The Firm of Girdlestone

by Arthur Conan Doyle

  CHAPTER XIII.

  SHADOW AND LIGHT.

  John Girdlestone's private residence in Eccleston Square was a large andsubstantial house in a district which the wave of fashion had passedover in its westward course. It might still, however, be said to becovered by a deposit of eminent respectability. The building was sternand hard, and massive in its external appearance, but the interior wasluxury itself, for the old merchant, in spite of his ascetic appearance,was inclined to be a sybarite at heart, and had a due appreciation ofthe good things of this world. Indeed, there was an oriental and almostbarbarous splendour about the great rooms, where the richest offurniture was interspersed with skins from the Gaboon, hand-worked ivoryfrom Old Calabar, and the thousand other strange valuables which werepresented by his agents to the African trader.

  After the death of his friend, Girdlestone had been as good as his word.He had taken Kate Harston away from the desolate house at Fulham andbrought her to live with him. From the garrets of that palatial edificeto the cellars she was at liberty to roam where she would, and do whatshe chose. The square garden too, with its smoke-dried trees and fadedlawn, was at her disposal, in which she might walk, or work, or read.No cares or responsibilities were imposed upon her. The domesticaffairs were superintended by a stern housekeeper, who bore a quaintresemblance to Girdlestone himself in petticoats, and who arranged everydetail of housekeeping. The young girl had apparently only to exist andto be happy.

  Yet the latter item was not so easy as it might seem. It was not acongenial atmosphere. Her whole society consisted of the stern,unemotional merchant and his vulgar, occasionally brutal, son.At first, while the memory of her father was still fresh, she felt hernew surroundings acutely, contrasting, as they did, with her happyFulham home. Gradually, however, as time deadened the sting, she cameto accommodate herself to circumstances. The two men left her very muchto her own devices. Girdlestone was so engrossed in his business thathe had little time to inquire into her pursuits, and Ezra, beingaddicted to late hours, was seldom seen except at breakfast-time, whenshe listened with awe to his sporting slang and cynical comments uponmen and manners.

  John Girdlestone had been by no means overjoyed upon the return of theDimsdales from Edinburgh to learn that his ward had been thrown into thecompany of her young cousin. He received her coldly and forbade her tovisit Phillimore Gardens for some time to come. He took occasion alsoto speak of Tom, and to assure her that he had received very seriousaccounts as to his spiritual state. "He is addicted to all manner ofdebasing pursuits," he remarked, "and it is my particular wish that youshould avoid him." Learning that young Dimsdale was in London, he eventook the precaution of telling off a confidential footman to walk behindher on all occasions, and to act either as an escort or as a sentry.

  It chanced, however, that one day, a few weeks after her return, Katefound an opportunity of recovering her freedom. The footman had beendespatched upon some other duty, so she bethought herself that a bookwas to be bought and some lace to be matched, and several otherimportant feminine duties to be fulfilled. It happened, however, thatas she walked sedately down Warwick Street, her eyes fell upon a verytall and square-shouldered young man, who was lounging in her direction,tapping his stick listlessly against the railings, as is the habit ofidle men. At this Kate forgot incontinently all about the book and thelace, while the tall youth ceased to tap the railings, and came stridingtowards her with long springy footsteps and a smiling face.

  "Why Cousin Tom, who would have thought of meeting you here?" sheexclaimed, when the first greetings had been exchanged. "It is a mostsurprising thing."

  It is possible that the incident would not have struck her as so veryastonishing after all, had she known that Tom had spent six hours a dayfor the last fortnight in blockading the entrances to Eccleston Square.

  "Most remarkable!" said the young hypocrite. "You see, I haven'tanything to do yet, so I walk about London a good deal. It was a luckychance that sent me in this direction."

  "And how is the doctor?" Kate asked eagerly. "And Mrs. Dimsdale, how isshe? You must give my love to them both."

  "How is it that you have never been to see us?" Tom asked reproachfully.

  "Mr. Girdlestone thinks that I have been too idle lately, and that Ishould stay at home. I am afraid it will be some little time before Ican steal away to Kensington."

  Tom consigned her guardian under his breath to a region warmer even thanthe scene of that gentleman's commercial speculations.

  "Which way are you going?" he asked.

  "I was going to Victoria Street to change my book, and then to FordStreet."

  "What a strange thing!" the young man exclaimed; "I was going in thatdirection too." It seemed the more strange, as he was walking in theopposite direction when she met him. Neither seemed inclined to makeany comment upon the fact, so they walked on together. "And you havenot forgotten the days in Edinburgh yet?" Tom asked, after a long pause.

