A Laodicean : A Story of To-day

by Thomas Hardy

  XI.

  On the evening of the fourth day after the parting between Paula and DeStancy at Amiens, when it was quite dark in the Markton highway,except in so far as the shades were broken by the faint lights from theadjacent town, a young man knocked softly at the door of Myrtle Villa,and asked if Captain De Stancy had arrived from abroad. He was answeredin the affirmative, and in a few moments the captain himself came froman adjoining room.

  Seeing that his visitor was Dare, from whom, as will be remembered, hehad parted at Carlsruhe in no very satisfied mood, De Stancy did not askhim into the house, but putting on his hat went out with the youth intothe public road. Here they conversed as they walked up and down, Darebeginning by alluding to the death of Sir William, the suddenness ofwhich he feared would delay Captain De Stancy's overtures for the handof Miss Power.

  'No,' said De Stancy moodily. 'On the contrary, it has precipitatedmatters.'

  'She has accepted you, captain?'

  'We are engaged to be married.'

  'Well done. I congratulate you.' The speaker was about to proceed tofurther triumphant notes on the intelligence, when casting his eye uponthe upper windows of the neighbouring villa, he appeared to reflect onwhat was within them, and checking himself, 'When is the funeral to be?'

  'To-morrow,' De Stancy replied. 'It would be advisable for you not tocome near me during the day.'

  'I will not. I will be a mere spectator. The old vault of our ancestorswill be opened, I presume, captain?'

  'It is opened.'

  'I must see it--and ruminate on what we once were: it is a thing I likedoing. The ghosts of our dead--Ah, what was that?'

  'I heard nothing.'

  'I thought I heard a footstep behind us.'

  They stood still; but the road appeared to be quite deserted, and likelyto continue so for the remainder of that evening. They walked on again,speaking in somewhat lower tones than before.

  'Will the late Sir William's death delay the wedding much?' asked theyounger man curiously.

  De Stancy languidly answered that he did not see why it should doso. Some little time would of course intervene, but, since therewere several reasons for despatch, he should urge Miss Power and herrelatives to consent to a virtually private wedding which might takeplace at a very early date; and he thought there would be a generalconsent on that point.

  'There are indeed reasons for despatch. Your title, Sir William, is anew safeguard over her heart, certainly; but there is many a slip, andyou must not lose her now.'

  'I don't mean to lose her!' said De Stancy. 'She is too good to be lost.And yet--since she gave her promise I have felt more than once thatI would not engage in such a struggle again. It was not a thing of mybeginning, though I was easily enough inflamed to follow. But I will notlose her now.--For God's sake, keep that secret you have so foolishlypricked on your breast. It fills me with remorse to think what she withher scrupulous notions will feel, should she ever know of you and yourhistory, and your relation to me!'

  Dare made no reply till after a silence, when he said, 'Of course mum'sthe word till the wedding is over.'

  'And afterwards--promise that for her sake?'

  'And probably afterwards.'

  Sir William De Stancy drew a dejected breath at the tone of the answer.They conversed but a little while longer, the captain hinting to Darethat it was time for them to part; not, however, before he had uttereda hope that the young man would turn over a new leaf and engage in someregular pursuit. Promising to call upon him at his lodgings De Stancywent indoors, and Dare briskly retraced his steps to Markton.

  When his footfall had died away, and the door of the house opposite hadbeen closed, another man appeared upon the scene. He came gently out ofthe hedge opposite Myrtle Villa, which he paused to regard for a moment.But instead of going townward, he turned his back upon the distantsprinkle of lights, and did not check his walk till he reached the lodgeof Stancy Castle.

  Here he pulled the wooden acorn beside the arch, and when the porterappeared his light revealed the pedestrian's countenance to be scathed,as by lightning.

  'I beg your pardon, Mr. Power,' said the porter with sudden deferenceas he opened the wicket. 'But we wasn't expecting anybody to-night, asthere is nobody at home, and the servants on board wages; and that's whyI was so long a-coming.'

  'No matter, no matter,' said Abner Power. 'I have returned on suddenbusiness, and have not come to stay longer than to-night. Your mistressis not with me. I meant to sleep in Markton, but have changed my mind.'

  Mr. Power had brought no luggage with him beyond a small hand-bag, andas soon as a room could be got ready he retired to bed.

