pushed the knob in the chimney, and directly something creaked, and
the whole of the left hand side of the fireplace swung open like a low door,
about four feet high, and beyond it was a little flight of stone stairs. I was so
excited, sir, when I saw the door and the steps, and knew I had found the place I
had been looking for so long, that I had to lean against the wall to support
myself. After a little while I pushed the door back again, and heard it close with
a click. Then I screwed the tongue into the mouth again, and went about my work,
but all day I have hardly known whether I stood upon my head or my heels."
 
We were all silent when Sarah finished. So far, then, we had succeeded in our
search. What was to be done next? We turned to papa.
 
"You have indeed done well, Sarah, and have laid us under a deep obligation to
you for the perseverance you have shown, and the clearness with which you have
carried out my daughter's plans. But this we will talk about hereafter. The thing
to be done now is to follow up your discovery. The most important point is to find
out the size of the box or safe in which the will is kept in this secret room. If
it is small enough to be carried away easily, our course will be very simple. If,
on the other hand, the chest or safe should be too heavy to be moved, I shall first
take a lawyer's opinion on the subject, and either get a search warrant, or else go
quietly into the chamber with a locksmith, force the lock, and take out the will,
which, when found, will be ample justification for our forcible entrance. The first
thing to be done is for Sarah to examine the room, and to bring us word how large
the box is."
 
"Do you mean, sir," Sarah asked, in a terrified tone, "for me to go
up that staircase by myself? I could not do such a thing for the world. I could
not, indeed, sir."
 
"We will reward you handsomely, Sarah," papa began.
 
"Don't ask me, Dr. Ashleigh. I could not do it if it were to make me a rich
woman all my life. Please, sir, don't ask me."
 
The girl was so evidently terrified at the idea of going up the secret staircase,
and she had already done so much for us, that we felt it would not be right to urge
her further, and we looked at each other for a moment or two in silence. Then Polly
said,—
 
"The proper persons to go are certainly Agnes and I. It is our property for
which the search is made, and it is our place to make it. I think that the best
plan will be for Sarah to get up some morning an hour earlier than usual. We will
be waiting outside for her to open the doors; papa will be with us, and will stay
there while we go inside, examine the room, and bring out the box in which the will
is kept, if it is not too heavy for us to carry. What do you say, Agnes?"
 
I confess I was frightened at the idea, not of going up into the priest's chamber,
but of entering the house in that sort of secret midnight way, and at the thought
of the scene which would ensue if we were detected. However, Polly seemed so brave
and confident about it, that I was ashamed to offer any opposition, and so said
that I thought it would be a very good plan.
 
"I think so, too," papa said. "It certainly seems a strange
expedition for us to make at five o'clock on a March morning; still, with such a
fortune depending upon it, one does not mind doing strange things to obtain it. But
before we do it, write to Sophy; tell her what has happened, and what you intend
doing, and ask her to send you by return of post an authority from her to search in
her name as well as your own for the will. It would be as well, in case of any
misadventure, that we should be able to prove that we are acting in the joint
interest of the heirs. Let me see; to-day is Friday. She cannot get the letter now
till Monday, and you will have her answer on Tuesday. So let us say Wednesday,
Sarah. What time is the house stirring?"
 
"At seven, sir, the servants get up."
 
"Very well; will you be at the front door as the clock strikes six? We shall
be there. If not, some change will have taken place in our plans. And now, Sarah,
whether we succeed in our aim or not, we are equally indebted to you. Here are
twenty pounds for you, for what you have done for us; and if we get the will, you
may rely upon it that you shall have a present which will make you comfortable for
life."
 
Sarah retired delighted with her present, and promising to be ready on Wednesday.
We then had a long chat over our plans. Papa, who had, I think, a strange tinge of
romance in his disposition, quite looked forward to the adventure, and he and Polly
talked it over with great glee. Papa said that he should write to Mr. Petersfield,
tell him that we had found the chamber, and ask him to come down and be present at
the finding of the will, so that he could—should the box be too large for us
to carry—give us his advice as to the best course for us to pursue.
 
On Tuesday morning we received the answers to the two letters;—that from
Sophy written in high spirits at our discovery, and authorizing us to act in her
name; that from Mr. Petersfield, also written in terms of warm congratulation, and
saying that, although the legality of our course was at least doubtful, he had felt
so warm an interest in our search, that he would come down to be present at the
dénouement, and he felt quite sure that the will, when found, would amply
justify our proceedings. He said that he should leave town by the afternoon train.
And so nothing whatever seemed likely to occur to postpone our expedition, as I
could not help hoping in my heart that something would do.
 
Mr. Petersfield came down in the evening, and was full of spirits at the prospect
of recovering the will, and made several jokes about female burglars, which amused
Polly very much, but made me feel shivery and uncomfortable.
 
At night, after we had gone up to bed, Polly came into my room, and said,—
 
"Agnes, darling, I can see you are nervous and frightened about this
expedition of ours. You are not strong, you know, and I think that really you had
better stay at home. I can just as well go by myself; it is only to see if it is
there, and when I find it, if the box should be too heavy for me to carry, Sarah
will not mind going up with me the second time to help me to bring it down."
 
"No, no, Polly," I answered; "I know I am a coward, but I am not so
bad as that. I will most certainly go with you; nothing would induce me to stay at
home and let you go alone. Still, I cannot look at it in the same amusing way that
you do. It is to me a very awful business; but you will see that when it comes to
the point I shall be able to go through it all calmly. And now, good-night, dear. I
will call you at half-past five."
 
That night I did not close my eyes. I thought over every possible accident by which
we might be detected, and at last made myself so nervous that I could remain in bed
no longer; so I got up, lighted a candle, dressed, and then wrapped myself in a
warm shawl, and read till it was time to call the others. Then I went and woke
Polly, who was sleeping as quietly and peacefully as if she were a girl again at
Grendon House, with nothing on her mind but the extreme difficulty of her German
lesson. She woke up with a cheerful laugh as she remembered what was to be done. I
afterwards knocked at papa's and Mr. Petersfield's doors, and then lighted a large
spirit-lamp under a kettle, which papa had to make coffee when he went out or
returned from any night visit.
 
At five o'clock we all met in the dining-room—looking, as papa said, like a
lot of conspirators; and I quite agreed with him. However, by the time we had taken
a cup of coffee and some bread and butter and a slice of cold ham, our spirits
quite rose again, and we all responded gaily to Polly's funny remarks; even I felt
more confident and less nervous than I had done since the expedition had been
proposed.
 
It was just a quarter past five when we started, and still quite dark. The stars
were shining brightly, and the keen March wind made us shiver and draw our wraps
more closely round us as we went out into it. The carriage was waiting at the door
for us, and old Andrew, to whom we had confided somewhat of our intended attempt,
was stamping up and down, and swinging his arms in the attempt to warm himself.
Papa had at first intended to walk, but he afterwards came to the conclusion that
the carriage passing through the streets at that hour would excite no attention at
all, whereas if we were seen walking it would be sure to give rise to all sorts of
surmises and conjectures. We pulled down the blinds, and drove out through the
town. When we were fairly past the barracks, we again pulled them up and looked
out. There was a faint light growing up in the east, but the country round was as
dark as ever. We met or passed two or three solitary individuals going towards or
from the town to their work.
 
We were a silent party. Papa and Mr. Petersfield made an occasional remark, and
Polly tried once or twice to enliven us, but it would not do. We all felt that we
were engaged upon a serious business, and that the future of our lives depended
upon its result.
 
As we passed through Sturry, we again pulled down the blinds, for the villagers
were astir there. The light smoke was curling up from the chimneys, the flickering
fire-light could be seen through the latticed windows, and many of the men were
starting to their work. We drove up the hill behind the village, and then the
carriage turned up a narrow lane, where it would be concealed from the sight of any
one going along the highroad. Here we got out, entered Mr. Harmer's grounds by a
small gate, and followed a footpath across the park up to the house, and then went
round to the front door. Now I was once there, I felt no longer frightened, and the
excitement of the adventure set my blood in a glow.
 
"What time is it?" I asked papa.
 
"Ten minutes to six," he said, "but I dare say Sarah is waiting for
us."
 
She was, for the moment that we reached the door she opened it, and stepped out to
meet us.
 
"It is all ready, sir," she said to papa. "I oiled the lock and
bolts yesterday, and I had everything undone ready, so as to open the door when I
heard your footsteps on the gravel. I am not afraid now, sir, and will go up with
the young ladies if they like."
 
"No, Sarah—you had better wait in the hall, to let them know if you hear
any one stirring in the house. We shall remain out here. Now, girls, courage and
victory!"
 
"Now for it!" Polly said, and we went into the hall together.
 
There were three candlesticks with lighted candles on the table. We each took one
of them, and with light steps crossed the hall to the chimney-place. Sarah at once
knelt down, and unscrewed the dog's tongue, touched the spring, then the one in the
chimney, and the door swung round with a slight creak, startling us, although we
expected it.
 
While she was doing this, I looked round the hall, and I do not think that the
least trace of my past fear remained. I was thinking of the last time I had been in
that hall, some little time before my dear mother's death. How different was my
position then, and what changes had these sad nine months brought about! I thought,
too, for a moment of how it might be the next time I entered it, with Sophy as
undisputed mistress; and, quickly as all these thoughts had flitted across my mind,
I had only got thus far when the creak of the opening door made me turn sharply
round, and prepare for the business on hand.
 
"Shall I go first, Agnes?" Polly asked, offering to pass me.
 
"No, no," I answered; "I am not in the least afraid now."
 
Nor was I. My pulse beat quick, but it was purely from excitement, and I do not
think at that moment, had the Misses Harmer suddenly stepped down the staircase,
before me, I should have been afraid of them. Holding my candle well in front of
me, I stooped under the low doorway, and began to ascend the narrow stone stairs,
Polly following closely behind. The stairs, as papa had calculated, were only five
or six in number, and we then stood at once in the chamber into which for so many
months we had been so longing to penetrate. Now for the will!
 
After the first breathless look round, a low exclamation of disappointment broke
from each of us. There was no box or chest of any kind to be seen. The room was a
mere cell, a little more than six feet high, eight feet long, and six wide. The
walls were of rough stone, which had been whitewashed at no very distant time. The
only furniture in it was a small table and an easy chair, both quite modern;
indeed, the chair was the fellow to one I remembered in Mr. Harmer's library. On
the table stood an inkstand, some pens and paper, and there were some torn scraps
of paper on the floor; on picking up one of which I perceived words in Mr. Harmer's
well-known handwriting. On the table, too, were placed two or three of his
scientific books, and a half-consumed cigar lay beside them.
 
It was evident, from all this, that Mr. Harmer had been in the habit of using this
room for a study, and the warmth which we felt the moment that we came into it,
from its being against the kitchen chimney, suggested his reasons for so using it.
It was apparent that the room had not been disturbed since he left it after reading
there—on, perhaps, the very night before his death.
 
There was no other furniture, and no place whatever where the will could be
concealed. We examined the walls closely, but without any result, the only opening
being a small hole near the roof, about four inches square, and evidently leading
into the kitchen chimney for the purpose of ventilation. Hiding-place, as far as we
could see, there was none.
 
The stairs did not stop on reaching the room, but wound upwards. I ascended them
very cautiously, and found that they went up about ten steps, and then ended at a
small door, on which were two bolts with which any one inside could fasten it, and
so prevent its opening, even if the secret springs outside were discovered and
touched. This door, I had no doubt, formed the entrance into Mr. Harmer's room, and
opened by some spring which I could not perceive; nor indeed did I look for it, but
returned with a heavy heart to Polly, who had remained in the chamber, and who was
in vain examining the walls for any sign of a hidden closet. We looked ruefully in
each others faces.
 
"It is no use, Polly," I said, as cheerfully as I could. "We shall
not find the will here."
 
"I am afraid not," she said, and gave me a silent kiss, expressing her
sorrow for my sake; and then taking our candles, we went down the stairs into the
hall again.
 
Sarah was standing listening with hushed breath.
 
"Have you found it, miss?"
 
"No, Sarah—the place is quite empty."
 
"Oh dear! oh dear!" Sarah exclaimed, almost crying with vexation. "I
am so sorry."
 
We put our candles down on the hall table, and went out into the open air. We shook
our heads in answer to the looks of papa and Mr. Petersfield. They asked no
questions, for they saw at once by our looks that we had found no signs of the
will, and the present was no time or place for explanation. So we turned off from
the house, and walked fast across the grounds, and out to where the carriage was
standing, for the morning was fairly broken now, and our figures could have been
seen for a considerable distance.
 
Once in the carriage, we related all that we had seen, and that there was no sign
of the will to be found. Mr. Petersfield and papa were both very much disappointed.
Mr. Petersfield remarked that most likely we had been within arm's reach of the
will, for it was certain now that Mr. Harmer did use that room for a study, and
that no doubt there was some secret hiding-place there, made originally for the
concealment of important papers in case the entrance to the secret chamber should
be discovered. It was a singular fancy of Mr. Harmer's to use that little place for
writing in.
 
"I can quite understand that," papa said. "Mr. Harmer lived a long
time in India, where the night and early morning are the pleasantest part of the
twenty-four hours, and I have heard him say that he often rose at four o'clock, and
got through five hours' writing before breakfast; and I can remember now that I
once said to him that he must find it very cold in winter, and he said, 'Oh, I have
a very snug little place for it.' I did not ask him where it was, although I dare
say had I done so he would have told me. But it is evident now that it was in this
chamber, which from its warmth, and from it so immediately adjoining his room,
would be very convenient for him, as he would not be under any fear of disturbing
the house by his movements. I have no doubt you are correct in your conjecture, and
that there is some secret receptacle there for papers, which could never be
discovered without the secret being communicated."
 
"At any rate we must give it up now," I said, "and I have not the
least idea that we shall ever hear any more of it."
 
The others were silent, for they, too, felt that it was in vain now to cherish any
further hopes of its discovery.
 

---------------CHAPTER VII. THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE.------------

 We reached home after the expedition a little before seven o'clock, and then
sat down to a regular breakfast, under the influence of which our spirits rose
somewhat, and we recovered a little from our disappointment. Polly and I agreed
that it was settled that we were not to be heiresses, and that it was no use our
repining. We talked a good deal of Sophy, and we agreed that the loss was a matter
of far more serious importance to her than it was to us. We feared she had a
terrible life before her, and we wondered what she and her husband would do.
 
For some time while we were talking, Mr. Petersfield ate his breakfast in silence,
and was evidently not attending to what we were saying, but was lost in his own
contemplations.
 
"What are you thinking of?" papa asked him, at last.
 
"I am thinking, doctor—that is, I am wondering how Herbert Harmer came
to know of that secret hiding-place. Of course his sisters may have told him of it,
but I should doubt if they did. I am wondering if he found it described in any old
family documents, and if so, where they are now. There are no longer any papers in
my possession, as at Miss Harmer's request I gave them all up a week after the
funeral to their new solicitor."
 
"I should think," I said, "that Mr. Harmer was shown this secret
hiding-place at the time when he first knew of the chamber itself; that is, when he
went into it as a boy with his father."
 
"No doubt," papa said,—"no doubt he was. Don't say any more
about it, Petersfield; let us make up our minds to the inevitable. We have done our
best, and now let us give it up. There is not, I believe, the slightest chance in
the world of our ever hearing any more about it, and it is far better to give it
up, than to go on hoping against hope, and keeping ourselves in a fever about what
will never take place. Let us give the matter up altogether, and turn over a fresh
page of our lives. We are no worse off than other people. Let us look forward as if
it had never been, and give up the past altogether."
 
And so it was settled, and the will henceforth ceased to be a subject of
conversation among us.
 
After breakfast, Mr. Petersfield took his leave and returned to London; and when
papa had gone out on his round of visits, and sister Polly had sat down for her
usual hour's practice on the piano, I went up into my own room, shut and locked the
door, and prepared for the task I had before me. For it was clear to me that I must
now face my position. I could no longer play at ships with myself. I knew that my
last hope had fled. The last anchor, to which I had so fondly trusted, was gone
now, and my bark of happiness was destined to certain and irretrievable wreck. I
knew that my engagement with Percy must come to an end, and that this letter which
I must write would be the means of making it do so.
 
How long I sat there on that dreary March morning I do not know, with the paper
lying open and untouched before me, its black edge a fitting symbol of the dead
hopes, whose tale I had to write upon it. Not that I think I looked at that; my
eyes were fixed blankly on the wall before me; but not one word did I write,
although all the time my hand held the pen ready to set down what my heart and
brain should dictate. But nothing came; my heart seemed cold and dead, as if it
could feel no motion, while my brain was in a strange whirl of thought, and yet no
thought framed itself into any tangible shape. I hardly know what current they
took, the past or the future; I cannot recall one single thought; indeed, I
question if one stood out prominently enough among the others to have been seized,
even at the time.
 
How long I sat there I do not know. But at last I was recalled to myself by a loud,
continued knocking at my door. I think I heard it some time before I answered; it
did not seem to me to be connected at all with me, but to be some noise a long way
off. Even when I was sure that it was at my door, and that it was a loud, urgent
knocking it was some little time before I could rouse myself sufficiently to
answer. At last I said, "What is it?" But the knocking was so loud that
my voice was not heard, and I now distinguished Polly's voice calling to me. I
tried to rise, but I found that my limbs were stiff and numbed. However, with a
great effort, for I was really frightened at the noise, I got up, and with great
difficulty moved to the door and opened it. I was about to repeat my question,
"What is it?" when Polly burst in, pale and terror-stricken, the tears
rolling fast down her cheeks. She fell upon my neck, and sobbed out, "Oh,
Agnes, Agnes, how you have frightened me!"
 
