I Say No

by Wilkie Collins

  CHAPTER XXXVII. "THE LADY WANTS YOU, SIR."

  The pupils of the drawing-class put away their pencils and color-boxesin high good humor: the teacher's vigilant eye for faults had failedhim for the first time in their experience. Not one of them had beenreproved; they had chattered and giggled and drawn caricatures on themargin of the paper, as freely as if the master had left the room.Alban's wandering attention was indeed beyond the reach of control. Hisinterview with Francine had doubled his sense of responsibilitytoward Emily--while he was further than ever from seeing how he couldinterfere, to any useful purpose, in his present position, and with hisreasons for writing under reserve.

  One of the servants addressed him as he was leaving the schoolroom.The landlady's boy was waiting in the hall, with a message from hislodgings.

  "Now then! what is it?" he asked, irritably.

  "The lady wants you, sir." With this mysterious answer, the boypresented a visiting card. The name inscribed on it was--"Miss Jethro."

  She had arrived by the train, and she was then waiting at Alban'slodgings. "Say I will be with her directly." Having given the message,he stood for a while, with his hat in his hand--literally lost inastonishment. It was simply impossible to guess at Miss Jethro'sobject: and yet, with the usual perversity of human nature, he was stillwondering what she could possibly want with him, up to the final momentwhen he opened the door of his sitting-room.

  She rose and bowed with the same grace of movement, and the samewell-bred composure of manner, which Doctor Allday had noticed when sheentered his consulting-room. Her dark melancholy eyes rested on Albanwith a look of gentle interest. A faint flush of color animated fora moment the faded beauty of her face--passed away again--and left itpaler than before.

  "I cannot conceal from myself," she began, "that I am intruding on youunder embarrassing circumstances."

  "May I ask, Miss Jethro, to what circumstances you allude?"

  "You forget, Mr. Morris, that I left Miss Ladd's school, in a mannerwhich justified doubt of me in the minds of strangers."

  "Speaking as one of those strangers," Alban replied, "I cannot feel thatI had any right to form an opinion, on a matter which only concernedMiss Ladd and yourself."

  Miss Jethro bowed gravely. "You encourage me to hope," she said. "Ithink you will place a favorable construction on my visit when I mentionmy motive. I ask you to receive me, in the interests of Miss EmilyBrown."

  Stating her purpose in calling on him in those plain terms, she added tothe amazement which Alban already felt, by handing to him--as if she waspresenting an introduction--a letter marked, "Private," addressed to herby Doctor Allday.

  "I may tell you," she premised, "that I had no idea of troubling you,until Doctor Allday suggested it. I wrote to him in the first instance;and there is his reply. Pray read it."

  The letter was dated, "Penzance"; and the doctor wrote, as he spoke,without ceremony.

  "MADAM--Your letter has been forwarded to me. I am spending my autumnholiday in the far West of Cornwall. However, if I had been at home,it would have made no difference. I should have begged leave to declineholding any further conversation with you, on the subject of Miss EmilyBrown, for the following reasons:

  "In the first place, though I cannot doubt your sincere interest in theyoung lady's welfare, I don't like your mysterious way of showing it. Inthe second place, when I called at your address in London, after youhad left my house, I found that you had taken to flight. I place my owninterpretation on this circumstance; but as it is not founded on anyknowledge of facts, I merely allude to it, and say no more."

  Arrived at that point, Alban offered to return the letter. "Do youreally mean me to go on reading it?" he asked.

  "Yes," she said quietly.

  Alban returned to the letter.

  "In the third place, I have good reason to believe that you entered MissLadd's school as a teacher, under false pretenses. After that discovery,I tell you plainly I hesitate to attach credit to any statement that youmay wish to make. At the same time, I must not permit my prejudices(as you will probably call them) to stand in the way of Miss Emily'sinterests--supposing them to be really depending on any interferenceof yours. Miss Ladd's drawing-master, Mr. Alban Morris, is even moredevoted to Miss Emily's service than I am. Whatever you might have saidto me, you can say to him--with this possible advantage, that _he_ maybelieve you."

  There the letter ended. Alban handed it back in silence.

