'I never heard anything like it before,' she said to her sister over their fire at night, with a dew of pleasure in her eyes.
'I never liked Jasper so well before. He is infinitely pleasanter and more amiable. Do you remember our first visit? No, it was not you who went with me, it was Emily. I am sure he felt bound to be on guard all the time against any young officer's attentions to his poor little sister-in-law,' said Ada, with her Maid-of-Athens look. 'The smallest approach brought those hawk's eyes of his like a dart right through one's backbone. It all came back to me to-night, and the way he used to set poor Lily to scold me.'
'So that you rejoiced to be grown old. I beg your pardon, but I did. My experience was when I went to help Lily pack for foreign service, when I suppose my ferret look irritated him, for he snubbed me extensively, and I am sure he rejoiced to carry his wife out of reach of all the tribe. I dare say I richly deserved it, but I hope we are all "mellered down," as Wat Greenwood used to say of his brewery for the pigs.'
'My dear, what a comparison!'
'Redolent of the Old Court, and of Lily, waiting for her swan's nest among the reeds, till her stately warrior came, and made her day dreams earnest in a way that falls to the lot of few. I don't think his severity ever dismayed her for a moment, there was always such sweetness in it.
'True knight and lady! Yes. He is grown handsomer than ever, too!'
'I hope he will get those poor children out of their hobble! It is chivalrous enough of him to come down about it, in the midst of all his business in London.'
Sir Jasper started the next morning with Fergus on his way to school, getting on the road a good deal of information, mingled together about forms and strata, cricket and geology. Leaving his little son at Mrs. Edgar's door, he proceeded to Ivinghoe Terrace, where he waited long at the blistered door of the dilapidated house before the little maid informed him that Mr. Richard was gone out, and missus was so ill that she didn't know as Miss White could see nobody; but she took his card and invited him to walk into the parlour, where the breakfast things were just left.
Down came Kalliope, with a wan face and eyes worn with sleeplessness, but a light of hope and gratitude flashing over her features as she met the kind eyes, and felt the firm hand of her father's colonel, a sort of king in the eyes of all Royal Wardours.
'My poor child,' he said gently, 'I am come to see if I can help you.'
'Oh! so good of you,' and she squeezed his hand tightly, in the effort perhaps not to give way.
'I fear your mother is very ill.'
'Very ill,' said Kalliope. 'Richard came last night, and he let her know what we had kept from her; but she is calmer now.'
'Then your brother Richard is here.'
'Yes; he is gone up to Mr. White's.'
'He is in a solicitor's office, I think. Will he be able to undertake the case?'
'Oh no, no'-the white cheek flushed, and the hand trembled. 'There is a Leeds family here, and he is afraid of their finding out that he has any connection with this matter. He says it would be ruin to his prospects.'
'Then we must do our best without him,' Sir Jasper said in a fatherly voice, inexpressively comforting to the desolate wounded spirit. 'I will not keep you long from your mother, but will you answer me a few questions? Your brother tells me-'
She looked up almost radiantly, 'You have seen him?'
'Yes. I saw him yesterday,' and as she gazed as if the news were water to a thirsty soul-'he sent his love, and begged his mother and you to forgive the distress his precipitancy has caused. I did not think him looking ill; indeed, I think the quiet of his cell is almost a rest to him, as he makes sure that he can clear himself.'
'Oh, Sir Jasper! how can we ever be grateful enough!'
'Never mind that now, only tell me what is needful, for time is short. Your brother sent these notes in their own envelope, he says.'
'Yes, a very dirty one. I did not open it or see them, but enclosed it in one of my own, and sent it by my youngest brother, Petros.'
'How was yours addressed?'
'Francis Stebbing, Esq., Marble Works; and I put in a note in explanation.'
'Is the son's name likewise Francis?'
'Francis James.'
'Petros delivered it?'
'Yes, certainly.'
Here they were interrupted by Maura's stealing timidly in with the message that poor mamma had heard that Sir Jasper was here, and would he be so very good as to come up for one minute and speak to her.