"Frightened you!" I said. "How? What is the matter?"
 
"What have you been doing? and why did you not answer my knocking?"
 
"I answered directly I heard it."
 
"Then what have you been doing, Agnes? I have been knocking for ten minutes.
How pale you are, and your hands are as cold as ice, and so is your face; you are
nearly frozen. There don't say anything now, but come down to the dining-
room."
 
I had some difficulty in getting downstairs; I had sat so long motionless in the
cold, that I was, as Polly said, nearly frozen, and it required all the assistance
she could give me, before I was able to get down at all. Once in the dining-room,
Polly wheeled the sofa up in front of the fire, and then ran off and got some
boiling water from the kitchen, and made me a glass of hot port wine and water,
which she insisted on my drinking scalding hot,—all the time scolding and
petting me; then when I began to get warm again, she told me that when she had done
practising, not finding me anywhere, she asked the housemaid if she had seen me,
and the girl told her that I had gone into my room more than an hour before, and
that she had not seen me since. Polly went back to the dining-room, but finding
that time went on, and I did not come down, she came up to my room to scold me for
staying up in the cold so long, and to suggest that if I had not finished writing,
I should go into papa's consulting-room, where I should be quite secure from
interruption. She had knocked, but receiving no answer, had at first gone away
again, thinking that perhaps I had lain down, and gone to sleep, having had such a
short night; but after she had gone down stairs again, she came to the conclusion
that I should not have done that without telling her of my intention; so she had
come up to my door again, and finding that her first gentle knocking had produced
no effect, she had continued, getting louder and louder, and becoming more and more
terrified, until at last, just as I had opened the door, she had worked herself
into such an agony of terror, that she was on the point of running down into the
kitchen to send out for some one to come in to force the door.
 
I told Polly that I was very sorry that I had frightened her so much, but that I
really did not know what had come over me; that I had sat there thinking, and that
I supposed I had got regularly numbed, and had not noticed her knocking until I got
up and opened the door. When I was thoroughly warmed again, I proposed going into
the library to write my letters, but Polly would not let me, as she said that I had
had more than enough excitement for one day. So I yielded to her entreaties, not
sorry indeed to put off the painful task, if only for one day.
 
On the following morning, however, I went into papa's study to write my letters,
and got through them more easily than I had expected. Polly came in from time to
time to see that I was not agitating myself too much, only staying just for a
minute or two to kiss me, and say some little word of consolation and love. My
first letter was to Percy. I told him what had happened, and that all hope which I
might previously have entertained of finding the will, was now entirely
extinguished. I told him that I knew he loved me for my own sake; and no unworthy
doubt that this would make any difference in him had ever entered my mind; but I
frankly said that I feared Lady Desborough would no longer give her approval and
consent, and that I foresaw painful times in store for us, for it was of course out
of the question that we could marry in the face of her determined opposition.
Putting aside pecuniary considerations, which even lovers could not entirely
ignore, I could not consent to marry into a family where my presence would be the
cause of dissension and division between mother and son. I said this was my fixed
determination, and begged him to acquiesce in it, and not pain me by
solicitations—to which I could not yield—to do otherwise than what I
felt to be right, in the event of his mother's insisting on his breaking off his
engagement with me.
 
My letter to Percy finished, I had the other and more difficult one before me, and
I was some considerable time before I could make up my mind respecting it. In the
first place, should it be to Lady Desborough or Ada? and then, how should I put it?
Of course I must say that all hope of finding the will was gone; but should I add
that in consequence I considered my engagement with Percy to be at an end, or
should I leave her to do so? At one time I resolved upon the former, and wrote the
beginnings of two or three letters to that effect. But then I said to myself, why
should I do this? Why should I assume that she would stop the allowance of 300l. a
year, which Percy has, when he thinks that with that and the staff pay he expects
to get in India, there is no reason why we could not manage very well? I
accordingly came to the conclusion to write to Ada. I told her all that we had
done, and that the will was now unquestionably lost for ever; I said that this was
of course a grievous disappointment to me, and then after a little chit-chat upon
ordinary matters, I wound up by asking her to show to Lady Desborough the part
relating to the loss of the will.
 
Although I wrote these letters at the same time, I did not send off the one to Ada
until the following day. I delayed it in this way in order that Lady Desborough
might get a letter from Percy within a few hours of receiving mine; so that she
might not answer me until she had heard Percy's arguments and entreaties that she
would not withdraw her approval of the engagement.
 
The second letter sent off, I had nothing to do but to wait patiently, but oh, how
anxiously, for the result.
 
Percy's letter came by return of post; it was just what I knew it would be, a
repetition of the one he had written when the will was first found
missing,—full of passionate protestations of love, and assurances that my
fortune had only value in his eyes on my account, and that therefore to him its
loss could make no difference. He said that it was quite impossible that his mother
could withdraw her consent, previously so warmly given, merely from a matter of
money; and he affirmed that indeed, at the age he was, he did not consider that
under any circumstances she had any right to dictate his choice to him. He told me
that he was that day writing to her, to inform her that of course what had happened
had not made the slightest change in his intentions, and that he felt assured she
would be entirely of his opinion. The next day passed without any letter from Lady
Desborough; the next and the next—a week passed. How my heart ached. I knew
what the delay meant, and could guess at the angry correspondence which must be
passing between mother and son. I knew what the result must be, and yet I hoped
against hope until the eighth day, when the long-expected letter arrived; it was as
follows:—
 
"My dear Miss Ashleigh,
 
"You may imagine how extremely sorry we all were to hear that the will under
which you ought to come into possession of the fortune to which I always understood
that you were entitled, is missing, and I fear from what you say in your letter to
Ada irretrievably lost. This is a terrible event for you, and the more so, since it
of course alters your position with respect to my son Percy. You will I am sure be
sorry to hear that it has caused a very serious misunderstanding between him and
me. I gather from what he has let drop, that you yourself quite see that it is out
of the question that your engagement with him can continue, and I know that you
will regret with me that he should not like ourselves submit to what is inevitable.
Knowing your good sense, I felt sure that you would, as a matter of course, view
the matter in the same light that I do, and it gives me pleasure to know that I had
so correctly judged your character. I am sure, my dear Miss Ashleigh, that you
would be grieved that any serious estrangement should take place between Percy and
myself; but I am sorry to say his obstinate and violent conduct at present renders
this not only probable, but imminent. I rely upon your aid to assist me in bringing
him to the same way of thinking as ourselves. Percy will, I am sure, listen to your
arguments with more politeness and deference than he pays to mine. His allowance,
as you are aware, depends entirely upon me, and it is quite impossible, as he
surely must see, that he can support a wife, even in India, on a bare lieutenant's
pay. I rely upon your good sense to convince him of this, and you will be doing a
great service to us all by your assistance in this matter. I need not say, in
conclusion, how much all this sad affair, and my son's headstrong folly, have
shaken and disturbed me, and how much I regret that circumstances should have
occurred to prevent an alliance on which I had set my heart. And now, with my
sincere condolence,
 
"Believe me, my dear Miss Ashleigh,
 
"Yours very faithfully,
 
"Eveline Desborough."
 
I really could hardly help smiling, pained and heartsick as I felt, at the quiet
way in which Lady Desborough arranged the affair, and claimed me as an ally against
Percy. When I had finished the letter, I gave it to Polly—who was watching my
face most anxiously—to read, and I do think that if Lady Desborough had been
there my sister Polly would have been very near committing a breach of the peace.
She did not say much—only the one word "infamous," as she threw the
letter on to the table, and then sat down by the fire, biting her lips with anger,
with her large eyes ablaze, and her fingers and feet twitching and quivering with
suppressed rage.
 
A letter arrived by the same post from Ada, which I will also copy from the
original, which has been so long laying in my desk:—
 
"My darling Agnes,
 
"This is a terrible affair, and I am quite ill with it all. My eyes are red
and swollen, and, altogether, I was never so wretched in my life. I should have
written to you at once to tell you how sorry I was about it, and that I love you
more dearly than ever, but mamma positively ordered me not to do so at first, so
that I was obliged to wait; but as I know that she has written to you to-day, I
must do the same. We have had such dreadful scenes here, Agnes, you can hardly
imagine. On the same morning your letter arrived, one came from Percy. It did not
come till the eleven o'clock post, and I had sent your letter up to mamma in her
room before that. Mamma wrote to Percy the same day; what she said I do not know;
but two days afterwards Percy himself arrived, and for the last three days there
have been the most dreadful scenes here. That is, the scenes have been all on
Percy's side. He is half out of his mind, while mamma is very cold,
and——Well, you can guess what she could be if she pleased. To-day she
has not been out of her room, and has sent word to Percy that as long as he remains
in the house she shall not leave it. So things are at a dead-lock. What is to be
done I have no idea. Of course I agree with Percy, and think mamma very wrong. But
what can I do? My head is aching so, I can hardly write; and indeed, Agnes, I think
I am as wretched as you can be. I do not see what is to come of it. Mamma and Percy
are equally obstinate, and which will give way I know not. Mamma holds the purse-
strings, and therefore she has a great advantage over him. I am afraid it will be a
permanent quarrel, which will be dreadful. My darling Agnes, what can I say or do?
I believe Percy will go down to see you, although I have begged him not to do so
for your sake; but he only asked me if I was going to turn against him, too; so, of
course, I could do nothing but cry. How will it end? Oh, Agnes, who would have
thought it would ever come to this? I will write again in a day or two. Goodbye, my
own Agnes.
 
"Your most affectionate
 
"Ada."
 
At twelve o'clock that day there was a knock at the door, and Percy Desborough was
ushered in. I was prepared for his coming, and therefore received him with
tolerable composure; and although I dreaded the painful scene I knew I should have
to go through, I was yet glad that he had come, for I felt that it was better that
all this should come to an end. Percy was looking very pale and worn, and as he
came up to me, much as I had schooled myself, I could hardly keep my tears down. He
came up, took me in his arms, and kissed me. I suffered him to do so. I knew that
it was nearly the last kiss that I should ever have from him. Polly, after the
first salutation, would have left the room, but I said,—
 
"Stop here, please, Polly. She knows all about it, Percy; and it is better for
us both that she should be here. I have heard this morning from Lady Desborough,
and also from Ada, so I know what you have come down for."
 
"I have come down, Agnes," Percy said, solemnly, "to renew and
confirm my engagement to you. I have come down, that you may hear me swear before
God that I will never marry any other woman but you."
 
"And I, Percy, will marry no other man; but you, even you, I will never marry
without your mother's consent. I will never divide mother and son. Besides which,
without her consent, it would be impossible."
 
"Impossible just at present, Agnes, I admit. My mother has refused to allow me
one farthing if I marry you, and I know I cannot ask you to go out to India as a
lieutenant's wife, on a lieutenant's pay; but in a short time I am sure to get a
staff appointment; and although it will not be such a home as I had hoped to offer
you, it will be at least a home in which we could have every necessary comfort; and
I know you too well, not to feel sure that you would be content with it."
 
"Percy," I said, "why do you tempt me? You know well how gladly I
would go with you anywhere, that comfort or discomfort would make little difference
to me if they were shared by you. But you know Lady Desborough, and you know well
that she will not only refuse to assist you now, but that she will utterly disown
and cast you off if you act in defiance of her will. You are choosing between wife
and mother; if you take the one, you lose the other. Has she not told you, Percy,
that if you marry me, you are no longer son of hers?"
 
Percy hesitated. "She has," he said, "she has; but, Agnes, although
in any just exercise of her authority, I, as a son, would yield to her; yet at my
age, I have a perfect right, in a matter of this sort, to choose for myself;
besides, she has already given her entire approval, and it is not because
circumstances have changed that she has any right to withdraw that consent. It was
you she approved of, and you are unaltered."
 
"She is acting, as she believes, for your good, Percy. You think her mistaken
and cruel, but she will never change, and I will never marry you without her
consent. See, Percy, I have no false pride. I would have come to you, had there
been nothing to prevent it, as a penniless wife, although I had hoped it would have
been otherwise; but no true woman will drag her husband down; no true woman will
marry a man when, instead of bringing him a fortune, she brings him ruin. You are
now comparatively well off; some day you will be much better; and I will not be the
means of your losing this—losing not only this, but your mother."
 
"But my happiness, Agnes!—what is money to happiness?" Percy
exclaimed, impetuously.
 
"Nothing, Percy,—I know and feel that; but I also feel that my decision
is right, and not wrong. I know that I could not decide otherwise, and that
whatever unhappiness it may cause us both, yet that, without your mother's consent,
I can never be yours."
 
"You will make me wish my mother dead, Agnes," Percy said, passionately.
 
"No, no, Percy, do not say that; I know I am doing right. Do not make it
harder for me than I can bear."
 
Percy strode up and down the room. Once or twice he stopped before me, as if he
would speak, but he did not. I was crying freely now, and I could not look up at
him.
 
"Can you not say something for me?" he said to Polly, at last.
 
Polly got up when he spoke to her—before that she had been sitting on the
sofa by me, holding one of my hands in hers—now she went up to him. She put
one of her hands on his shoulder, took one of his hands in her other, and looked up
into his face.
 
"Percy, she is right—you know in your own heart she is so. Have pity
upon her; she will not do it—she cannot. I love her better than myself, but I
could not advise her to do, even for her happiness, what she believes is not
right;—she cannot come between you and your mother. Wait, Percy, and be
patient—time works wonders. You may be sure she will be yours in heart to the
end of her life. Have pity on her, Percy, and go."
 
"Oh, Polly, have pity on me, too," Percy said, and his lips quivered now;
and although he kept the features of his face still rigid and under control, the
tears were starting from his eyes. "What shall I do!"
 
"Go, Percy," I said, getting up. "Go. Let us help each other;"
and I took his hands now, and looked up into his face. "Go. I do not say,
forget me; I do not say, goodbye for ever; I only say, go, now. I cannot do what
you ask me; let us wait—let us wait and hope."
 
"Agnes," Percy said, solemnly, "I go now; I leave you for a time,
but our engagement is not over, and again hear me swear never to marry any woman
but you."
 
"And I no other man, Percy; and now kiss me and go."
 
For a little while Percy held me strained to his heart, his tears rained down upon
my face, his lips pressed mine again and again, then one long, long kiss—I
felt it was the last; then he gave me to Polly, who was standing near. I heard the
door close behind him, and for a long time I heard no other sound. I had fainted.
 

---------------CHAPTER VIII. STRUGGLES FOR A LIVING.------------

 When at Christmas time Robert Gregory heard that one of the springs which
were supposed to open the secret door was found, he gave up for a time even the
pretence of looking for anything to do; but not very long afterwards he met an old
friend, and most unexpectedly went into a business with him, and that perhaps the
only one which could have been named for which he was really fitted.
 
He had one day, as was his usual custom, entered a public-house where he was well
known, and had gone into the bar parlour, where he was sitting reading the paper,
smoking his pipe, and drinking a glass of spirits and water, when another man
entered the room, looked carelessly at Gregory, then more attentively, and finally
burst out,—
 
"Hallo, Robert? is that you? How fares the world with you all this time?"
 
"By Jove, Fielding! is that you? How are you, my boy?"
 
They greeted each other warmly, for they had been a great deal together in the time
when Gregory was in London, and their satisfaction at meeting was mutual. After a
while, they sat down before the fire, ordered fresh glasses of spirits and water,
and prepared for a long talk over all that had happened since they had parted some
four years ago—Robert to return to his father at Canterbury, Fielding to
continue for a short time longer the reckless life they were living about town.
 
"Now, Gregory," Fielding said, "let me hear what you have been doing
first."
 
Robert, in reply, related pretty accurately the whole of his life since he had left
London.
 
"Well, that is a rum start," his companion said when he had finished his
story. "And you really think that you will some day come in for all this
money?"
 
"I do," Robert answered. "As I have told you they are trying down
there now, and have a good chance; but if that fails, I mean to try for it myself.
And now what have you been doing?"
 
"The easiest way to answer would be to tell you what I have not been doing.
You left us in the winter, and I held on, as I had been doing before, till the next
Derby Day; but I dropped so much upon that, that I had to make myself scarce for a
bit. Then I came back again, and set to work to earn my living, and very hard work
I found it."
 
"I should think so," Robert Gregory put in. "I have been trying to
get something to do for the last three months, and I am no nearer, as far as I can
see, than when I began. How did you set about it?"
 
"To tell you the truth, Robert, I found it rather up-hill work at first. I
worked for the papers for a bit,—went to all the fires, and the inquests, and
the hospitals, and sent accounts to all the dailies. Of course at first they did
not often put them in, still they did sometimes, and after a month or two they came
to take them pretty regularly. At last I did what I really very seldom did do; but
I was very hard-up, and I sent an account of a fire which only existed in my
imagination. Well, it turned out that there was a row about it, and of course that
put an end to that line. It was winter then, and I was very hard-up, and was glad
to earn a few shillings a week as super at one of the pantomimes. Then I happened
to meet with a man with a few pounds, and together we set up a very profitable
business—advertising to find situations for clerks and servants. They paid us
five shillings to enter their names in our books; then we answered every
advertisement that appeared in any of the papers for that sort of thing, and sent
them to look after the situations. If they got them, they paid us thirty per cent,
on the first year's earnings, down on the nail. There were three or four of us in
that game. I kept the head office, and they took places in other parts, and each of
them wanted clerks at ￡150 a year. It was a capital dodge, and we made a lot of
money; but at last it got blown upon, and we had to give it up.
 
