CHAPTER XXVII
RESTORED TO ENERGY
Esther Mawson, leaving Pratt to enjoy his sherry and sandwiches at hisleisure, went away through the house, out into the gardens, and acrossthe shrubbery to the stables. The coachman and grooms were atdinner--with the exception of one man who lived in a cottage at theentrance to the stable-yard. This was the very man she wanted to see,and she found him in the saddle-room, and beckoned him to its door.
"Mrs. Mallathorpe wants me to go over to Scaleby on an errand for herthis afternoon," she said. "Can you have the dog-cart ready, at theSouth Garden gate at three o'clock sharp? And--without saying anythingto the coachman? It's a private errand."
Of late this particular groom had received several commissions of thissort, and being a sharp fellow he had observed that they were generallygiven to him when Miss Mallathorpe was out.
"All right," he answered. "The young missis is going out in the carriageat half-past two. South Garden gate--three sharp. Anybody but you?"
"Only me," replied Esther. "Don't say anything to anybody about wherewe're going. Get the dog-cart ready after the carriage has gone."
The groom nodded in comprehension, and Esther went back to the house andto her own room. She ought at that time of day to have been eating herdinner with the rest of the upper servants, but she had work to do whichwas of much more importance than the consumption of food and drink.There was going to be a flight that afternoon--but it would not be Prattwho would undertake it. Esther Mawson had carefully calculated all herchances as soon as Pratt told her that he was going to be away for awhile. She knew that Pratt would not have left Barford for anyindefinite period unless something had gone seriously wrong. But sheknew more--by inference and intuition. If Pratt was going away--rather,since he was going away, he would have on his person things ofvalue--documents, money. She meant to gain possession of everything thathe had; she meant to have a brief interview with Mrs. Mallathorpe; thenshe meant to drive to Scaleby--and to leave that part of the countryjust as thoroughly and completely as Pratt had meant to leave it. Andnow in her own room she was completing her preparations. There waslittle to do. She knew that if her venture came off successfully, shecould easily afford to leave her personal possessions behind her, andthat she would be all the more free and unrestricted in her movements ifshe departed without as much as a change of clothes and linen. And so bytwo o'clock she had arrayed herself in a neat and unobtrusivetailor-made travelling costume, had put on an equally neat and plainhat, had rolled her umbrella, and laid it, her gloves, and a cloak wherethey could be readily picked up, and had attached to her slim waist ahand-bag--by means of a steel chain which she secured by a small padlockas soon as she had arranged it to her satisfaction. She was not the sortof woman to leave a hand-bag lying about in a railway carriage at anytime, but in this particular instance she was not going to run any riskof even a moment's forgetfulness.
Everything was in readiness by twenty minutes past two, and she took upher position in a window from which she could see the front door of thehouse. At half-past two the carriage and its two fine bay horses cameround from the stables; a minute or two later Nesta Mallathorpe emergedfrom the hall; yet another minute and the carriage was whirling down thepark in the direction of Barford. And then Esther moved from the window,picked up the umbrella, the cloak, the gloves, and went off in thedirection of the room wherein she had left Pratt.
No one ever went near those old rooms except on some special errand orbusiness, and there was a dead silence all around her as she turned thekey in the lock and slipped inside the door--to lock it again as soon asshe had entered. There was an equally deep silence within the room--andfor a moment she glanced a little fearfully at the recumbent figure inthe old, deep-backed chair. Pratt had stretched himself fully in hiseasy quarters---his legs lay extended across the moth-eaten hearth-rug;his head and shoulders were thrown far back against the faded tapestry,and he was so still that he might have been supposed to be dead. ButEsther Mawson had tried the effect of that particular drug on a goodmany people, and she knew that the victim in this instance was merelyplunged in a sleep from which nothing whatever could wake him yetawhile. And after one searching glance at him, and one lifting of aneyelid by a practised finger, she went rapidly and thoroughly throughPratt's pockets, and within a few minutes of entering the room hadcleared them of everything they contained. The sealed packet which hehad taken from his safe that morning; the bank-notes which Mrs.Murgatroyd had returned in her indignant letter; another roll of notes,of considerable value, in a note-case; a purse containing notes and goldto a large amount--all those she laid one by one on a dust-coveredtable. And finally--and as calmly as if she were sorting linen--sheswept bank-notes, gold, and purse into her steel-chained bag, and toreopen the sealed envelope.
