Fergus Hume

“ I am an old fool."
"You are one of the most charming people I have ever met," said Hench warmly.
"Pooh!" retorted Mrs. Perage, pleased with the compliment. "Don't make love to me, or you'll break Gwen's heart."
"Has she a heart to break--on my account, that is?"
"Young man,"--Mrs. Perage rose until her head nearly touched the low ceiling, and she assumed her grand manner,--"you don't expect one woman to tell the secrets of another woman. All the same, a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse. And you are blind, being in love." ”

“ Her dress of plain white silk adorned with black ribbons, hinting at mourning, became her well in its dainty simplicity, and Owain felt again that queer heart-throb which informed him very distinctly that this was the one girl in the world for him. No woman could be lovely unless she had golden hair and blue eyes and a complexion of cream and roses. He wondered how he ever could have admired Zara, who did not possess these necessary charms. But when he was attracted by the dancer he was a fool, now he intended to be a wise man and lay his heart at Gwen's feet. ”

“ As you say, I did not know him and I never met him, but evil tongues might give me the lie, seeing what I stood to gain."
"What did you stand to gain?"
"Ten thousand a year."
"Ten thousand a year!" Vane echoed the words with a gasp of astonishment. "I say, Owain, those mysterious papers left by your father did mean a fortune after all, as Madame Alpenny suspected?"
Hench nodded, and sat down again with a disconsolate air. "It is a dangerous position that I am in. Owain Evans of Rhaiadr with ten thousand a year, which comes to me now that Uncle Madoc is dead----that is who I am." ”

“ After a few moments of reflection she spoke freely. "My daughter must marry money, and neither you, Mr. Hench, nor Mr. Bracken have any money. I will not allow you to pay your addresses to her. Nor will Zara receive them. She is a good girl and loves her old mother."
"Well, Hench," said Spruce, when this speech was ended, "now you know. Are you not heart-broken?"
"No!" retorted Hench sharply. "Nor am I defeated. Zara will decide."
"She will decide what I order her to decide!" cried Madame Alpenny furiously. "And my daughter is not for you, Mr. Hench!" ”

“ I am fond of my own way; it's a great fault of mine. Jim,"--Vane entered as she spoke,--"here you are at last. There! I'm not fond of kisses. Go and talk to Evans yonder, and ask him if you can kiss Gwen."
"Oh!" said Gwen in alarm, whereat every one laughed.
"Don't be frightened, Miss Evans," said Vane, with a smile on his lean face. "I am quite sure that Owain yonder is now strong enough to punch my head if I take Aunt Emma's advice. Well, old chap, how goes it? You look much better and are quite a different man."
"I am, Jim. Hench has vanished for ever. Only Owain Evans remains." ”

“ But"--added the girl, leaning against the railings of a convenient dwelling-house--"I am not in love with you, no more than you are with me."
"I do love you," said Hench, frowning; "what's the use of saying otherwise?"
"You don't love me, I tell you," insisted Zara petulantly. "Trust a woman to understand the exact state of a man's heart. You like me, you admire me, you think me a good sort, but love"--she shook her head--"you don't understand love as Ned--I mean, Mr. Bracken--does."
"Oh, call him Ned by all means," said Hench quietly. "I see you are friendly enough with him to do so." ”

“ I don't know," cried Zara, becoming exasperated, "why you force me to make so unnecessary an explanation, as you are quite aware of what I mean."
Gwen was so impressed by the dancer's earnest speech that she became much more reasonable. "I am a pig, I know," she murmured rather inelegantly. "But it isn't pleasant to love a man and then to hear from his own lips that he proposed to another woman."
"Pooh! You are making a mountain out of a molehill," said Zara contemptuously. "If Mr. Hench had proposed to me after he met you, then there might be some sense in your attitude. ”

“ Spruce, what do you know of Mr. Hench?"
"Only that he is the best fellow in the world."
Hench frowned. "I don't see how you can swear to that, seeing we have not met for eight years."
"Oh, you were always a good sort of chap," said Spruce gaily. "If you don't mind my saying so, you haven't enough brains to be wicked. It takes a clever person to sin properly."
"Ah, but you will amuse yourself with this talk," broke in Madame, smiling. "I want a good man for my daughter."
"Take Bracken, then. He's a bit of a bounder, but decent enough." ”