"Then I did the ladies employment business. Lessons given for a guinea, and
constant employment guaranteed when the art was learnt. We used to send them a book
on illuminating, which by the gross cost us twopence each. None of the ladies, as
it turned out, ever became perfect enough for us to give them employment; but that
was their fault you know, not ours. Well, that paid uncommonly well for a bit.
After that, I tried no end of moves, and did sometimes well, sometimes badly; still
I was not often without a sovereign in my pocket. At last I took up my present
line; I have been at it now a year and a half, and I mean to stick to it."
 
"What is it?" Robert Gregory asked rather curiously, for his companion
had the look of a well-to-do man, although perhaps rather of a sporting cut. He
wore a good substantial great-coat with a velvet collar, a very good hat, put
rather on one side of his head, and a quiet scarf, with a gold pin representing a
jockey's cap and whip.
 
"I am a betting man," Fielding said. "I make a book on all the
races. I have certain places—public-houses, quiet streets, and so
on—where I am always to be found at regular hours of the day, and I do a very
fair business."
 
"And do you always win, Fielding?"
 
"Not always; occasionally one gets hit hard, but nineteen times out of twenty,
if one is careful, one wins. The great thing is always to have enough in hand to
pay your losses the day after the race; and as one receives all the money when the
bets are made, two or three months before a race, it is hard if one cannot do that.
In this way I have got a good name, am looked upon as a safe man, and so am getting
a good business together.
 
"What do you make on an average a week?"
 
"Well, on an average, five or six pounds—more than that a good deal in
the season, but very little just at this time of year; in a month or so I shall be
beginning again."
 
"I should like to join you, Fielding," Robert said, eagerly.
 
"Aye, but what capital could you put in? I acknowledge I could do very well
with a partner who would take one end of the town while I took the other. I could
easily double the business. But I should want a good sum of money with one. I have
been, as I told you, a year and a half at it, and have got a good connection
together."
 
"How much do you call a good sum?"
 
"That would depend upon the man," Fielding answered. "I have known
you well, and I am sure we should pull well together. I would take a hundred pounds
with you; not for my own use, mind, but to lay in a bank in our joint names. You
see it makes the beginning of an account, and we could pay in there all we took,
and settle our losses by cheques, which looks much better, and would give us a much
better name altogether."
 
"I should have difficulty in getting a hundred pounds," Robert said; and
indeed the sixty pounds the pony carriage had fetched had melted away very fast;
for Robert had spent a large amount in this daily search for employment, and Sophy
often wondered to herself, with a little sigh, how Robert could possibly spend as
much money as he did. "No, Fielding, I am sure I could not manage a hundred,
but I think I could go as far as sixty."
 
"Suppose you think it over, Gregory, and see what you can do. Let us meet here
again to-morrow at the same time, and then we will enter into it again; and I will
bring you some of my old books to show you that what I say is correct."
 
"Very well," Robert said, and they parted to meet again next day.
 
That evening Robert told Sophy what had occurred, and said that it seemed to him an
opportunity for getting on which might not occur to him again, but that he would be
guided entirely by her.
 
Sophy was a little alarmed at the thought of their whole available capital being
embarked; but she assented cheerfully to the proposal, as she was delighted at
anything which seemed likely to occupy Robert's time and thoughts, and prevent him
being driven, from sheer want of something to do, to spend his time in drinking. So
the next day the grand pianoforte was sent to an auction-room to be sold; it
fetched fifty-five pounds, and with this and twenty-five of their former stock
Robert joined Fielding as a partner, leaving a solitary ten pounds only in Sophy's
charge. But as she was now regularly giving lessons six hours a day, she had very
little occasion to break in upon this, as the thirty-six shillings she earned quite
covered her household expenses; and she was now able to go to her work with a light
heart, knowing that her absence from home no longer drove her husband to spend his
time in public-houses.
 
The firm of Gregory and Fielding flourished; in a short time they had plenty to do;
and as the spring came on and the racing season began, they had their hands quite
full. At first they went about together; and then, when Robert became known to
Fielding's connection, the one took the east end of the town, the other the west,
meeting twice a day at some middle point to compare their books and see how they
stood. They now, too, started as racing prophets and commission agents, and
advertised in the sporting papers, and by the end of April they were making a large
income. How large a portion of the money they received would be clear profit, they
could not tell until the races were over, so they agreed to draw five pounds a week
each, and to pay the rest into the bank to draw from as required. Sophy knew Robert
was doing well; for he again begged her to give up teaching, and generally gave her
four pounds out of the five he drew every week for the expenses. This was, as she
told him double what they spent; but he said that he was making that, and therefore
gave it to her; that he did not want to know how it went, but any she could save
she might put by with her own earnings, in case of a rainy day.
 
For the first two months after Robert Gregory had commenced his work, his wife did
not see much of him, for his business now often kept him out the whole evening; and
when he came back late he was seldom quite sober, and he was frequently not up when
she started to her work at nine o'clock. This went on until, in the middle of
March, the news came that the secret of the door was found, and Robert was in such
a state of excitement at what he considered the certainty of the missing will being
found, that he was quite unable to attend to his business, so Fielding agreed to
give him a holiday at any rate until he heard of the result. These three days
Robert spent in going about from public-house to public-house treating every one he
knew; telling them all it was probable that this was the last time he should see
them, as he was about to come into an immense fortune. Proportionate therefore to
his exultation, was the disappointment when the news came that the secret chamber
had been entered, and that the will was not there. Sophy had never seen him in a
rage before, indeed she had never seen any one really in a passion, and she was
thoroughly frightened and horror-struck by it. She listened in silence to the
terrible imprecations and oaths which he poured out, and which shocked and
terrified her indeed, but of the meaning of which she had, of course, not the
slightest idea.
 
At last he calmed down, but from that time he was a changed man. Among his
associates he had no longer a loud laugh and ready joke; he was become a moody,
surly man, doing all that he had to do in a dogged, resolute way, as if it was only
by sheer force of will that he could keep his attention to the work upon which he
was engaged. He came to be known among them as a dangerous customer; for one or two
of them who had ventured to joke him about the fortune he had told them of, had
been warned fiercely and savagely to leave that subject alone; while one who, more
adventurous than the others, had disregarded the warning and continued his jokes,
had been attacked with such fury, that had not Robert been pulled off him by the
bystanders, the consequences would have been most serious. So it came to be
understood amongst them that he was a man who was safer to be left alone.
 
Still the business did not suffer by the change, but, as I have said, throve and
increased wonderfully through the months of April and May. People seemed to fancy
that their money was safer with "Surly Bob," as he generally came to be
known among them, than with some of the other offhand, careless, joking
speculators. At any rate, the firm throve. They were lucky on the "Two
Thousand," and won heavily upon the "Derby;" so the money in the
bank accumulated, and Fielding and Gregory came to be looked well upon among their
associates.
 
Robert now arranged for his partner to take as much as possible of the evening work
off his hands. He gave up all his former companions, and returned back to Sophy at
half-past six, after which, except on the week preceding very important races, when
he was obliged to be at work, he did not go out again.
 
But he did not give up drinking. He told Sophy that he would stop at home of an
evening if she would not interfere with him, but that he could not give up drink
till the will was found or they started for Australia: in either of which cases, he
swore a great oath that he would never touch spirits again.
 
Sophy tried in vain to point out to him that the will now seemed altogether lost,
and that it would be better to start for abroad at once. But Robert said that he
did not give it up yet, and that, as he was doing very well, he was in no hurry to
start; but that if by the end of the next racing season—that was to say, in
about eighteen months—it was not found, he would give up his present work and
go abroad, for by that time he should have made enough money to take them out
comfortably, and to start them fairly in the new country.
 
Indeed, in his heart Robert Gregory would rather have gone on as he was, for he
knew that he should find no work out in the colony so easy and suitable for him as
his present; but yet he was determined that he would go, for Sophy's sake. He
thought that there, with hard work as a settler, he could keep from drink, and he
was sincere in his determination never again to touch it. There he might be a
respectable man yet, and, cost him what it would, he was resolved to try.
 
Sophy was satisfied with the new arrangement. She was glad to know that, at any
rate, he was now safe at home of an evening. It relieved her from the anxiety with
which she had sat, sometimes for hours, listening for his heavy, and usually
unsteady, footfall. So after that Robert, whenever he could, stayed at home, drank
large quantities of spirits, and smoked moodily; arousing himself sometimes to talk
with Sophy, who would sit by working, and always ready to answer with a cheerful
smile. Occasionally he brought home some book or paper about Australia, and Sophy
looked through it and read out to him such parts as she thought would interest him;
and then he would leave his spirits untasted for a while, and listen to the
accounts of the struggles of the back-wood settler, of the clearings in the dark
forests, and of the abundant return nature gave for the labour; and his eye would
brighten, and his finger tighten as if on the handle of an axe, and he longed for
the time to come when he too would be there, away from all debasing associations,
and out of reach of the spirit-bottle. And sometimes he told Sophy that perhaps,
after all, he should not wait as long as he had said, but might start in the early
spring. The spirits he drank of an evening had little effect upon his hardened
frame, and he generally went to bed, if not quite sober, at any rate not very
drunk.
 
He now succeeded in persuading Sophy to give up teaching; telling her that she
might be of the greatest use answering the correspondence of the firm, for that
this was now growing too large for them to manage. He urged that they would
otherwise have to pay some one else to do it, and that it would be a great
annoyance to have to let a stranger into all their secrets. He added that of course
they should be glad to pay her for her work instead of a clerk, and that they would
give her thirty-five shillings per week, which she should have for her own private
use.
 
Sophy, seeing that she really could be of service, at once agreed; and telling her
pupils that for a time she must give up teaching, she settled to her new
employment. Accordingly, the first thing after breakfast of a morning, she now sat
down to her writing-desk, with the list, on one side of her, of the horses selected
by the firm as the probable winners of the various races; on the other, of the
entries for the different races, and the current odds against each horse. She then
opened the letters received that morning, and made a list of the various
commissions sent to back different horses, to be given to Robert when he came in
for them at one o'clock; then she answered those which required reply, and sent out
circulars and lists to their numerous town and country subscribers. Generally she
had done her work about twelve o'clock, but on the few days preceding great races
she was frequently engaged until quite late in the evening.
 
However, she liked it much better than the teaching, for there was a certain
excitement in seeing whether the prophecies of the firm were correct; and as she
now knew pretty nearly what horses they stood to win or lose upon in each race, she
quite shared in their interest in the result of the different events. Every
Saturday she received her pay, which she put by as regularly. She had now two
funds. The one she considered the common fund; this consisted of the ten pounds
which remained in hand after paying the partnership money to Fielding, and which
had been increasing at the rate of nearly two pounds a week—her savings out
of the housekeeping money—ever since that time; the other was her private
fund, her own earnings since Robert had been able to pay their expenses. Of the
existence of either of these hoards Robert was quite ignorant. He was himself so
careless in money matters, and had always parted with his money so freely, that he
never thought what Sophy was saving. He knew that she always had everything very
comfortable for him, and he asked nothing more. If he had been asked, he would have
said, perhaps, that Sophy might have laid by a few pounds; but if he had been told
what the total amount came to at the end of the six months, he would have been
perfectly astounded. But Sophy said nothing about it. She was laying it by till the
time should come for starting abroad.
 
She was more comfortable now than she had been at all. Her husband, although he was
gloomy, and talked little, still was not unkind, and very, very seldom spoke
harshly to her.
 
Mrs. Billow had turned out a really kind-hearted, motherly old woman, and had
conceived quite an affection for her quiet, pale young lodger.
 
Mr. Billow she saw very little of. He was generally quite drunk or asleep, and she
never heard him except as he tumbled upstairs to bed. At first, indeed, he had been
inclined to be disagreeable, and had taken upon himself to tell Robert Gregory that
he would not have his lodgers coming in drunk at all times of the night. But Robert
turned upon him fiercely, loaded him with abuse, told him that he was a drunken old
vagabond, and a receiver of stolen goods; and that if he ever ventured to say a
word to him again, he would go the next morning to Scotland Yard, and mention what
he knew of his goings on.
 
Mr. Billow cowered under this fierce and unexpected attack, and was from that time
in deadly fear of his lodger, and kept scrupulously out of his sight.
 
Sophy, too, had by this time got to know many of her neighbours,—most of them
professional people, simple, kind-hearted women with families, struggling hard for
existence. Some of these would frequently bring their work over of an afternoon,
and sit awhile with her. They would on these occasions talk unrestrainedly of their
lives and struggles; and Sophy came to take quite an interest in their histories,
and occasional little triumphs, and in talk with them forgot her own trials and
troubles. They would have been much more sociable had Sophy chosen, and several
times asked her and her husband over to take tea with them, on evenings when they
were not professionally engaged. But Sophy declined these invitations, saying that
her husband had a dislike to society, and would not go out anywhere. Their only
visitor of an evening was Fielding, who occasionally came over for a quiet talk
with his partner, to compare their books, and discuss at leisure the chances of the
various horses, and which to lay against. He took a strong liking to Robert's quiet
lady-wife, reminding him as she did of the women he used to meet when he was young,
before he left his father, a quiet country clergyman, and came up to London.
 
Sophy's great treat was upon occasions when the firm had done particularly well,
and when Robert had come home in an unusually good temper. Then Sophy would
petition him to take her to the theatre; and as it was so very seldom that Sophy
did ask for anything, Robert, on these occasions, would give up his pipe and his
spirit-bottle, and go with her to the pit of one of the theatres. These were the
great treats of Sophy's life, and she enjoyed them immensely. She had never been to
a theatre before the first of these expeditions, and she entered into it with all
her heart. Even Robert was pleased at seeing her gratified, and promised himself
that he would come oftener with her, as when so little made her happy he would be a
brute not to let her have that little. It was too much self-denial, however, for
him voluntarily to suggest giving up his spirits and his pipe, but he never refused
on the rare occasions when she proposed it; and when he did go, he went willingly,
and with an air of pleasure which doubled Sophy's enjoyment. After their return
from the theatre, Sophy always had a nice little supper ready—some oysters,
or a lobster; and they would chat over their evening's entertainment, while Robert
drank a glass of spirits-and-water, before going to bed; and Sophy, for the time,
would really feel as happy as she had long ago dreamt she should be when Robert
Gregory was her husband.
 

---------------CHAPTER IX. POLLY TO THE RESCUE.------------

 In three or four days after that terrible interview with Percy, in which we
agreed—well, I don't know that we actually did agree to anything,—but
in which it was at any rate understood that my resolution was immovable, and that I
would not marry and accompany him to India without Lady Desborough's consent to our
union—I received a letter from him. It was written from Newry, where his
regiment was stationed, and was as follows:—
 
"My darling Agnes,
 
"I do not write this letter to you to ask you to reconsider your
determination. Deeply as I feel the disappointment of my dearest hopes, I yet bow
to your decision. Indeed, although it is against me, I feel, now that I can
consider it calmly, that it is the only one which you, with your feelings of
delicacy, could have arrived at. Forgive me, Agnes, for the cruel way in which I
tried and agitated you the other day; but my mother's hardness and obduracy had
driven me nearly out of my mind. I went away, Agnes, with your words ringing in my
ears, 'Wait and hope!' and I am ready to do so. But how long, Agnes? My regiment
may not improbably remain in India fifteen years; but at the end of eight years out
there, I can return home for, at any rate, a year's leave; so that I may expect to
be in England again in nine years from the present time. I shall by that time have
got my troop; and my pay as a captain in India, together with the extra pay I may
get from any staff appointment, would enable us to live in tolerable comfort.
Should my regiment be returning before the time I name, I can exchange into
another; so as to remain in India, at any rate, for another six or seven years.
 
"Will you, Agnes, when I return in nine years from this time, be my wife?
—I mean, whether my mother still oppose or not? I cannot think she will; but
let us suppose the worst. Will you then be my wife? Will you continue your
engagement to me, and correspond with me for that time? Will you give me that fixed
period to look forward to, instead of a restless waiting for my mother's death? If
you do this, I shall be comparatively happy; for I should then have something
certain to look forward to. If you answer 'yes,' I shall write to my mother, whom I
have neither seen nor heard from, and say that I am willing—at your
request—so far to give in to her that I will agree not to marry you before
proceeding to India, and that we will wait, at any rate, until my return. But that
I shall, of course, expect on her part that my allowance will be continued as
before. The three hundred a-year which I receive from her I shall scrupulously lay
by, as I can manage very well in India upon my lieutenant's pay; and as this,
without counting what I may make by my staff appointment, will amount to nearly
three thousand pounds in the nine years, I shall—even in the event of my
mother refusing to assist me farther after my marriage with you—have
accumulated enough to purchase my majority when the time comes. This is my future,
if you agree to my proposal, dearest. If you tell me that you will not promise, if
you write and repeat that you will not ruin me by marrying without my mother's
consent, my mind is made up. I shall at once send in my papers to the Horse Guards,
sell my commission, and embark for Australia, where, I am told, with a thousand
pounds capital to start with, I may in a few years be a rich man. I shall then
return and claim you, and no one will have a right to discuss my choice. Upon your
decision, dearest Agnes, rests my future. What is it to be?
 
"Your own,
 
"Percy."
 
After I had read this letter through many times, I resolved to lay it before Polly,
in whose judgment I felt the most perfect confidence. My sister did not hesitate a
moment.
 
