His easy manner and charming humour did much to soothe her nerves and take her mind off her anxieties. He had not been with her for ten minutes before she mentally blessed his coming, and it was not until nearly two hours later, when he stood up to go, that she realised how the time had flown.
Just as he was about to kiss her good-night he paused, and said with unwonted gravity. "Georgina. If there is anything else about this morning's events which you think I ought to know, now is your opportunity to tell me of it."
She looked him straight in the eyes and shook her head. "No, papa. I have nought to add to what I have already said."
He took a pinch of snuff and nodded. "You are old enough now to use your own judgment, m'dear. But no one knows better than myself the impulsiveness of your nature, and the sort of trouble into which it may lead you. I have every confidence in Roger's level-headedness and you have no doubt had the benefit of his guidance. Do nothing contrary to that, I beg, and say as little as possible to-morrow. Goodnight, my love, and may God have you in his keeping."
As he left her she wondered just how much he suspected. He knew, of course, that Roger was her lover, since she had never sought to conceal such matters from him; but the way he had looked at her suggested that he believed her to be concealing something concerning her husband's death. She thought that he had been silently inviting her to tell him the truth, and that perhaps she ought to have done so; but she had instinctively acted on his own teaching—that one must bear one's own burdens in life, and that it was a mark of cowardice to seek to unload them onto other people.
"Man-made laws," he had once told her, "are but a rough guide to conduct, for the general protection of society. They should be disregarded when they are no longer in keeping with one's sense of right. Do what you will, provided that you can square it with your own conscience. But even if you fail in that you must endeavour to regain your own integrity by finding the courage to face the consequence of your act without whimpering about your lot to others, and involving them in your troubles."
She had lived by that philosophy and felt that now was no time to go back upon it. If her father suspected anything it was because he believed that Roger had been with her. Had he had it in his power to help her, that would have been different. It was legitimate to ask a friend for any concrete aid that he could render. That was the essence of friendship and a high compliment to the friend concerned; but it was not right to confess one's sins merely for the squalid luxury of weeping on a friend's shoulder.
Convinced that she had acted rightly Georgina sought her bed. It was now just on eleven o'clock, the hour that Vorontzoff had intended to come to her; but she felt fairly certain now that Roger had been right in asserting that the Russian would prefer to accept a later assignation rather than risk being surprised in her room.
She took her time undressing and doing her hair so that it was midnight before she doused the candles on her dressing-table and got into bed.
With a little shudder she thought of all that had happened since she had lain there, so secure and happy, snugly curled in Roger's arms. She wondered if he and the Russian had yet met in the Orangery and what would be the outcome of the meeting. She had no great hopes for it as regards herself; as she could not believe that Vorontzoff would pay the least regard to any appeal Roger might make to his better nature; neither could she imagine any way in which Roger could strike a bargain with the Russian, or coerce him, short of using force.
Vorontzoff, she felt certain, would merely laugh at him and, within a few moments openly declare his intention of coming up to her. That would be the crucial point upon which everything hung. Would Roger stand aside and let him? Would his promise to her weigh sufficiently with him to restrain him from some act of violence? Her life as well as his would depend upon it, and, ruthless as he might be once he let himself go, she had never known him lose his head in a crisis.
Among other things her father had taught her was, that one can pray every bit as effectually either standing up or lying down as one can when kneeling; and also that prayer is far more potent when offered up for another than for oneself: So she began to pray; silently, fervently, not that she should be spared the ordeal that she now dreaded so terribly, but that Roger be given sagacity, restraint and wisdom.
After a time her prayers gave place to a conscious effort to coordinate the power of her will with his. She did not seek to dominate him, but to strengthen all. his best qualities by letting her own flow out of her towards him. Suddenly it came to her as clearly as a light in the darkness that they were en rapport, and she knew without a shadow of doubt that Roger was laughing.
