Mr. Benson

“ Instantly and before I could take a step, a servant issued from the open door, and with an expression of anxiety somewhat surprising under the circumstances, took his stand before me in a way to hinder my advance.
"Mr. Benson does not receive visitors to-day," said he.
"I am not a visitor," replied I; "I have business with Mr. Benson," and I handed him my card, which he looked at with a doubtful expression.
"Mr. Benson's commands are not to be disobeyed," persisted the man. "My master sees no one to-day." ”

“ I have ridden with him again and again before I was a priest. He was always quiet; but I took him to be one of those stout-hearted souls that need never brag. Why, it was here that we heard him tell of Mr. Nelson's death!"
Mr. John threw out his hands.
"These prisons are devilish," he said; "they wear a man out as the rack can never do. Why, see my son!" he cried. "Oh! I can speak of him if I am but moved enough! It was that same Derby gaol that wore him out too! It is the darkness, and the ill food, and the stenches and the misery. ”

“ But perhaps he was expecting you, sir."
"He does not know I am here, Templeton, nor must he know. Look to that; see that the servants do not tell Sanders I am here. Now, what do you mean? You think Mr. Francis is not ill at all."
"Does a man in the jaws of death, I may say, play the flute?" asked the butler.
"Play the flute?"
"Yes, sir. It was during the servants' dinner hour—but I had no stomach for my meat to-day, and went upstairs—when we might have been at dinner perhaps five minutes, and along the top passage to his lordship's room to see if they had it ready. ”

“ There seemed to be nothing but bad news everywhere.
The minutes passed, yet no one returned. Once Marjorie went to the door and listened, but there was only the faint wail of the winter wind up the stairs to be heard. Then, five minutes later, there were steps and Mr. John came in. His face looked a little stern, but he smiled with his mouth.
"We poor Papists are in trouble again," he said. "Mistress Manners, you must let us stay here all night, if you will; and we will be off early in the morning. There is a party coming to us from Derby—to-morrow or next day: it is not known which." ”

“ Then again it shifted and the light shone out, and a flutter of whispers followed.
"Really, madam—" began Ralph; but there was the jingle of keys, and the sound of panting, and almost immediately a bolt shot back, followed by the noise of a key turning. A chorus of whispers broke out and a scurry of footsteps, and then the door opened inwards and a little old woman stood there in a black habit, her face swathed in white above and below. The others had vanished.
"I am very sorry, Mr. Torridon, to have kept you at the door; but we have to be very careful. Will you bring your horse in, sir?" ”

“ How hard it is to recognise people if one is above them. I’m sure there are a hundred people I know, but the tops of heads are like nothing except the tops of heads. How many bald heads too! What a blessing we don’t go bald like men. Who is that walking up the gangway now? I’m sure I know him. Ah! it’s Mr. Dundas.”
The sudden stream of her talk stopped, as if a tap had been turned on. Her eyes left the stalls and gazed vacantly over the boxes opposite. She was conscious of wondering what would happen next—whether she would speak, or her companion, or whether Philip would say something. ”

“ Don’t you understand? I understand that enormously. I would even be a hydrangea, and stand in a pot, or be Mr. James Turner in his curator’s room, with nothing to do until it is closing time. Instead, I am supposed to belong to the leisured classes, and never have a moment. No ferns, either,” she called to the florist—“nothing at all.”
A footman was markedly waiting at her elbow to get in a word edgeways.
“The carriage is round, my lady,” he said.
Lady Thurso hastily finished an egg in aspic, with which she had begun lunch. ”

“ Brand, no doubt——"
"No," she said, "Mr. Brand has not sent me. It is entirely my own affair. You will see my reasons presently. I will begin at once. I know I must not keep you."
It all seemed rather odd, he thought, but no doubt he would understand soon.
"First," she said, "I think you used to know Father Franklin. He became a Cardinal, didn't he?"
Mr. Francis assented, smiling.
"Do you know if he is alive?"
"No," he said. "He is dead. He was in Rome, you know, at the time of its destruction."
"Ah! You are sure?"
"Quite sure. Only one Cardinal escaped—Steinmann. ”