  "No, indeed," his companion answered with enthusiasm. "I shall neverforget them as long as I live."

  "Nor I," said Tom earnestly. "You remember the day we had at thePentlands?"

  "And the drive round Arthur's Seat."

  "And the time that we all went to Roslin and saw the chapel."

  "And the day at Edinburgh Castle when we saw the jewels and the armoury.But you must have seen all these things many times before? You couldnot have enjoyed it as much as we did for the first time."

  "Oh yes, I did," Tom said stoutly, wondering to himself how it was thatthe easy grace with which he could turn compliments to maidens for whomhe cared nothing had so entirely deserted him. "You see, Kate-well--youwere not there when I saw them before."

  "Ah," said Kate demurely, "what a beautiful day it is? I fancied in themorning that it was going to rain."

  Tom was not to be diverted from his subject by any meteorologicalobservations. "Perhaps some time your guardian will allow the dad totake you on another little holiday," he said hopefully.

  "I'm afraid he won't," answered Kate.

  "Why not?"

  "Because he seemed so cross when I came back this last time."

  "Why was he cross?" asked Tom.

  "Because--" She was about to say that it was because she had beenbrought in contact with him; but she recollected herself in time.

  "Because what?"

  "Because he happened to be in a bad temper," she answered.

  "It is too bad that you should have to submit to any one's whims andtempers," the young man said, switching his stick angrily backwards andforwards.

  "Why not?" she asked, laughing. "Everybody has some one over them.If you hadn't, you would never know right from wrong."

  "But he is unkind to you."

  "No, indeed," said Kate, with decision. "He is really very kind to me.He may appear a little stern at times, but I know that he means it formy own good, and I should be a very foolish girl if I resented it.Besides, he is so pious and good that what may seem a little fault to uswould appear a great thing in his eyes."

  "Oh, he is very pious and good, then," Tom remarked, in a doubtfulvoice. His shrewd old father had formed his own views as to JohnGirdlestone's character, and his son had in due course imbibed them fromhim.

  "Yes, of course he is," answered Kate, looking up with great wonderingeyes. "Don't you know that he is the chief supporter of the PurbrookStreet Branch of the Primitive Trinitarians, and sits in the front pewthree times every Sunday?"

  "Ah!" said Tom.

  "Yes, and subscribes to all the charitable funds, and is a friend ofMr. Jefferson Edwards, the great philanthropist. Besides, look how goodhe has been to me. He has taken the place of my father."

  "Hum!" Tom said dubiously; and then, with a little pang at his heart,"Do you like Ezra Girdlestone too?"

  "No, indeed," cried his companion with energy. "I don't like him in theleast. He is a cruel, bad-hearted man."

  "Cruel! You don't mean cruel to you, of course."<
br />
  "No, not to me. I avoid him as much as I can, and sometimes for weekswe hardly exchange a word. Do you know what he did the other day?It makes me shudder even to think of it. I heard a cat crying pitifullyin the garden, so I went out to see what was the matter. When I gotoutside I saw Ezra Girdlestone leaning out of a window with a gun in hishands--one of those air-guns which don't make any noise when they gooff. And there, in the middle of the garden, was a poor cat that he hadtied to a bush, and he had been practising at it for ever so long.The poor creature was still alive, but oh! so dreadfully injured."

  "The brute! What did you do?"

  "I untied it and brought it inside, but it died during the night."

  "And what did he say?"

  "He put up his gun while I was untying it, as if he had half a mind totake a shot at me. When I met him afterwards he said that he wouldteach me to mind my own business. I didn't mind what he said though, aslong as I had the cat."

  "Spoke like that, did he?" said Tom savagely, flushing up to his eyes."I wish I saw him now. I'd teach him manners, or--"

  "You'll certainly get run over if you go on like that," interruptedKate.

  Indeed, the young man in his indignation was striding over a crossingwithout the slightest heed of the imminent danger which he ran from thestream of traffic.

  "Don't be so excitable, Cousin Tom," she said, laying her gloved handupon his arm; "there is nothing to be cross about."

  "Isn't there?" he answered furiously. "It's a pretty state of thingsthat you should have to submit to insults from a brutal puppy like thatfellow Ezra Girdlestone." The pair had managed by this time to gethalf-way across the broad road, and were halting upon the little islandof safety formed by the great stone base of a lamp-post. Aninterminable stream of 'buses--yellow, purple, and brown--with vans,hansoms, and growlers, blocked the way in front of them. A singlepoliceman, with his back turned to them, and his two arms going like ananimated semaphore, was the only human being in their immediatevicinity. Amid all the roar and rattle of the huge city they were asthoroughly left to themselves as though they were in the centre ofSalisbury Plain.