'It is asking a great deal,' said Kalliope, 'but it would be very kind, and it might ease her mind.'
He was taken to the poor little bedroom full of oppressive atmosphere, though the window was open to relieve the labouring breath. It seemed absolutely filled with the enormous figure of the poor dropsical woman with white ghastly face, sitting pillowed up, incapable of lying down.
'Oh, so good! so angelic!' she gasped.
'I am sorry to see you so ill, Mrs. White.'
'Ah! 'tis dying I am, Colonel Merrifield-begging your pardon, but the sight of you brings back the times when my poor captain was living, and I was the happy woman. 'Tis the thought of my poor orphans that is vexing me, leaving them as I am in a strange land where their own flesh and blood is unnatural to them,' she cried, trying to clasp her swollen hands, in the excitement that brought out the Irish substructure of her nature. 'Ah, Colonel dear, you'll bear in mind their father that would have died for you, and be good to them.'
'Indeed, I hope to do what I can for them.'
'They are good children, Sir Jasper, all of them, even the poor boy that is in trouble out of the very warmth of his heart; but 'tis Richard who would be the credit to you, if you would lend him the helping hand. Where is the boy, Kally?'
'He is gone to call on Mr. White.'
'Ah! and you'll say a good word for him with his cousin,' she pleaded, 'and say how 'tis no discredit to him if things are laid on his poor brother that he never did.'
The poor woman was evidently more anxious to bespeak patronage for her first-born, the pride and darling of her heart, than for those who might be thought to need it more, but she became confused and agitated when she thought of Alexis, declaring that the poor boy might have been hasty, and have disgraced himself, but it was hard, very hard, if they swore away his liberty, and she never saw him more, and she broke into distressing sobs. Sir Jasper, in a decided voice, assured her that he expected with confidence that her son would be freed the next day, and able to come to see her.
'It's the blessing of a dying mother will be on you, Colonel dear! Oh! bring him back, that his mother's eyes may rest on the boy that has always been dutiful. No-no, Dick, I tell you 'tis no disgrace to wear the coat his father wore.' Wandering was beginning, and she was in no condition for Kalliope to leave her. The communicative Maura, who went downstairs with him, said that Richard was so angry about Alexis that it had upset poor mamma sadly. And could Alexis come?' she asked, 'even when he is cleared?'
'I will ask for furlough for him.'
'Oh! thank you-that would do mamma more good than anything. She is so fond of Richard, he is her favourite, but Alexis is the real help and comfort.'
'I can quite believe so. And now will you tell me where I shall find your brother who took the letter, Peter or Petros?'
'Petros is his name, but the boys call him Peter. He is at school- the Bellevue National School-up that street.'
Repairing to that imposing building, Sir Jasper knocked at the door, and sent in his card by an astonished pupil-teacher with a request to the master that he might speak to Petros White, waiting in the porch till a handsome little fellow appeared, stouter, rosier, and more English looking than the others of his family, but very dusty, and rather scared.
'You don't remember me,' said Sir Jasper, 'but I was your father's colonel, and I want to find some way of helping your brother. Your sister tells me she gave you a letter to carry to Mr. Stebbing.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Whe
re did you take it?'
'To his house, Carrara.'
'Was it not directed to the Marble Works?'
'Yes, but-'
'But what? Speak out, my man.'
'At the gate Blake, the porter, was very savage, and would not let us in. He said he would have no boys loafing about, we had done harm enough for one while, and he would set his dog at us.'
'Then you did not give him the letter?'
'No. I wouldn't after the way he pitched into me. I didn't know if he would give it. And he wouldn't hear a word, so we went up to Rockstone to the house.'
'Whom did you give it to there?'
'I dropped it into the slit in the door.'
'You only told your sister that you delivered it.'
'Yes, sir. Theodore said I must not tell sister; it would only vex her more to hear how every one pitches into us, right and left,' he said, with trembling lip.
'Is Theodore your next brother?'
'Yes sir.'
'Was he with you?'