“ Mary over it, and a sprig of dried yew tucked in behind. A thin leather-bound copy of the Little Office of Our Lady lay on the sloping desk, with another book or two on the upper slab. Dom Anthony went to the window and threw that open too.
"Your luggage is unpacked, I see," he said, nodding to the press beside which lay the two trunks, emptied now by Mr. Morris's careful hands.
"There are some hares, too," said Christopher. "Ralph has sent them to my Lord Prior."
"The porter has them," said the monk, "they look strangely like a bribe." ”

“ What is it, sir?"
"Well," said I, "I can give you an assurance that what you fear will not take place. There is not a man here beyond myself and Mr. Rumbald and old Alick. Now begone at once. Stay; where do you live?"
He shook his head. A little colour had come back to his face again at the news. ”

“ Something within her, some indwelling beat of harmony with the simple and serene things of the world, made a smile, as unconscious as her laugh had been, to uncurl her lips.
"What a jolly time those two boys are having," she said. "I hope the omelette will cease to be degraded glue. And, Mr. Craddock, wasn't Charles—the cook called him Charles—wasn't Charles painting rather nicely? Did you see?"
Certainly Craddock had seen, though he wanted to see again, but it was her father who answered.
"I think we will turn and go home, Joyce," he said. "It will be chilly at sunset. ”

“ You have told Mr. Jermyn?"
"No, sir," I said.
"I beg of you not to do so," he said. "It will spoil all. Nor Mistress
Dorothy. It is far easier to do without ceremony now and again."
I bowed again; but I said nothing.
"Then you may as well know," said the Duke, "that Mr. Atkins is none other than my Lord of Essex. We have been at Newmarket together."
I bowed to my lord, and he to me.
"Well—the horses," said Monmouth. "At eight o'clock, if you please."
I said nothing to Tom, for I was very uncertain what to do ”

“ Well, I will dispatch my man who brought the news to Mr. Eyre to bid him to avoid the place; and we two, Mr. Alban and myself, will make our way across the border into Stafford."
"There are none others coming to Padley to-morrow?" asked Marjorie.
"None that I know of. They will come in sometimes without warning; but I cannot help that. Mr. Fenton will be at Tansley: he told me so."
"How did the news come?" asked Robin.
"It seems that the preacher Walton, in Derby, hath been warned that we shall be delivered to him two days hence. It was his servant that told one of mine. ”

“ He looked a little white and drawn in the wavering light of the flambeau; but his clothes were orderly and clean, and his eyes as bright and resolute as ever.
"It is a great happiness to see you," he said, smiling, and then no more compliments.
"And what of my father?" he added instantly.
She told him. Mr. Audrey was in Derby, still sick from his fit. He was in Mr. Columbell's house. She had not seen him.
"Robin," she said (and she used the old name, utterly unknowing that she did so) , "we must speak with Mr. Biddell presently about your case. But there is a word or two I have to say first. ”

“ That dispersed the cloud a little, and Percy smiled.
“Oh! no,” he said. “I will be there at twenty-two o’clock. ... Is death imminent?”
“No, sir; it is syncope. She is recovered a little this morning.”
The priest passed his hand over his eyes and stood up.
“Well, I will be there,” he said. “Shall you be there, sir?”
The other shook his head, standing up too.
“I must be with Mr. Brand, sir; there is to be a meeting to-night; but I must not speak of that.... No, sir; ask for Mrs. Brand, and say that she is expecting you. They will take you upstairs at once.” ”

“ He told her again of the journey from Rheims, of the inns where they lodged, of the extraordinary care that was taken, even in that Catholic land, that no rumour of the nature of the party should slip out, lest some gossip precede them or even follow them to the coast of England. They carried themselves even there, he said, as ordinary gentlemen travelling together; two of them were supposed to be lawyers; he himself passed as Mr. Ballard's servant. They heard mass when they could in the larger towns, but even then not all together. ”

“ And the Padre. Padre dear, thank you for your sermon! And Major Benjy! Merry Christmas, Major Benjy. What a small company we are, but not the less Christmassy. No Mr. Wyse, no Susan, no Isabel. Oh, and no Captain Puffin. Not quite well again, Major [280] Benjy? Tell me about him. Those dreadful fits of dizziness. So hard to understand.”
She beautifully succeeded in detaching the Major from the rest. With the peace that had descended on Tilling, she had forgiven him for having been made a fool of by the Contessa. ”

