Alice Askew

“ To give a man—one who knows nothing about racing—forgive me Clithero, but that's true, isn't it?—a big capital, and oblige him, if he's going to win a still bigger legacy at the end of it, to steep himself in racing, just because there's an old grudge to be paid off against the legatee's father, who abhors racing as he abhors the devil—well, there's something that appeals to me in that, and I wouldn't miss the fun of watching your progress for the next year, no, not if I never won another race in my life. ”

“ Mostyn whispered, some time later, in Rada's ear, when all had been explained between them and every difficulty smoothed away, "do you remember, my darling, the terms of our wonderful wager upon the coach last Derby Day?"
Rada needed no reflection. "I said I would wager my life that you would never win a Derby," she murmured, "and I have lost."
"You staked your life, and I have won it," he replied. "That is a finer thing than money. I am happy, Rada—so very happy! In a single day I have won a big race—a huge fortune—and, best of all, your life—the life of the girl I love." ”

“ Mostyn had regarded Rada in anything but an angelic light.
"A hangel," repeated the gardener, laying great stress on the aspirate. He proceeded to sing Rada's praises with evident enjoyment, and palpably from a sense of conviction. She was, it appeared, although as poor as a church mouse, the Lady Bountiful to all the cottage folk in the neighbourhood, by whom she was simply adored. She would minister comforts to the sick and needy, often little more than a cheerful word and the sunlight of her presence, but no less welcome for all that. ”

“ It was Rada who was the trespasser, not he; there was evidently a misunderstanding upon both sides, a misunderstanding that must be explained away; but it was very awkward that it should be Rada Armitage of all persons in the world with whom he must parley—Rada, his pet aversion.
He drew close to the banisters, leaning over so as to make his voice quite audible; even to himself it sounded hoarse and strained, echoing through the emptiness of the house. "My name is Mostyn Clithero," he said, "and I have every right to be here. We have met before, Miss Armitage. ”

“ Oh, Rada! Rada! But it isn't too late," he went on. "Thank God for that. You are not bound to the man." Though he himself could never ask her to be his wife, Mostyn reflected quickly, yet she was not obliged to marry that scamp, that bounder, Jack.
"I'm not sure that he wants to marry me." She sighed wearily. "He's always comparing me to Daisy Simpson—think of that! He says she's so much smarter than I. But it's his father and my father who insist that we shall be married. Old Mr. Treves wants his son to marry a lady, you see, and my father—well, you know it's a question of money with him. ”

“ How tragically ironical it all was!
"Asmodeus won't win the Guineas," he muttered to himself, disconsolately enough, since there was none present before whom he must keep up the farce of cheerfulness. "And as for the filly, she is quite hopeless. So what remains? Only the Derby, and that I should have to fight out against Rada. I don't know that I would win it from her, even if I could. But I can't, so there's an end of it. There's an end to everything, so far as I can see—to fortune, to ambition, to love—yes, jolly well an end to everything. That's what I see in the future." ”

“ Rada broke into a harsh laugh. "When he knows what this Derby means to me, that it is the ambition of my life! For my sake!"
"But it is!" Pierce had gone too far to withdraw. "I tell you Mostyn loves you. But unless Pollux wins"—he faltered and hesitated. Mostyn had bidden him keep the secret, from Rada most especially. For what would happen if she knew? The girl would be robbed of all her happiness in victory, should victory be hers. How could she rejoice knowing that her triumph meant the ruin of another? ”

“ Mostyn asked, a slight frown wrinkling his brow. He felt instinctively that the whole story might be one that it would be better for him not to know.
Royce shrugged his shoulders. "No," he said slowly; "the subject is painful to me even after all these years, and it might be painful to you to hear it. I only wanted to know that you are really the son of the woman I loved. Your father dealt badly with me, Mostyn, and I have never forgiven him. I suppose he feels just the same towards me. John Clithero was always a hard man, the sort of man who would never forgive anyone whom he has injured." ”

“ Had Royce been still alive—had John Clithero been kinder—Mostyn might have hesitated before accepting, but now he had no compunction.
"Anthony Royce loved my mother," he muttered to himself, "and she—my father killed her by his cruelty. Yes, I'll steep myself in racing—I'll do all that is desired of me. I'll keep my word to Rada, too, and win the Derby. She won't scoff at me again. Ah, Miss Rada, it will be my turn to laugh!"
Suddenly he sprang to his feet and clapped his hands boyishly together. "Castor!" he cried. "Captain Armitage's colt! The very thing—entered for the Derby and all! ”

“ Even at a cursory view it was evident that Partinborough Grange was of considerable antiquity. It was a house of no great size, but it had many gables and was pleasantly irregular in proportion. It was ivy-covered, too, almost to the roof, and the windows were framed with rose creepers. The porch before which the carriage drew up was a veritable mass of white and red blooms.
Mostyn's heart leapt delightedly within him. He had often pictured to himself a house like this, and now his dreams were realised. ”