"What Percy asks is only fair, Agnes. He must not, as he says, be made to look
forward to his mother's death as the only hope of his marriage with you. If you and
he make this great sacrifice to her wishes, and at the end of nine years are of the
same mind, I think that he at thirty-two and you at twenty-seven, have a perfect
right to marry even without her consent; and by that time, as he says, his position
will be so secured that he can afford to make the money sacrifice. Write and agree
to his proposal, dear, by all means."
 
My own opinion tallied with Polly's, and I wrote to Percy to tell him that I agreed
to remain engaged to him, and that, at the end of the nine years, if he claimed me,
I would be his. That I would not cease all correspondence with him, although I felt
that I had better do so, but that I would agree to exchange letters once every
three months.
 
Percy wrote at once, thanking me very much for my decision, but begging that I
would not insist on such long intervals between the letters. I would not, however,
relax that condition. I knew how few long engagements ever came to anything, and
how hard it is for a man to wait through the best part of his life. I determined,
therefore, not to keep up a too frequent exchange of letters, which would, I felt,
however much he might wish it at present, prove terribly tiresome to him long
before the expiration of the period of trial; and yet he would not like to fall off
in his correspondence, for he would know that I should feel it a great trial when
he began to write less frequently. So I maintained my resolution, but told him
that, in the event of illness, or of any particular news, the rule might, of
course, be broken.
 
In another day or two I heard again from him, saying that his mother—while on
her part reiterating her assertion that she should never alter her determination,
or consent to his marriage with any woman without either money or rank to assist
him—had yet agreed willingly to his proposal, namely, that things should go
on as before, and that the breach between them should be healed if he would go to
India by himself.
 
And so it was settled; and when my letter to Percy in answer to his was written,
the three months' rule began. And now that I could have no letter for that time, I
settled down into a dreamy, despondent state, from which, although I tried to rouse
myself, I could not succeed in doing so. Nine years! It was such a long, long time
to look forward to; and so few long engagements ever came to anything, even when
there were no difficulties in the way. How could I hope that my case would form an
exception to the rule?
 
Under all this, my health, which had never since my mother's death been strong,
failed rapidly, in spite of papa's tonics, and sister Polly's kindness and tender
care. Papa I could see was growing very anxious about me, and I myself thought that
I was going into a decline. I was thin and pale; I had no longer strength to go for
long walks with Polly, but seldom went out beyond the garden. I felt the heat, too,
dreadfully. I do not know that it was a particularly hot summer, but I was weak,
and the heat tired me sadly. Polly was unceasing in her kindness and attention; she
read to me, chatted to me, talked cheerfully about the future, pictured Percy's
return to claim me, painted our life in India, and laughingly said that if she
could not get a husband here, that she would come out to us on spec. Indeed she did
everything in her power to cheer and amuse me. I tried hard to respond to all this
kindness, but with little result; I was ashamed of myself for giving way, and yet I
gave way, and daily became weaker and weaker. I am sure that Polly thought I was
going to die, and she came to a resolution of the result of which I was not told
till long afterwards.
 
She ascertained that the elder Miss Harmer was in the habit of coming in on Sunday
mornings, to the little Catholic chapel in the town, and that she was very seldom
accompanied by her sister. Accordingly, one morning when I was unusually poorly,
and was unable to go to church, she started early, and walked through the town, and
out upon the road to Sturry; presently she saw the well-known Harmer carriage
approaching, and she pulled down her veil as it approached her, to prevent any
possibility of her being recognized.
 
She pursued her way until she reached the lodge gate of Harmer Place, turned in,
went up the drive, and rang at the hall door. Sarah opened it, and looked not a
little surprised at seeing Polly.
 
"Is Miss Angela Harmer in, Sarah?"
 
"Yes, Miss, she has just come down into the drawing-room."
 
"Do not ask her if she will see me, Sarah, as I have no doubt she would
refuse, and it is absolutely necessary that I should have a talk with her."
 
"Very well, Miss," Sarah said; "I gave notice better than three
weeks ago, and my month is up on Thursday, so I do not care in the least what they
say to me." Accordingly Sarah led the way to the drawing-room, opened the
door, and announced "Miss Mary Ashleigh." Polly went in, the door closed
behind her, and she was alone with Angela Harmer.
 
The old lady had changed much since Polly had seen her a year before; she had aged
wonderfully, and was evidently breaking fast; her cheeks had fallen in, her face
was wrinkled, and her whole figure was thinner and feebler than before; her hands,
too, which had before been plump and well shaped—and upon which, if Angela
Harmer had a single thought of personal vanity, she rather prided
herself—were thin and bony, unmistakably the hands of an old woman.
 
As Polly Ashleigh was announced and entered, Angela Harmer half rose, with an
exclamation almost of terror, and looked round with a wild, frightened look, as if
seeking some outlet of escape; but there was none, and even had there been she
could not have availed herself of it, for her knees gave way under her, and she
sank down with a scared, helpless look, into the chair from which she had half
risen.
 
Polly raised her veil, and looked down with a rather heightened colour, but with a
steady look, at the cowering old woman before her, and then said, "You are
surprised to see me here, Miss Harmer; and you well may be; for myself—had it
been to make me the richest woman in the world—would not have set foot as a
petitioner within the walls; but on behalf of my sister, I would do this and much
more."
 
"What do you want, Miss Ashleigh?" Angela Harmer said, in hurried,
anxious tones. "You must not talk to me; you must see my sister; she is more
able to talk upon business than I am."
 
"I do not go to your sister, Miss Harmer, because I know my errand would then
be a fruitless one. I come to you in her absence, because from what I know and have
heard of you, I believe that your heart is accessible to impulses of kindness and
pity; I come to you because I believe you to have been a mere passive participator
in the wrong which others have committed."
 
"What do you want?" again Miss Harmer asked, in the same frightened,
helpless way.
 
"I ask at your hands my sister's life—Miss Harmer, she is dying; do you
know why? She was happy, she was loved; and was engaged to a man worthy of her, and
they would before this have been married. But this man is dependent upon another,
and that other's consent was only given for him to wed an heiress; my sister is an
heiress no longer. This man would gladly take her penniless as she is, take her to
the ruin of his worldly prospects, but she cannot accept the sacrifice; and she is
dying—dying; do you hear that, Miss Harmer? And you are assuredly her
murderess,—far, far more so than you allege Sophy to have been of your
brother; for he was an old man, suffering from a deadly malady, by which he might
at any moment have been carried off, while this is a fair, young, happy girl, whom
you have struck down. She is dying;—Miss Harmer, I demand her life of you!
"
 
Miss Harmer cowered back into her chair before the young girl who stood looking
down with her earnest face upon her; and raised her hands feebly, as if to keep her
accuser at a distance.
 
"I pity you," Polly went on, "I pity you from my heart; but yet I
demand my sister's life; give her back to us again, and you will be
doubly—yes, tenfold repaid; for your peace of mind will be restored to you. I
know what you must have suffered—your changed face shows it; I know what
misery you must have undergone, and the struggle between your conscience, your
innate sense of right, and what you had been led to believe. This was terrible
before; but it was nothing to what you will feel now, with the thought of my
sister, whom you are sending to her grave, before you. You cannot—I see it in
your face—you cannot reconcile with your conscience what you are doing; for
your own sake, Miss Harmer, and for my sister's, I call upon you to do what is
right."
 
"What would you have?" Miss Harmer asked, wringing her hands in helpless
despair; "we offered at Christmas——"
 
"You did," Polly broke in, "you tried to cheat your conscience, as
Ananias did of old, by giving part while you held back the rest; but we could not
accept it: not even to save life, could we receive as a gift part of our own, and
so become almost participators in the robbery of Sophy and ourselves. No, Miss
Harmer, we must have our own, or nothing. I call upon you now, solemnly in the
names of your dead brother, and of my dying sister, to give me this will you are
hiding. Give it to me, and I promise you in the name of us all, that the past shall
never be alluded to; I offer you a clear conscience, and our blessing, as the
saviour of my sister's life."
 
"But my sister!—Father Eustace!" Miss Harmer murmured, in a
terrified tone to herself. "Oh, no, no, no, I dare not!" and she again
wrung her hands despairingly.
 
"You dare not refuse, Miss Harmer; you dare not go down to your grave with
this grievous wrong and with my sister's death upon your soul; you will have to
meet then, One whose wrath will be far more terrible than that of the anger of
mortal. Miss Harmer, give me the will,—come," and with an air of mingled
entreaty and command, Sophy took Miss Harmer's hands, looking down upon her with
her earnest eyes, and Miss Harmer almost unconsciously rose to her feet.
 
"Come," Polly said again, "save my sister's life, earn peace and
happiness for yourself, here and hereafter."
 
The girl led the old woman to the door, never taking her eyes from her face, for
she felt that somehow she was exercising a strange power over her, that she was
leading her, as it were, against her own will and volition, and that if nothing
occurred to break the spell, the victory was hers. Miss Harmer's eyes were wide
open, but she hardly seemed to see, but went mechanically, like a person walking in
her sleep; her lips moved, but no sound came from them; then they went out of the
door, and up the stairs, and turned towards the door of Mr. Harmer's former
bedroom, when a noiseless step came up the stairs behind them, a hand was placed
upon Miss Harmer's shoulder, and the deep voice of Father Eustace said,—
 
"Sister Angela, what are you doing?"
 
As a sleep-walker startled at some sudden touch from a dream, the old woman turned
round with a convulsive start, and then with a loud cry fell senseless to the
ground.
 
"Who are you?" the priest asked of Polly, as he stooped to raise the
fallen woman. "Who are you?"
 
"One of the rightful possessors of this house," Polly said, proudly; and
then turning round—for she saw that the prize was hopelessly lost at the
moment of victory—she went down stairs and out of the house, telling Sarah,
whom she found in the hall, to go upstairs to help the astonished Father Eustace to
carry the insensible woman to her room.
 
Polly, when she got home again, went straight to the library, and told papa of her
visit to Harmer Place, and its results, and how nearly she had been to the recovery
of the will. Papa looked thoughtful over it for some time.
 
"It was a dangerous experiment, Polly, but the fact that you so nearly
succeeded, proves that it was not a hopeless one, as I should have unhesitatingly
have pronounced it to be, had you asked my opinion before starting. It shows that
the will is in existence still, and no doubt as she was leading you towards Mr.
Harmer's room, she was going down the upper staircase towards the secret chamber,
in some closet in which it is undoubtedly concealed. I only hope that Miss Harmer
will not, when she returns home, and hears what a narrow escape she has had,
destroy the will at once. However, we must do as we have done before, hope for the
best."
 
Papa and Polly had a long talk again over Miss Harmer, and they quite agreed that
her religious bigotry and personal obstinacy were both so great that it was
hopeless to expect any change in her. Her superstition was the only weak point in
her character. So great was this, that papa said that, strong-minded woman as she
was in other respects, he had heard her confess that she would not remain without a
light at night for any consideration, and that she would not even go into a dark
room without a candle on any account.
 
"It is very strange, papa," Polly said. "How do you account for a
feeling so opposed to her general character?"
 
"We are all anomalies, Polly, and in the present instance the anomaly can be
accounted for more easily than it can in many others. As children, the Misses
Harmer were brought up in convents abroad, and saw pictures and were told stories
of the martyrdoms of saints, until the very air seemed full of horrors. I have no
doubt that this is how their feeling originated; but at any rate it is fortunate
for us, for there is no question that it is their superstition, heightened by the
threat I held over them of their brother's spirit, which has prevented Miss Harmer
from destroying the will long ago."
 
"I wish I could frighten her again," Polly said thoughtfully.
 
"Come, Polly, no more tricks," papa said, "you might get yourself
into some very serious scrape. You must promise me that you will on no account go
to Harmer Place again, without consulting me beforehand."
 
Polly did not like to promise, but papa insisted upon it, and Polly, although very
reluctantly, had to bind herself by a promise not to do so again.
 
Two days afterwards, a short time after breakfast—to which I had not
risen—there was a knock at the door, and the servant came in, looking rather
surprised, and said that Miss Harmer wished to speak to Miss Mary Ashleigh.
 
Polly, who was alone, at once ordered her to be shown in. The girl rose to meet her
visitor with a bright flush on her cheek, and a little nervous tremor of excitement
running through her, for she felt that Miss Harmer was a very different woman to
her sister, and that she had a harder battle to fight than the previous one had
been, and with even a slighter chance of victory.
 
Miss Harmer entered stiff and unbending, and her cold stern face at once restored
Polly's composure. Her bow of greeting was to the full as haughty as that of Miss
Harmer, and she motioned that lady to a chair, and in silence sat down opposite to
her.
 
The two women looked at each other full in the face, and Miss Harmer, fearless as
she herself was of all earthly things, could not help admiring the bright
unflinching look of the young girl, and feeling that despite the difference of age,
she had met an opponent worthy of her. Seeing that Polly waited quietly for her to
begin, she said at last,—
 
"I have called, Miss Ashleigh, to remonstrate with you upon your very
extraordinary conduct the other day. My sister has been very ill, and indeed it was
only last evening that she was able to give me any account of what had taken
place."
 
"I am sorry to hear that your sister has been ill, Miss Harmer, but for no
other reason do I regret what I did. I endeavoured for my sister's sake to persuade
your sister to do what was right. I grieve that my attempt failed, but on that
account only do I regret what I have done. I did it without the knowledge of my
father or sister. I acted as I did because my conscience told me I was right."
 
"But your conduct is outrageous, Miss Ashleigh," Miss Harmer said
angrily. "You first gratuitously assume that this will—which there is
every reason to believe is long since destroyed—is in existence; upon the
strength of this unfounded and injurious supposition you insult us grossly, and
have shocked and alarmed my poor sister beyond description. If such a thing occur
again, or if any similar attempt is made, I shall call in the assistance of the law
for our protection."
 
"I assume that the will is in existence, Miss Harmer, because I am as certain
of it as I am of my own being."
 
"I suppose," Miss Harmer said scornfully, "you imagine that my poor
sister—whom your language and manner appear to have affected until she did
not know what she was doing—was taking you to my brother's room, and that she
would have there unlocked a drawer and given you the will."
 
"My supposition is founded upon no such grounds, Miss Harmer. I know the will
to be in existence, and I also know that it is not in your brother's room."
 
Polly spoke so calmly and earnestly, that Miss Harmer felt a little startled and
uneasy in spite of herself.
 
"Upon what my conviction is founded I will presently inform you. My attempt
failed, and I shall try no more, but leave the matter in His hands who is certain
to bring the works of darkness to light in the end. You believe, Miss Harmer,"
and the girl's voice rose now, and became more firm and impressive, "that you
are acting in the interests of God; believe me, He is strong enough to act for
Himself. I have a strong, a sure conviction that some day it will be all made
straight, and in the meantime I am content to trust my sister's life in His hands,
and wait. If she die, it is His will; but I still hope that He will in some way or
other make known to me where the will is placed."
 
Miss Harmer looked scornfully at her. Polly paid no heed to her look; she had
turned her eyes from Miss Harmer now, and was looking straight before her, and went
on, speaking in a quiet, dreamy tone, as if almost unconscious of her visitor's
presence.
 
"Already I know much. I know that the will is not destroyed, and yet I know
not where it is, but I may know yet. I have dreams at night. I see at times before
me a small chamber, with a single arm-chair and a table there; a light stands upon
the table, and a figure, your brother, sits there writing. The will lies on the
table before him. He has risen now, and has taken up the will and the candle, but
the light burns dimly, and I cannot see what he does with it; but I know somehow
that he has put it into a place of safety, and that it is there still. A voice
seems to say to me, 'Patience, and wait: I guard it!' When I wake I know this is no
ordinary dream, for it comes over and over again, and I know that the chamber is in
existence. I can see it now before me, with its low ceiling, and a stone staircase
which seems to run through it, leading both up and down—I know not where. I
can see it, with its table and chair, with books and some scattered papers, and a
figure is sitting in the chair, and which yet seems to me to be no figure, but a
mere shadow; but I know that he is there, and that he will wait until the time
comes for the hidden will to be found. Miss Harmer!" Polly said, turning
suddenly round upon her, "you best know how far my dream is true, and whether
such a chamber as I have seen exists!"
 
Miss Harmer made no reply, but sat as if stricken with a fit. She had during her
brother's life been frequently in the "priest's chamber," and once on the
afternoon of his death; and the room rose before her as Polly described it, with
its table and candles, and her brother sitting reading, and the stone steps leading
up and down. She could hardly keep herself from screaming aloud. The hard, rigid
lines of her face relaxed; the tightly-closed lips parted; and the whole expression
of her face was changed by this great terror.
 
Polly saw the tremendous sensation she had created, and rose and filled a tumbler
with water from a caraffe which stood on the side board, and offered it to Miss
Harmer, but she motioned it away. Polly set it down beside her, and it was some
time before the stricken woman could trust her trembling hand to carry it to her
lips. At length she did so, drank a little, and then said,—
 
"One question, Miss Ashleigh: Did my brother ever reveal to your father,
sister, or yourself the existence and description of such a place as you speak of?
"
 
"As I hope in heaven!" Polly said, solemnly, "he did not."
 
There was a pause for some time, and then Miss Harmer said, very feebly,—
 
"I confess you have startled me, Miss Ashleigh; for you have, I say honestly,
described accurately a place the very existence of which I believed known only to
my dead brother, my sister, myself, and one other person abroad, with whom it would
be as safe as with myself. I went into that chamber on the day after my brother's
death, to see if the will was on that table, but, as you say, it was not. Should it
be anywhere in existence, which, remember, I am ignorant of—for I give you my
solemn assurance that I have not seen it since my brother's death—and should,
in your dream, the place where it is hidden be revealed to you, come to me, and you
shall be free to examine the place, and take the will if you find it. I will
acknowledge the hand of God, and not struggle against it. And now goodbye. You will
not come again to my sister?"
 
