Cursed by a Fortune

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

  Kate gave way most unwillingly, but felt obliged to yield to what shefelt was a common-sense view of the question.

  "If you write now we shall be having endless trouble," said Garstang."Your uncle will come here, and I shall be compelled to give you up."

  "But I would refuse to go," said Kate, with spirit.

  Garstang smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.

  "Will you give me credit, as an old lawyer, my dear child, for knowing alittle of the law?"

  "Of course," she cried.

  "Well, let me tell you that if James Wilton finds out where you are, Iforesee endless troubles. You know his projects?"

  Kate nodded quickly.

  "To compass those plans, he will stop at nothing, even force. Butsupposing I defeat him in that, for I tell you frankly I should makeevery effort, he would set the law to work. If I get the best counsel Ican, we shall have a long, wearisome lawsuit, and probably your latefather's estate will be thrown into Chancery. You will become a ward ofthe Lord Chancellor, and the inroads made upon your fortune will befrightful."

  "I don't think I should care," said Kate, looking at him wistfully, "solong as I could be at peace."

  "Have you thought out any relative or friend whom you feel that you cantrust, and to whom you would like to go?"

  "No; not yet," said Kate, wearily; "and I have tried very hard."

  "Then don't try, my child," he said, with a smile, "and then perhaps theidea will come. I ought to say, though," he added, playfully, "do tryhard, so as not to succeed, for I do not want you to go. It is as if achange had come over my life, and like the man in one of the old plays,I had discovered a long-lost child."

  "Pray don't treat it lightly, Mr Garstang," said Kate. "All thistroubles me terribly. I feel so helpless."

  "Believe me that if I talk lightly, I think very, very seriously of yourposition," said Garstang, quickly. "I know how painful it must be foryou to neglect your friends, those to whom you would write, but really Iam obliged to advocate reticence for the present. I will have yourletters posted if you desire me to, but I am bound to show you theconsequences which must follow."

  Kate sighed, and looked more and more troubled.

  "To put it more plainly," continued Garstang, "my position is that Ihave an extensive practice, with many clients to see, and consequently Imust be a great deal away. Now suppose one morning, when I am out,James Wilton and his son present themselves. What will you do?"

  Kate shivered, and gazed at him helplessly.

  "I shall not feel best pleased to come back home to dinner, and find yougone."

  "My position is terrible," said Kate. "I almost wish I were penniless."

  "Come, come, not so terrible; it is only that of a prisoner who has hercell door barred inside, so that she can open it when she pleases. MayI try and advise you a little?"

  "Yes, pray, pray do, Mr Garstang."

  "Well, my advice is this--even if it causes your poor old nurse greatanxiety. She will be content later on, when she learns that it was foryour benefit. My advice is for you to try and settle down here for awhile, so as to see how matters shape themselves, or till you havedecided where it would be better for you to go."

  She looked at him wistfully.

  "Could I not take apartments somewhere, and have Eliza up to keep housefor me?"

  "Well--yes," he said, thoughtfully. "It would be risky, for everymovement of your old servant will be jealously watched just now. Itwould be better later on. What do you think?"

  "That I do not wish to seem ungrateful for your kindness, neither do Ifeel justified in putting you to great trouble and expense."

  "Pooh, pooh," he said, merrily, "I am not so poor that I can not affordmyself a few pleasures. But proper pride is a fine thing. There, youshall be independent, and pay me back everything when you come of age."

  He glanced at his watch, for breakfast had been over some time, and theyhad sat talking.

  "I am keeping you, Mr Garstang," she said.

  "Well, I like to be kept, but I have several appointments to-day. Havea good quiet think while I am gone, and we will talk it over againto-night."

  "No," said Kate, quietly, "you will be tired then. I will take youradvice, Mr Garstang."

  "Yes?" he said, raising his eyebrows a little.

  "I will stay here for a time, where, as you say, I can be at rest andsafe from intrusion. We will see what time brings forth."

  "Spoken like a thoughtful, wise little woman," said Garstang, withoutthe slightest display of elation. "By the way, you find plenty of booksto read?"

  "Oh, yes, and I have been studying the old china."

  "A very interesting subject; but music--you are fond of music. We mustsee about that."

  He nodded and smiled, and then she saw that he became very calm andthoughtful, as if immersed in his business affairs.

  Once more she was quite alone, thinking that she had been a whole weekin the solemn old house, and a few minutes later the housekeeper enteredto clear away the breakfast things.

  "Is there anything I can do for you, ma'am?" said the woman sadly, whenshe had finished her task, Kate noticing the while that there was anoccasional whisper outside the door, as the various articles were handedout.

  "No, I think not, this morning, Sarah," said Kate, with a smile whichproved infectious, for the woman stood staring at her for a few momentsas if in wonder, and then her own countenance relaxed stiffly, as if shehad not smiled in years, till her face looked nearly cheerful.

  "You are handsome, ma'am," she said; "I haven't seen you look like thatbefore since you've been here."

  "Why does not Becky come in to help you to clear away?" said Kate, tochange the conversation, and Sarah Plant's face grew stern and witheredagain, as she shook her head.

  "She's such a sight, ma'am, with that handkercher round her head."

  "I should not mind that; I have not fairly seen her since I came."

  "No, ma'am, and you won't if she can help it. You mayn't mind, but shedo. She always hides herself when anybody's about. Poor girl, she'sbeen in trouble almost ever since she was born. There's sure to besomething in this life. Not as I complains of master. It was just thesame with old master, and when he died it made Becky ever so much worse.You see, ma'am, old master's wife was ill for a long time, and thatmade the house dull and quiet; and then she died, and old master wasnever the same again. He spent scores o' thousands o' pounds onfurniture, and books, and china, and did everything he could to make theplace nice, but he never held up his head again. And then somehow hismoney went wrong, and new master used to come to help him out of histroubles, but it was no use; old master never had the blinds pulled upagain; and that made Becky and me different to most folk, for it used tobe like being shut up in a cupboard, and we never hardly went out.Becky ain't been out of the house for years, and years, and years."