“ Miss Armitage isn't there. I may cheer my own horse. Come along, Pollux!"
Castor and Pollux were running practically level. Some four or five horses were in advance of them, and about the same number followed behind. Between these, the two big black colts, suddenly revealed by the dividing up of the field, stood out conspicuously. The lemon and lavender—the puce and black diamonds—the two horses that might have been twins—Castor and Pollux—battling together for Rada and for Mostyn—shoulder to shoulder, like brethren, yet, in very truth, the sternest of adversaries. ”

“ My brothers are his idea of rectitude. That's the kind of man my father is." Mostyn spoke bitterly, as he felt. Never before in his life had he allowed himself to breathe a word against his father, whatever his own feelings may have been; but it was different now.
He gulped down one or two mouthfuls of his brandy-and-soda, then glanced up at his friend, who appeared lost in thought. "I'm not only worrying about myself, Pierce," he said. "It was Cicely who asked me to see you this evening. You see it is quite possible"—he broke off, hardly knowing how to explain himself. ”

“ Armitage sank back into his chair again. "Well, I'm blessed! Here's a young man who professes to be going in for racing, and who says he doesn't bet! Never heard of such a thing, never!" Armitage stared at Mostyn as though he were looking upon some new and remarkable species of animal.
"I suppose you don't understand racing for the mere sake of sport," Mostyn said. "Anyway, that's how it appeals to me, and though I've lost Castor I propose to look out for another horse for next year's Derby. Your daughter and I are going to be rivals, Captain Armitage." ”

“ What's the good of telling a girl she's an angel when she feels quite the reverse? That's just like a man." Rada turned away, angrily biting her lip. "I don't want to hear any more of my virtues, thank you, Mr. Clithero; I'd like you better if you told me I was a beast. And now please excuse me, for I'm going to the stables to see Jack Treves. He doesn't tell me I'm an angel," she added viciously.
Mostyn made no reply; and after waiting a moment as though she expected him to speak, Rada turned on her heel and went in search of her mare, which was quietly grazing close at hand. ”

“ Mostyn kept his temper under control, however, and merely shrugged his shoulders. "I can only repeat I should have told you that I had been to the Derby, and that I see no ill whatever in what I did," he said stolidly.
John Clithero drew himself upright in his chair, and his hands, resting upon his knees, were trembling. It was just as if they were itching for the cane, to the use of which they had been accustomed. "So you absolutely refuse to make any promise?" he said sternly. "You will continue to walk the evil path?" ”

“ Castor had to run. Miss Armitage, you must just take it as a sporting chance. Things must be allowed to go on exactly as they are. There isn't a shade to choose between one horse or the other. Castor may win or Pollux may win; the one means a lot to you, the other means a lot to him. It's fair for both sides: the issue rests upon a race, a race where the chances are absolutely even. One couldn't have anything better or finer than that."
But Rada turned her head away, and Pierce could see by the quivering of her shoulders how deeply moved she was. ”

“ Mostyn, however, refused both the drink and the cigar. He took his leave of Captain Armitage, feeling after this, his second dealing with that gentleman, that Rada was more than ever to be excused for her waywardness and inconsistency.
"With such a father," he muttered to himself, as he swung along the leafy lanes, "brought up by him in the atmosphere of that wretched cottage, with no other example before her—good heavens! It's a wonder she's turned out as well as she has. And beautiful, too—for she is a beauty, there's no denying that; she must inherit her looks from her mother. ”

“ I say cruel things; I hurt people! But why shouldn't I?" she added defiantly, "when there's no one I care for and no one who cares for me? I've been brought up like that. I am hard by nature, and I don't see why I should pretend to be any other than I am."
Mostyn laughed a little. "I know better," he said. "You've got a heart of gold, Miss Armitage, though out of sheer perversity you don't like people to know it. ”

“ Pierce, with his better knowledge of the Turf, had ably advised and seconded him.
In so many instances they had come near to victory—that was the heart-rending part of it all. Success had seemed within their grasp, only to be snatched away at the last moment.
The Cesarewitch—that had perhaps been the greatest disappointment of all. A horse like Gulliver, with his pedigree and his record, hot favourite, too, as he had been made—Mostyn and Pierce had indeed been justified in their belief that with Gulliver their great object would be achieved. ”

“ Mostyn, as he stood crowded against the shuttered window of a shop, could see the bare shoulders, insufficiently covered by rich opera cloaks, the glint of jewels, the flushed faces; his nostrils received the vague impression of perfume; his ears were pierced by shrill whistling, by the roar of traffic, by the shouting and laughter, by all the discord—or was it harmony?—of a London night. And ceaselessly the restless crowd of the street surged to and fro: all manner of man and woman—the satisfied and the hungry, the well-clad and the ragged, the joyful and the sad. ”