"I will not, Miss Harmer. I wait and hope."
 
"Will you not reconsider the proposal we made?"
 
"No, Miss Harmer—it is impossible."
 
Miss Harmer now rose with some difficulty, and went out, attended by Polly, to her
carriage, with an air very different to her usual upright walk.
 
When the door had closed, and the carriage had driven off, Polly said exultingly to
herself, "The will is safe for a time anyhow."
 
Four or five days afterwards papa received a formal letter from Miss Harmer's man
of business in London, saying that the Misses Harmer were anxious to clear off all
outstanding accounts, and that they did not find any mention among Mr. Harmer's
papers of money paid to Dr. Ashleigh for professional services, during the three
years prior to his death; that as all other payments were punctually entered by Mr.
Harmer, it was evident that no such sum had been paid; and that he, therefore, at
Miss Harmer's request, forwarded a cheque for ￡500, being, she stated, certainly
not too large a sum for the constant attendance furnished by him during that time.
 
Papa did not refuse to accept this money, as indeed he had not, from the time that
Mr. Harmer declared his intentions respecting us, ever sent in any account to him.
Papa determined to spend the money in making a grand tour for the benefit of my
health; and accordingly, in another fortnight—having arranged with some one
to take his practice during his absence—he, Polly, and I started for a four
months' tour. For that time we wandered through Switzerland, Germany, and the old
cities of Belgium; and very greatly we enjoyed it. My health improved with the
change of scene, and when we returned to our old home, at the end of November, I
was really myself again, and was able to look forward cheerfully to the future, and
to take my part again in what was going on round me.
 

---------------CHAPTER X. ALLIES FROM ALSATIA.------------

 And so things went on with the Gregorys through the summer months, and on
into the autumn. Still the firm of Gregory and Fielding flourished, and still Sophy
wrote their letters for them. Robert remained moody and sullen, staying at home of
an evening, but saddening Sophy by his continued indulgence in the bottle, and by
his moody sullen temper, which, however, was hardly ever turned against herself.
Robert Gregory still tried hard to keep to the resolve he had made. This little
girl who loved him so fondly, who had ruined herself for his sake, and who bore so
patiently with his faults, he was determined should in addition to her other
troubles, have at any rate no unkindness to bear from him; he strove hard for that;
he would at least in that respect not be a bad husband to her. He did not love her
with the passionate love which he might have given to some women; his feelings
towards her were a mixture of love and compassion, mingled with admiration at the
unflinching courage and equanimity with which she endured the great change which
had befallen her.
 
Late in the autumn the good fortune which had so steadily accompanied the
operations of the firm seemed all at once to desert them, and on the Cambridgeshire
and the Cesarewitch, the two last great races of the season, they lost very
heavily. For the one, relying upon information they had received from a lad in the
stable, they had continued to lay heavily against the favourite, who, when the day
came, not only won, but won in a canter. The other, an outsider against whom they
had several times laid fifty to one—believing his chance to be worth
nothing—won by a neck, defeating a horse on whom they stood to win heavily.
These two races were a very severe blow to them, but still they held up their
heads. Their previous winnings had been so large that they were able to draw from
their bankers sufficient to meet their creditors on settling day, and still to have
two hundred pounds remaining in the bank. Heavy as their loss was, it had one good
effect—it gave them the best possible name, and, as Fielding said, it secured
them a certainty of increased connection and business in the ensuing year.
 
Throughout the season they had never been a day behind in their payments, nor once
asked for time; and their character as straight-forward honest men stood so high,
that Fielding was resolved during the winter to enter as a member of Tattersall's,
which would secure them a larger business, and give them a better position and
increased opportunity for managing the commission part of their business.
 
On Robert Gregory, however, the loss had one good effect, that of making him
determine more than ever that he would give up the business and start for Australia
in the spring, unless in the meantime he could find the will; and to this point all
his thoughts now turned. He would sit of an evening musing over it for hours, and
hardly speaking a word. Sophy, too, was now less able to endeavour to cheer or
rouse him, for she, too, had her anxieties—she was expecting very shortly to
be confined. One evening after sitting thus for an unusually long time, he rose,
and saying that his head ached, and that he should go out for an hour or so for a
walk, he got up and went out. He did not walk far, only to the corner of the
street, and stood there for some little time smoking his pipe and looking out on
the busy road. Then he turned round, and came slowly back to the house, walking in
the road so that his tread on the pavement might not be heard. When he came
opposite his own door, he paused, then went in at the gate and into the little
patch of garden, and knocked at the kitchen door under the steps. Mr. Billow who
was dozing at the fire woke up and opened the door, and was astonished into a state
more approaching perfect wakefulness than he had been for many a month before, on
seeing his lodger from upstairs applying for admission at this door.
 
"It is all right, Mr. Billow," Robert said, entering and shutting the
door behind him. "Just fasten the other door, will you; I don't wish my wife,
and therefore I don't wish yours, to know that I am here. I want half an hour's
chat with you."
 
Mr. Billow fastened the kitchen door in silence, and then sat down again, motioning
to Robert, whom he was regarding with great suspicion, to do the same.
 
"What are you drinking?" Robert asked, taking up a black bottle which was
standing on the table, and smelling the contents. "Ah, whisky; that will
do;" so saying he took down a glass from the shelf, poured some spirits into
it from the bottle, and some hot water from a kettle on the fire, and then putting
in a lump of sugar from a basin on the table, took his seat. Mr. Billow imitated
his guest's proceedings as far as mixing himself a strong glass of spirits and
water, and then waited for Robert to commence the conversation. He had seen so many
unexpected things in his trade, that it took a good deal to surprise him. Robert
lit his pipe again, swallowed half the contents of his tumbler, and then began.
 
"My wife, Mr. Billow, as you may suppose by what you have heard, and by what
you may remember of her pony carriage and piano which came up when we first came
here fifteen months ago, was brought up a lady, and not accustomed to live in such
a miserable little den as this."
 
Mr. Billow here interrupted, "that if it was not good enough for them, why did
they stop there?"
 
"You hold your tongue," Robert said, savagely, "and don't interrupt
me, if you value that miserable old neck of yours. She was brought up a lady,"
he continued, "and was to have come into a large fortune. The person who had
left her the fortune died, and the will has been hidden away by his
sisters,—two old women who live in a lonely house in the country. Of course,
there are servants, and that sort of thing; but they sleep in a distant part of the
building, and would not be likely to hear anything that went on. There is no other
house within call. One of these women, I understand, is as hard as a rock; there
would be no getting her to say a word she did not want to say, if it was to save
her life. The other one is made of different stuff. Now I want to get hold of a
couple of determined fellows, accustomed to that sort of business, to make an
entrance there with me at night—to get hold of this old woman, and to
frighten her into telling us where this will is hidden. If I can get it, I am safe,
because the house is part of the property; and besides, I should have them under my
thumb for hiding the will. If it had not been my own house I was going to break
into, I would rather do the job by myself than take any one with me, to give them
the opportunity of living on me all the rest of my life. As it is, I am safe both
from the law and from extortion. If we are interrupted, and things go wrong, we can
get off easily enough, so that there is no great risk either for me or the men who
go with me. What do you think, Mr. Billow—this is all in your line? Could you
put your hand on a couple of such men as I want?"
 
"There are such men to be found in London, no doubt," Mr. Billow said,
cautiously. "The question is, would it be worth any one's while to find them,
and would it be worth their while to go?"
 
"If from any bad luck we should fail," Robert Gregory answered, "I
could only afford to pay a ten-pound note each; if I succeed, I will give them a
couple of hundred apiece, which would make it the best night's work they have done
for a long time, and I will give you the same I do them."
 
"I can find the men," Mr. Billow said readily; "they shall be
here—let me see, by this time the day after to-morrow."
 
"No, no," Robert said hastily; "not here. You take me to some place
you may appoint to meet them; and your part of the agreement is that you on no
account tell them my name, or anything about me. If the plan succeeds, I don't
care, for I shall only have broken into my own house. At any rate, if I were
punished I should care very little, for I should be a rich man; and I question if
the old women dare prosecute me for any violence I may have to use, when they will
be themselves liable to imprisonment for hiding the will; but in the case of its
failing, I don't want to be in the power of any man. I don't mind you, because I
could break up your place here in return; but I intend to go abroad very soon if it
fails, and I don't want anything known against me. So make an appointment for me to
meet them where you like, and call me Robert Brown."
 
Two days afterwards, Mr. Billow informed Robert that he had made an appointment for
him to meet two first-rate hands that evening, at a quiet place, where they could
talk things over without being interrupted. Accordingly, at nine o'clock, Robert
Gregory made some excuse to Sophy, and went out. He found Mr. Billow waiting for
him at the corner of the street; and although for once he was sober, and had
evidently taken some pains with his personal appearance, Robert could not help
thinking what a dirty, disreputable old man he looked, and feeling quite ashamed of
him as he kept close to his heels along the busy Westminster Bridge Road. They
crossed the bridge, kept on in front of the old Abbey, and entered the network of
miserable lanes and alleys which lie almost beneath the shadow of its towers. Into
this labyrinth they plunged, and went on their way through lanes of squalid houses,
with still more squalid courts leading from them, reeking with close, foul smells,
which sickened the mere passer-by, and told their tales of cholera and typhus;
miserable dens, where honest labour and unsuccessful vice herd and die together;
hotbeds of pestilence and fever, needing only a spark to burst into a flame of
disease, and spread the plague around—a fitting judgment on the great, rich
city which permits their existence within it. Through several of these they passed,
and then emerged into a wider street, where the gaslight streamed out from nearly
every house, and where the doors were ever on the swing. By the sides of the
pavements were stalls with candles in paper lanterns, with hawkers proclaiming the
goodness of the wares which they sold; stale vegetables, the refuse of the fish at
the public sales at Billingsgate, and strange, unwholesome-looking meats, which
would puzzle any one to define the animals from which they were taken, or the
joints which they were supposed to represent. Round them were numbers of eager,
haggling women; and the noise, the light, and bustle, formed a strange contrast to
the silent, ill-lighted lanes through which they had just passed. In a rather wider
lane than usual, leading off this sort of market, was a quiet-looking public-house,
offering a strong contrast to its brilliant rivals close by, with their bright
lamps, and plate-glass, and gaudy fittings. Into this Mr. Billow entered, followed
by Robert Gregory. Two or three men were lounging at the bar, who looked up rather
curiously as the new comers entered. Mr. Billow spoke a word or two to the
landlord, to whom he was evidently known, and then passed along a passage into a
small room, where two men were sitting with glasses before them, smoking long
pipes. They rose when Robert and his conductor entered, with a sort of half bow,
half nod. Mr. Billow closed the door carefully behind him, and then said to
Robert,—
 
"These are the parties I was speaking to you of; both first-class in their
lines. I have had a good deal to do with them in my time, and have always found
them there when wanted."
 
"That's true, governor," one of the men said; "no man can say that
either of us ever did what was not right and straight-forward."
 
"And now, Mr. Brown," Mr. Billow said, "that I have brought you
together, I shall leave you to talk things over. I don't want to know anything
about the matter. The fewer that are in these things the better. I shall go out for
half an hour to see some friends, and after that you will find me in the bar. Shall
I order anything in for you?"
 
"Yes," Robert Gregory said; "tell them to send in a bottle of
brandy, and a kettle with hot water."
 
Mr. Billow accordingly went out, and the two men instinctively finished the glasses
before them, in order that they might be in readiness for the arrival of the fresh
ingredients. While they were waiting for the coming of them, Robert Gregory had
time to examine narrowly his associates in his enterprise. The younger, although
there was not much difference in their ages, was a man of from thirty to thirty-
five—a little active man. The lower part of his face was, contrary to usual
custom, the better. He had a well-shaped mouth and chin, with a good-natured smile
upon his lips; but his eyes were sharp and watchful, with a restless, furtive look
about them, and his hair was cut quite short, which gave him an unpleasant jail-
bird appearance. He was a man of some education and considerable natural abilities.
He was known among his comrades by the soubriquet of The Schoolmaster. The other
was a much bigger and more powerful man; a heavy, beetle-browed, high-cheeked
ruffian, with a flat nose, and thick, coarse lips. He was a much more common and
lower scoundrel than The Schoolmaster; but they usually worked together: one was
the head and the other the hand. Both were expert house-breakers, and had passed a
considerable portion of their time in prison. When the bottle of spirits was
brought, the kettle placed upon the fire, the glasses filled, and they were again
alone, Robert Gregory began,—
 
"I suppose you know what I want you for?"
 
"Thereabout," The Schoolmaster said. "The old one told us all about
it. The long and short of it is, two old women have hid a paper, which you want,
and our game is to go in and frighten one of them into telling where it is
hid."
 
"Yes, that is about it," Robert answered.
 
"You know the house well?"
 
"I have only been in it once, but it has been so exactly described to me that
I could find the right room with my eyes shut. She is a timid old woman, and I
think a pistol pointed at her head will get the secret out of her at once."
 
"I don't know," the schoolmaster said, "some of these old women are
uncommon cantankerous and obstinate. Suppose she should not, what then?"
 
"She must," Gregory said, with a deep oath. "I must have the will;
she shall tell where it is."
 
"You see, master, if she is hurt we shall get hauled up for it, even if you do
get the paper."
 
"She is liable to imprisonment," Robert said, "for hiding it, so she
would hardly dare to take steps against us; but if she did, you are safe enough.
They may suspect me, they may prove it against me, but I don't care even if I am
sent across the sea for it. The property would be my wife's, and she would come out
to me, and in a year or two I should get a ticket-of-leave. I have thought it all
over, and am ready to risk it, and you are all right enough."
 
"And the pay is ten pounds each down, and two hundred pounds each if we get
it?"
 
Robert nodded.
 
"We are ready to do it, then," The Schoolmaster said; "there's my
hand on it;" and the two men shook hands with Robert Gregory on the bargain.
"And now let us talk it over. Of course she must be gagged at once, and the
pistol tried first. If that does not do—and old women are very
obstinate—I should say a piece of whipcord round her arm, with a stick
through it, and twisted pretty sharply, would get a secret out of any one that ever
lived."
 
"I don't wish to hurt the old woman if I can help it," Gregory said,
moodily; "besides, it would make it so much the worse for me afterwards. But
the will I must have, and if she brings it upon herself by her cursed obstinacy, it
is her fault, not mine."
 
They then went into a number of details on the subject, and arranged everything,
and it was settled that they should start on that day week; but that if any delay
were necessary, that Robert should call at the same place on the evening before the
start. If they heard nothing from him, they were to meet at the railway station at
nine o'clock on the morning named. Robert then took leave of them, and returned
home with Mr. Billow.
 
This delay for a week was because Sophy was daily expecting to be confined, and
Robert was determined to wait till that was over. However, on the very next day a
son was born to Sophy, who, as she received it, thanked God that now at least she
had a comfort who would be always with her, and which nothing but death could take
away. She felt that her days would be no longer long and joyless, for she would
have a true pleasure—something she could constantly pet and care for.
 

---------------CHAPTER XI. THE COUP DE MAIN.------------

 It was two o'clock in the morning; Miss Harmer was at her devotions. Half her
nights were so spent. Not that she felt any more need for prayer than she had
formerly done, nor that she had one moment's remorse or compunction concerning the
course she had adopted; in that respect she was in her own mind perfectly
justified. He whom she had looked up to for so many years for counsel and advice,
he who to her represented the Church, had enjoined her to act as she had done, had
assured her that she was so acting for the good of the Church, and that its
blessing and her eternal happiness were secured by the deed; and she did not for an
instant doubt him. The only moment that she had wavered, the only time she had ever
questioned whether she was doing right, was when Polly Ashleigh had so vividly
described the chamber, and when it had seemed to her that the secret was in the
course of being revealed by dreams. She thought it altogether natural and right
that the estate of her Catholic ancestors—the estate which her elder brother
had actually devised to the Church, and which had been only diverted from that
destination by what she considered an actual interposition of the evil one
himself—should go as they had intended. So that she never questioned in her
own mind the right or justice of the course she had taken.
 
Miss Harmer rose at night to pray, simply because she had been taught in the stern
discipline of the convent in which she had been brought up and moulded to what she
was, that it was right to pass a part of the night in prayer, and she had never
given up the custom. And, indeed, it was not merely from the force of custom that
she made her devotions; for she prayed, and prayed earnestly, and with all her
strength, prayed for the increase and triumph of the Church, that all nations and
people might be brought into its fold, and that God would show forth His might and
power upon its enemies. On this night she was more wakeful than usual, for the wind
was blowing strongly round the old walls of Harmer Place, and sounded with a deep
roar in its great chimneys. This was always pleasant music to her; for she, like
her dead brothers, loved the roar and battle of the elements, and the fierce
passionate spirit within her seemed to swell and find utterance in the burst of the
storm.
 
