E. R. Punshon

“ I SUPPOSE it was Sir Roger’s physique that fascinated her. One cannot deny that he was good-looking; a tall, dark, scowling man, with the form and muscles of a giant, and an insolent way of staring people down that some women, and among them Bertha Glyn, found fascinating. ”

“ Hugh answered.
I stared at him. I could not believe he was serious.
“But I have not seen Bertha—Lady Eden—since the marriage,” I said.
“I know,” Hugh answered, “but it seems he was always jealous of you. That vase you gave them—I believe Roger dropped it on purpose; anyhow he has accused her of thinking of you—he is jealous of any one who goes near her, and he is jealous of you because you stay away.”
“But he must be mad,” I cried.
“He, tries to prevent father seeing her, even,” Hugh continued. “I can’t stand it any longer. ”

“ I said presently, “he can’t keep us here for long—we shall be missed; there will be inquiries.”
“He will pretend we have gone away together; he will tell everybody that, and everybody will believe him,” she answered slowly.
Again I had nothing to say. Already my disappointed guests at the Savoy would be wondering where I was. On the morrow it would be reported that I was missing, and that Lady Eden was missing—London’s easy scandal would do the rest. If we were looked for, it would not be under the ruined west wing of Sir Roger's place that people would search for us. ”

“ For about half an hour or so Sir Roger employed himself in wheeling barrow-loads of bricks into our prison, and placing them all in the same spot, till there was a great heap of them near the recess. He brought mortar, also, and various tools, and during the whole time he took no notice of us, nor spoke one single word. When he had deposited his last barrow-load he went away, taking the lantern with him, and leaving us in darkness again.
“Lady Eden,” I called.
“Yes,” she said softly.
“What is he going to do? What has he brought all these bricks for?” ”

“ To this I was fastened by a strong iron chain round my neck. Further, my hands and feet were both secured with handcuffs, and the connecting links of each pair of fetters were fastened to another heavy chain, the end of which was fixed to a stout stake driven into the ground, between two of the stone slabs forming the floor on which we lay. Bertha heard me struggling, and said in her quiet voice:
“It is no use—he has fastened us both quite securely.”
My eyes were beginning to grow accustomed to the darkness. ”

“ I lay still for a little, trying to realise our position, and what it meant.
“He’ll never dare——” I muttered to myself.
“I do not think there is much hope for us,” Bertha said quietly.
“What happened?” I asked. “I don’t remember.”
“He had an iron bar in his hand,” she answered, “and he hit you with it—I thought you were dead. I screamed, and he muffled a big cloak round me so that I could not make a sound or stir, and then he lifted you into the car and drove us here. It was quite dark then, and there is a private way into the west wing through an old door well hidden by trees. ”

“ I was secured at one end, Lady Eden at the other end, just opposite to me. Our chains gave us a bare two feet of liberty, so that we could not so much as reach each other to touch hands. I could just make Bertha out, crouching down against the opposite wall, near a recess about six feet high and a foot deep. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1956, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 67 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”