“ He bitterly regretted that speech, for even Anthony Royce and Pierce were constrained to laugh, while as for Captain Armitage, he simply rolled in his seat. But it was not that so much that Mostyn minded, though he stammered and blushed crimson, and began muttering some excuse. What hurt him was the look of scorn and derision that flashed into Rada's eyes.
"You win a Derby!" she cried disdainfully. "Are you sure you know a horse from a cow? Why, you silly boy, you couldn't win a Derby if you lived to a hundred! ”

“ But that isn't the real me, the real Rada Armitage; you are quite mistaken if you think so. I'm as you've seen me, as I appear up in London—hard, cruel, a flirt, everything that's bad. Ask my father; he always calls me a little devil; I've been called a little devil ever since I can remember."
"I know others who call you an angel, with an aspirate tacked on," Mostyn laughed. He was rather enjoying himself; it was amusing telling the girl her good qualities and hearing them so violently contradicted. ”

“ She was choking down a sob. "There's no one who cares what becomes of me; it doesn't matter a scrap to anyone if I marry Jack or not——"
Mostyn clenched his fists. "You're wrong, Rada," he said with all the energy he could express. "I care. The fellow's not worthy of you. Besides, he's a bounder and a scamp——"
"Who's a bounder and a scamp?" Mostyn looked up quickly and Rada gave a little cry, for Jack Treves, who had approached unseen by either of them, was standing close by. He took Rada viciously by the arm; then turned scowling upon Mostyn. ”

“ Mostyn said, vainly striving to reconcile the girl's inconsistency in his mind, "I want to repair it the best way I can."
"Quite forgetting that there is such a thing as pride," Rada interrupted, "and that I have my fair share of it. No, Mr. Clithero, you have bought Castor, and Castor is yours, unless I am able to purchase him back. That is what I wish to see you about. I love my horse," she went on, sucking in her lips as though she found it difficult to make her explanation, "and there are many reasons why Castor should be particularly dear to me. ”

“ Sir Roderick stood up on the box, his back turned to the course, and made a little speech to his guests. Lady Lempiere, who had occupied the place of honour by his side, and to whom his first remark had been addressed, turned too, as in duty bound. She was a well-known society dame, no longer young but still reputed for her beauty as well as for her success upon the turf. She fixed her eyes, which were blue and liquid and full of expression, upon Major Molyneux, who sat directly behind her, and who—or so her eyes seemed to say—might soon be by her side. ”

“ After a little while, however, a slight cloud crossed Cicely's face. "We've so much to say about ourselves," she remarked penitently, "that we are quite forgetting about you, Mostyn, and about another matter—a very serious matter, too, which is troubling us, and which will trouble you when you hear of it."
"Never mind me," said Mostyn, "I'm all right. I stand as good a chance to win to-morrow as to lose, and what more than that can any man expect? ”

“ Mostyn seemed to see the silver and scarlet through a yellow mist, for the sun's rays fell slantingly over the course; they caught the gold, the pink and the mauve which distinguished the jockeys upon Peveril and Black Diamond, as well as the silver and scarlet of Hipponous, blending the whole into a scintillating gold, all the more vivid for the black background of humanity rising tier upon tier to the highest level of the Grand Stand. ”

“ Mostyn's voice was not raised, but he spoke with dogged determination. "I am not a child. I am old enough to see the world with my own eyes. What harm is there in a race meeting?" he went on, though he knew that it was useless to argue with such a man as his father. "If one is sensible and moderate——"
John Clithero waved his large fleshy hand with a commanding gesture. "I don't intend to discuss this matter with you, Mostyn," he interrupted, "or to consider the rights and the wrongs of racing. ”

“ Her dark eyes were fixed upon Pierce, who felt particularly uncomfortable.
"Mostyn cares for you far too much——," he began hesitatingly.
"Cares for me!" Despite her determination not to betray herself Rada could not help interrupting. "When he wants to be the one to rob me of my victory! If Pollux wins he will laugh at and mock me, because I laughed at and mocked him once: he will say that I challenged him to win a Derby before me, challenged him unfairly because I already had a horse in training. He wants to humiliate me—that's what he is playing for—and you say he cares!" ”

“ He would accept help from no one. He would undertake no work unless it was such as he conscientiously felt he was able to perform. Of course, he had not forgotten Anthony Royce; but if it was money that the latter proposed to offer him, money to be expended upon racing, then, in the light of the present position, Mostyn did not see his way to accept. What, after all, did his foolish words spoken upon the coach matter? They were uttered in a moment of heat, and no one would remember them. He had to think of earning his living now: he had probably been to his first and last race meeting. ”