'No; it was Sydney Grove.'
'Is he here? Or-Did any one else see you leave the letter?'
'Mr. Stebbing's son-the young one, George, was in the drive and slanged us for not going to the back door.'
'That is important. Thank you, my boy. Give my-my compliments to your master, and ask him to be kind enough to spare this Sydney Grove to me for a few moments.'
This proved to be an amphibious-looking boy, older and rougher than Petros, and evidently his friend and champion. He was much less shy, and spoke out boldly, saying how he had gone with little Peter, and the porter had rowed them downright shameful, but it was nothing to that there young Stebbing ordering them out of the grounds for a couple of beastly cads, after no good. He (Grove) had a good mind to ha' give 'un a good warming, only 'twas school time, and they was late as it was. Everybody was down upon the Whites, and it was a shame when they hadn't done nothing, and he didn't see as they was stuck up, not he.
Sir Jasper made a note of Master Grove's residence, and requested an interview with the master, from whom he obtained an excellent character of both the Whites, especially Theodore. The master lamented that this affair of their brother should have given a handle against them, for he wanted the services of the elder one as a monitor, eventually as a pupil-teacher, but did not know whether the choice would be advisable under the present circumstances. The boys' superiority made them unpopular, and excited jealousy among a certain set, though they were perfectly inoffensive, and they had much to go through in consequence of the suspicion that had fallen on their brother. Petros and Sydney should have leave from school whenever their testimony was wanted.
As Sir Jasper walked down the street, his elder sister-in-law emerged from a tamarisk-flanked gateway. 'This is our new abode, Jasper,' she said. 'Come in and see what you think of it! Well, have you had any success?'
He explained how the letter could be traced to Mr. Stebbing's house, and then consulted her whether to let all come out at the examination before the magistrates, or to induce the Stebbings to drop the prosecution.
'It would serve them right if it all came out in public,' she said.
'But would it be well?'
'One must not be vindictive! And to drag poor Kalliope to Avoncester would be a dreadful business in her mother's state. Besides, Frank Stebbing is young, and it may be fair to give them a chance of hushing it up. I ought to be satisfied with clearing Alexis.'
'Then I will go to the house. When shall I be likely to find Mr. Stebbing!'
'Just after luncheon, I should say.'
'And shall I take the lawyer?'
'I should say not. If they hope to keep the thing secret, they will be the more amenable, but you should have the two boys within reach. Let us ask for them to come up after their dinner to Beechcroft. No, it must not be to dinner. Petros must not be sent to the kitchen, and Ada would expire if the other came to us! Now, do you like to see your house? Here is Macrae dying to see you.'
The old soldier had changed his quarters too often to be keenly interested in any temporary abode, provided it would hold the requisite amount of children, and had a pleasant sitting-room for his Lily, but he inspected politely and gratefully, and had a warmly affectionate interview with Macrae, who had just arrived with a great convoy of needfuls from Silverfold, and who undertook to bring up and guard the two boys from any further impertinences that might excite Master Grove's pugnacity.
It was a beautiful day, of the lamb-like entrance weather of March, and on the way home Miss Adeline was met taking advantage of the noontide sunshine to exchange her book at the library, 'where,' she said, 'I found Mr. White reading the papers, so I asked him to meet Jasper at luncheon, thinking that may be useful.'
If Sir Jasper would rather have managed matters by himself, he forebore to say so, and he got on very well with Mr. White on subjects of interest, but, to the ladies' vexation, he waited to be alone before he began, 'I have come down to see what can be done for this poor young man, Mr. White, a connection of yours, I believe.
'A bad business, Sir Jasper, a bad business.'
'I am sorry to hear you say so. I have seen a great deal of service with his father, and esteemed him very highly-'
'Ay, ay, very likely. I had a young man's differences with my cousin, as lads will fall out, but there was the making of a fine fellow in him. But it was the wife, bringing in that Greek taint, worse even than the Italian, so that there's no believing a word out of any of their mouths.'
'Well, the schoolmaster has just given me a high character of the younger one, for truthfulness especially.'