It was so. Despite the grimness of the task upon which he was engaged, Roger found something irresistibly comic in the sight of the Russian Ambassador's limp body spreadeagled in a wheelbarrow. Probably it was the absurd, puppet-like way in which his enemy's legs and arms dangled helplessly over the sides of the barrow, and waggled at its every movement; but he could not help chuckling to himself as he wheeled his unconscious human load along a shadowy path through the shrubberies of the moonlit garden.
The Orangery had also been lit only by the moon, and ten minutes earlier Vorontzoff had swaggered into it exuding his usual self-cornplaisance. He had been annoyed by the postponing of his anticipated triumph, even for an hour; although conceding that there appeared to be an adequate reason for the alteration of the rendezvous. But he was in no mood to let Georgina get away with a brief encounter among the ill-lit semi-tropical greenery. He was an epicure in women and wanted to gaze his fill at her, in comfort and at his leisure; so he had determined to insist that, since in her own room they might be liable to interruption, she should accompany him to his.
Instead, he had been standing there awaiting her coming for barely a minute when Roger stepped softly from behind a banana-palm, and slugged him heavily on the back of the head with a small bag containing four pounds of wet sand.
It was over two hours since Roger had left Georgina, so he had had ample time to make his preparations; and, so far, his plan had gone with the smoothness of clockwork. As the sandbag hit Vorontzoff he had given a single grunt, his knees collapsed and he slumped unconscious onto the mosaic pavement. Picking him up, Roger carried him outside to the wheelbarrow which he had placed there for the purpose. In it there was already a small portmanteau containing various things that he might require. Bracing his muscles he had lifted the shafts and set off cheerfully down a garden path that led away from the back of the house.
On emerging from the shrubberies he followed the east side of the walled fruit garden, then, with no small effort, pulled the barrow over a steeply curved Chinese bridge that spanned a small stream. On its far side the garden ended, but the path continued, winding its way through semi-cultivated woodlands that had been planted with many thousands of bulbs and clumps of rhododendrons. A quarter of a mile farther on, the tops of a group of tall Scotch pines, rising high above the other trees, stood out clearly against the night sky. Their prominence was due to the fact that they had been planted on a great artificial mound several hundred yards in circumference. In its interior, under many feet of earth, lay a large, low, circular chamber, to which access could be gained by a short passage, ending at a stout wooden door set in one side of the mound.
Nearly all large country houses of the period had in their grounds similar man-made wooded knolls with a subterranean chamber underneath. Many of them were of great antiquity, as they were an ingenious Roman device for ensuring a supply of ice right through the summer. When the lakes froze in winter hundreds of big blocks of ice were cut from them and stored, after which the change of temperature above ground affected them hardly at all, as even in the height of summer, the shade of the trees kept cool the thick layer of earth beneath which they were stacked.
Having visited the mound during one of his walks with Georgina a few days before, Roger knew that the door of the chamber was not kept locked. Halting the w
heelbarrow at the bottom of the slope he pulled the Russian across his shoulders, carried him to the entrance opened the door, from which there issued a blast of cold air, and pushed him inside. He then returned for the portmanteau, rejoined his victim and, producing a dark lantern, lit it from his tinder-box.
VorontzofI was still lying comatose. Shining the light upon his face Roger leaned forward and gave it a couple of hard slaps. The Russian began to roll his head about slightly and make a low moan. Roger repeated the tonic and his enemy's eyes flickered open. Pulling him roughly to his feet Roger half led, half pushed him along the short passage as far as the opening into the chamber and let him drop to the floor there. Then he fetched his portmanteau, got out four candles, stood them up and lit them. Their light struck rainbow colours from the nearby ice blocks, giving the weird scene a resemblance to Dante's frozen seventh Hell.
It was as silent as the grave there; until the Russian scrabbled his feet in wriggling into a sitting position from which he stared malevolently up at his captor.