There were five documents in that envelope--Esther examined each withmeticulous care. The first was an authority to Linford Pratt to sellcertain shares standing in the name of Ann Mallathorpe. The second was asimilar document relating to other shares: each was complete, save forAnn Mallathorpe's signature. The third document was the power ofattorney which Ann Mallathorpe had given to Linford Pratt: the fourth,the letter which she had written to him on the evening before the fatalaccident to Harper. And the fifth was John Mallathorpe's will.
At last she held in her hand the half-sheet of foolscap paper of whichMrs. Mallathorpe, driven to distraction, and knowing that she would getno sympathy from her own daughter, had told her. She was a woman of aquick and an understanding mind, and she had read the will through andgrasped its significance as swiftly as her eyes ran over it. And thoseeyes turned to the unconscious Pratt with a flash of contempt--she, atany rate, would not follow his foolish example, and play for too high astake--no, she would make hay while the sun shone its hottest! She wasof the Parrawhite persuasion--better, far better one good bird in thehand than a score of possible birds in the bush.
She presently restored the five documents to the stout envelope, pickedup her other belongings, and without so much as a glance at Pratt, leftthe room. She turned the key in the door and took it away with her. Andnow she went straight to a certain sitting-room which Mrs. Mallathorpehad tenanted by day ever since her illness. The final and most importantstage of Esther's venture was at hand.
Mrs. Mallathorpe sat at an open window, wearily gazing out on the park.Ever since her son's death she had remained in a more or less torpidcondition, rarely talking to any person except Esther Mawson: it hadbeen manifest from the first that her daughter's presence distressed andirritated her, and by the doctor's advice Nesta had gone to her aslittle as possible, while taking every care to guard her and see to hercomfort. All day long she sat brooding--and only Esther Mawson, now forsome time in her full confidence, knew that her brooding was rapidlydeveloping into a monomania. Mrs. Mallathorpe, indeed, had but onethought in her mind--the eventual circumventing of Pratt, and thedestruction of John Mallathorpe's will.
She turned slowly as the maid came in and carefully closed the doorbehind her, and her voice was irritable and querulous as she at oncebegan to complain.
"You've never been near me for two hours!" she said. "Your dinner timewas over long since! I might have been wanting all sorts of things foraught you cared!"
"I've had something else to do--for you!" retorted Esther, coming closeto her mistress. "Listen, now!--I've got it!"
Mrs. Mallathorpe's attitude and manner suddenly changed. She caughtsight of the packet of papers in the woman's hand, and at once sprang toher feet, white and trembling. Instinctively she held out her own handsand moved a little nearer to the maid. And Esther quickly put the tablebetween them, and shook her head.
"No--no!" she exclaimed. "No handling of anything--yet! You keep yourhands off! You were ready enough to bargain with Pratt--now you'll haveto bargain with me. But I'm not such a fool as he was--I'll take cashdown, and be done with it."
Mrs. Mallathorpe rested her trembling hands on the table and bentforward across it.
> "Is it--is it--really--the will?" she whispered hoarsely.
Instead of replying in words, Esther, taking care to keep at a safedistance behind the table, and with the door only a yard or two in herrear, drew out the documents one by one and held them up.
"The will!" she said. "Your letter to Pratt. The power of attorney. Twopapers that he brought for you to sign. That's the lot! And now, as Isaid, we'll bargain."