“ If you do, you'll have me to reckon with," said the old woman grimly. "I am quite Norse enough to twist your neck if you repeat in your own person the very objectionable character of your father. Tell me plump and plain, if you please: do you love Gwen?"
"I think so."
"Think so! Then you don't love her. No man worth a woman's affection can be in doubt on that point."
"Well, you see, I'm a bit of an ass as regards women," confessed Hench, flustered by her imperious insistence. "I have never been in love before."
"All the better!" cried Mrs. Perage sharply. ”

“ But a happy marriage is not built up upon such a foundation, Mr. Hench, believe me. A woman wants love, she wants a heart. You can give me neither."
"And Mr. Bracken can?"
"Yes! Otherwise I wouldn't marry him. If mother is successful and can get me a West End engagement, I daresay I'll have plenty of men fluttering about me, and can pick and choose amongst lovers of higher rank and with more money than poor Ned has. But I won't find one who loves me as he does." ”

“ Neither I nor Ned make enough money to keep ourselves and my mother, so we can't think of marrying for a long time."
"Madame Alpenny seems to be the stumbling block," mused Hench thoughtfully.
"She is," declared Bracken in a gruff, rough way. "Zara and I could manage by ourselves on what we earn, if it wasn't for that cattish old woman."
"Ned! Ned! Don't call names. After all, my mother is my mother."
"She is very selfish, and makes you miserable to please herself," said Bracken crossly. "I shall never make much money as I am not a genius as you are, Zara. ”

“ Mrs. Perage bent her keen old eyes on him, read between the lines, and laughed in a short rasping manner after the style of a fox barking. "Just as I thought, young man. Owain was a selfish, cruel animal, and so was Madoc. He gave you as bad a time as Madoc did Gwen."
"I rather gathered from Gwen's absence of mourning that she had no great love for her father," remarked Hench musingly. "Your powers of observation are great, Owain. Gwen and her father got on about as well together as a ferret and a rabbit; she being the last and he the first. ”

“ Now what puzzled Hench was why Squire Evans should have acted in this very roundabout way to bring about a meeting. An honest man would have either ignored the son of the brother he hated or would have openly invited him as his heir to visit him. Instead of doing this Madoc had behaved mysteriously in making the appointment, and had chosen for the rendezvous a solitary place out-of-doors. It seemed tolerably clear to Owain that his uncle had intended to do him harm; perhaps his idea was to murder him so that he should not inherit. ”

“ No!"
"May I die if I didn't!" swore Bottles, who was looking nervous, for the scene shook him considerably, since he was only a boy.
"It was a mean, sordid murder, committed for the sake of gain," said Vane.
"Don't kick the man when he is down, Jim," said Hench, pityingly.
"Why not? He was insolent enough while he was up. And to kill an old man of whom he knew nothing! Owain, it was beastly. I hope I'm as decent a chap as any, but my gorge rises at the sight of this creature."
What little pride remained in Spruce rose at these words. ”

“ Vane leaned forward and shook his friend's hand. "You can depend upon me to do all I can to pull you through."
"You're a good sort, Jim, to stand by me," said Hench, much moved.
"Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! I take a right view of friendship, that's all," said Vane cheerfully. "Come, old man, let us discuss the situation. We have ample time, as Madame Alpenny will hold her tongue until you openly refuse the demands she is sure to make. Who gains time, gains everything, and lots of things may happen before she can place your neck in a noose." ”

“ How can you expect me to?" cried Gwen, who was intensely exasperated by this matter-of-fact speech. "You will make me angry, Mrs. Perage."
"I want to, since anger will make you see things in a more sensible light. You can't live on air, you know, my dear, or on love either, especially as this last is nonexistent."
The spirit of contradiction, begotten by anger, made the invalid resent this last remark. "Love isn't nonexistent," she declared crossly. "I love Owain still, although he doesn't deserve my affection in the least. ”

“ The old dame smiled grimly, as she relished the young man's flippant conversation. "One grows so tired of common-sense," she murmured, following her own thoughts.
"Why, you are always commending common-sense," exclaimed Gwen, lifting her eyebrows and laughing.
"In its place, child, in its place. To-night you and Mr. Hench can talk nonsense, as it will make me feel young."
"You are young, Mrs. Perage," said Owain seriously. "Your heart is in its spring-time. You are one whom the gods love." ”

“ Hench. You are an honourable gentleman; you are extremely kind-hearted and you will be an admirable husband--to the woman you love."
"You are the woman, believe me!" cried Hench impetuously.
Zara shook her proud head, smiling, and looked less fierce than usual. "Oh, what children men are. They want a toy and cry when they don't get it, yet break it when it is in their possession. I am the toy, Mr. Hench, and you are the child who wants it." ”