Roger grinned down at him, and said suavely. " 'Tis not quite the type of entertainment to which you were no doubt looking forward, Excellency, but I advise you to accept it with as good a grace as you can muster, or 'twill be the worse for you."
His victim muttered something in his own language, then swore at him. Stooping, Roger grabbed him by his lace jabot, shook him violently and cursed him with great fluency for a solid two minutes. He then opened his case again, took from it two lengths of whipcord and holding them up addressed the Russian.
"Listen, you rat. Heed carefully what I am about to say, for your life hangs upon it. No doubt you have places such as this in your own country. You can judge for yourself that the temperature here is below freezing point. I have but to tie your hands and feet, gag you, and thrust you out of sight behind one of the ice-stacks at the far end of the chamber for you to die here. How like you the idea?"
The Russian's wits had now returned to him, and he muttered: "You are already in jeopardy of a hanging. To murder me would make it a certainty."
"On the contrary, Monsieur. To do as I suggest is the one method by which I can make positive beyond all doubt that your mouth will remain closed at to-morrow's inquest; and, believe me, I am much inclined to adopt it."
"You may thus escape a charge of having aided the Lady Georgina to murder her husband, but they will get you later on one of having murdered myself."
"You are wrong there, Monsieur rat. And 'tis the very essence of my plan that no one will suspect me of having had any hand in your death. Should I do as I say, you will be dead before morning, but with not a mark upon you. The gardeners come here from time to time to fetch supplies of ice for the house, but if I conceal your miserable carcass with some care 'twould remain undiscovered for many months. I plan, however, to leave Still waters after the inquest to-morrow, then to return here secretly four or five nights hence, carry your corpse into the woods and cast it into some ravine. 'Twould thaw out there during the night and when, at length, someone chances upon it there will not be a thing to show how you died. 'Twill be assumed that you decided to-night to go upon a moonlight ramble, were of a sudden taken ill, attempted a short cut back to the house, fell into a gully and there expired before your calls for help could attract attention."
Vorontzofl shivered, partly from the intense cold, partly from fear; because he knew now that he was at the mercy of a man as ruthless as himself and one who's wits had outmatched his own.
"You'll not do it, Monsieur!" he declared, but he could not keep the uncertainty out of his voice as.he hurried on. " 'Twould prove your undoing if you did. When 'tis discovered in the morning that I have disappeared the investigation into Sir Humphrey's death will be affected to your detriment. It may be thought that I have voluntarily absented myself because I am unwilling to give evidence, or even that someone has made away with me to prevent my doing so. Remember, I alone can confirm,the reason that the Lady Georgina intends to give for the sending of the note. Without the support of my testimony she may be disbelieved; and, once she becomes suspect, shrewd questioning could easily send you both to the scaffold."
"There is something in what you say," Roger admitted, with hidden satisfaction. He was prepared to kill the Russian if he must, but the thought of committing murder in cold blood was most repellant to him; and it now appeared that his enemy was already thinking on the lines he wished; so he asked: "You are, then, prepared to buy your life?"
"It seems I must," Vorontzoff shivered again. "Tell me the price you demand quickly, so that we can get out of this accursed cold."
"I require you to write a letter to Colonel Thursby. You will begin by saying that, until to-night, to-day's tragic events had put but of your mind a meeting of the first importance which you must attend in London at midday to-morrow; therefore you cannot, after all, remain on to attend the inquest. You will go on to suggest that, instead, he should produce this letter at it; then give a full account of how Lady Etheredge and yourself planned to make an April Fool of Sir Humphrey. You will conclude by offering your apologies to the Colonel and Lady Etheredge for the early hour of your departure preventing you making your adieus to them." Roger paused for a moment, then added. "The production of that letter will support Lady Etheredge's testimony as effectively as if you had given it yourself. Do you agree to write it?"
Vorontzoff gave him a crafty look. "Do you attach any other conditions to restoring my complete freedom?"
