‘Mr Mazey and I went downstairs instantly. We looked in all the north rooms, one after another, and found no traces of him. I thought of the drawing-room next, and, being the most active of the two, went first to examine it. The moment I turned the sharp corner of the passage, I saw my master coming towards me through the open drawing-room door, asleep and dreaming, with his keys in his hands. The sliding-door behind him was open also; and the fear came to me then, and has remained with me ever since, that his dream had led him through the Banqueting-Hall, into the east rooms. We abstained from waking him, and followed his steps, until he returned of his own accord to his bedchamber. The next morning, I grieve to say, all the bad symptoms came back; and none of the remethes employed have succeeded in getting the better of them yet. By the doctor’s advice, we refrained from telling the admiral what had happened. He is still under the impression that he passed the night as usual in his own room.
‘I have been careful to enter into all the particulars of this unfortunate accident, because neither Mr Mazey nor myself desire to screen ourselves from blame, if blame we have deserved. We both acted for the best, and we both beg and pray you will consider our responsible situation, and come as soon as possible to St Crux. Our honoured master is very hard to manage; and the doctor thinks, as we do, that your presence is wanted in the house.
‘I remain, sir, with Mr Mazey’s respects and my own, your humble servant,
‘SOPHIA DRAKE’
Five
From George Bartram to Miss Garth
‘St Crux, April 22nd
‘DEAR MISS GARTH,
‘Pray excuse my not thanking you sooner for your kind and consoling letter. We are in sad trouble at St Crux. Any little irritation I might have felt at my poor uncle’s unlucky interference in Portland Place, is all forgotten in the misfortune of his serious illness. He is suffering from internal inflammation, produced by cold; and symptoms have shown themselves which are dangerous at his age. A physician from London is now in the house. You shall hear more in a few days. Mean time, believe me, with sincere gratitude.
‘Yours most truly,
‘GEORGE BARTRAM’
Six
From Mr Loscombe to Mrs Noel Vanstone.
‘Lincoln’s Inn Fields, May 6th
‘DEAR MADAM,
‘I have unexpectedly received some information which is of the most vital importance to your interests. The news of Admiral Bartram’s death has reached me this morning. He expired at his own house, on the fourth of the present month.
‘This event at once disposes of the considerations which I had previously endeavoured to impress on you, in relation to your discovery at St Crux. The wisest course we can now follow, is to open communications at once with the executors of the deceased gentleman; addressing them through the medium of the admiral’s legal adviser, in the first instance.
‘I have despatched a letter this day to the solicitor in question. It simply warns him that we have lately become aware of the existence of a private Document, controlling the deceased gentleman in his use of the legacy devised to him by Mr Noel Vanstone’s will. My letter assumes that the document will be easily found among the admiral’s papers; and it mentions that I am the solicitor appointed by Mrs Noel Vanstone to receive communications on her behalf. My object in taking this step, is to cause a search to be instituted for the Trust – in the very probable event of the executors not having met with it yet – before the usual measures are adopted for the administration of the admiral’s estate. We will threaten legal proceedings, if we find that the object does not succeed. But I anticipate no such necessity. Admiral Bartram’s executors must be men of high standing and position; and they will do justice to you and to themselves in this matter, by looking for the Trust.
‘Under these circumstances, you will naturally ask – “What are our prospects when the document is found?” Our prospects have a bright side, and a dark side. Let us take the bright side to begin with.
‘What do we actually know?
‘We know, first, that the Trust does really exist. Secondly, that there is a provision in it, relating to the marriage of Mr George Bartram in a given time. Thirdly, that the time (six months from the date of your husband’s death) expired on the third of this month. Fourthly, that Mr George Bartram (as I have found out by inquiry, in the absence of any positive information on the subject possessed by yourself) is, at the present moment, a single man. The conclusion naturally follows, that the object contemplated by the Trust, in this case, is an object that has failed.
‘If no other provisions have been inserted in the document – or if, being inserted, those other provisions should be discovered to have failed also – I believe it to be impossible (especially if evidence can be found that the admiral himself considered the Trust binding on him) for the executors to deal with your husband’s fortune as legally forming part of Admiral Bartram’s estate. The legacy is expressly declared to have been left to him, on the understanding that he applies it to certain stated objects – and those objects have failed. What is to be done with the money? It was not left to the admiral himself, on the testator’s own showing; and the purposes for which it was left, have not been, and cannot be, carried out. I believe (if the case here supposed really happens), that the money must revert to the testator’s estate. In that event, the Law, dealing with it as a matter of necessity, divides it into two equal portions. One half goes to Mr Noel Vanstone’s childless widow; and the other half is divided among Mr Noel Vanstone’s next of kin.
‘You will no doubt discover the obvious objection to the case in our favour, as I have here put it. You will see that it depends for its practical realization, not on one contingency, but on a series of contingencies, which must all happen exactly as we wish them to happen. I admit the force of the objection – but I can tell you, at the same time, that these said contingencies are by no means so improbable as they may look on the face of them.