Suddenly she paused in the midst of her devotions; for amidst the roar and shriek
of the wind she thought she heard the wild cry of a person in distress. She
listened awhile; there was no repetition of the sound, and again she knelt, and
tried to continue her prayers; but tried in vain: she could not divest herself of
the idea that it was a human cry, and she again rose to her feet. Stories she had
heard of burglaries and robbers came across her. She knew that there was a good
deal of valuable plate in the house; and then the thought, for the first time,
occurred to her, that perhaps it was her sister's voice that she had heard. She did
not hesitate an instant now, but went to a table placed against the bed on which
lay two pistols: curious articles to be found in a lady's bedroom, and that lady
more than seventy years old. But Miss Harmer was prepared for an emergency like
this. For the last year Father Eustace had been warning her of the danger of it;
not perhaps that he had any idea that a burglary would actually be attempted, but
he wished to be resident in the house, and to this, with her characteristic
obstinacy when she had once made up her mind to anything, she refused to assent.
The Harmers' chaplains she said never had been resident; there was a house in the
village belonging to them, which they had built specially for their chaplains to
reside in, and which they had so inhabited for more than a hundred years, and she
did not see why there should be any change now. Father Eustace had urged that the
sisters slept in a part of the building far removed from the domestics, and that if
the house were entered by burglars they might not be heard even if they screamed
ever so loud.
 
"I am not likely to scream, although I am an old woman," Miss Harmer had
answered grimly; and the only result of Father Eustace's warning had been, that
Miss Harmer had ordered a brace of her brother's pistols to be cleaned and loaded,
and placed on the table at her bedside; and it was the duty of the gardener to
discharge and reload these pistols every other morning, so that they might be in
perfect order if required.
 
Miss Harmer's pistols were rather a joke among the servants; and yet they all
agreed that if the time ever did come when she would be called upon to use them,
the stern old woman would not hesitate or flinch for a moment in so doing.
 
So with a pistol in one hand, and a candle in the other, Miss Harmer went out of
her door and along the short corridor which led to her sister's bedroom—a
strange gaunt figure, in a long white dress covering her head—in fact a nun's
attire, which she put on when she prayed at night, and from underneath which the
stiff white frills of her cap bristled out strangely. She walked deliberately
along, for she believed that she was only deceiving herself, and that the cry which
she had thought she heard was only a wilder gust of wind among the trees. When she
reached her sister's door, she paused and listened. Then she started back, for
within she could hear low murmured words in men's voices, and then a strange
stifled cry: she hesitated but for one moment, to deliberate whether she should go
back to fetch the other pistol—then that strange cry came up again, and she
threw open the door and entered. She was prepared for something, but for nothing so
terrible as met her eyes. The room was lighted by the two candles which still
burned in a little oratory at one end of the room before a figure of the Virgin; a
chair lay overturned near it, and it was evident that Angela Harmer had, like her
sister, been engaged at her devotions when her assailants had entered the room, and
when she had given that one loud cry which had at last brought her sister to her
assistance. But all this Cecilia Harmer did not notice then, her eyes were fixed on
the group in the middle of the room.
 
There, in a chair, her sister was sitting, a man, standing behind it, held her
there; another was leaning over her, doing something—what her sister could
not see; a third stood near her, seemingly giving directions; all had black masks
over their faces.
 
Angela Harmer was a pitiful sight: her white nun's dress was all torn and
disarranged; her cap was gone; her thin grey hair hung down her shoulders; her head
and figure were dripping wet—she having fainted from pain and terror, and
having been evidently recovered by pouring the contents of the water-jug over her,
for the empty jug lay on the ground at her feet. Her face was deadly pale with a
ghastly expression of terror and suffering, made even more horrible to see, by a
red handkerchief which one of the ruffians had stuffed into her mouth as a gag.
 
It was a dreadful sight, and Miss Harmer gave a loud cry when she saw it. She
rushed forward to her sister's aid, discharging as she did so, almost without
knowing it, her pistol at the man nearest to her. As she fired, there was a volley
of deep oaths and fierce exclamations; the one who was holding Angela Harmer, with
a jerk sent the chair in which she was sitting backwards, bringing her head with
fearful force against the floor. There was a rush to the door; one of the robbers
struck Cecilia Harmer a violent blow on the head with the butt end of a heavy
pistol which he held in his hand, stretching her insensible on the ground; and then
the three men rushed downstairs, and through the hall window, by which they had
entered; across the grounds—but more slowly now, for one was lagging
behind—and out into the road.
 
There in the lane a horse and light cart were standing, the horse tied up to a
gate. Two of them jumped at once into the cart. "Jump up, mate!" the
shorter of the two said, and with the exception of fierce oaths of disappointment,
it was the first word which had been spoken since Cecilia Harmer had entered the
room. "Jump up, mate! we have no time to lose."
 
"I can't," the man said; "that she-devil has done for me."
 
"You don't say that," the other said, getting out of the cart again.
"I thought she had touched you by the way you walked, but I fancied it was a
mere scratch. Where is it?"
 
"Through the body," the man said, speaking with difficulty now, for it
was only by the exercise of almost superhuman determination that he had succeeded
in keeping up with the others.
 
"Well, you are a good plucked 'un, mate," the man said, admiringly.
"Here, Bill, lend me a hand to get him into the cart."
 
The other man got down, and the two lifted their almost insensible companion into
the cart, laid him as tenderly as they could in the straw at the bottom, and then,
jumping in themselves, drove off down the hill as fast as the horse could gallop.
This speed they kept up until they were close to Canterbury; and then they
slackened it, and drove quietly through the town, not to excite the suspicions of
such policemen as they passed in the streets. When clear of the town, they again
put the horse to his fullest speed. Once, after going three or four miles, they
drew up, where a little stream ran under the road. Here one of them fetched some
water, and sprinkled it on the face of the wounded man, who was now insensible.
They then poured some spirits, from a flask one of them carried, between his lips,
and he presently opened his eyes and looked round.
 
"Cheer up, mate; you will do yet," one said, in a tone of rough kindness.
 
The wounded man shook his head.
 
"Yes, yes, you will soon be all right again, and we shan't drive so fast now
we are quite safe. There, let's have a look at your wound."
 
They found that, as he had said, he was hit in the body. The wound had almost
ceased bleeding now, and there was nothing to be done for it. With an ominous shake
of the head, they remounted the cart, and drove gently on.
 
"This is a bad job, Bill."
 
"A —— bad job," the other said, with an oath; "about as
bad as I ever had a hand in. Who would have thought that old cat would have held
out against that? I know I could not have done it."
 
"No, nor I either. I would have split on my own mother before I could have
stood that. I am afraid it is all up with him," and he motioned towards the
man at the bottom of the cart.
 
The other nodded.
 
"What are we to do with him, Schoolmaster?"
 
"We must leave him at Parker's, where we got the cart. He can't be taken any
farther. I will ask him." And he stopped the cart, and told the wounded man,
who was conscious now, what they intended to do, and asked if he could suggest
anything better.
 
He shook his head.
 
"He is a good fellow; he will make you comfortable, never you fear."
 
The man seemed now to want to ask a question, and The Schoolmaster leaned over him
to catch the words.
 
"Did you take anything?"
 
The man hesitated a little.
 
"Well, mate, truth is I did. I grabbed a watch and chain, and a diamond cross,
which were laying handy on the table."
 
The wounded man looked pleased.
 
"I am glad of that; they will think it is only a common burglary. I don't
think the woman will ever tell."
 
"I don't think she will," the other said, carelessly. "I expect it
was too much for her, and Bill threw her over mortal hard. I thought it a pity at
the time, but I don't know now that it was not for the best. The old fool, why did
she give us all that trouble, when one word would have settled the whole
business."
 
"Do you think we are safe?" the wounded man asked.
 
"Safe! aye; we are safe enough. We shall drive into the place the same side we
went out, and no one will suspect us honest countrymen of being London
cracksmen."
 
Nor would any one have done so.
 
After passing through Canterbury, they had taken disguises from the bottom of the
cart, and even had it been light no one would have guessed they were not what they
seemed—countrymen going into early market. The shorter one was in a shooting
jacket and gaiters, and looked like a farmer's son; the other had on a smock-frock
and a red handkerchief round his neck, and with his big slouching figure looked
exactly like a farm labourer.
 
They drove along at a steady pace for another two hours. They had some time since
left the main road, to avoid the towns of Sittingbourne and Chatham, and they were
now in the lanes and byways skirting Rochester. The man called Bob was a native of
Chatham, and knew all the country well. It was nearly six o'clock, and was still
pitch dark, and since they had left Canterbury they had not met a single person.
 
In a short time they entered the highroad again, about a mile on the London side of
Rochester, and turned their tired horse's head back again in the direction of that
town. They kept along this till the lights of Rochester were close to them, and
then turned again from the main road down a narrow lane, and stopped at a house
about a hundred yards from the road.
 
The morning was beginning to break now, not giving much light, but sufficient to
show that it was a small house standing in a yard, which the sense of smell, rather
than sight, at once told to be a tanyard.
 
There was a gate in the wall, which was unfastened, for it yielded easily when one
of the men got down from the cart and pushed it; he then led the horse and cart in,
and closed the gate after them, and then knocked at the door of the house with his
hand. In a minute or two a man's head appeared at an upper window.
 
"Is it you, boys?" he asked.
 
"All right, Parker; make haste and come down as quickly as you can."
 
The door was soon opened, and a man came out—a big man, with a not dishonest
face, respectably dressed, and evidently the master of the place.
 
"So you are come back?" he said. "I don't want to ask any questions,
but have you done well?"
 
"No," was the answer; "as bad as bad can be. Our mate has got
hurt—badly hurt, too."
 
"Where is he?"
 
"In the cart."
 
The man gave a long whistle.
 
"The devil he is! This is a pretty kettle of fish, upon my word. What is to be
done?"
 
"He must be left here, Parker,—that's the long and short of it. There is
not the least fear of his being traced here; we have never seen a soul since we
left Canterbury."
 
"I don't suppose there is much fear," the man said gruffly; "but if
he should be, I am done for."
 
"Not a bit of it, Parker; you have only to show the receipt we gave you, and
stick to the story we agreed upon, and which happens to be true. Three men called
upon you, and said that they wanted to hire a light cart for a day, and that they
heard you let one out sometimes. You told them that as you did not know them, you
could not trust the horse with strangers, and so they left thirty-five pounds in
your hands as security,—that they brought back the cart in the morning, and
said one of their number had fallen out and got hurt, and that you agreed to let
him stay for a day or so till he got well; and that you did not find, till the
other two men had left, that the one who remained had been wounded by a
bullet."
 
Here a slight groan from the cart called their attention to it.
 
"But what on earth am I to do with him?"
 
"Put him up in one of the garrets. You don't keep a servant; there will be no
one to know anything about it; and as for the pay, there is twenty-five pounds left
in your hands, after taking the ten pounds for the hire of the trap—that will
be enough for you, won't it?"
 
"Aye, aye," the man said. "I am not thinking of the money. I would
not do it for ten times the money if I had the choice; as I have not, I would do it
whether I am paid or not. The first thing is to get him upstairs."
 
Accordingly the three men lifted him out of the cart, and carried him as carefully
as they could upstairs, and laid him on a bed. The tanner then summoned his wife, a
respectable-looking woman, who was horrified at the sight of the pallid and nearly
lifeless man upon the bed.
 
"Oh, William!" she said, bursting into tears, "and so it has come to
this! Did I not agree to stop with you only on the condition that you had nothing
more to do with this business beyond taking care of things, and keeping them hid
till all search for them should be over? and did you not give me your solemn oath
that you would do nothing else?"
 
"No more I have, Nancy," the man said; "no more I have, girl. I have
had nothing to do with this job. I don't know what it is, or where it came off, no
more than a babe, though no doubt we shall hear all about it soon enough. But here
the man has come home in our cart, and here he must be, unless you want him put out
into one of the sheds."
 
"No, no, William; we must do what we can for him, but that is little enough.
He looks dying, and he ought to have a doctor. But what can we say to him?
—how can we explain how he got hurt?—who can we trust? Oh, William,
this is a bad business!" and the woman wrung her hands despairingly.
 
The wounded man made a slight movement, as if he would speak.
 
"What is it, mate?" the man called The Schoolmaster said, leaning over
him.
 
The wounded man murmured, with a great effort, the words—
 
"Dr. Ashleigh, Canterbury."
 
"Dr. Ashleigh, of Canterbury," the tanner said, when the other repeated
the words aloud. "I have heard of him as a clever man and a kind one; but how
can we trust in him more than another?"
 
The wounded man tried to nod his head several times to express that he might be
trusted.
 
"You are quite sure?" the tanner asked.
 
Strong and positive assent was again expressed.
 
"You know him?"
 
"Yes, yes."
 
"Will he come?"
 
"Yes," again.
 
"Well, it must be risked," the tanner said; "the man must not die
like a dog here, with no one to see after him. Perhaps when the ball is out he may
get round it yet. I will take my other horse, and ride over at once. I have been
over there several times to buy bark, so there will be nothing out of the way in
it. Don't be uneasy," he said, kindly, to the wounded man. "You will be
as safe here as you would be in your own place, and I will get the doctor to you
before night. Now, boys, you go and put on the changes you brought down from London
with you, and get off by the next train. I will saddle up, and start at once. By
the way, what name shall I say to the doctor?"
 
A sharp pang of pain passed over the wounded man's face.
 
"Come, Bill," The Schoolmaster said, with rough kindness, "we don't
want to hear the mate's name; so we will be off at once. Goodbye, mate. It is a bad
job; but keep up your spirits, and you will soon get round again. You are a good
plucked one, and that's all in your favour;" and the two men, with this
parting, went off to re-disguise themselves previous to their starting for London.
 
The tanner again leant over the bed, and the wounded man said, with a great effort,
"Tell him Robert, Sophy's husband, is dying, and wants to speak with
him."
 
The tanner repeated the words over, to be sure he had them right; he then, assisted
by his wife, cut the clothes from Robert, so as to move him as little as possible;
they placed him carefully in the bed; and the tanner gave his wife instructions to
give him a little weak brandy-and-water from time to time, and a few spoonsful of
broth in the middle of the day, if he could take it. He then collected the clothes
that he had taken off Robert Gregory, carried them downstairs, and burned them
piece by piece in the kitchen fire.
 
After that he went out into the yard. It was not a large yard, but there were
several pits with the skins lying in the tan, and there was a pile of oak bark in
one corner. On one side of the yard was a long shed, in which some of the other
processes were carried on; on the other side was the stable. The tanner next took
out the straw from the cart, which was all saturated with blood, and brought some
fresh straw from the stable; this he mixed with it, making it into a pile, and
fetching a brand from the fire, set it alight, and watched it until it was entirely
consumed; he then scattered the ashes over the yard. Next he carefully washed the
cart itself, put fresh straw into the bottom, wheeled it into the shed, and cleaned
down the horse which had been out all night; and then, having put everything
straight, he saddled the other horse, mounted it, and started for Canterbury.

---------------CHAPTER XII. AFTER THE BATTLE.------------

 How well I remember that morning, and the excitement into which we were all
thrown by the terrible news. "Burglary at Harmer Place. Reported murder of the
younger Miss Harmer." And yet with all the excitement people were hardly
surprised. Harmer Place had got an evil name now; folks shook their heads and spoke
almost low when they mentioned it. For the last twenty-five years a curse seemed to
hang over it and its belongings. The two elder brothers drowned, and all their
intentions and plans set aside, and the property devolving to the very person they
were so determined to disinherit. Gerald Harmer killed, and all the melancholy
circumstances attending his death. Herbert Harmer's adopted child's elopement, and
his own sudden death, and all his intentions frustrated—as his brother's had
been before—by the will being missing. This was, indeed, a long list of
misfortunes, and up to this time it had seemed almost as if Providence had decreed
that it should prove a fatal inheritance to the Protestant who had, contrary to the
will of his dead brothers, taken possession of the old Roman Catholic property, and
wrested it from the clutch of Mother Church. It had brought him no happiness; his
son's death had destroyed all his hopes and plans for the future; that son's
daughter, whom he had reared with so much kindness and care, had fled away from her
home at night, and the news had dealt his deathblow; and then the missing will. It
really seemed as if it was fated that the Romish Church should have her own again,
and the elder brother's intention be carried out.
 
The general community had wondered over the chain of events, and told the tale to
strangers as an extraordinary example of a series of unexpected events which had
frustrated the best-laid plans and baffled all human calculation; while the few
Catholics of the town instanced it as a manifest interposition of Providence on
behalf of their Church. But now the tables seemed turned; and the "curse of
Harmer Place," as it began to be called, appeared working anew against its
Catholic possessors.
 
The news came to us while we were at breakfast, and we were all inexpressibly
shocked. Papa at once ordered the carriage, and directly it came to the door he
started for Harmer Place to inquire himself as to the truth of these dreadful
reports. He returned in about an hour and a half, and brought quite a budget of
news to us. When he arrived, he had sent up his name, but Miss Harmer sent down
word that Doctors Sadman and Wilkinson were in attendance, and that therefore she
would not trouble him to come in. Papa had felt a good deal hurt at the message,
but he thought it was probably given because Miss Harmer, knowing how much they had
injured him, was afraid that her sister might recognize him, and in the state she
was in, reveal something about the will. However, just as the carriage was driving
away, Dr. Sadman, who, from the window above, had seen papa drive up, came to the
door and called after him. Papa stopped the carriage, got out, and went back to
speak to him. Dr. Sadman particularly wished him to come up to give them the
benefit of his opinion. Finding that Miss Harmer was not in the room, and that
Angela was insensible, and not likely ever to recover consciousness, he had gone up
with him. He had found her in a dying state, and he did not think it at all likely
that she would live more than a few hours. She was apparently dying from the effect
of the shock upon the system, and the terror and pain that she had undergone; for
round one arm a piece of string was found which had cut completely into the flesh,
probably for the purpose of extorting the supposed place of concealment of plate,
valuables, or money. She had not apparently received any injury which in itself
would have been sufficient to cause death, but she had had a very heavy fall upon
the back of her head which might have affected her brain. The symptoms, however,
from which she was suffering were not exactly those which would have been caused by
concussion of the brain; and although the fall had assisted to produce the evil,
yet, on the whole, her death would be attributable rather to the mental shock, the
terror and distress, than to actual bodily violence.
 
