Evelyn Everett-Green

“ You used to be fond of me, when we were little children playing together by the wishing-well. Our wish has come true—Ladywell is mine, but I shall not value it half so much as I do my sister’s love.’
She knew him then, knew without a doubt that this man was her own brother; and with a sense of mingled sorrow, joy, and relief, she turned to him, and put her arms about his neck.
‘Phil, dear Phil! It is you after all, then! Oh, Phil! what does it all mean?’
‘It means that I have had the noblest, most generous friend that ever man did have. ”

“ Has he not nearly brought upon you, and upon me, the worst disgrace which the world holds? It is no doing of his that I am not at present a nameless outcast—it is merely a chance for which we have to thank fortune, and not him. And he appeals to me to save him from disgrace! I will not listen! I will have justice! It is he who has disgraced himself, not I!’
‘Lewis, consider!’ began Mrs. Belassis, who, though she cared little for her husband, and heartily despised him, had no wish to see him disgraced and impoverished in order to swell the wealth of Maud and Torwood. ”

“ Days are as years, and years as days. We have known each other for years. You have said it yourself.’
‘Not quite,’ she answered gently. ‘We were talking then of dreams and sweet fancies. Life, Signor, is not made up of these.’
‘Signor!’ he repeated reproachfully. ‘How can you be so cold? Call me Filippo.’
‘Filippo!’ she repeated wonderingly.
‘I mean Marco,’ he answered, with a confusion which was not noticed in the darkness. ‘I was thinking of my friend whom I saw this afternoon. Will you not call me Marco sometimes?’
‘I—I do not know,’ faltered Roma. ”

“ Tor did not even observe his friend’s silence in his own gladness of heart.
‘Phil, you rascal, tell me how you came here? How did you escape from your vessel without my knowledge? I can’t conceive how you came, but it’s such an immense relief to have you back that I don’t care for anything else. Did that Italian fellow smuggle you in? By-the-bye, where is he?’
Tor looked round him with a comical air of perplexity; and then, seeing the coat and wig lying on the bed, and the shaving apparatus upon the washstand, the true meaning of the situation dawned upon him. ”

“ I know Mrs. Belassis does not greatly love either of us, still we must be civil as long as we can, or we put ourselves at a disadvantage.’
‘I know I do,’ assented Maud. ‘I can’t manage as you do; I wish I could. She would give anything to be able to put you into a rage as she puts me; but she never can.’
Tor smiled calmly.
‘Just so; and I have no intention of affording her that gratification.’
‘It must be nice to be a man—a man like you, I mean,’ said Maud, regarding him with a loving admiration distinctly flattering to its object. ”

“ Shall I really be free from Uncle Belassis and Aunt Celia? [Pg 81] Shall I really be my own mistress? It seems too good to be true!’
‘You shall be as fine a lady as you choose, and free from the whole crew of them. I don’t think any of them will care to offend you then.’
Maud laughed a laugh of pure happiness.
‘It’s like a dream or a fairy-tale, isn’t it, Aunt Olive? Fancy us two living in independence and luxury at Ladywell, and with only Phil to bully us! Oh, Phil, it’s such a lovely old place! To-morrow I must take you to see it. You will so like it. ”

“ Schneeberger with a dim interest in his tone.
‘If only he would go!’ thought Tor, but he could not suggest this, and it sounded a mockery to address the unconscious Phil by a false name. Still, he bent over him, and called rather loudly:
‘Tor! Torwood! wake up, old fellow! Don’t you know me—Phil Debenham? Tor, I say!’
Perhaps there was the faintest motion of the eyelashes—neither Tor nor the doctor could be certain; but the eyes remained fast closed, and no other words evoked the slightest sign of life.
Tor gave one last long look, and turned away with a sigh. ”

“ We will do business in future always at first hand—you and I, Miss Marjory.’
‘And I shall get my own way in everything!’ cried Miss Marjory, with animation. ‘You don’t know what you are letting yourself in for!’
‘I thought I was such a competent manager?’
‘You can manage property pretty well, I admit,’ answered Miss Marjory; ‘but I am not aware that I ever said you could manage me!’
‘Perish the thought!’ cried Tor, with fervour. ‘Miss Marjory, did anybody ever manage you since the days of your babyhood?’
‘Of a certainty nobody did so during my babyhood,’ laughed Miss Marjory. ”

“ Maud had told him that Roma’s coldness was only a cloak for a painful shyness, induced by her lonely life; and so the young man, feeling himself immeasurably older and more worldly-wise than this handsome, bashful girl, took some pains to draw her out and put her at her ease; and Meredith listened to his pleasant voice and gentle, brotherly gallantry with a curious smile upon his still face, whilst Roma unbent almost unconsciously before the easy friendliness of Tor’s manner. There was not one spice of the lover in any single word or tone to alarm her or put her on the defensive. ”

“ Poor Philip is in a kind of captivity, awaiting his tyrant’s orders. At present he is at sea—safely out of the way.’
‘We must rescue him!’ cried Belassis, a vision of golden possibilities rising at once before his eyes. ‘We, his next of kin, will rescue him from the clutch of this villain, and reinstate him in his own inheritance! Celia, my love! the tables will be turned, and our fortunes will be made! We will drive out this impostor with scorn and obloquy! I will prosecute him myself, and he shall be transported for life! Penal servitude is just fit for him, and such as he! ”