  The next morning he passed in idly walking about the grounds andobserving the progress which had been made in the works--now temporarilysuspended. But that inspection was less his object in remaining therethan meditation, was abundantly evident. When the bell began to tollfrom the neighbouring church to announce the burial of Sir William DeStancy, he passed through the castle, and went on foot in the directionindicated by the sound. Reaching the margin of the churchyard he lookedover the wall, his presence being masked by bushes and a group ofidlers from Markton who stood in front. Soon a funeral procession ofsimple--almost meagre and threadbare--character arrived, but Power didnot join the people who followed the deceased into the church. De Stancywas the chief mourner and only relation present, the other followers ofthe broken-down old man being an ancient lawyer, a couple of faithfulservants, and a bowed villager who had been page to the late SirWilliam's father--the single living person left in the parish whoremembered the De Stancys as people of wealth and influence, and whofirmly believed that family would come into its rights ere long, andoust the uncircumcized Philistines who had taken possession of the oldlands.

  The funeral was over, and the rusty carriages had gone, together withmany of the spectators; but Power lingered in the churchyard as if hewere looking for some one. At length he entered the church, passing bythe cavernous pitfall with descending steps which stood open outside thewall of the De Stancy aisle. Arrived within he scanned the few idlersof antiquarian tastes who had remained after the service to inspect themonuments; and beside a recumbent effigy--the effigy in alabasterwhose features Paula had wiped with her handkerchief when there withSomerset--he beheld the man it had been his business to find. AbnerPower went up and touched this person, who was Dare, on the shoulder.

  'Mr. Power--so it is!' said the youth. 'I have not seen you since we metin Carlsruhe.'

  'You shall see all the more of me now to make up for it. Shall we walkround the church?'

  'With all my heart,' said Dare.

  They walked round; and Abner Power began in a sardonic recitative: 'Iam a traveller, and it takes a good deal to astonish me. So I neitherswooned nor screamed when I learnt a few hours ago what I had suspectedfor a week, that you are of the house and lineage of Jacob.' He flung anod towards the canopied tombs as he spoke.--'In other words, that youare of the same breed as the De Stancys.'

  Dare cursorily glanced round. Nobody was near enough to hear theirwords, the nearest persons being two workmen just outside, who werebringing their tools up from the vault preparatively to closing it.

  Having observed this Dare replied, 'I, too, am a traveller; and neitherdo I swoon nor scream at what you say. But I assure you that if youbusy yourself about me, you may truly be said to busy yourself aboutnothing.'

  'Well, that's a matter of opinion. Now, there's no scarlet left in myface to blush for men's follies; but as an alliance is afoot between myniece and the present Sir William, this must be looked into.'

  Dare reflectively said 'O,' as he observed through the window one ofthe workmen bring up a candle from the vault and extinguish it with hisfingers.

  'The marriage is desirable, and your relationship in itself is of noconsequence,' continued the elder, 'but just look at this. You haveforced on the marriage by unscrupulous means, your object being only tooclearly to live out of the proceeds of that marri
age.'

  'Mr. Power, you mock me, because I labour under the misfortune of havingan illegitimate father to provide for. I really deserve commiseration.'

  'You might deserve it if that were all. But it looks bad for myniece's happiness as Lady De Stancy, that she and her husband are to beperpetually haunted by a young chevalier d'industrie, who can forge atelegram on occasion, and libel an innocent man by an ingenious devicein photography. It looks so bad, in short, that, advantageous as a titleand old family name would be to her and her children, I won't let mybrother's daughter run the risk of having them at the expense of beingin the grip of a man like you. There are other suitors in the world, andother titles: and she is a beautiful woman, who can well afford to befastidious. I shall let her know at once of these things, and break offthe business--unless you do ONE THING.'

  A workman brought up another candle from the vault, and prepared to letdown the slab. 'Well, Mr. Power, and what is that one thing?'

  'Go to Peru as my agent in a business I have just undertaken there.'

  'And settle there?'

  'Of course. I am soon going over myself, and will bring you anything yourequire.'

  'How long will you give me to consider?' said Dare.

  Power looked at his watch. 'One, two, three, four hours,' he said. 'Ileave Markton by the seven o'clock train this evening.'

  'And if I meet your proposal with a negative?'

  'I shall go at once to my niece and tell her the wholecircumstances--tell her that, by marrying Sir William, she alliesherself with an unhappy gentleman in the power of a criminal son whomakes his life a burden to him by perpetual demands upon his purse; whowill increase those demands with his accession to wealth, threaten todegrade her by exposing her husband's antecedents if she opposes hisextortions, and who will make her miserable by letting her know that herold lover was shamefully victimized by a youth she is bound to screenout of respect to her husband's feelings. Now a man does not care to lethis own flesh and blood incur the danger of such anguish as that, andI shall do what I say to prevent it. Knowing what a lukewarm sentimenthers is for Sir William at best, I shall not have much difficulty.'

  'Well, I don't feel inclined to go to Peru.'