  "You must have a protector," Tom said with decision.

  "Oh, Cousin Tom, don't be foolish; I can protect myself very well."

  "You must have some one who has a right to look after you." The youngman's voice was husky, for the back part of his throat had becomeunaccountably dry of a sudden.

  "You can pass now, sir," roared the constable, for there was a momentarybreak in the traffic.

  "Don't go for a moment," Tom cried, desperately detaining his companionby the sleeve of her jacket. "We are alone here and can talk. Don'tyou think--don't you think you could like me a little bit if you were totry? I love you so, Kate, that I cannot help hoping that my love is notall lost."

  "All clear now, sir," shouted the constable once more.

  "Don't mind him," said Tom, still detaining her on the little-island."Since I met you in Edinburgh, Kate, I have seemed to be walking in adream. Do what I will, go where I will, I still have you before my eyesand hear your sweet voice in my ears. I don't believe any girl was everloved more dearly than I love you, but I find it so hard to put intowords the thoughts that I have in my mind. For Heaven's sake, give mesome little gleam of hope to carry away with me. You don't dislike me,Kate, do you?"

  "You know that I don't, Cousin Tom," said the young lady, with downcasteyes. He had cornered her so skilfully against the great lamp that shecould move neither to the right nor to the left.

  "Do you like me, then, Kate?" he asked eagerly, with a loving light inhis earnest grey eyes.

  "Of course I do."

  "Do you think you could love me?" continued this persistent young man."I don't mean all at once, and in a moment, because I know very wellthat I am not worthy of it. But in time don't you think you could cometo love me?"

  "Perhaps," murmured Kate, with averted face. It was such a very littlemurmur that it was wonderful that it should be audible at all; yet itpealed in the young man's ears above the rattle and the clatter of thebusy street. His head was very near to hers at the time.

  "Now's your time, sir," roared the semaphoric policeman.

  Had Tom been in a less exposed position it is possible that he mighthave acted upon that well-timed remark from the cunning constable.The centre of a London crossing is not, however, a very advantageousspot for the performance of love passages. As they walked on, threadingtheir way among the vehicles, Tom took his companion's hand in his, andthey exchanged one firm grip, which each felt to be of the nature of apledge. How sunny and bright the dull brick-lined streets appeared tothose two young people that afternoon. They were both looking into afuture which seemed to be one long vista of happiness and love. Of allthe gifts of Providence, surely our want of knowledge of the thingswhich are to come upon us is the most merciful, and the one we couldleast dispense with!

  So happy and so light-hearted were these two lovers that it was notuntil they found themselves in Warwick Street once more that they camedown from the clouds, and realized that there were some commonplacedetails which must be dealt with in one way or another.

  "Of course, I may tell my own people, dearest, about our engagement?"Tom said.

  "I wonder what your mother will say?" answered Kate, laughing merrily."She will be awfully astonished."

  "How about Girdlestone?" asked Tom.

  The thought of the guardian had never occurred to either of them before.They stared at each other, and Kate's face assumed such an expression ofdismay that her companion burst out laughing.

  "Don't be frightened, darling," he said. "If you like, I'll go in and'beard the lion in his den.' There is no time like the present."

  "No, no, dear Tom," she cried eagerly. "You must not do that." It wasimpossible for her to tell him how especially Girdlestone had cautionedher against him, but she felt that it would never do to allow the two tomeet. "We must conceal our engagement from Mr. Girdlestone."

  "Conceal our engagement!"

  "Yes, Tom. He has warned me so often against anything of the sort, thatreally I don't know what he would do if he knew about it. He wouldcertainly make it very uncomfortable for me to live with him. RememberI am nearly twenty now, so in a little more than a year I shall beentirely free. That is not very long."

  "I don't know about that," Tom said doubtfully. "However, if you willbe more comfortable, of course that settles the question. It seemsrather hard, though, that we should have to conceal it, simply in orderto pacify this old bear."

  "It's only for a time, Tom; and you may tell them at home by all means.Now, good-bye, dear; they will see you from the windows if you comenearer."

  "Good-bye, my darling."

  They shook hands and parted, he hurrying away with the glad tidings toPhillimore Gardens, she tripping back to her captivity with the lightestheart that she had felt for a weary time. Passers-by glanced back atthe bright little face under the bright little bonnet, and EzraGirdlestone, looking down at her from the drawing-room window, bethoughthim that if the diamond speculation should fail it would be no hardshipto turn to his father's word.