‘We have every reason to believe that the Trust, like the will, was not drawn by a lawyer. That is one circumstance in our favour – that is enough of itself to cast a doubt on the soundness of all, or any, of the remaining provisions which we may not be acquainted with. Another chance which we may count on, is to be found, as I think, in that strange handwriting, placed under the signature on the third page of the letter, which you saw, but which you unhappily omitted to read. AH the probabilities point to those lines as written by Admiral Bartram; and the position which they occupy is certainly consistent with the theory that they touch the important subject of his own sense of obligation under the Trust.
‘I wish to raise no false hopes in your mind. I only desire to satisfy you that we have a case worth trying.
‘As for the dark side of the prospect, I need not enlarge on it. After what I have already written, you will understand that the existence of a sound provision, unknown to us, in the Trust, which has been properly carried out by the admiral – or which can be properly carried out by his representatives – would be necessarily fatal to our hopes. The legacy would be, in this case, devoted to the purpose or purposes contemplated by your husband – and, from that moment, you would have no claim.
‘I have only to add, that as soon as I hear from the late admiral’s man of business, you shall know the result.
‘Believe me, dear madam,
Faithfully yours,
JOHN LOSCOMBE
Seven
From George Bartram to Miss Garth
‘St Crux, May 15th
‘DEAR MISS GARTH,
‘I trouble you with another letter: partly to thank you for your kind expression of sympathy with me, under the loss that I have sustained; and partly to tell you of an extraordinary application made to my uncle’s executors, in which you and Miss Vanstone may both feel interested, as Mrs Noel Vanstone is directly concerned in it.
‘Knowing my own ignorance of legal technicalities, I enclose a copy of the application, instead of trying to describe it. You will notice,
as suspicious, that no explanation is given of the manner in which the alleged discovery of one of my uncle’s secrets was made, by persons who are total strangers to him.
‘On being made acquainted with the circumstances, the executors at once applied to me. I could give them no positive information – for my uncle never consulted me on matters of business. But I felt in honour bound to tell them, that during the last six months of his life, the admiral had occasionally let fall expressions of impatience in my hearing, which led to the conclusion that he was annoyed by a private responsibility of some kind. I also mentioned that he had imposed a very strange condition on me – a condition which, in spite of his own assurances to the contrary, I was persuaded could not have emanated from himself – of marrying within a given time (which time has now expired), or of not receiving from him a certain sum of money, which I believed to be the same in amount as the sum bequeadied to him in my cousin’s will. The executors agreed with me that these circumstances gave a colour of probability to an otherwise incredible story; and they decided that a search should be instituted for the Secret Trust – nothing in the slightest degree resembling this same Trust having been discovered, up to that time, among the admiral’s papers.
‘The search (no trifle in such a house as this) has now been in full progress for a week. It is superintended by both the executors, and by my uncle’s lawyer – who is personally, as well as professionally, known to Mr Loscombe (Mrs Noel Vanstone’s solicitor), and who has been included in the proceedings at the express request of Mr Loscombe himself. Up to this time, nothing whatever has been found. Thousands and thousands of letters have been examined – and not one of them bears the remotest resemblance to the letter we are looking for.
‘Another week will bring the search to an end. It is only at my express request that it will be persevered with so long. But as the admiral’s generosity has made me sole heir to everything he possessed, I feel bound to do the fullest justice to the interests of others, however hostile to myself those interests may be.
‘With this view, I have not hesitated to reveal to the lawyer, a constitutional peculiarity of my poor uncle’s, which was always kept a secret among us at his own request – I mean his tendency to somnambulism. I mentioned that he had been discovered (by the housekeeper and his old servant), walking in his sleep, about three weeks before his death, and that the part of the house in which he had been seen, and the basket of keys which he was carrying in his hand, suggested the inference that he had come from one of the rooms in the east wing, and that he might have opened some of the pieces of furniture in one of them. I surprised the lawyer (who seemed to be quite ignorant of the extraordinary actions constantly performed by somnambulists), by informing him that my uncle could find his way about the house, lock and unlock doors, and remove objects of all kinds from one place to another, as easily in his sleep, as in his waking hours. And I declared that, while I felt the faintest doubt in my own mind whether he might not have been dreaming of the Trust on the night in question, and putting the dream in action in his sleep, I should not feel satisfied unless the rooms in the east wing were searched again.
‘It is only right to add that there is not the least foundation in fact for this idea of mine. During the latter part of his fatal illness, my poor uncle was quite incapable of speaking on any subject whatever. From the time of my arrival at St Crux, in the middle of last month, to the time of his death, not a word dropped from him which referred in the remotest way to the Secret Trust.
‘Here then, for the present, the matter rests. If you think it right to communicate the contents of this letter to Miss Vanstone, pray tell her that it will not be my fault if her sister’s assertion (however preposterous it may seem to my uncle’s executors) is not fairly put to the proof.
‘Believe me, dear Miss Garth,
‘Always truly yours,
‘GEORGE BARTRAM’
‘P.S. – As soon as all business matters are settled, I am going abroad for some months, to try the relief of change of scene. The house will be shut up, and left under the charge of Mrs Drake. I have not forgotten your once telling me that you should like to see St Crux, if you ever found yourself in this neighbourhood. If you are at all likely to be in Essex, during the time when I am abroad, I have provided against the chance of your being disappointed, by leaving instructions with Mrs Drake to give you, and any friends of yours, the freest admission to the house and grounds.’