  'Neither do I want to break off the match, though I am ready to do it.But you care about your personal freedom, and you might be made to wearthe broad arrow for your tricks on Somerset.'

  'Mr. Power, I see you are a hard man.'

  'I am a hard man. You will find me one. Well, will you go to Peru? OrI don't mind Australia or California as alternatives. As long as youchoose to remain in either of those wealth-producing places, so longwill Cunningham Haze go uninformed.'

  'Mr. Power, I am overcome. Will you allow me to sit down? Suppose we gointo the vestry. It is more comfortable.'

  They entered the vestry, and seated themselves in two chairs, one ateach end of the table.

  'In the meantime,' continued Dare, 'to lend a little romance to sternrealities, I'll tell you a singular dream I had just before you returnedto England.' Power looked contemptuous, but Dare went on: 'I dreamtthat once upon a time there were two brothers, born of a Nonconformistfamily, one of whom became a railway-contractor, and the other amechanical engineer.'

  'A mechanical engineer--good,' said Power, beginning to attend.

  'When the first went abroad in his profession, and became engaged oncontinental railways, the second, a younger man, looking round for astart, also betook himself to the continent. But though ingenious andscientific, he had not the business capacity of the elder, whoserebukes led to a sharp quarrel between them; and they parted in bitterestrangement--never to meet again as it turned out, owing to the doggedobstinacy and self-will of the younger man. He, after this, seemed tolose his moral ballast altogether, and after some eccentric doings hewas reduced to a state of poverty, and took lodgings in a court in aback street of a town we will call Geneva, considerably in doubt as towhat steps he should take to keep body and soul together.'

  Abner Power was shooting a narrow ray of eyesight at Dare from thecorner of his nearly closed lids. 'Your dream is so interesting,' hesaid, with a hard smile, 'that I could listen to it all day.'

  'Excellent!' said Dare, and went on: 'Now it so happened that the houseopposite to the one taken by the mechanician was peculiar. It was a tallnarrow building, wholly unornamented, the walls covered with a layer ofwhite plaster cracked and soiled by time. I seem to see that house now!Six stone steps led up to the door, with a rusty iron railing on eachside, and under these steps were others which went down to a cellar--inmy dream of course.'

  'Of course--in your dream,' said Power, nodding comprehensively.

  'Sitting lonely and apathetic without a light, at his own chamber-windowat night time, our mechanician frequently observed dark figuresdescending these steps and ultimately discovered that the house was themeeting-place of a fraternity of political philosophers, whose objectwas the extermination of tyrants and despots, and the overthrow ofestablished religions. The discovery was startling enough, but our herowas not easily startled. He kept their secret and lived on as before. Atlast the mechanician and his affairs became known to the society, as theaffairs of the society had become known to the mechanician, and, insteadof shooting him as one who knew too much for their safety, they werestruck with his faculty for silence, and thought they might be able tomake use of him.'

  'To be sure,' said Abner Power.

  'Next, like friend Bunyan, I saw in my dream that denunciation wasthe breath of life to this society. At an earlier date in its history,objectionable persons in power had been from time to time murdered, andcuriously enough numbered; that is, upon the body of each was set a markor seal, announcing that he was one of a series. But at this time thequestion before the society related to the substitution for the dagger,which was vetoed as obsolete, of some explosive machine that would beboth more effectual and less difficult to manage; and in short, a largereward was offered to our needy Englishman if he would put their ideasof such a machine into shape.'

  Abner Power nodded again, his complexion being peculiar--which mightpartly have been accounted for by the reflection of window-light fromthe green-baize table-cloth.

  'He agreed, though no politician whatever himself, to exercise his witson their account, and brought his machine to such a pitch of perfection,that it was the identical one used in the memorable attempt--' (Darewhispered the remainder of the sentence in tones so low that not a mousein the corner could have heard.) 'Well, the inventor of that explosivehas naturally been wanted ever since by all the heads of police inEurope. But the most curious--or perhaps the most natural part of mystory is, that our hero, after the catastrophe, grew disgusted withhimself and his comrades, acquired, in a fit of revulsion, quite aconservative taste in politics, which was strengthened greatly by thenews he indirectly received of the great wealth and respectability ofhis brother, who had had no communion with him for years, and supposedhim dead. He abjured his employers and resolved to abandon them;but before coming to England he decided to destroy all trace of hiscombustible inventions by dropping them into the neighbouring lake atnight from a boat. You feel the room close, Mr. Power?'

  'No, I suffer from attacks of perspiration whenever I sit in aconsecrated edifice--that's all. Pray go on.'