“ Hench saw that smile.
"Gwen, you don't dislike me?" he asked entreatingly.
"No, I certainly do not. I like you, and so does Mrs. Perage."
"Please leave Mrs. Perage out of the conversation. Does your saying that you like me mean that you love me?"
"Liking doesn't mean love."
"It's a step in the right direction, anyhow," said Hench cheerfully. "See here, Gwen, I have little to offer you, but with that little I give my heart. Now if----"
"Don't say anything more just now," interrupted the girl, much distressed. "I cannot answer you." ”

“ After all, the man was dead, sure enough, and it would be useless to run to the village for succour. In fact it would be dangerous, as Owain thought with fear knocking at his heart, for how could he prove his innocence of the crime. There was no motive for him to kill this unknown man, certainly; not even the motive of robbery, as the studs and sleeve-links had not been taken by the assassin. Hench wavered between a desire to consult his own safety by flight and a wish to rouse the village and hunt hot-footed for the murderer. ”

“ To be sure, he told himself that he did so because the pain of his ankle kept him wide awake, and because thoughts in this direction took his mind off his aching bones. But when the dawn came, he was tolerably certain that he was in love. The feeling he now experienced was wholly different to that with which he had regarded Zara. He had admired the dancer in a cool, reflective, judicious way, seeing that she had faults as well as virtues. But in Gwen he could see no faults, and never paused to consider that he could scarcely know her character from the little he had seen of her. ”

“ The rescue was rather flamboyant--a kind of playing to the gallery."
"How unjust," cried Gwen, flaming up, which was exactly what Mrs. Perage wanted her to do. "As if he could help the way in which my rescue took place. I am quite sure that he is the most modest of men."
"Pooh! No man is modest; they are all as conceited as pigs."
"I never knew that pigs were considered vain, Mrs. Perage," said Gwen coldly. "And I don't see why you should compare Mr. Hench to one." ”

“ Perage broke the ice," said Hench dolefully. "It makes it easier for me to talk. You see, Gwen loves me as a stranger----"
"Can a girl love a stranger?"
"I mean she thinks that I am only Owain Hench. When she learns that I am Owain Evans she will throw me over."
"Why should she, seeing that she loves you?"
"Love may turn to hate, and her dislike for my father's son has been carefully fostered by her father."
"Well," said Vane with an air of finality, "it seems to me that she should be jolly glad to get back her old home by marriage with a decent chap such as her cousin is." ”

“ But being a restless youth, and much given at odd moments to reading books of highly-coloured adventure in the form of penny stories, he had a soul above his drudgery, and longed with all his heart to face dangers of the most pronounced kind. Such a lad was bound to have some sort of actual hero to worship and adore.
In Hench, Bottles saw exactly the pioneering type, which was his ideal of perfect manhood, and he looked upon the young man as the model of all the virtues which most appealed to him. ”

“ You are right, the world is tame now-a-day, and a long life has bored me with the petty concerns of baby folk. You seem to have ideas in your head, Master Owain." Hench stared and fear clutched at his heart. If she knew this much, she might know more. "Who told you my Christian name?" he faltered.
"My own common sense, man alive! I have lived here all my life and knew your grandfather, Mynydd Evans, aye and your father, and Madoc also. Hench was the name Owain took when he was outlawed. See, my boy, how naturally I use the Norse word, after your suggestions of my being a modern Valkyrie." ”

“ Madame Alpenny laughed. "It may be a woman, for all you know."
Hench wheeled round to face her searchingly. "Why do you think it is a woman?"
"Oh," she answered smoothly, "I only surmise. I don't say that the person is a woman, for I know no more about the matter than you do. All I do say is, that if you wish to marry my daughter you will have to learn about this fortune as quickly as possible. I hope that I have managed to get an engagement for Zara in the West End, and there she may meet with some one wealthy who will make her his wife." ”

“ Perage rubbed her nose--"she was a good woman, was she?"
"A thoroughly good woman," repeated Hench, again emphasizing his remark. "And when I asked her to be my wife, she told me that I didn't love her, but only wanted a home, adding that she loved some one else. I recognized the truth of her statement with regard to my own feelings, and therefore I went away from Bethnal Green. I still respect her, Mrs. Perage, and if I can forward her marriage with the man of her choice in any way, I will do so. ”