by L. T. Meade
CHAPTER XXVI.--LOVE VERSUS GOLD.
"Katharine!"
"Yes."
"I have received the most extraordinary letter."
"What about, Grizel?"
"What about? Had you not better ask me first who from? Oh, no, you neednot turn so pale. It is not from that paragon of your life, Rachel's andKitty's mother."
"Grizel, I do think you might speak more tenderly of one who has doneyou no harm and who has suffered much."
"Well, well, let that pass. You want to know who my presentcorrespondent is. She is no less a person than the mother of our heir."
"Phil's mother! Why should she write? She is in the house. Surely shecan use her tongue."
"She is not in the house and is therefore obliged to have recourse tocorrespondence. Listen to her words."
Miss Griselda drew out of her pocket an envelope which contained a sheetof thick note-paper. The envelope was crested; so was the paper. Theplace from which it was written was Avonsyde; the date was early thatmorning. A few words in a rather feeble and uncertain hand filled thepage.
"Dear Miss Lovel: I hope you and Miss Katharine will excuse me. I have made up my mind to see your lawyer, Mr. Baring, in town. I know you intended him to come here this afternoon, but if I catch the early train I shall reach his office in time to prevent him. I believe I can explain all about proofs and credentials better in town than here. I shall come back in time to-morrow. Don't let Phil be agitated. Yours humbly and regretfully,
"Bella Lovel."
"What does she mean by putting such an extra ordinary ending to herletter?" continued Miss Grizel as she folded up the sheet of paper andreturned it to its envelope. "'Yours humbly and regretfully!' What doesshe mean, Katharine?"
"It sounds like a woman who had a weight on her conscience," said MissKatharine. "I wonder if Phil really is the heir! You know, Grizel, shenever showed you the tankard. She made a great talk about it, but younever really saw it. Don't you remember?"
"Nonsense!" snapped Miss Grizel. "Is it likely she would even know aboutthe tankard if she had not got it? She was ill that day. Newbolt saidshe looked quite dreadful, and I did not worry her again, as I knew Mr.Baring was coming down to-day to go thoroughly into the whole question.She certainly has done an extraordinary thing in writing that letter andgoing up to London in that stolen sort of fashion; but as to Phil notbeing the heir, I think the fact of his true title to the property ispretty clearly established by this time. Katharine, I read you thisletter in order to get a suggestion from you. I might have knownbeforehand that you had none to make. I might have known that you wouldonly raise some of your silly doubts and make things generallyuncomfortable. Well, I am displeased with Mrs. Lovel; but there, I neverliked her. I shall certainly telegraph to Mr. Baring and ask him to comedown here this evening, all the same."
Miss Griselda and Miss Katharine had held their brief little colloquy inthe old library. They now went into the hall, where family prayers weregenerally held, and soon afterward Miss Griselda sent off her telegram.She received an answer in the course of a couple of hours:
"Have not seen Mrs. Lovel. Will come down as arranged."
But half an hour before the dog-cart was to be sent to the railwaystation to meet the lawyer another little yellow envelope was thrustinto Miss Lovel's hands. It was dated from the lawyer's chambers and ranas follows:
"Most unexpectedly detained. Cannot come to-night. Expect me with Mrs. Lovel to-morrow."
This telegram made Miss Griselda very angry.
"What possible information can detain Mr. Baring when I summon himhere?" she said to her younger sister. She was doomed, however, to bemade yet more indignant. A third telegram arrived at Avonsyde early inthe evening; it also was from Mr. Baring:
"Disquieting news. Put off your guests. Expect me early to-morrow."
Miss Griselda's face grew quite pale. She threw the thin sheet of paperindignantly on the floor.
"Mr. Baring strangely forgets himself," she said. "Put off our guests!Certainly not!"
"But, Griselda," said Miss Katharine, "our good friend speaks ofdisquieting news. It may be--it may be something about the little girls'mother. Oh, I always did fear that something had happened to her."
"Katharine, you are perfectly silly about that woman. But whatever Mr.Baring's news, our guests are invited and they shall come. Katharine, Ilook on to-morrow as the most important day of my life. On that day,when I show our chosen and rightful heir to the world--for our expectedguests form the world to us, Katharine--on that day I fulfill theconditions of my dear father's will. Do you suppose that any littletrivial disturbance which may have taken place in London can alter plansso important as mine?"
"I don't think Mr. Baring would have telegraphed if the disturbance wastrivial," murmured Miss Katharine. But she did not venture to add anymore and soon went sadly out of the room.
Meanwhile Mrs. Lovel was having a terribly exciting day. Impelled by amotive stronger than the love of gold, she had slipped away from Phil'sbedside in the early morning, and, fear lending her wings, had gonedownstairs, written her note to Miss Griselda, and then on foot had madeher way to the nearest railway station at Lyndhurst Road. There she tookthe first train to London. She had a carriage to herself, and she was sorestless that she paced up and down its narrow length. It seemed to herthat the train would never reach its destination; the minutes werelengthened into hours; the hours seemed days. When, when would she getto Waterloo? When would she see Mr. Baring? Beside her in the railwaycarriage, beside her in the cab, beside her as she mounted the stairs tothe lawyer's office was pale-faced fear. Could she do anything to keepthe boy? Could any--any act of hers cause the avenger to stay hishand--cause the angel of death to withdraw and leave his prey untouched?In the night, as she had watched by his bedside, she had seen only tooplainly what was coming. Avonsyde might be given to Phil, but littlePhil himself was going away. The angels wanted him elsewhere, and theywould not mind any amount of mother's weeping, of mother's groans; theywould take the boy from her arms. Then it occurred to her poor, weaksoul for the first time that perhaps if she appealed to God he wouldlisten, and if she repented, not only in word, but in deed, he wouldstay his avenging hand. Hence her hurried flight; hence her anguishedlonging. She had not a moment to lose, for the sands of her little boy'slife were running out.