Papa had heard all the particulars of the night's events as far as Miss Harmer had
told the other medical men. She had herself received a very heavy blow from some
blunt instrument, either a short stick, or the but-end of a pistol, which had left
a very severe wound on the forehead; from this she was suffering so much, that,
much as she wished it, she was quite unable to sit up or take her place by her
sister's side, but was in bed herself; still, although much shaken, there was
nothing serious to be apprehended. Miss Harmer had fired a pistol at one of the
assailants, and it was believed that she had wounded him, as a few spots of blood
were visible on the floor and on the staircase. She had recognized none of the
figures, of whom there were three; they were, she believed, all masked, but whether
they were tall or short, or indeed about any particulars of them she was quite
ignorant, for she had seen only her sister surrounded by them, had rushed forward,
fired almost unconsciously, and been felled to the ground an instant afterwards,
first seeing Angela's chair thrown backwards with her in it. The blow which she had
received in the fall, and the laceration of the arm by the string, were the only
signs of violence which could be found on Angela's person. The police were up
there, but had at present discovered no clue whatever to guide them in their
search; one of the men on duty in the town remembered that about three o'clock, a
light cart, with two men in it, had driven in on that road, and another had seen
such a cart go out through Westgate, but there was at present nothing to connect it
with the affair. A detective had been telegraphed for at Miss Harmer's request, and
was expected down in the afternoon.
 
Papa told all this in a very grave and serious way. I was very much shocked indeed,
and for some time after he had done, we were all silent, and then Polly said,
"Was anything stolen, papa?" She asked the question so earnestly that I
looked up almost in surprise; with Miss Harmer dying, it seemed such a very
indifferent matter whether the robbers had stolen anything or not, that it appeared
to me an extraordinary question for Polly to ask so anxiously. But papa did not
seem to think so, for he answered as seriously as she had spoken,—
 
"Only a watch and chain, and a diamond cross from the dressing-table."
 
"And was any attempt made to break open the plate-closets and places below?
"
 
"No, my dear," papa said, "none at all."
 
They were both silent again, and I looked surprised from one to the other. What
could this question of a few things matter, when a woman we had known so long was
dying? And yet Polly and papa evidently thought it did, and that it mattered very
much too, for they looked very meaningly at each other.
 
"I don't understand you," I said; "you are laying so much stress
upon what can be of no consequence to people of their wealth; and you both, by your
looks, seem to think it really a matter of consequence."
 
Polly and papa were still silent. "What is it, papa?" I said wearily;
"I am stronger now, and I think it would take a great deal to affect me
much,—nothing that I could be told here certainly. Please tell me what you
mean, for although I really do not see how this robbery at Miss Harmer's can be
more serious than it seems, for that is bad enough, still I worry myself thinking
about it."
 
"The idea, my dear Agnes," papa said very gravely, "which has struck
me, and which I have been thinking over ever since I left Harmer Place, and which I
see has also occurred to Polly, is that this is no robbery at all; that is, that
robbery was no part of the original scheme. I am very much afraid that it is an
effort on the part of Robert Gregory to get possession of the will."
 
I had said that I should not be shocked, but I was, terribly—more than I had
believed I could be by anything not connected with Percy.
 
"Why, papa," I asked presently, "what makes you think such a
dreadful thing?"
 
"The whole proceedings of these men, my dear—so different from what
might be expected of them. Ordinary burglars, on entering a house, would have
proceeded at once to the pantry and plate-room, forced the doors, and stripped them
of their contents, and would have done this in the most noiseless manner possible,
to avoid disturbing any one in the house. These men, on the contrary, never seem to
have gone near these places—at any rate there are no signs of their having
attempted to force them; they appear to have gone straight to the bedroom of the
younger and weaker of the sisters, to have seized, gagged her, and cruelly tortured
her to make her reveal the hiding-place—of what? Surely not of the plate;
they might with a little search have found that for themselves. Not of money or
jewellery: there was hardly likely to have been much in the house, assuredly
nothing which Angela Harmer would not at once have given up rather than endure the
pain she must have suffered. What then could they have wanted? To my mind,
unquestionably, the will; and as no one but you and Harry are interested in its
discovery, with the exception of Robert Gregory, I fear there is no doubt of his
being the author of this scheme, and indeed that he was personally engaged in
it."
 
It was some time before I continued the conversation: I was sick and faint at the
news. The idea of Sophy, whom I had known and liked so well, being the wife of a
man who had committed burglary, if not murder, was too shocking, and it was some
time before I recovered myself.
 
Polly spoke next: "The only thing, papa, is, why should Angela
Harmer—who so nearly revealed where the will was to me—so obstinately
refuse to do so even under such terrible pain and terror?"
 
"My dear, when you saw her, you acted upon her feelings of compassion for
Agnes here, and for a time shook her rooted faith that she was acting rightly. In
this case, there was nothing to act upon her conviction; she felt no doubt, while
refusing to betray where the will was hidden, that she was suffering as a martyr
for the good of her Church, and with a martyr's strength and firmness she underwent
what was inflicted upon her. I have no doubt that this idea will occur to Miss
Harmer as it has done to us, and in that case there is little doubt that Robert
Gregory will be speedily arrested; for as I hear he is a well-known betting man in
London, the police will be pretty certain to find him. And the last evil arising
from it is that Miss Harmer will, undoubtedly, in that case destroy the will. And
now, my dear, take a glass of wine, and then lie down upon the sofa till
dinnertime; get to sleep if you can, and do not worry yourself about it. As to the
will, we have already given up all hopes of ever finding it, so that it will make
no difference now, whether it is destroyed or not. Polly, you see that Agnes does
as I order her. We must run no risks of her being laid up again."
 
At about half-past eleven, papa was told that a man wished to speak to him, and the
tanner of Rochester was shown in.
 
"I am speaking to Dr. Ashleigh?"
 
Papa bowed.
 
"I am not come to consult you about myself, sir, but about some one
else."
 
"It is of no use describing his symptoms to me," the doctor said, "I
cannot prescribe unless I see the patient himself."
 
"I do not wish you to do so, sir, but it is a very peculiar business, and I
hardly know how to begin. The person who sent me, told me that you might be
implicitly trusted."
 
"I hope so, sir!" Dr. Ashleigh said haughtily; "but as I am not fond
of secrets or mysteries, I would rather you went to some other medical man. Good
morning!"
 
The man made no motion to go.
 
"No offence is intended, doctor; but when the safety of three or four men,
including perhaps myself, is concerned, one cannot be too careful. At any rate I
will give you my message, and if after that you don't come, why I shall have had a
ride of nigh thirty miles here, and as much back, for nothing. The words of my
message are, 'Sophy's husband, Robert, is dying, and begs you to go and see
him.'"
 
Papa had listened to the first part of the man's speech with evident impatience,
but when the message came, his face changed altogether.
 
"Good heavens!" he exclaimed, "then my suspicions are correct.
Unfortunate man! He is dying of a pistol wound, is he not?"
 
"Something like it," the man answered. "Will you come, sir?"
 
"Come? Of course I will. I would go to any man to whom my aid could be useful,
and to me it is a matter of no consequence whether he is a good or a bad one; in
any case I will for Sophy's sake do what I can for her husband, bad as I am afraid
he is. And you?" and the doctor shrunk back from the man; "What have you
to do with him?"
 
"Nothing, I am glad to say," the man answered. "Till I got into the
town I did not know where or what the job was; but from what every one is talking
about at the place where I put up my horse, I am afraid I do know now, and a
shocking bad affair it seems; although if what I hear of it be true, I can't make
head or tail of what they were up to. Two of the men were at least too old hands to
have gone on in the way they did. There is something beyond what one sees."
 
"You are right!" Dr. Ashleigh said; "they never went for plunder at
all. I can guess very well what they did go for, but that is of no consequence now.
How, then, are you concerned in the affair?"
 
"They came to me and hired my horse and cart. I asked no questions, but
perhaps had my own thoughts what they were up to; but that was no business of mine.
Well, sir, this morning they came back with a dying man in the cart, and I had
nothing for it but to take him in."
 
"Where is he hurt?" the doctor asked.
 
"Right in the side, just above the hip. I am afraid it is all up with him; the
long journey, and the loss of blood, have pretty well done for any chance he might
have had. Still we could not let him die like a dog, and he told us he was sure you
would come."
 
The doctor nodded. "How had I better get over there?"
 
"I looked at the train book, when I went in to get a glass of beer after
putting up my horse, and I see there is a train for London at one o'clock which
gets there about four; and then you could go down by the Rochester train, and get
there between six and seven."
 
"The very thing!" papa said. "For it is very probable that suspicion
will fall upon this man; and as I am known to be, in a certain sort of way, likely
to go to him in case he were hurt, it would be sure to attract notice, and might
lead to his being traced, were I to take my carriage over as far as Rochester. I am
afraid by what you say that it will be of no use, but I will bring my instruments
with me: I practised as a surgeon for some years as a young man. How shall I find
the place?"
 
"I will meet you at the station, sir. I shall give my horse another two hours'
rest, and shall then get over there easily by six o'clock."
 
After a brief consultation of a time-table to see the exact hour at which the first
train from London, which papa could catch, would reach Rochester, the tanner took
his leave. And papa packed up such things as he would require, and then came into
the dining-room—where I had gone to sleep on the sofa—and called Polly
out. He then shortly told her what had happened, and enjoined her on no account to
tell me, but to say only when I woke that he had been sent for into the country,
and that it was a case which would keep him all night. He also left a short note,
saying that he should be detained another night, for her to give to me the next
evening should he not return; and he promised that if it should occur that his
absence was still further prolonged, he would himself write to me to explain it in
some way. These plans were carried out, and I had not the least suspicion at the
time that papa's absence was caused by anything unusual; indeed it was some months
afterwards before I heard the truth of the matter.
 
When Dr. Ashleigh got down to Rochester, at a quarter past six, he found the tanner
waiting for him, according to agreement.
 
"How is he now?" he asked.
 
"Very bad, sir! Going fast, I should say."
 
They went out of the station, and through the town, and then out towards the
country.
 
When the houses became fewer, and there was no one to overhear them, the doctor
said, "You tell me that three men hired a cart of you: I suppose you knew them
before?"
 
"The other two I knew before, but not this one."
 
"You live here, then?"
 
"Yes, sir; I have a small tanyard. The truth is, sir, my father was a tanner
down in Essex. He's dead long since. As a boy, I never took to the business, but
was fonder of going about shooting,—yes, and sometimes poaching. At last I
married a farmer's daughter near, and was pretty steady for a bit; still, sometimes
I would go out with my old mates, and once our party fell in with the gamekeepers.
Some one fired a gun, and then we had a regular fight, and there were some bad
hurts given on both sides. We got off then; but some of us were known, and so I
went straight up to London,—and there, sir, I met the men who were here to-
day, and a good many others like them, and got my living as I best could. At last
my wife, who had joined me in London, got news that some relative had died and left
her a little money. So she persuaded me to give it all up; and as we heard of this
little place being for sale, we bought it and settled down here—that's three
years ago. But I have never been able quite to get rid of my old work. They knew
where I was, and threatened, if I did not help them, they would peach on me: so I
agreed that I would hide anything down here for which the scent was too hot in
London. Of course they pay me for it. But I mean to give it up; this will be a good
excuse, as it is a terrible risk. Besides, they have not sent me down many things
lately, so I expect they have found another place more handy. At any rate, I mean
to give it up now."
 
"Does your tanyard pay?"
 
"Just about pays, sir. You see I do most of the work myself, and only have a
man or two in now and then, as I dared not trust any one: but I could do very well
with it. I have a good bit of money—some my wife's, and some that I have
saved; but I did not dare to extend the place before for fear that I might get
seized at any time. But I have to-day made up my mind that I will set to work at it
on a better scale, and cut the other work altogether. Here we are, sir; through
this gate."
 
The door was opened by the tanner's wife.
 
"Thank God you are here, sir! I was afraid he would not last till you
came."
 
The doctor followed her upstairs to the wounded man's bedside. He would not have
known him again. There was not a vestige of colour now in his face. His whole
complexion was of a ghastly ashen hue, his cheeks had shrunk and fallen in, deep
lead-coloured rings surrounded his eyes, and his lips were pinched and bloodless,
and drawn back, showing the regular teeth between them. His hands, which lay
outside the coverlid, were bloodless and thin, and the nails were a deep blue. A
slight movement of his eyes, and an occasional twitching of his fingers, were the
only signs of life which remained. Dr. Ashleigh shook his head, he could be of no
use here. Probably had he even seen him immediately after the wound was given, he
could have done but little; now he was beyond all earthly skill. Dr. Ashleigh took
his hand in his own, and felt the pulse, which beat so lightly and flickeringly
that its action could hardly be perceived. He looked for a moment to see where the
ball had entered, not that it mattered much now; and then shook his head, and
turned to the others who were standing by.
 
"I am glad I came over," he said; "it is a satisfaction; but I can
do nothing for him now—he is sinking fast. I do not think he will live
another hour."
 
In less than an hour the change came: for a moment the doctor thought the eyes
expressed recognition; the lips moved, and the name of Sophy was breathed out; and
then the breath came fainter and at longer intervals, the fingers twitched no more,
the fluttering pulse ceased to beat. Robert Gregory was dead.
 
Dr. Ashleigh went downstairs with the tanner and his wife, and asked them what they
intended to do about the body.
 
"I am thinking, sir, of putting some tramp's clothes on him, and laying him
out on some straw in one of the sheds, as if he had died there. Then I shall go to
the parish medical officer, whom I know something of, and say that a tramp I gave
leave to sleep for a night in my shed is dead; that he gave me a pound he had in
his pocket to take care of for him, and that I will put what may be necessary to it
in order that he may be buried without coming upon the parish. I have no doubt that
he will give me the necessary certificate without any trouble. The most he will do
will be to send down his assistant; and in that dark shed, he is not likely, with
the minute's inspection he will give, to see anything out of the ordinary way.
Should the worst come to the worst, which is not likely, I must make the best story
out of it I can; if it come to the worst of all——"
 
"Then you must say I was present at his death, and I will come forward to
clear you. But of course I should not wish it to be known I was here, if it can
possibly be avoided; both because his name would then come out—which would be
very painful for others—and for other reasons which I cannot explain. Here is
some money for the necessary expenses."
 
"No, sir," the man said, drawing back, "I have been very well paid,
indeed. What shall I have put on the grave?"
 
"Merely R. G., aged thirty. If at any time his friends choose to put up a
headstone with more upon it, they can do so; but that will be sufficient to point
out the place. And now goodbye, my friend, do as you have told me you intend to do,
and you will be far happier, as well as your wife."
 
"I mean to, sir; I will never touch a dishonest penny again. And now, sir, I
will just walk with you far enough to put you in the straight road for the
train."
 
And so the doctor went back to London, getting there at about eleven o'clock. He
did not hear from the tanner for some time, but about three months afterwards met
him in Canterbury, to which town he had come over to buy some bark. The man then
said that he had quite given up the receiver business, and become an honest man;
that he had enlarged his place, and now employed three or four men regularly, and
was doing very well. He said, too, that the funeral of Robert Gregory had passed
off without any difficulty, for that the parish officer had, as he anticipated,
given him a certificate of the death without taking the trouble of going to see the
body.
 

---------------CHAPTER XIII. A YOUNG WIDOW.------------

 The next morning Dr. Ashleigh started from his hotel after breakfast to see
Sophy Gregory. He shrank from what he had to do, for he knew what a terrible shock
it must be to her, and he remembered how ill she had been, and how nearly she had
gone out of her mind a year before, under the blow of the news of Mr. Harmer's
sudden death. But there was no help for it: it was evident that she must be told.
He knew where she lived, as letters had been exchanged several times, up to the
last, which had conveyed the news of the failure of the attempt to find the will in
the secret chamber. Of course, it was possible that they might have since changed
their abode; but if so, the people at their last lodgings would be certain to know
their present address. However, this doubt was at once removed by the reply to his
question, "Is Mrs. Gregory in?"
 
"Yes, sir, but she is in bed."
 
"In bed!" the doctor said, rather surprised. "Is she not well?"
 
"Don't you know, sir, she had a little baby last week?"
 
"God bless me!" was all the doctor could say; for Sophy had not in her
last letter, which, indeed, had been written some time before, made any mention of
her expecting such a thing. "Will you be good enough to tell her that Dr.
Ashleigh is here, and ask her if she will see him; and do not mention that I did
not know of her confinement."
 
The doctor was shown into the little parlour, where he sat down while Mrs. Billow
went in to tell Sophy that he was there. As he looked round on the pictures which
he remembered hanging in such a different room, he wondered to himself whether the
advent of this little child, who was fatherless now, was for the better or no; and
he came to the conclusion that it was. Sophy would have two mouths to feed instead
of one, but it would be surely a comfort to her—something to cling to and
love, under this terrible blow which he had to give her.
 
In about five minutes Mrs. Billow came in, and said that Mrs. Gregory was ready to
see him now.
 
