Fergus Hume

“ I had a daughter; she loved him; but he would not marry her--oh, dear, no! Her father's reputation was too bad for so fine a gentleman. So she died--pined away. Mr. Heron, as I am a sinner! Oh how Jerry felt it! He admired Elsa, he loved her--so did Marshall." His eyes flashed. "But he would not marry her, for all that. She is dead and buried now--a most expensive tomb!" he added, vaguely. "All marble--most costly. But she was my daughter: I hate to spend good money; but Elsa was my daughter--a most expensive tomb!" ”

“ He is just the same nervous creature now as he was then. I could not recollect where I had seen him before until he recognised his father in that photograph----"
"He did not recognize his father."
"Perhaps he did not knew that the face, the sight of which made him faint, was that of his father," replied Mrs. Marshall. "But his fainting was quite enough for me. I remember Mrs. Jenner; he resembles her in every way. He is her son. Deny it if you can."
"I do not deny it," Cass said sullenly. "But, for Heaven's sake, Inez, leave things alone, or harm will come of it." ”

“ Jennie! she cried, plumping down on the bed. I've had a proposal!"
"Oh!" Jennie, quite phlegmatic, laid down her pen. "Geoffrey Heron has you to be his wife?"
"That is the plain English of it, I suppose," Ruth said, impatiently. "Of course I said 'No.'"
"Of course you did," remarked the prosaic Miss Brawn. For prosaic she was in ordinary matters, in spite of her poetic gift. "You are in love with the Master?" She put this in the form of a query.
"Haven't I told you a thousand times!" cried Miss Cass. "I love him as dearly as he loves me." ”

“ What is the matter? Ruth!" cried Mr. Cass, and sprang forward just in time to catch her in his arms. For a minute or so she could not speak, but when speech did come the words poured out in a torrent.
"Aunt Inez," she cried. "I went to see her. She was in the garret; there I found the red pocket-book--Jenner's book--which was stolen! She will not say if she killed him; yet she knew that the book was in the garret. Oh, see her at once, father--at once! She has locked herself in her bedroom. I believe that she will kill herself!" and the excited girl burst into tears of exhaustion and terror. ”

“ Do you think I would allow my child to love you who have treated his mother so ill? He will never look upon you save with loathing and hate. I would die for the boy; it is the strongest passion of my nature, this love for him. Do you think I would share that love with you? No; Gilbert hates you--he always will--and as I said before, I have done my utmost to foster his hate. Oh, I thought I was sate from you here. Who told you of my hiding-place?"
"Marshall," said Jenner, sulkily. ”

“ Now go, my dear hoy, and leave me to think the matter over. Ruth is waiting for you."
Heron found Ruth in the winter garden and in tears. She told him, she was the moat miserable girl in the world, and that nobody cared for her; which last statement Mr. Heron was not inclined to hear without venturing to put forward his own claims.
"My darling, girl, how can you say so?" he asked, pressing her closely in his arms. "I love you more than all the world."
"Every man says that when he can think of nothing else to say," replied Ruth, who was too much disturbed to be wholly just. ”

“ If she were, she would have asserted her innocence. The mere fact that she held her tongue is so wonderful for a woman that I am sure she did not kill her husband."
"Oh, she is innocent enough; let us accept that as a foregone conclusion," said Geoffrey, hastily. He would not reveal the real reason why Mrs. Jenner had not spoken lest Neil's secret should come to light; so he let Ruth make what she liked out of the woman's silence.
"Very good; we have decided that she is innocent. Now we must find out who is guilty. I agree with you, Geoffrey, that the murder was committed by some stranger. ”

“ It is in vain to fight against the destiny that parts us. I love you still; but it is my duty to forget you. Do the same, for only in that way can you be happy.
"Oh, he is mad!" cried Ruth, angrily. "And if he thinks he can put me off in this way he will find his mistake. I will know!" She stamped her foot. "I will--I will!"
Notwithstanding Ruth's refusal of him, Geoffrey Heron had not gone away; he was too deeply in love with her for that, and remained like a moth fluttering round a candle. Sometimes he felt annoyed with himself ”

“ Heron, entered.
"Oh, here you are," cried Ruth, including both in one gay greeting. "You are late."
"The sacred mysteries of the toilet have taken up Miss Brawn's time," laughed Heron, looking mischievously at the homely face of the girl beside him.
"One must do honour to the season," replied Jennie. She was dumpy and sandy and wore a pince-nez on her turned-up nose. "How are you, Master?" For she always spoke to Neil Webster in that style. "I am glad to see you. Your lovely and exquisite music never fails to inspire my muse." ”