  "We must make the house more cheerful now, Sarah."

  The woman looked at her in astonishment, and then shook her head.

  "Well, ma'am, I will say that it has seemed different since you came;but no--it's beautifully furnished, and I never see a better kitchen inmy life--but make it cheerful? No, ma'am, it ain't to be done."

  "We shall see," said Kate, smiling, and the woman's face relaxed oncemore as she gazed at the fair, intellectual countenance before her as ifit were some beautiful object which gave her real pleasure; but asKate's smile died away her own features looked cloudy, and she shook herhead.

  "No, ma'am, it's my belief as this was meant to be a dull house beforethe big trouble came. Me and Becky used to say to one another it wasjust as if the sun had gone out, but we never expected what came atlast, or I believe we should have run away."

  The moment before Kate had been thinking of dismissing the housekeeperto her work, but this hint at something which had happened enchained herattention, and the woman went on.

  "You see, old master kept on getting from bad
to worse, spite of MrGarstang's coming and seeing to his affairs; and one day the doctor saysto me: `It's of no use, Mrs Plant, I can do nothing for a man who shutshimself up and sets all the laws of nature at defiance.' Those were hisvery words, ma'am; I recollected them because I never quite knew whatthey meant; but the doctor evidently thought master had done somethingwrong, though I don't think he ever did, for he was such a good man.Then came that morning, ma'am. I may as well tell you now. Becky usedto sleep with me then, same as she does now, but that was before she hadface-ache and fits. I remember it as well as can be. It was just atdaylight in autumn time, when the men brings round the ropes of onions,and I nudged her, and I says, `Time to get up, Becky,' and she yawnedand got up and went down, for she always dressed quicker than I could.And there I was, dressing, and thinking that master had told me that MrGarstang was coming at ten o'clock, and I was to send him into thelibrary at once, and breakfast was to be ready there.

  "I'd just put on my cap, ma'am, and was going down, when I heard thehorridest shriek as ever was, and sank down in a chair trembling, for Ifelt as sure as sure that burglars were in the house, and they weremurdering my poor Becky. I was that frightened I got up and tottered tothe door, and locked and bolted it, for I said they shouldn't murder me.But, oh, dear; what I did suffer! `Pretty sort of a mother you are,' Isays to myself, `taking care of yourself, and letting poor Becky be cutto pieces p'raps to hide their crime.'

  "That went to my heart like a knife, ma'am, and I unfastened the dooragain and went out and listened, and all was still as still. You knowhow quiet it can be in this house, ma'am, don't you?"

  Kate nodded.

  "So I stood trembling there at the very top of the house, for we used tosleep up there, then, before Becky took to wanting to be downstairs,where she wasn't so likely to be seen; and though I listened and Ilistened, there wasn't a sound, and I give it to myself again. `Why,' Isays, `a cat would scratch if you tried to take away its kitten to drownit'--as well I know, ma'am, for I've tried--`and you stand there doingnothing about your own poor girl.' That roused me, ma'am, and I wentdown, with the staircase all gloomy, with the light coming only from thesooty skylight in the roof; and there were the china cupboards and thestatues in the dark corners all seeming to look down at something on thefirst floor. I was ready to drop a dozen times over, but I felt that Imust go, even if I died for it; and down I went, step by step, peepingbefore me, and ready to shriek for help directly I saw what it was.

  "But there was nothing that I could see, and I stopped on the firstfloor, looking over the banisters and trying to make out whether thehall door was open; but no, I couldn't see anything, and I went alongsideways, looking down still, till I saw that the dining-room door wasopen, and it seemed to me that the shrieking must have come from there.I was just opposite to the door leading into the two little lib'ries--you know, ma'am, where the big curtain is--and I was taking another stepsideways, meaning to look a little more over and then go and call upmaster, who didn't seem to have heard, when I caught my foot onsomething, and cried out and fell. And then I found it was poor Becky,who had just crawled out of the doorway on her hands and knees.

  "For just a minute I couldn't say a word, but when I did, and asked herwhat was the matter, she only knelt there, clinging to my gownd, andstaring up at me with a face that was horrible to behold.

  "`What is it--what is it?' I kept on saying, but she couldn't speak,only kneel there, staring at me till I took her by the shoulders andshook her well. `Why don't you speak?' I says. `What is it?'

  "She only said `Oh'--a regular groan it was, and she turned her headslowly round to look back at the little lib'ry passage, and then sheturned back and hid her face in my petticoats.

  "`Tell me what it is, Becky,' I says, more gently, for it didn't seemthat any harm was coming to us, but she couldn't speak, only pointbehind her toward the little lib'ry door, and this made me shiver, for Iknew there must be something dreadful there. At last, though, for fearshe should think I was a coward, I tried to get away from her, but sheclung to me that tight that I couldn't get my gownd clear for ever solong. But at last I did, and I went into the little lobby through thedoor; but there was nothing there, and the lib'ry door was shut close;and I was coming back when I felt Becky seize me by the arm and pointagain, and then I saw what I hadn't seen before; there were footmarks onthe carpet fresh made, and I saw that Becky must have made 'em when shehad gone to the lib'ry door; and there was the reason for it, just seenby the light which came from the little skylight--there it was, stealingslowly under the bottom of the mat."