“ White is very kind," returned Mr. Benson, in a voice which, despite his will-power, showed that his agitation had in some unaccountable way been increased by my communication. "I had not thought of any such contingency," he murmured, moving over to a window and looking out. "An invasion of rowdies would not be agreeable. They might even find their way into the house." He paused and cast a sudden look at me. "Who are you?" he abruptly asked.
The question took me by surprise, but I answered bravely if not calmly: "I am a man who sometimes assists Mr. ”

“ Arrived at the carriage, they seemed to set something down, and then with an effort hoist it into the body of [Pg 428] the vehicle. And as they again raised themselves, Geoffrey saw that the one head sparkled whitely in the moonshine, and he well knew to whom those venerable locks belonged. Then there came audible words.
"Come back, then, Sanders," said Mr. Francis, "and wait at the top of the back stairs, while I go very gently to his room to see if it is all right. In any case I shall use the chloroform. Then, when I call you, come and help me to carry him down to the plate closet. ”

“ The girl, who had been trudging patiently a foot or two behind them, just glanced up at Frank and down again. He wondered exactly what her own attitude was to all this. But she made no comment.
"And now we know one another," finished the Major in a tone of genial finality. "So where are you taking us—er—Mr. Gregory?"
(III)
They were fortunate that night.
The part of Yorkshire where they were traveling consists chiefly of an innumerable quantity of little cottages, gathered for the most part round collieries. One has the impression—at any rate, from a motor—that there is nothing but villages. ”

“ Now, how will you get to Vail? You must not go by the same train as we. You must not run the risk of Harry seeing you."
"Then I shall go by the next, 5.17, same as Mr. Francis went by yesterday. It gets in at half past six. I will be at the box hedge soon after seven."
"Very good," said the doctor. "Now, in turn, listen to me. Mr. Francis believes he has the metholycine with him; he has also Sanders. It seems to me therefore probable that he will attempt to carry the thing out in the way he indicated to me, which I told you and Lady Oxted."
Geoffrey shook his head. ”

“ He turned to Frank—seeming to forget all about the two witnesses not yet called—and spoke rather sharply:
"You don't deny all that? You plead guilty, eh?"
"Yes, sir," said Frank, gazing at the very pink salmon emblazoned on the tin.
"Why did you do it?"
"I was hungry, sir."
"Hungry, eh? An able-bodied lad like you? Can't you work, then?"
"When I can get it, sir," said Frank
"Eh?... eh? Well, that's true enough. You couldn't get it that day, anyhow. Mr. What's-his-name's told us that."
"Yes, sir."
Then the Rector leaned forward swiftly—to Frank's horror.
"You speak like an educated man." ”

“ It may be possible to buy the man; he may be scamp [Pg 386] enough to be venal. But if we have to go to Scotland Yard, we have to go to Scotland Yard. But for the moment we need not; Harry is safe with you for ten days more, and Mr. Francis is not thinking of leaving London for ten days. Something, perhaps, may turn up in the interval. If not, I am ready."
Lady Oxted felt that no words could meet the situation, and did not make the attempt.
"Then the hansom shall take me to the station instead," she said. "I have just time to catch my train.—Drive with me there, Geoffrey." ”

“ And you intend to take me to London at the end of the week?"
"That was the proposal," said the doctor.
"And you, being an autocrat—for, indeed, doctors are the only autocrats we have left—insist on it. I assure you it will be the best plan. That young cub who left the other day has wits of a kind; he is rather sharp. It will quiet his outrageous suspicions, I think, if I leave Vail soon. I hope Harry will not be very dull alone," he added.
"He may not choose to stop here," said the doctor.
"It does not matter," said Mr. Francis. ”

“ Your name shall not be mentioned to a living being without your leave."
"You know about me?"
"Of course I do.... Now be sensible, my dear fellow; go and fetch your friends. We'll manage somehow." (He raised his voice and rapped on the table.) "Brother James ... go up with Mr. Gregory to the porter's lodge. Make arrangements to put the woman up somewhere, either there or in a gardener's cottage. Then bring the man down here.... His name?"
"Trustcott," said Frank. ”