Carolyn Wells

“ Good-natured, easy-going Tom would put up with his uncle’s criticism and fault-finding for weeks at a time, and then, perhaps goaded beyond endurance, he would fly into a rage and express himself in fluent if rather vigorous English.
For Richard Van Norman had been by no means an easy man to live with. And it was Tom’s general amiability that had made him the usual scapegoat for his uncle’s ill temper. Miss Madeleine would have none of it. Quite as dictatorial as the old man himself she allowed no interference with her own plans and no criticism of her own actions. ”

“ It pleased Kitty greatly to imagine she was really helping Fessenden, and she went glibly on:
“Why, you see, Maddy was unhappy,—we all know that,—and it was for some reason connected with Schuyler. Yet they were to be married, all the same. But sometimes Maddy has asked me, with such a wistful look, if I didn’t think men preferred little, kittenish girls to big, proud ones like herself.”
“And you, being a little, kittenish girl, said yes?”
“Don’t be rude,” said Kitty, flashing a smile at him. “I am kittenish in name only. And I am not little!”
“You are, compared to Miss Van Norman’s type.” ”

“ Madeleine has sometimes asked me if I didn’t think most men preferred gentle, timid dispositions to a strong, capable nature like her own. Of course she didn’t express it just like that, but she hinted at it so wistfully, that I told her no, she was the splendidest, most adorable woman in the whole world. I meant it, too, but at the same time I do think men ’most always love the soft, tractable kind of girls, that are not so imperious and awe-inspiring as Maddy was.”
Surely Kitty ought to know, for she was the most delicious type of soft, tractable femininity. ”

“ She was on her hands and knees under a table when Tom Willard came into the room.
“What are you doing?” he said, unable to repress a smile as Kitty, with her curly hair a bit dishevelled, came scrambling out.
“Hunting for clues,” she said briefly.
“There are no clues,” said Tom gravely. “It’s the most inexplicable affair all ’round.”
“Then you have no suspicion of any one?”
“My dear Miss French,” said Tom, looking at her kindly, as one might at a child, but speaking decidedly; “don’t let the amusement of amateur detective work lead you into making unnecessary trouble for people. ”

“ Maddy never killed herself. She wouldn’t do it, I know her too well. Oh, dear! now there won’t be any wedding at all! Isn’t it dreadful to think of that decorated room, and the bower we planned for the bride!”
At these thoughts Kitty’s tears began to flow afresh, and Molly, who was already limp from weeping, joined her.
“There, there,” said Mrs. Markham, gently patting Molly’s shoulder. “Don’t cry so, dearie. It can’t do any good, and you’ll just make yourself ill.” ”

“ When I said that about Carleton, Maddy burst into weeping, and said it wasn’t true. I said it was, and offered to prove it, and then we quarrelled. To you who do not know our family temper this may sound trivial, but it was not. We had a most intense and fiery quarrel, and though probably our voices were not raised—that was not our way—we were so furious with each other that we were practically beside ourselves. Maddened, too, by jealousy, and by being baffled in my errand, I suddenly resolved to kill both my cousin and myself. ”

“ Kitty’s smile showed her quick appreciation of this point, and Rob went on:
“Though suspicion, so far, is cast in no other direction, it is only fair to consider all the others in the house. This will, of course, be done in due time. I approve of Mr. Benson, and I think, though his manners are pompous and at times egotistical, he has a good mind and a quick intelligence. He will do his part, I am sure, and then, if necessary, others will be brought into the case. But, as Carleton’s friend, I shall devote all my energies to clearing him from what I know is an unjust suspicion.” ”

“ Kitty’s look of amazement almost made Fessenden smile.
“Not you or Miss Gardner,” he said. “But a burglar might have been concealed in the house.”
“I never thought of that!” exclaimed Kitty, her eyes opening wide at the thought. “Why, he might have killed us all!”
“It isn’t a very plausible theory,” said Fessenden, unheeding the girl’s remark, “and yet I could think of nothing else. Every instinct of my mind denies Carleton’s guilt. Why, he isn’t that sort of a man!”
“Perhaps he isn’t as good as he looks,” said Kitty, wagging her head wisely. “I know a lot about him. ”

“ Schuyler Carleton admires you greatly, but he doesn’t love you—at least, not as I do!”
“Don’t be foolish, Tom. Naturally you know nothing about Mr. Carleton’s affection for me—he does not proclaim it from the housetops. And I desire you not to speak of it again.”
“Why should I speak of what doesn’t exist? Forgive me, Maddy, but I love you so myself, it drives me frantic to see that man treating you so coolly.” ”

“ There was a low light in the library and hall but the blinds were drawn, and I could see only a glimpse of Maddy’s yellow dress on the floor. I was about to ring the bell, when I suddenly thought that I didn’t care to rouse the household, or even the servants, and, remembering the way I often used to get in when I came home at night later than my uncle approved, I went around and entered by a cellar window. I came up through the fireplace, exactly as Mr. Stone has described to you. It is astonishingly easy to any one who knows how, and quite impossible for one who does not. ”