She was early in town, and was shown into Mr. Baring's presence verysoon after his arrival at his office. Unlike most of theheirs-presumptive to the Avonsyde property, Phil had not been subjectedto the scrutiny of this keen-eyed lawyer. From the very first MissGriselda had been more or less under a spell as regards little Phil. Hismother in writing to her from Australia had mentioned one or two factswhich seemed to the good lady almost conclusive, and she had invited herand the boy direct to Avonsyde without, as in all other cases,interviewing them through her lawyer.
Mr. Baring therefore had not an idea who his tall, pale,agitated-looking visitor could be.
"Sit down," he said politely. "Can I assist you in any way? Perhaps, ifall the same to you, you would not object to going very briefly intomatters to-day; to-morrow--no, not to-morrow--Thursday I can carefullyattend to your case. I happen to be called into the country thisafternoon and am therefore in a special hurry. If your case can wait,oblige me by mentioning the particulars briefly and making anappointment for Thursday."
"My case cannot wait," replied Mrs. Lovel in a hard, strained voice. "Mycase cannot wait an hour, and you need not go into the country. I havecome to prevent your doing so."
"But, madam----"
"I am Mrs. Lovel."
"Another Mrs. Lovel? Another heir forthcoming? God help those poor oldladies!"
"I am the mother of the boy who to-morrow is to be publicly announced asthe future proprietor of Avonsyde."
"You! Then you have come from Avonsyde?"
"I have. I have come to tell you a terrible and disastrous story."
/> "My dear madam, pray don't agitate yourself; pray take things quietly.Would you like to sit in this easy-chair?"
"No, thank you. What are easy-chairs to me? I want to tell my story."
"So you shall--so you shall. I trust your boy is not ill?"
"He is very ill; he is--good God! I fear he is dying. I have come to youas the last faint chance of saving him."
"My dear Mrs. Lovel, you make a mistake. I am a lawyer, not a physician.'Pon my word, I'm truly sorry for you, and also for Miss Griselda. Herheart is quite set on that boy."
"Listen! I have sinned. I was tempted; I sinned. He is not the heir."
"My good lady, you can scarcely know what you are saying. You wouldhardly come to me with this story at the eleventh hour. Miss Lovel tellsme you have proofs of undoubted succession. I was going to Avonsyde thisafternoon to look into them, but only as a form--merely as a form."
"You can look into them now; they are correct enough. There were twobrothers who were lineally descended from that Rupert Lovel whoquarreled with his father two hundred years ago. The brothers' nameswere Rupert and Philip. Philip died and left a son; Rupert lives and hasa son. Rupert is the elder of the brothers and his son is the true heir,because--because----"
Here Mrs. Lovel rose to her feet.
"Because he has got what was denied to my only boy--glorious health andglorious strength. He therefore perfectly fulfills the conditions of thelate Squire Lovel's will."
"But--but I don't understand," said the lawyer. "I have seen--yes, ofcourse I have seen--but pray tell me everything. How did you manage tobring proofs of your boy's title to the old ladies?"
"Why should I not know the history of my husband's house? I saw the oldladies' advertisement in a Melbourne paper. I knew to what it alludedand I stole a march on Rupert and his heir. It did not seem to me such adreadful thing to do; for Rupert and his boy were rich and Phil and Iwere very poor. I stole away to England with my little boy, and tookwith me a bundle of letters and a silver tankard which belonged to mybrother-in-law, but which were, I knew, equally valuable in provinglittle Philip's descent. All would have gone well but for one thing--mylittle boy was not strong. He was brave--no boy ever was braver--and hekept in all tokens of terrible suffering for my sake. He won upon theold ladies; everybody loved him. All my plans seemed to succeed, andto-morrow he is to be appointed heir. To-morrow! What use is it? God hasstretched out his hand and is taking the boy away. He is angry. He isdoing it in anger and to punish me. I am sorry; I am terrified; my heartis broken. Perhaps if I show God that I repent he will withdraw hisanger and spare my only boy. I have come to you. There is not a momentto lose. Here are the lost letters. Find the rightful heir."
Mr. Baring was disturbed and agitated. He got up and locked the door; hepaced up and down his room several times; then he came up to the womanwho was now crouching by the table, her face hidden in her hands.
"Are you aware," he said softly, for he feared the effect of hiswords--"are you aware that Rupert Lovel and his boy are now in London?"
Mrs. Lovel raised her head.
"I guessed it. Thank God! then I am in time."
"Your news is indeed of the most vital importance. I must telegraph toAvonsyde. I cannot go there this afternoon. The whole case must bethoroughly investigated, and at once. I require your aid for this. Willyou return with me to Avonsyde to-morrow?"
"Yes, yes."
"It will be a painful exposure for you. Do you realize it?"
"I realize nothing. I want to hold Phil to my heart; that is the onlydesire I now possess."
"Poor soul! You have acted--I won't say how; it is not for me to preach.I will telegraph to Miss Griselda and then go with you to find RupertLovel and his boy."