"She is rather low to-day, sir," she said, "for Mr. Gregory went
away the day before yesterday, and said he should be back yesterday; but he has not
come back, and Mrs. Gregory is fretting like about it."
 
Dr. Ashleigh went into the little room where Sophy was. She was sitting up in bed,
in a white wrapper, and her baby was asleep beside her. She looked, Dr. Ashleigh
thought, years older than when he had seen her fifteen months before. She had a
worn look, although the flush of pleasure and surprise which his coming had called
up in her cheek made her quite pretty for the moment.
 
"Oh, Dr. Ashleigh," she said, "how kind of you to come and see me!
how very kind! I suppose you had heard of my confinement. Is it not a fine little
fellow?" and she uncovered the baby's face, that the doctor might see it.
"Robert did not tell me that he had written to you. I suppose he wanted to
surprise me. I am so sorry he is away: he is not often away, Dr.
Ashleigh—very, very seldom—and then always on business. He is very kind
to me."
 
The doctor was greatly touched, accustomed as he was, and as all medical men must
be, to scenes of pain and grief; yet there was something very touching in her
pleading now for her husband, for whose sake she had gone through so much, and who
was now lying dead, although she knew it not. He could hardly command his voice to
speak steadily, as he answered,—
 
"I am very glad to see you again, Sophy, and I came up specially to do so; but
I did not know till I came to the door that you were confined, or were even
expecting it; but I am very glad, for your sake, that it is so, and that you have
got over it so well."
 
Dr. Ashleigh spoke very kindly, but Sophy at once detected a certain gravity in his
manner.
 
"Is anything the matter?" she asked at once.
 
Dr. Ashleigh hardly knew what answer to make, and hesitated for a moment whether it
would not be better to defer the communication of the fatal intelligence for a few
days; but the thought of the anxiety Sophy would suffer from Robert's continued and
unexplained silence, decided him; for he thought she would probably pine and fret
so much, that in a short time she would be in a state even less fitted to stand the
blow than she was at present.
 
"My dear Sophy," he said, sitting down upon the bed, and taking her hand
in his, "since I last saw you, things have greatly changed with us all. With
you I need not say how much—with us also greatly."
 
"I am so sorry——" Sophy began, as if about to lament the
share she had had in all this.
 
"My dear Sophy, we do not blame you. That was all over long ago; nor could
you, at any rate, have possibly foreseen that my children could have been injured
by anything you might have done to displease Mr. Harmer. Humanly speaking, the
contrary effect might have been anticipated. I only say that great changes have
taken place. Your little friend Polly has grown into a very dear, lovable, clever
woman; while Agnes has suffered very much. Her engagement with Mr. Desborough has
been broken off, and she has been very ill. However, by God's mercy, she has been
spared to us, but she is still in a sadly weak state."
 
"But there is something else, doctor—is there not?—some new
misfortune? It cannot be about Robert?" she said, anxiously; "you could
not have heard anything of him?"
 
Dr. Ashleigh was silent.
 
"It is, then! Oh, tell me what it is!"
 
"My dear Sophy, you have judged rightly. I do come to tell you about Robert,
but you must be calm and collected. Remember that any excitement on your part now
would be most injurious to your child—remember that any illness on your part
means death on his."
 
Sophy, with a great effort, controlled herself, and sat very quiet. The colour had
faded from her cheeks now, and the marks of care seemed to come back again very
plain and deep; then, after waiting a minute or two, until she felt herself quite
quiet, she laid one hand on the cheek of her sleeping baby, and looked up
appealingly into Dr. Ashleigh's face.
 
"My dear Sophy, your husband has met with an accident, and is seriously
injured."
 
Sophy's cheeks were as white, now, as the dress she wore; she spoke not, although
her lips were parted, but her eyes—at all times large, and now looking
unnaturally so from the thinness of her cheeks—begged for more news.
 
"I'm afraid he is very ill," the doctor said.
 
"I must go to him!" she panted out; "I must go to him!" and she
made an effort to rise.
 
"You cannot," Dr. Ashleigh said; "you cannot; it would kill you.
Bear it bravely, Sophy; keep quiet, my child, for your own sake and your
baby's."
 
Again Sophy's hand went back to the infant's face, from which in her effort to rise
she had for a moment withdrawn it, and rested on the soft unconscious cheek, but
she never took her eyes from the doctor's face. At last she said, in a strange far-
off sort of voice,—
 
"Tell me the worst—Is he dead?"
 
She read the answer in his face, and gave a low short cry; and then was silent, but
her eyes no longer looked at him, but gazed with a blank horror into the distance,
as if they sought to penetrate all obstacles, and to seek her dead husband.
 
"Comfort yourself, my poor child," Dr. Ashleigh said tenderly; "God
has stricken you grievously, but he has given you your child to love."
 
Sophy made no answer; she neither heard nor saw him, but sat rigid and stiff, the
picture of mute despair. Two or three times the doctor spoke to her, but nothing
betokened that she heard him. He raised her hand, which was laying motionless in
his; he let it go, and it fell lifelessly on the bed again. He began to be
seriously alarmed—he feared that she would awaken from this state with a
succession of wild shrieks, and then a series of fainting fits, the termination of
which in her condition would probably be death. In the hopes of acting upon her
newborn feelings of maternity, he took the child up, and placed it against her, but
the arms made no movement to enclose or support it; she showed no sign of
consciousness of what he was doing. Then he slightly pinched the child's arm, and
it woke with a loud wailing cry. In an instant a change passed over the rigid face;
a human light came into the stony fixed eyes; and with a little cry, and a quick
convulsive movement, she clasped the child to her breast, leaned over it, and her
tears rained down freely now, as she swayed herself to and fro, and hushed it to
her bosom.
 
Dr. Ashleigh knew that the worst was over now, and for a time he let her grief have
its way undisturbed; he then persuaded her to lie down, and, enfeebled as she was
by her recent illness, in less than an hour she cried herself to sleep.
 
The doctor sat by her side until she awoke, which was not for some time, and when
she did so she was calmer and more composed. He then talked to her very soothingly,
but did not enter into any of the details of her husband's death, beyond the fact
that it was the result of an accident, and that he had died at Rochester, and would
be buried there; that he had sent for him, and that he had been with him to the
end, and that her name had been the last word on his lips. The doctor told her he
would return again in a few days to see her, and that she must not disquiet herself
about the future, for that he would take care of her and her child as if they were
his own.
 
Sophy answered dreamily, although gratefully, to all he said, but she was at
present too much stunned by the blow to be capable of fixing her attention; indeed,
she scarce understood his words. While Sophy was asleep, Dr. Ashleigh had gone out
and told the news to Mrs. Billow; she was deeply concerned at it, although her
regret was evidently more for Sophy's sake than for that of her husband. She
readily promised to do all in her power to soothe and comfort Sophy, and said she
was sure that as soon as she felt equal to it, one or other of her kind neighbours
would be glad to come over and sit with her; and she promised that should Sophy be
taken worse, she would immediately telegraph for Dr. Ashleigh.
 
The doctor stayed till late in the afternoon, and then drove round to Sophy's
medical attendant to tell him that she had just received the news of her husband's
death, and to bespeak his best care and attention on her behalf. He afterwards
returned to the station, and reached home at nine o'clock. I was very pleased to
see him back again, for it was not often that he was away so long as thirty hours;
however, I did not ask any questions, and he did not volunteer, as he usually did,
any account of his doings; and so I had no idea that he had been to more than an
ordinary visit, demanding unusual time and attention; and, as I have before said,
it was some months afterwards before I was told of Robert Gregory's death.
 
It was fortunate, as it turned out, that papa got back that evening, for while we
were at breakfast next morning a servant brought over a letter from Miss Harmer. It
was written on the previous evening, and said that as she had declined to see him
on the day before when he had called, he might feel a difficulty in coming now to
see her; but that she had a particular matter on which she was very anxious to
speak to him.
 
I have forgotten to say that when papa came home the evening before, we had the
news to give him, which indeed he had quite expected to hear, that Angela Harmer
had died the previous evening.
 
Papa had a strong suspicion what it was that Miss Harmer wished to see him about.
While the horses were being put into the carriage, he had a little consultation
with Polly in his study, and they agreed that for Sophy's sake he should try to
lull as far as possible any suspicions Miss Harmer might entertain of Robert's
having had a part in the affair. Besides, it was quite certain that unless any
suspicions which she might have were laid at rest, she would at last destroy the
will,—although that was a very secondary matter now, as there did not seem
the most remote probability of its ever coming to light, even if it should be in
existence, for years. Papa then started for Harmer Place, and on arriving was shown
at once into the drawing-room, orders evidently having been given to that effect;
in a few minutes Miss Harmer joined him. Her forehead was bandaged up, and her
general aspect was more stiff and forbidding than ever. After the first few remarks
were over, she proceeded at once to the point.
 
"It would be a strange step to have taken, Dr. Ashleigh, in the position in
which we stand to each other, for me to have asked you to have come over here, had
I not had very powerful reasons for so doing. But it appears to me that I have, for
I have very strong suspicions concerning the events which have taken place here in
the last two days. Have you heard the particulars?"
 
"Yes, Miss Harmer; when I called here the day before yesterday, Dr. Sadman
gave me the details of them, so far as he knew."
 
"Did you hear that these burglars—" and Miss Harmer strongly
emphasized the word—"did not attempt to take anything downstairs?"
The doctor bowed assent. "Did you hear that they tortured my sister to make
her tell them something?"
 
"I did, Miss Harmer. I have before heard of people being threatened, or even
absolutely tortured, to oblige them to tell where their valuables are concealed;
but it is a very rare occurrence, and surprised me at the time, almost as much as
it shocked me. As a general thing, burglars when they attempt a robbery, ascertain
previously where the valuables are kept, and act accordingly. It is possible that
in this case it was not so. These men may have been merely passing vagrants, or
they may have been thieves from London, who may have heard that there was a very
fine collection of plate here. Taking into consideration the lonely position of the
place, and the fact that the only males in it are servants who sleep in a remote
corner of the house, they may have thought that it would be at once quicker, and
would save them the trouble of breaking open a number of doors in the search for
the plate-closet, to come at once to the owners, whom, they imagined, would readily
be frightened into revealing its exact whereabouts."
 
"Your supposition, Dr. Ashleigh, is nearly that of the detective who has been
sent down here, and who, knowing nothing of my private affairs, could not without a
clue come to any other conclusion. He says it was a strange and unusual, although
not an unprecedented affair. This clue I have not yet given him, although I intend
to do so upon leaving this room, as I have not the least doubt in my own mind that
my suspicions are correct. My sister, Dr. Ashleigh, was not tortured to tell where
any plate was hidden: she was treated as she was to make her divulge the supposed
hiding-place of what—in spite of all we can say—it still appears that
some of you persist in believing to be in existence,—I mean my late brother's
will."
 
Dr. Ashleigh made a movement of astonishment.
 
"Yes, Dr. Ashleigh, I have no doubt that it was so. I need not say that I do
not for a moment suspect you or yours of having the slightest knowledge or
complicity in this villainous plot, to which my poor sister has fallen a victim;
but there is another who is interested in this supposed will, and who to the murder
of my brother has now added the murder of my poor sister. I mean Robert Gregory.
Thank God, the law can and will avenge this murder, if it could not the
other."
 
"Miss Harmer," papa said very quietly, "you have had much to agitate
and trouble you, and I am not therefore surprised at your thus fixing upon him;
indeed in the way you put it, it does seem reasonable; but I believe that you will
regret your hastiness when I tell you that you are actually accusing a dead
man."
 
"Dead!—Robert Gregory dead!" Miss Harmer exclaimed, greatly
astonished; "I had no idea of that. How long has he been dead?"
 
"Only a short time," Dr. Ashleigh answered. "I am not surprised that
you are ignorant of the fact, for it is hardly likely that Sophy would have written
to tell you. This poor young widow was only confined last week. I had to go to town
on business, after I left here the day before yesterday, and I called to see her
and her child. She has been keeping herself, until she was confined, by giving
lessons in music."
 
"Did you know of her husband's death before you saw her then?" Miss
Harmer asked.
 
"Most assuredly I did," the doctor answered; "I heard of it at the
time when he died. And now, Miss Harmer, I trust that I have quite dissipated your
suspicions. Robert Gregory is dead, his wife is on a sick bed, and my children, you
acknowledge, are very unlikely to have entered into a plot of this sort."
 
"Quite, Dr. Ashleigh; in fact it cannot be otherwise; and I am exceedingly
glad that I spoke to you before putting the matter into the hands of the detective,
for it would have perhaps put him off the right clue, and would have led to the
discussion of very painful matters. About Sophy"—and here she
hesitated—"Is she in very bad circumstances? Because, even looking at
her in the way I do, and always shall do, as my brother's murderess, I should not
like her to——"
 
"You need not be uneasy on that score Miss Harmer," papa said rather
coldly, "I have already told Sophy that my house is a home for her and her
child, whenever she may choose to come. Whether she will use it as such, I cannot
say; but I think I can assert with certainty that she would rather lay her head in
the streets than owe a shelter to your favour. Is there anything else you wish to
ask me about, or in which I can be of any service to you?"
 
"Nothing, Dr. Ashleigh. I really feel much obliged to you for having set my
mind at rest upon a point which has been troubling me much for the last three days.
Indeed, by the information that this bad man has gone to his end, you have set me
greatly at ease on my own account; for—believing as I did that he was the
perpetrator of this dreadful deed—I should have never felt safe until he had
met with his deserts at the hand of the law that some such murderous attack might
not have been perpetrated upon me. I am, I believe, no coward; still, with the idea
that it was my life or his in question, I should have offered a reward for his
apprehension which would have set every policeman in England on the look-out for
him. I am glad to hear that your daughter Agnes is better. Goodbye, Dr. Ashleigh; I
am sorry that we cannot be friends, but at least we need not be enemies." She
held out her hand to Dr. Ashleigh, which he took, and then retired, well pleased
that he had, without any actual sacrifice of the truth, been enabled to save Sophy,
and perhaps some day Sophy's child, from the pain and shame of the exposure which
must have followed, had not Miss Harmer's suspicions been averted.
 
On the following week papa again went up to London to see Sophy. He found her
recovering from the blow; still pale and thin, but upon the whole as well as could
have been expected. Papa again offered her a home with us, but she declined,
gratefully but decidedly; she had, she said, even when it was supposed that she was
an heiress, been looked down upon on account of the misfortune of her birth; and
now, with the story of her elopement and Mr. Harmer's sudden death fresh on the
memory, she would rather beg her bread in the streets than live there.
 
"Would she accept money for her present uses?"
 
Again she thanked papa, but declined. "She had," she said, "plenty
of money; she had been putting by nearly four pounds a week for ten months, and was
therefore provided for for a long time." All that she would promise at last
was, that if she should ever be really in distress for money, she would not
hesitate to write and apply to him for it. When this point had been discussed at
length, Sophy insisted upon knowing all particulars of Robert's death, and
papa—after in vain endeavouring to persuade her to be content with what she
knew already—was obliged at last to tell her, softening all the worst points
as much as he could; and saying only that Robert had gone at night with two men, in
the hopes of frightening Angela Harmer into disclosing where the will was hidden;
how they had been disturbed by Miss Harmer, who had fired a pistol, which had
wounded Robert, and how he had been carried to Rochester to die. He told her,
too—for he feared she might see it in the papers—that Angela Harmer had
died the same evening from the fright, but he suppressed all mention of the cruelty
or violence. He partly told her how Miss Harmer had entertained suspicions of the
truth, and how he had, he believed, succeeded in laying them at rest, and that he
felt sure that the subject would not be pursued further in that direction; still,
for her sake and the child's, should any one, under any pretence or other, come and
make inquiries as to the date of Robert's death, that she should mention that it
took place a short time earlier than it really did.
 
Sophy heard the doctor through more tranquilly than he had expected. She asked a
few questions here and there, but was very pale and composed. When he had quite
done, she said,—
 
"You do not surprise me, Dr. Ashleigh. My husband has so frequently asked me
questions about the positions of the different rooms, and has so often said that he
would try for it some day, that when you came and told me that he was killed by
accident, and did not say how, or when, or where, I guessed that it was somehow in
trying to get the will. If you please, we will not say any more about it now; I
want to think it all over, and my head aches sadly. I am much obliged to you for
all your kindness."
 
And so Sophy held out her hand, and papa came away, still very uneasy about her,
and repeating his former direction to Mrs. Billow to send for him at once in the
event of Sophy being taken ill.
 
A week after, a letter came from Sophy to me. It began by again thanking papa for
his kindness to her, but saying that she was determined, if possible, to earn a
living for herself and child; should she, however, from illness or other cause,
fail in the attempt, she would then, for her child's sake, accept his kindness. The
letter went on—
 
"My child will be one chief object of my life; and I have another, in the
success of which he will be interested. I am determined, next to my child, to
devote my life to finding the stolen will. You have tried, and failed. Robert
tried, and laid down his life in the attempt. I alone, by whose conduct the will
was lost, have not tried; but I will do so; it shall be the purpose of my life.
Every thought and energy shall be given to it, for the sake of my child, and of you
who have innocently been punished for my fault. I am not going to act now; I know
it would be useless; but some day—it may be years on—some day I will
try, and when I do I will succeed. Do not seek to dissuade me from this; my
determination is irrevocable."
 
We did write, and tried to argue with her. She answered briefly, that nothing would
alter her resolve. From time to time we exchanged letters, but at longer intervals,
until at last she did not answer one of mine, and from that time years past before
I again heard of Sophy Gregory.

END OF VOL. II.