Eight
From Mr Loscombe to Mrs Noel Vanstpne
‘Lincoln’s Inn Fields, May 24th
‘DEAR MADAM,
‘After a whole fortnight’s search – conducted, I am bound to admit, with the most conscientious and unrelaxing care – no such document as the Secret Trust has been found among the papers left at St Crux by the late Admiral Bartram.
‘Under these circumstances, the executors have decided on acting under the only recognizable authority which they have to guide them –the admiral’s own will. This document (executed some years since) bequeaths the whole of his estate, both real and personal (that is to say, all the lands he possesses, and all the money he possesses, at the time of his death), to his nephew. The will is plain, and the result is inevitable. Your husband’s fortune is lost to you from this moment. Mr George Bartram legally inherits it, as he legally inherits the house and estate of St Crux.
‘I make no comment upon this extraordinary close to the proceedings. The Trust may have been destroyed, or the Trust may be hidden in some place of concealment, inaccessible to discovery. Either way, it is, in my opinion, impossible to found any valid legal declaration on a knowledge of the document, so fragmentary and so incomplete, as the knowledge which you possess. If other lawyers differ from me on this point, by all means consult them. I have devoted money enough and time enough to the unfortunate attempt to assert your interest; and my connection with the matter, must, from this moment, be considered at an end.
‘Your obethent servant,
‘JOHN LOSCOMBE’
Nine
From Mrs Ruddock (Lodging-House Keeper) to Mr Loscombe
‘Park Terrace, St John’s Wood, –
‘June 2nd
‘SIR,
‘Having, by Mrs Noel Vanstone’s directions, taken letters for her to the post, addressed to you – and knowing no one else to apply to – I beg to inquire whether you are acquainted with any of her friends; for I think it right that they should be stirred up to take some steps about her.
‘Mrs Vanstone first came to me in November last, when she and her maid occupied my apartments. On that occasion, and again on this, she has given me no cause to complain of her. She has behaved like a lady, and paid me my due. I am writing, as a mother of a family, under a sense of responsibility – I am not writing with an interested motive.
‘After proper warning given, Mrs Vanstone (who is now quite alone) leaves me to-morrow. She has not concealed from me that her circumstances are fallen very low, and that she cannot afford to remain in my house. This is all she has told me – I know nothing of where she is going, or what she means to do next. But I have every reason to believe she desires to destroy all traces by which she might be found, after leaving this place – for I discovered her in tears yesterday, burning letters which were doubtless letters from her friends. In looks and conduct she has altered most shockingly in the last week. I believe there is some dreadful trouble on her mind – and I am afraid, from what I see of her, that she is on the eve of a serious illness. It is very sad to see such a young woman, so utterly deserted and friendless as she is now.
‘Excuse my troubling you with this letter; it is on my conscience to write it. If you know any of her relations, please warn them that time is not to be wasted. If they lose to-morrow, they may lose the last chance of finding her.
Your humble servant,
‘CATHERINE RUDDOCK’
Ten
From Mr Loscombe to Mrs Ruddock
‘Lincoln’s Inn Fields, June 2nd
‘MADAM,
‘My only connection with Mrs Noel Vanstone was a professional one – and that connection is now at an end. I am not acquainted with any of her friends; and I cannot undertake to interfere personally, either with her present or future proceedings.
‘Regretting my inability to afford you any assistance,
I remain, your obethent servant,
‘JOHN LOSCOMBE’
THE LAST SCENE
AARON’S BUILDINGS
Chapter One
On the seventh of June, the owners of the merchantman, Deliverance, received news that the ship had touched at Plymouth to land passengers, and had then continued her homeward voyage to the Port of London. Five days later, the vessel was in the river, and was towed into the East India Docks.
Having transacted the business on shore for which he was personally responsible, Captain Kirke made the necessary arrangements by letter, for visiting his brother-in-law’s parsonage in Suffolk, on the seventeenth of the month. As usual, in such cases, he received a list of commissions to execute for his sister on the day before he left London. One of these commissions took him into the neighbourhood of Camden Town. He drove to his destination from the Docks; and then, dismissing the vehicle, set forth to walk back southward, towards the New Road.
He was not well acquainted with the district; and his attention wandered, farther and farther away from the scene around him, as he went on. His thoughts, roused by the prospect of seeing his sister again, had led his memory back to the night when he had parted from her, leaving the house on foot. The spell so strangely laid on him, in that past time, had kept its hold through all after-events. The face that had haunted him on the lonely road, had haunted him again on the lonely sea. The woman who had followed him, as in a dream, to his sister’s door, had followed him – thought of his thought, and spirit of his spirit – to the deck of his ship. Through storm and calm on the voyage out, through storm and calm on the voyage home, she had been with him. In the ceaseless turmoil of the London streets, she was with him now. He knew what the first question on his lips would be, when he had seen his sister and her boys. ‘I shall try to talk of something else,’ he thought; ‘but when Lizzie and I are alone, it will come out in spite of me.’
No Name Page 77