"Only that you should also give me a chit for your coachman, ordering him to be ready to take you back to London at seven o'clock to-morrow morning; and an undertaking that you will set out at that hour without leaving any message behind you or having spoken to anyone at Stillwaters on the subject of Sir Humphrey's death."
"In the circumstances, Monsieur, you flatter me by placing any value on such an undertaking."
The chill of the icy atmosphere was getting into Roger's bones and he replied quickly. "Of that we will talk later; if you accept my terms?"
"I see no alternative," Vorontzoff muttered, with chattering teeth. "For God's sake let us get from this place."
"Take two of the candles in each of your hands, then," Roger told him, "and precede me down the passage. Think not of attempting to escape by dropping the lights and running off into the woods; for my legs are longer than yours and I should catch you before you had taken a dozen paces. Any trick of that kind will merely provide me with the excuse I would gladly have to give you a good thrashing."
Picking up his bag he followed the Russian to the entrance of the mound, then told him to halt there and sit down on the ground. The candles were set up out of the draught, just inside the doorway; and Roger having taken a pen, inkhorn and paper from his portmanteau, Vorontzoff used its top as a desk on which to write. In ten minutes the business was concluded. As Roger put the letter to the Colonel and the note to the coachman in his pocket he smiled to himself; the whole matter had gone much more smoothly than he had expected.
Having collected his things he shut the door of the ice-house and walked down the slope with his prisoner to the wheelbarrow. On reaching it he said. "This might well have proved your Excellency's funeral coach. As it has not, you will be good enough to push it back to the shed from whence it came, which I will show you."
For a moment the Russian looked like rebelling, but on Roger giving him a vigorous push he picked up the handles of the barrow and set off with it along the path.
After they had covered a hundred yards in silence Roger remarked: "We will now talk a little about the undertaking which you have given me. As you have pointed out yourself, I have no means of preventing you from leaving a completely different written testimony for the chairman of to-morrow's inquiry, to the one you have just inscribed; or taking some other steps to repudiate your letter and betray Lady Etheredge and myself. Should you do so, have you considered what the result of your act would be?"
"It would result in .the Lady Geor
gina and yourself providing a grim spectacle for the mob at Tyburn, one fine morning," replied Vorontzoff with an ugly laugh.
"Indeed, I think you right," agreed Roger, placidly. "At least all the odds favour such an outcome. You realise, then, that should you repudiate your letter to Colonel Thursby I must count my chance of life exceedingly slender?"
"So slender, Monsieur, that I mean to take an early opportunity of booking a window in a nearby house to see you hung."
" Twould be waste of money, since you will not be there to occupy it. We have an English proverb which fits the case to a nicety. It runs: 'Tis as well to be hung for a sheep as a lamb. Do you now perceive my meaning?"
Vorontzoff gave him a quick sideways glance. "You infer that if hang one must, it makes little difference if 'tis for one murder or for two."
"I am happy that your Excellency should have put so exact an interpretation on my thought. Should aught go awry at to-morrow's inquiry I shall hold you responsible. I shall have ample warning of any dangerous trend that it may take before I become suspect myself. Temporarily I may have to deprive myself of the privilege of doing what I can to protect my Lady Etheredge, but 'twill be easy for me to slip away, and get to horse without it even occurring to the sheriff's officers to detain me. Later, no doubt, the Bow Street runners will be asked to undertake my capture. There are some good men among them and they usually get their quarry in the end, I'm told. But I flatter myself that I shall be able to evade them for quite a while; and I now make you a promise. During that time, wherever you may be, I will seek you out and kill you."
The Russian knew that he was caught again. He enjoyed his life; and the prospect of having it menaced by an assassin who might spring out upon him from behind any bush or doorway for weeks, or perhaps months, to come, did not appeal to him at all. After a moment he said. "It seems that you hold all the cards, to-night, Monsieur. You may place full reliance on my undertaking and if aught goes ill in the matter of Sir Humphrey's death 'twill be through no act of mine."
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