'All art, Sir Jasper, all art. They are deeper than your common English sort, and act it out better. I'll just give you an instance or two. That eldest son has been with me just now, a smart young chap, who swears he has been keeping his mother all this time-he has written to me often enough for help to do so. On the other hand, the little sister tells me, "Mamma always wants money to send to poor Richard." Then again, Miss Mohun assures me that the elder one vows that she never encouraged Frank Stebbing for a moment, and to his mother's certain knowledge she is keeping up the correspondence.'
'Indeed,' said Sir Jasper. 'And may I ask what is your opinion as to this charge? I never knew a young man enlist with fifteen pounds in his pocket.'
'Spent it by the way, sir. Ran through it at billiards. Nothing more probable; it is the way with those sober-looking lads when something upsets them. Then when luck went against him, enlisted out of despair. Sister, like all women, ready to lie through thick and thin to save him, most likely even on oath.'
'However,' said Sir Jasper, 'I can produce independent witness that the youngest boy set off with the letter for the office, and the porter not admitting him, carried it to the house.'
'What became of it then?'
'Mr. Stebbing will have to answer that. I propose to lay the evidence before him in his own house, so that he may make inquiry, and perhaps find it, and drop the prosecution. Will you come with me?'
'Certainly, Sir Jasper. I should be very glad to think as you do. I came prepared to act kindly by these children, the only relations I have in the world; but I confess that what I have seen and heard has made me fear that they, at least the elder ones, are intriguing and undeserving. I should be glad of any proof to the contrary.'
Carrara was not far off, and they were just in time to catch Mr. Stebbing in his arm-chair, looking over his newspaper, before repairing to his office. Mrs. Stebbing stood up, half-flattered, half-fluttered, at the call of this stately gentleman, and was scarcely prepared to hear him say-
'I have come down about this affair of young White's. His father was my friend and brother-officer, and I am very anxious about him.'
'I have been greatly disappointed in those young people, Sir Jasper,' said Mr. Stebbing uneasily.
'I understand that you are intending to prosecute Alexis White for the disappearance of the fifteen pounds he received on behalf of the firm.'
/> 'Exactly so, Sir Jasper. There's no doubt that the carter, Field, handed it to him; he acknowledges as much, but he would have us believe that after running away with it, he returned it to his sister to send to me. Where is it? I ask.'
'Yes,' put in Mrs. Stebbing, 'and the girl, the little one, changed a five-pound note at Glover's.'
'I can account for that,' said Mr. White, with somewhat of an effort. 'I gave her one for her sister, and charged them not to mention it.'
He certainly seemed ashamed to mention it before those who accounted it a weakness; and Sir Jasper broke the silence by proposing to produce his witnesses.
'Really, Sir Jasper, this should be left for the court,' said Mr. Stebbing.
'It might be well to settle the matter in private, without dragging Miss White into Avoncester away from her dying mother.'
'Those things are so exaggerated,' said the lady.
'I have seen her,' said Sir Jasper gravely.
'May I ask who these witnesses are?' demanded Mr. Stebbing.
'Two are waiting here-the messenger and his companion. Another is your porter at the marble works, and the fourth is your youngest son.'
This caused a sensation, and Mrs. Stebbing began-
'I am sure I can't tell what you mean, Sir Jasper.'
'Is he in the house?'
'Yes; he has a bad cold.'
Mrs. Stebbing opened the door and called 'George,' and on the boy's appearance, Sir Jasper asked him-
'Do you remember the morning of the 17th of last month-three days after the accident? I want to know whether you saw any one in the approach to the house.'
'I don't know what day it was,' said the boy, somewhat sulkily.
'You did see some one, and warned them off!'
'I saw two little ca-two boys out of the town on the front door steps.'
'Did you know them?'
'No-that is to say, one was a fisherman's boy.'
'And the other?'
'I thought he belonged to the lot of Whites.'
'Should you know them again?'
'I suppose so.'
Beechcroft at Rockstone Page 27
