CHAPTER VII
While I was in this bewildered frame of mind, sorely needing a littlequiet time by myself to put me right again, my daughter Penelope got inmy way (just as her late mother used to get in my way on the stairs),and instantly summoned me to tell her all that had passed at theconference between Mr. Franklin and me. Under present circumstances,the one thing to be done was to clap the extinguisher upon Penelope'scuriosity on the spot. I accordingly replied that Mr. Franklin and I hadboth talked of foreign politics, till we could talk no longer, and hadthen mutually fallen asleep in the heat of the sun. Try that sort ofanswer when your wife or your daughter next worries you with an awkwardquestion at an awkward time, and depend on the natural sweetness ofwomen for kissing and making it up again at the next opportunity.
The afternoon wore on, and my lady and Miss Rachel came back.
Needless to say how astonished they were, when they heard that Mr.Franklin Blake had arrived, and had gone off again on horseback.Needless also to say, that THEY asked awkward questions directly, andthat the "foreign politics" and the "falling asleep in the sun" wouldn'tserve a second time over with THEM. Being at the end of my invention, Isaid Mr. Franklin's arrival by the early train was entirely attributableto one of Mr. Franklin's freaks. Being asked, upon that, whether hisgalloping off again on horseback was another of Mr. Franklin's freaks,I said, "Yes, it was;" and slipped out of it--I think very cleverly--inthat way.
Having got over my difficulties with the ladies, I found moredifficulties waiting for me when I went back to my own room. In camePenelope--with the natural sweetness of women--to kiss and make itup again; and--with the natural curiosity of women--to ask anotherquestion. This time she only wanted me to tell her what was the matterwith our second housemaid, Rosanna Spearman.
After leaving Mr. Franklin and me at the Shivering Sand, Rosanna, itappeared, had returned to the house in a very unaccountable state ofmind. She had turned (if Penelope was to be believed) all the colours ofthe rainbow. She had been merry without reason, and sad without reason.In one breath she asked hundreds of questions about Mr. Franklin Blake,and in another breath she had been angry with Penelope for presuming tosuppose that a strange gentleman could possess any interest for her. Shehad been surprised, smiling, and scribbling Mr. Franklin's name insideher workbox. She had been surprised again, crying and looking at herdeformed shoulder in the glass. Had she and Mr. Franklin known anythingof each other before to-day? Quite impossible! Had they heard anythingof each other? Impossible again! I could speak to Mr. Franklin'sastonishment as genuine, when he saw how the girl stared at him.Penelope could speak to the girl's inquisitiveness as genuine, when sheasked questions about Mr. Franklin. The conference between us, conductedin this way, was tiresome enough, until my daughter suddenly ended itby bursting out with what I thought the most monstrous supposition I hadever heard in my life.
"Father!" says Penelope, quite seriously, "there's only one explanationof it. Rosanna has fallen in love with Mr. Franklin Blake at firstsight!"
You have heard of beautiful young ladies falling in love at firstsight, and have thought it natural enough. But a housemaid out of areformatory, with a plain face and a deformed shoulder, falling in love,at first sight, with a gentleman who comes on a visit to her mistress'shouse, match me that, in the way of an absurdity, out of any story-bookin Christendom, if you can! I laughed till the tears rolled down mycheeks. Penelope resented my merriment, in rather a strange way. "Inever knew you cruel before, father," she said, very gently, and wentout.
My girl's words fell upon me like a splash of cold water. I was savagewith myself, for feeling uneasy in myself the moment she had spokenthem--but so it was. We will change the subject, if you please. I amsorry I drifted into writing about it; and not without reason, as youwill see when we have gone on together a little longer.
The evening came, and the dressing-bell for dinner rang, before Mr.Franklin returned from Frizinghall. I took his hot water up to hisroom myself, expecting to hear, after this extraordinary delay, thatsomething had happened. To my great disappointment (and no doubt toyours also), nothing had happened. He had not met with the Indians,either going or returning. He had deposited the Moonstone in thebank--describing it merely as a valuable of great price--and he had gotthe receipt for it safe in his pocket. I went down-stairs, feelingthat this was rather a flat ending, after all our excitement about theDiamond earlier in the day.
How the meeting between Mr. Franklin and his aunt and cousin went off,is more than I can tell you.
I would have given something to have waited at table that day. But, inmy position in the household, waiting at dinner (except on highfamily festivals) was letting down my dignity in the eyes of the otherservants--a thing which my lady considered me quite prone enough to doalready, without seeking occasions for it. The news brought to me fromthe upper regions, that evening, came from Penelope and the footman.Penelope mentioned that she had never known Miss Rachel so particularabout the dressing of her hair, and had never seen her look so brightand pretty as she did when she went down to meet Mr. Franklin in thedrawing-room. The footman's report was, that the preservation of arespectful composure in the presence of his betters, and the waitingon Mr. Franklin Blake at dinner, were two of the hardest things toreconcile with each other that had ever tried his training in service.Later in the evening, we heard them singing and playing duets, Mr.Franklin piping high, Miss Rachel piping higher, and my lady, on thepiano, following them as it were over hedge and ditch, and seeing themsafe through it in a manner most wonderful and pleasant to hear throughthe open windows, on the terrace at night. Later still, I went to Mr.Franklin in the smoking-room, with the soda-water and brandy, and foundthat Miss Rachel had put the Diamond clean out of his head. "She's themost charming girl I have seen since I came back to England!" was all Icould extract from him, when I endeavoured to lead the conversation tomore serious things.
Towards midnight, I went round the house to lock up, accompanied by mysecond in command (Samuel, the footman), as usual. When all the doorswere made fast, except the side door that opened on the terrace, I sentSamuel to bed, and stepped out for a breath of fresh air before I toowent to bed in my turn.
The night was still and close, and the moon was at the full in theheavens. It was so silent out of doors, that I heard from time to time,very faint and low, the fall of the sea, as the ground-swell heavedit in on the sand-bank near the mouth of our little bay. As the housestood, the terrace side was the dark side; but the broad moonlightshowed fair on the gravel walk that ran along the next side to theterrace. Looking this way, after looking up at the sky, I saw the shadowof a person in the moonlight thrown forward from behind the corner ofthe house.
Being old and sly, I forbore to call out; but being also, unfortunately,old and heavy, my feet betrayed me on the gravel. Before I could stealsuddenly round the corner, as I had proposed, I heard lighter feetthan mine--and more than one pair of them as I thought--retreating ina hurry. By the time I had got to the corner, the trespassers, whoeverthey were, had run into the shrubbery at the off side of the walk, andwere hidden from sight among the thick trees and bushes in that part ofthe grounds. From the shrubbery, they could easily make their way, overour fence into the road. If I had been forty years younger, I might havehad a chance of catching them before they got clear of our premises.As it was, I went back to set a-going a younger pair of legs than mine.Without disturbing anybody, Samuel and I got a couple of guns, and wentall round the house and through the shrubbery. Having made sure thatno persons were lurking about anywhere in our grounds, we turned back.Passing over the walk where I had seen the shadow, I now noticed, forthe first time, a little bright object, lying on the clean gravel, underthe light of the moon. Picking the object up, I discovered it was asmall bottle, containing a thick sweet-smelling liquor, as black as ink.
I said nothing to Samuel. But, remembering what Penelope had told meabout the jugglers, and the pouring of the little pool of ink into thepalm of the boy's hand, I i
nstantly suspected that I had disturbed thethree Indians, lurking about the house, and bent, in their heathenishway, on discovering the whereabouts of the Diamond that night.
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