  Miss Jethro pointed to the words, "Mr. Alban Morris is even more devotedto Miss Emily's service than I am."

  "Is that true?" she asked.

  "Quite true."

  "I don't complain, Mr. Morris, of the hard things said of me in thatletter; you are at liberty to suppose, if you like, that I deserve them.Attribute it to pride, or attribute it to reluctance to make needlessdemands on your time--I shall not attempt to defend myself. I leaveyou to decide whether the woman who has shown you that letter--havingsomething important to say to you--is a person who is mean enough to sayit under false pretenses."

  "Tell me what I can do for you, Miss Jethro: and be assured, beforehand,that I don't doubt your sincerity."

  "My purpose in coming here," she answered, "is to induce you to use yourinfluence over Miss Emily Brown--"

  "With what object?" Alban asked, interrupting her.

  "My object is her own good. Some years since, I happened to becomeacquainted with a person who has attained some celebrity as a preacher.You have perhaps heard of Mr. Miles Mirabel?"

  "I have heard of him."

  "I have been in correspondence with him," Miss Jethro proceeded. "Hetells me he has been introduced to a young lady, who was formerly one ofMiss Ladd's pupils, and who is the daughter of Mr. Wyvil, of MonksmoorPark. He has called on Mr. Wyvil; and he has since received aninvitation to stay at Mr. Wyvil's house. The day fixed for the visit isMonday, the fifth of next month."

  Alban listened--at a loss to know what interest he was supposed to havein being made acquainted with Mr. Mirabel's engagements. Miss Jethro'snext words enlightened him.

  "You are perhaps aware," she resumed, "that Miss Emily Brown is MissWyvil's intimate friend. She will be one of the guests at MonksmoorPark. If there are any obstacles which you can place in her way--ifthere is any influence which you can exert, without exciting suspicionof your motive--prevent her, I entreat you, from accepting Miss Wyvil'sinvitation, until Mr. Mirabel's visit has come to an end."

  "Is there anything against Mr. Mirabel?" he asked.

  "I say nothing against him."

  "Is Miss Emily acquainted with him?"

  "No."

  "Is he a person with whom it would be disagreeable to her to associate?"

  "Quite the contrary."

  "And yet you expect me to prevent them from meeting! Be reasonable, MissJethro."

  "I can only be in earnest, Mr. Morris--more truly, more deeply inearnest than you can suppose. I declare to you that I am speaking inMiss Emily's interests. Do you still refuse to exert yourself for hersake?"

  "I am spared the pain of refusal," Alban answered. "The time forinterference has gone by. She is, at this moment, on her way toMonksmoor Park."

  Miss Jethro attempted to rise--and dropped back into her chair. "Water!"she said faintly. After drinking from the glass to the last drop, shebegan to revive. Her little traveling-bag was on the floor at her side.She took out a railway guide, and tried to consult it. Her fingerstrembled incessantly; she was unable to find the page to which shewished to refer. "Help me," she said, "I must leave this place--by thefirst train that passes."

  "To see Emily?" Alban asked.

  "Quite useless! You have said it yourself--the time for interference hasgone by. Look at the guide."

  "What place shall I look for?"

  "Look for Vale Regis."

  Alban found the place. The train was due in ten minutes. "Surely you arenot fit to travel so soon?" he suggested.

  "Fit or not, I must see Mr. Mirabel--I must make the effort t
o keep themapart by appealing to _him_."

  "With any hope of success?"

  "With no hope--and with no interest in the man himself. Still I musttry."

  "Out of anxiety for Emily's welfare?"

  "Out of anxiety for more than that."

  "For what?"

  "If you can't guess, I daren't tell you."

  That strange reply startled Alban. Before he could ask what it meant,Miss Jethro had left him.

  In the emergencies of life, a person readier of resource than AlbanMorris it would not have been easy to discover. The extraordinaryinterview that had now come to an end had found its limits. Bewilderedand helpless, he stood at the window of his room, and asked himself (asif he had been the weakest man living), "What shall I do?"

  BOOK THE FOURTH--THE COUNTRY HOUSE.