“ You do love another. Can you deny it?”
“No,” said Carleton, settling back into his apathy. “And since you know that, I may as well tell you all. I admired and respected Madeleine Van Norman, and when I asked her to marry me I thought I loved her. After that I met some one else. You know this?”
“Yes; Miss Burt.”
“Yes. She came into this house as my mother’s companion, and almost from the first time I saw her I knew that she and not Madeleine was the one woman in the world for me. But, Fessenden, never by word or look did I betray this to Miss Burt while Madeleine lived. ”

“ Of course, every one present immediately remembered that Miss Dupuy had left the room in a fit of hysterical emotion, and wondered in what frame of mind she would return.
Nearly every one, too, resented Miss Morton’s officiousness. Whatever errand was to be done, she volunteered to do it, quite as if she were a prominent member of the household, instead of a lately arrived guest.
“This similarity of penmanship is a very important point,” observed Mr. Benson, “a very important point indeed. I am surprised that it has not been remarked sooner.” ”

“ Robert Fessenden, who was to be best man, had just come from New York, and had dropped in to see Miss Van Norman.
Although he was an old friend of Carleton’s, Madeleine did not know him very well, and though she made him welcome, it was with that coldly formal air that did not greatly attract the young man, but he could not fail to be impressed by her great beauty.
“Lucky fellow, Carleton,” he said to Tom Willard. “Why, that woman would create a sensation in any great city in the world.”
“Yes, she is too handsome to live all her life in a small village,” agreed Tom. ”

“ But in the meantime I want to endeavor to track down the real murderer and so leave no occasion for your trial.”
Schuyler Carleton looked like a condemned man who has just been granted a reprieve.
“Do you know, Fessenden,” he said, “you’re the only one who does believe me innocent?”
“Nonsense, man! Nobody believes you guilty.”
“They’re so strongly suspicious that it’s little short of belief,” said Carleton sadly. “And truly, Rob, I can’t blame them. Everything is against me.” ”

“ And its owner, the beautiful Madeleine Van Norman, was the most envied as well as the most admired young woman in the town.
Magnificent Madeleine, as she was sometimes called, was of the haughty, imperious type which inspires admiration and respect rather than love. An orphan and an heiress, she had lived all of her twenty-two years of life in the old house, and since the death of her uncle, two years before, had continued as mistress of the place, ably assisted by a pleasant, motherly chaperon, a clever social secretary, and a corps of capable servants. ”

“ Robert Fessenden, while not exactly a handsome man, was of a type that impressed every one pleasantly. He was large and blond, and had an air that was unmistakably cultured and exceedingly well-bred. Conventionality sat well upon him, and his courteous self-assurance had in it no trace of egotism or self-importance. In a word, he was what the plain-spoken people of Mapleton called citified, and though they sometimes resented this combination of personal traits, in their hearts they admired and envied it. ”

“ Though not rude in themselves, the words were accompanied by a harsh and disdainful glance that made several of the onlookers wonder what sort of a life the haughty Madeleine would lead with such a coldly tyrannical husband.
“The brute!” said Tom, under his breath, as Carleton left the room. “Never mind, Maddy, the old Turk has left you to me for this evening, and we’ll take him at his word.” ”

“ Molly was more overcome by the tragic turn affairs had taken than Kitty, and had only just made her appearance downstairs that day.
“You dear child,” cried Kitty, noting her pale cheeks and sad eyes, “sit right down here by us, and let Mr. Fessenden talk to you. He’s the nicest man in the world to cheer any one up.”
“And you look as if you need cheering, Miss Gardner,” said Fessenden, arranging some pillows at her back, as she languidly dropped down on the sofa. ”

“ Kitty looked at him admiringly, and for Kitty French to look at any young man admiringly was apt to be a bit disturbing to the young man’s peace of mind.
It proved so in this case, and though Fessenden whispered to his own heart that he would attend first to the vindication of his friend Carleton, his own heart whispered back that after that, Miss French must be considered.
“And so,” said Rob, as they turned back homeward, “I’m going to work upon this line. I’m going to look for clues; real, material, tangible clues, such as criminals invariably leave behind them.” ”

“ Fleming Stone was of a most attractive personality. He was nearly fifty years old, with graying hair and a kindly, responsive face.
At dinner he had won the admiration of all by his tact and interesting conversation. At the table the business upon which he had come had not been mentioned, but now the group assembled in the library felt that the time had come to talk of the matter.
It was a strangely-assorted household. Tom Willard, though the only relative of the Van Normans present, was in no way the head of the house. ”

“ I won’t believe wrong of that girl until I have some scrap of a hint to base it on.”
And yet he knew in his own heart if Dorothy Burt had wanted to connive in the slightest degree in the removal of her rival, she was quite capable of doing so, notwithstanding her very evident effect of pretty helplessness.
“When an excessively clever young woman assumes an utterly inefficient air,” he thought, “it must be for some undeclared purpose;” and he felt an absurd thrill of satisfaction that though Kitty French was undeniably clever, she put on no ingénue arts to hide it. ”