  'In carrying out this project, an explosion occurred, just as he wasthrowing the stock overboard--it blew up into his face, wounding himseverely, and nearly depriving him of sight. The boat was upset, buthe swam ashore in the darkness, and remained hidden till he recovered,though the scars produced by the burns had been set on him for ever.This accident, which was such a misfortune to him as a man, was anadvantage to him as a conspirators' engineer retiring from practice,and afforded him a disguise both from his own brotherhood and from thepolice, which he has considered impenetrable, but which is getting seenthrough by one or two keen eyes as time goes on. Instead of coming toEngland just then, he went to Peru, connected himself with the guanotrade, I believe, and after his brot
her's death revisited England, hisold life obliterated as far as practicable by his new principles. He isknown only as a great traveller to his surviving relatives, though heseldom says where he has travelled. Unluckily for himself, he is WANTEDby certain European governments as badly as ever.'

  Dare raised his eyes as he concluded his narration. As has beenremarked, he was sitting at one end of the vestry-table, Power at theother, the green cloth stretching between them. On the edge of the tableadjoining Mr. Power a shining nozzle of metal was quietly resting, likea dog's nose. It was directed point-blank at the young man.

  Dare started. 'Ah--a revolver?' he said.

  Mr. Power nodded placidly, his hand still grasping the pistol behindthe edge of the table. 'As a traveller I always carry one of 'em,' hereturned; 'and for the last five minutes I have been closely consideringwhether your numerous brains are worth blowing out or no. The vaultyonder has suggested itself as convenient and snug for one of thesame family; but the mental problem that stays my hand is, how am I todespatch and bury you there without the workmen seeing?'

  ''Tis a strange problem, certainly,' replied Dare, 'and one on which Ifear I could not give disinterested advice. Moreover, while you, as atraveller, always carry a weapon of defence, as a traveller so do I. Andfor the last three-quarters of an hour I have been thinking concerningyou, an intensified form of what you have been thinking of me, butwithout any concern as to your interment. See here for a proof of it.'And a second steel nose rested on the edge of the table opposite to thefirst, steadied by Dare's right hand.

  They remained for some time motionless, the tick of the tower clockdistinctly audible.

  Mr. Power spoke first.

  'Well, 'twould be a pity to make a mess here under such dubiouscircumstances. Mr. Dare, I perceive that a mean vagabond can be as sharpas a political regenerator. I cry quits, if you care to do the same?'

  Dare assented, and the pistols were put away.

  'Then we do nothing at all, either side; but let the course of true loverun on to marriage--that's the understanding, I think?' said Dare as herose.

  'It is,' said Power; and turning on his heel, he left the vestry.

  Dare retired to the church and thence to the outside, where he idledaway a few minutes in looking at the workmen, who were now loweringinto its place a large stone slab, bearing the words 'DE STANCY,' whichcovered the entrance to the vault. When the footway of the churchyardwas restored to its normal condition Dare pursued his way to Markton.

  Abner Power walked back to the castle at a slow and equal pace, asthough he carried an over-brimming vessel on his head. He silently lethimself in, entered the long gallery, and sat down. The length oftime that he sat there was so remarkable as to raise that interval ofinanition to the rank of a feat.

  Power's eyes glanced through one of the window-casements: from a holewithout he saw the head of a tomtit protruding. He listlessly watchedthe bird during the successive epochs of his thought, till night came,without any perceptible change occurring in him. Such fixity would havemeant nothing else than sudden death in any other man, but in Mr.Power it merely signified that he was engaged in ruminations whichnecessitated a more extensive survey than usual. At last, at half-pasteight, after having sat for five hours with his eyes on the residence ofthe tomtits, to whom night had brought cessation of thought, if not tohim who had observed them, he rose amid the shades of the furniture, andrang the bell. There were only a servant or two in the castle, one ofwhom presently came with a light in her hand and a startled look uponher face, which was not reduced when she recognized him; for in theopinion of that household there was something ghoul-like in Mr. Power,which made him no desirable guest.

  He ate a late meal, and retired to bed, where he seemed to sleep notunsoundly. The next morning he received a letter which afforded himinfinite satisfaction and gave his stagnant impulses a new momentum. Heentered the library, and amid objects swathed in brown holland sat downand wrote a note to his niece at Amiens. Therein he stated that, findingthat the Anglo-South-American house with which he had recently connectedhimself required his presence in Peru, it obliged him to leave withoutwaiting for her return. He felt the less uneasy at going, since he hadlearnt that Captain De Stancy would return at once to Amiens to his sicksister, and see them safely home when she improved. He afterwards leftthe castle, disappearing towards a railway station some miles aboveMarkton, the road to which lay across an unfrequented down.