“ Webster was with me last night."
Ruth started to her feet with a tragic expression on her face. "And you have forbidden our marriage!" she cried, and her air was that of a Siddons.
"What else did you expect?" her father asked. "Neil is a good fellow, but he is not the son-in-law I want. And, indeed, I should be sorry, for his own sake, to see him marry you. He is too gentle and kind. What you want, my young lady, is a master."
"No man shall ever master me," his daughter said, calmly. ”

“ Ruth wondered but little at her aunt's strange demeanour.
In a meditative way she watched Mrs. Marshall moving about on the other side of the garret, so close under the slope of the roof that her head touched it. There were two windows--one at each end, but these were so dirty that the place was enveloped in a kind of brown twilight which had, at first, prevented the girl from seeing plainly. As her eyes grew more accustomed to the semi-gloom, she examined the lumber that was piled up on all sides. All the scum of the house had risen to the top and been left in this isolated attic. ”

“ Was that her name, Amy?"
"Yes. She afterwards married a man called Jenner, a clerk in papa's office, and we saw no more of her as I had gone to school. A very good thing, too," went on Mrs. Chisel, with an air of offended virtue. "My mother never liked her. And she did turn out badly, after all, murdering her husband. I can only say it was a mercy it was not papa."
"Why should it have been papa?" asked Ruth, with a beating heart.
Mrs. Chisel tossed her head and observed that men were always men. ”

“ Jenner, abruptly. "I have suffered so much that a little, more or less, does not matter. When I I am gone, there will be an end of all your trouble. Let Marshall live to repent, if he can. I am willing to die with the disgrace on me; I can't well be worse off than I am. And my son will soon forget me----"
"You do him wrong, Mrs. Jenner; he loves you dearly. But, let this be as it may, what I have to do is to get at the truth of it all. If Marshall will confess his guilt, I will consult with Mr. Cass and see what is to be done. I confess, that on Ruth's account, I do not want a scandal." ”

“ I don't think they will mind giving me pain. But if you are the friend I take you to be, you will speak out."
His self-possession was so much at variance with his usual demeanour that Mr. Cass stared.
"If you will have it, then," he said roughly, "I believe your mother was guilty. Had there been the slightest chance of proving her innocence, she would have done so for your sake."
"Ah! my poor mother!" Nell's face grew soft and tender, and a look of deep affection came into his eyes. "My mother--how she loved me!"
"Can you remember her love?" asked Mr. Cass, doubtfully. ”

“ Ruth watched him till he was out of sight, then took her cane and began poking about the rubbish under the window where, as Geoffrey surmised, the murderer had stood watching his intended victim. On bending down to examine the ground more carefully, she saw something glittering dimly. Almost without thinking she picked it up, and found to her surprise and joy that it was an oval piece of gold with a champagne bottle enamelled thereon with exquisite art. On the other side was a catch which proved that the oval had formed part of a cuff-link. ”

“ I choose Neil."
"Humph!" murmured Jennie, shaking her rough head. "You say that now while all is smooth; but if trouble came, and the Master was proved to be an ineligible parti, you would your mind."
"You shall see. Besides, what trouble could come?"
"I merely suggest it. Trouble might come, you know. Life is not entirely sunshine; clouds will arise. Well, when they do, we shall see if you really love the Master. At present it is merely a girl's fancy."
"Why do you talk to me as if you were a grandmother?" cried Ruth, half offended. ”

“ I am not speaking of the minor crime but of the greater. It was you who murdered Jenner."
"I did not. I swear I did not."
"You did. I am convinced of it. He came down here with that bill in order to blackmail you and you killed him."
He made no attempt to assert his dignity. "You can kick a man when he is down if you like," he said, in a quavering voice, "even though he is your sister's husband, but you have no right to accuse him of a crime he did not commit. I tell you I forged that bill, but I did not kill the man." ”

“ If I could only speak freely to you, it would ease my mind."
"Then ease it and speak freely, Ruth. Oh, you need not shake your head. I know what you are talking about--those sleeve-links."
"Yes, that is it!" she cried hysterically. "I have nearly killed myself with anxiety over the whole thing. Oh, what a wicked girl I am!"
"No, my dear; only a very foolish girl. But you can set your mind at rest once and for all. Your father is perfectly innocent of what you impute to him. He had nothing do with the crime; and he believed in all good faith that Mrs. Jenner was the guilty person." ”