"Where is--he?" asked Mrs. Mallathorpe. "How--how did you get them? Doeshe know--did he give them up?"
"If you want to know, he's safe and sound asleep in one of the rooms inthe old part of the house," answered Esther. "I drugged him. There'ssomething afoot--something gone wrong with his schemes--at Barford, andhe came here on his way--elsewhere. And so--I took the chance. Nowthen--what are you going to give me?"
Mrs. Mallathorpe, whose nervous agitation was becoming more and moremarked, wrung her hands.
"I've nothing to give!" she cried. "You know very well he's had themanagement of everything--I don't know how things are----"
"Stuff!" exclaimed Esther. "I know better than that. You've a lot ofready money in that desk there--you know you drew a lot out of the banksome time ago, and it's there now. You kept it for a contingency--thecontingency's here. And--you've your rings--the diamond and rubyrings--I know what they're worth! Come on, now--I mean to have the wholelot, so it's no use hesitating."
Mrs. Mallathorpe looked at the maid's bold and resolute eyes--and thenat the papers. And she glanced from eyes and papers to a bright firewhich burned in the grate close by.
"You'll give everything up?" she asked nervously.
"Put those bank-notes that you've got in your desk, and those rings thatare in your jewel-case, on the table between us," answered Esther, "andI'll hand over these papers on the instant! I'm not going to be such afool as to keep them--not I! Come on, now!--isn't this the chance you'vewanted?"
Mrs. Mallathorpe drew a small bunch of keys from her gown, and went overto the desk which Esther had pointed to. Within a minute she was backagain at the table, a roll of bank notes in one hand, half a dozenmagnificent rings in the other. She put both hands halfway across andunclasped them. And Esther Mawson, with a light laugh, threw the papersover the table, and hastily swept their price into her handbag.
Mrs. Mallathorpe's nerves suddenly became steady. With a deep sigh shecaught up the various documents and looked them quickly and thoroughlyover. Then she tore them into fragments and flung the fragments in thefire--and as they blazed up, she turned and looked at Esther Mawson in away which made Esther shrink a little. But she was already at thedoor--and she opened it and walked out and down the stair.
She was half-way across the hall beneath, where the butler and one ofthe footmen were idly talking, when a sharp cry from above made her thenlook up. Mrs. Mallathorpe, suddenly restored to life and energy, wasleaning over the balustrade.
"Stop that woman, you men!" she said. "Seize her! Fasten her up!--lockthe door wherever you put her! She's stolen my rings, and a lot of moneyout of my desk! And telephone instantly to Barford, and tell them tosend the police here--at once!"
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Nesta Mallathorpe, who had just arrived in Barford when Eldrick caughtsight of her, was seriously startled as he and Collingwood came runningup to her carriage. The solicitor entered it without ceremony orexplanation, and turning to the coachman bade him drive back toNormandale as fast as he could make his horses go. Meanwhile Collingwoodturned to Nesta. "Don't be alarmed!" he said. "Something is happening atthe Grange--your mother has just telephoned to the police here to gothere at once--there they are--in front of us, in that car!"
"Did my mother say if she was in danger?" demanded Nesta.
"She can't be!" exclaimed Eldrick, turning from the coachman, as thehorses were whipped round and the carriage moved off. "She evidentlygave orders for the message. No--Pratt's there! And--but of course, youdon't know--the police want Pratt. They've been searching for him sincenoon. He's wanted for murder!"
"Don't frighten Miss Mallathorpe," said Collingwood. "The murder hasnothing to do with present events," he went on reassuringly. "It'ssomething that happened some time ago. Don't be afraid about yourmother--there are plenty of people round her, you know."
"I can't help feeling anxious if Pratt is there," she answered. "How didhe come to be there? It's not an hour since I left home. This is allsome of Esther Mawson's work! And we shall have to wait nearly an hourbefore we know what is going on!--it's all uphill work to Normandale,and the horses can't do it in the time."