“ Even then I wanted you for a son, for your father’s sake. Can you wonder that I want it more, now that you have appeared upon the scene a polished English gentleman, full of kindliness, honour, and chivalry? Philip, do not disappoint me; do not break my heart. Do not tell me that my dream of years is but an old man’s foolish fancy, and must be cast on one side, like a discarded garment. Tell me that you will love and cherish my child, my Roma; and that you will be a son to me in my old age.’
Tor made no immediate response, but sat still, feeling the position inconceivably awkward. ”

“ Had Meredith been wise enough to say nothing to her of a wild and foolish plan which had long been working in his brain, the girl would doubtless have learned to like Tor very much—she might even have loved him; for the cold, proud manner belied the warmth of the feelings below. But the blind man never could conceal anything from his daughter, and he loved the sensation of power which he experienced, whilst calmly mapping out her future, as sure of the fulfilment of his dreams as if he really possessed a prophetic power. ”

“ Belassis drily, ‘you can afford to be grateful to your friend. Had you quarrelled, or had he died or even married, and left you without any means of support, or any profession by which you could earn a living, you would have felt differently towards him and towards those whose efforts for your welfare you thought fit to despise. By a mere chance, an eccentric will has made a rich man of you; but for that, you would sooner or later have had to taste the bitterness of poverty and beggary.’
Tor smiled carelessly. ”

“ He met nobody as he retreated with his fragrant burden; only as he crossed the park, under the shadow of the great trees, he saw Maud and Tor riding gaily over the elastic sward up to the great terrace.
‘What a handsome couple they are!’ thought Phil. ‘And how fond she is of him! I wonder what she will say when I have brought him to ignominy and disgrace. Will that steel her heart against me? I don’t believe women have any sense of justice when their pity is aroused.’
He found Roma alone in the room, where the cloth was laid for lunch. ”

“ Phil in league with a Belassis against his old friend!
A sudden sense of shame fell upon him, as he met for an instant the keen, quick glance from Tor’s eyes. There was no guilt, no shame in Tor’s face; but the frank, open courage and truthfulness which had always characterized it.
No, come what might, he could not plot against his friend. He would speak to him openly, face to face. Phil’s better angel was now in the ascendant, and he bid Mrs. Belassis a hasty adieu, whilst some words she had uttered, which had passed almost unnoticed before, now recurred to him with considerable significance. ”

“ Belassis seized his nephew’s hand and shook it with great show of cordiality.
He was a man of heavy build and unprepossessing physiognomy. His features were somewhat coarse, but they lacked the open frankness which most of the type possess. There was a craftiness in his smile, and a stealthy cat-like expression was stamped upon his broad red face. His small brown eyes were placed too near together for symmetry, and were full of cunning and a certain lynx-like watchfulness which was not at all pleasant. To Tor, who was well used to reading men’s faces, he was simply repulsive. ”

“ Torwood too,’ answered Roma.
Again Tor registered a mental aspiration that the gentleman and his knowledge might be consigned to a warmer region than that of England, and determined more resolutely than ever to avoid a meeting.
‘Well, I dare say I have met him somewhere; but he can’t have made a deep impression upon me, as I have no recollection of his name. One doesn’t keep all one’s acquaintances in one’s head for evermore; and as he might be pained by my oblivion, I’d better not meet him, I think. Good-bye, Roma. I’m glad your father is better. ”

“ You owe it to him to be frank, even though he may have been treacherous to you. Never do wrong because another does it. You do not mind my speaking out?’
‘No, indeed. I thank you for it, Roma; and I will take your advice. I had almost pledged myself to it before; now my mind is made up. Whatever is done shall be done openly, and my friend shall have due warning before I strike a blow.’
‘I am sure you will never regret your decision,’ said Roma warmly.
That episode of the wishing-well made a deep impression upon Phil and his companion. ”

“ You deserve to be hung, drawn, and quartered; and I’d string you up in two seconds if I weren’t so glad to see you back. What have you got to say for yourself, you scamp!—worrying honest folks almost out of their senses with your dark sayings and sinister looks? And to think it was Phil Debenham all the time! Ye gods! What will Miss Marjory say? I shall be a laughing-stock to her for evermore. Phil, you rascal, I’ll never forgive you!’
And Tor laughed again more heartily than before; and after a long effort at dignified composure and coldness, old habit triumphed, and Phil’s gravity gave way. ”

“ He comes, as you know, as an intimate friend of our esteemed relative Alberto Mattei. It is a greater pleasure, Signor, than you can well understand, for a man in my isolated position to receive a visit from one who comes direct from the land of his fondest dreams—from the land where the brightest, the happiest years of his life were spent! Art is my passion—my deepest delight! and the converse with one who knows and loves her well is more to me than you can easily comprehend. ”

“ A great longing rose up within him to see again the little sister, who had been his playfellow and devoted slave in the far-away childhood’s years. Where was she now? Living still at Thornton House? Tor could not have brought her to Ladywell, he thought—odd as it might seem not to do so. He would have given much for one loving kiss from Maud, for one of the caresses he knew were his due; but he was a stranger and an alien, and could only come in disguise to see his own inheritance.
Ladywell lay embosomed in woods, which now wore their full summer foliage. ”

“ Roma went to introduce the stranger to her father, and then she retired, leaving; the two men to make their own way together.
She had not been long in her studio when a well-known step came ringing down the long passage, and she had barely time to fling a cloth over the bust of Maud, before Tor had entered, as he now did almost at will, greeting her in frank, brotherly fashion.
‘Well, Roma, how is the world going with you to-day? How is your father?’
‘Better, thanks; much more like himself every day. ”