“ To a stranger she would have been almost a great a surprise as the house itself. And she was in keeping with it--the beautiful Andalusian Marquise of de Musset's ballad come to life in foggy England. The Quaker name of Ruth suited ill with that rich southern beauty. Had she been called Cleopatra, that Royal name would well have matched her appearance. Although but twenty years of age she was already in the full bloom of womanly loveliness. Of no great height, she possessed one of those perfect figures seen only in Spain. She walked with the swaying, graceful gait of the Andalusian woman. ”

“ Marshall had reached the mature age of forty-five, but she was still beautiful. Dark women with hard natures always wear well, and Ruth's aunt was no exception to the rule. She need not be described here, for she resembled her niece in all particulars save those of youth and the exuberant spirits, which rendered the younger woman so charming. Tall and dignified in her black velvet dress, she advanced to greet Neil, and her greeting was that of the Ice Queen. ”

“ Oh, it was as well that she left Hollyoaks, I can tell you. What an escape for poor, dear papa!"
And more than this Mrs. Chisel would not say. But Ruth had gathered that Miss Laurence had been an apple of discord in the house. From all that she had heard, in the strange way in which sharp children do hear things, Ruth had come to think that her mother had been more than a trifle jealous. Doubtless, if Amy's story could be believed, she had hated Mrs. Jenner for her beauty and had got her out of the house. She anxiously awaited the return of Mr. Cass from Bordeaux. ”

“ Marshall should love her husband so much remained ever a mystery to her friends. For he was a fat, beer-barrel of a creature, and possessed neither the looks nor the brains which would be likely to attract as refined and clever a woman as his wife undoubtedly was. Yet Inez adored him, although Mr. Robert Marshall was an elderly Don Juan, fond of the society of pretty girls, and he prided himself no little on his conquests. ”

“ Then why do you come here, Mr. Heron? I have much to do; I am poor, and money is hard to make. If your business has nothing to do with money, why come at all?"
"Because you are the only person who can assist me?"
"I do nothing for nothing," croaked Mr. Roper, quickly. "If you want anything out of me, you must pay me--pay me--cash down, you understand! I have had enough of bills."
"Mr. Frank Marshall's bill for five hundred included?" asked Geoffrey.
The man started and plucked at his nether lip. "Ha! Hey! What do you know about Mr. Marshall, sir?" ”

“ You don't want to know why I gave Miss Cass up?"
"No; for then I should have to tell her--she would get it out of me in some way. You know what women are."
"I know what one woman is, at least; and she is a mother," murmured Neil. "No, you must not tell Ruth; it could do no good, and might do much harm." ”

“ And as he neared the end, and these questions and comments became more frequent, Geoffrey congratulated himself on having taken her into his confidence.
"Poor Neil!" she sighed at last. "How he must have suffered!"
"And how he does suffer," Heron said, gloomily. "He loves his mother beyond any created being, and he will never be at peace until he sees her rescued from the fate to which she has been so unjustly condemned."
"That shall be our task," responded Ruth, with alacrity. "Neil is too weak a man to take this burden upon him. ”

“ Marshall, "and you seem to forget, Sebastian, that if the bill had really been in the pocket-book I should have got it through Job. I am tired of it all. I hope it is all ended for ever."
"Yes, Inez. You will hear no more about it. In a few days Mrs. Jenner and her story will be buried, and we will all try and forget the past. Neil must never know."
"I shall not tell him."
"Nor I," said Mrs. Marshall, with, for her, remarkable generosity. "No one knows the truth but ourselves, and we will keep silence. What about those poor wretches who have been burnt?" ”

“ But you admit there is something else which has stopped the marriage?"
He saw that he had been over-reached. "I can tell you nothing," he said.
"Very well, papa," she said, turning to go, "I'll write to Neil and ask him to tell me the truth."
"He won't tell you."
"Oh, yes, he will. He loves me, and I can get any thing out of him."
"Girl! Ruth,"--her father seized her arm--"if you can be sensible, do not write to Webster. He has gone out of your life of his own free will."
"I will never--never believe that!" and she flushed angrily. "Do you think I don't know when a man loves me or not? ”