"Eldrick!" said Collingwood, as the carriage came abreast of the CentralStation and a long line of motorcars. "Stop the coachman! Let's get oneof those cars--we shall get to Normandale twice as quickly. The mainthing is to relieve Miss Mallathorpe of anxiety. Now!" he went on, asthey hastily left the carriage and transferred themselves to a carquickly scented by Eldrick as the most promising of the lot. "Tell thedriver to go as fast as he can--the other car's not very far infront--tell him to catch it up."
Eldrick leaned over and gave his orders.
"I've told him not only to catch him up, but to get in front of 'em," hesaid, settling down again in his seat. "This is a better car thantheirs, and we shall be there first. Now, Miss Mallathorpe, don't youbother--this is probably going to be the clearing-up point ofeverything. One feels certain, at any rate--Pratt has reached the end ofhis tether!"
"If I seem to bother," replied Nesta, "it's because I know that he andEsther Mawson are at Normandale--working mischief."
"We shall be there in half an hour," said Collingwood, as their own carran past that in which the detectives and Byner were seated. "They can'tdo much mischief in that time."
None of the three spoke again until the car pulled up suddenly at thegates of Normandale Park. The lodge-keeper, an old man, coming out toopen them, approached the door of the car on seeing Nesta within.
"There's a young woman just gone up to the house that wants to see youvery particular, miss," he said. "I tell'd her that you'd gone toBarford, but she said she'd come a long way, and she'd wait till youcome back. She's going across the park there--crossin' yon path."
He pointed over the level sward to the slight figure of a woman inblack, who was obviously taking a near cut up to the Grange. Nestalooked wonderingly across the park as the car cleared the gate and wenton up the drive.
"Who can she be?" she said musingly. "A woman from a long way--to seeme?"
"She'll get to the house soon after we reach it," said Eldrick. "Let'sattend to this more pressing business first. We should know what's afoothere in a minute or two."
But it was somewhat difficult to make out or to discover what really wasafoot. The car stopped at the hall door: the second car came closebehind it; Nesta, Collingwood, Eldrick, Byner, and the detectives pouredinto the hall--encountered a much mystified-looking butler, a couple offootmen, and the groom whose services Esther Mawson had requisitioned,and who, weary of waiting for her, had come up to the house.
"What's all this?" asked Eldrick, taking the situation into his ownhands. "What's the matter? Why did you send for the police?"
"Mrs. Mallathorpe's orders, sir," answered the butler, with anapologetic glance at his young mistress. "Really, sir, I don'tknow--exactly--what is the matter! We are all so confused! What happenedwas, that not very long after Miss Mallathorpe had left for town in thecarriage, Esther Mawson, the maid, came downstairs from Mrs.Mallathorpe's room, and was crossing the lower part of the hall, whenMrs. Mallathorpe suddenly appeared up there and called to me and Jamesto stop her and lock her up, as she'd stolen money and jewels! We wereto lock her up and telephone for the police, sir, and to add that Mr.Pratt was here."
"Well?" demanded Eldrick.
"We did lock her up, sir! She's in my pantry," continued the butler,ruefully. "We've got her in there because there are bars to thewindows--she can't get out of that. A terrible time we had, too,sir--she fought us like--l
ike a maniac, protesting all the time thatMrs. Mallathorpe had given her what she had on her. Of course, sir, wedon't know what she may have on her--we simply obeyed Mrs. Mallathorpe."
"Where is Mrs. Mallathorpe?" asked Collingwood. "Is she safe?"
"Oh, quite safe, sir!" replied the butler. "She returned to her roomafter giving those orders. Mrs. Mallathorpe appeared to be--quite calm,sir."
Prydale pushed himself forward--unceremoniously and insistently.
"Keep that woman locked up!" he said. "First of all--where's Pratt?"
"Mrs. Mallathorpe said he would be found in a room in the old part ofthe house," answered the butler, shaking his head as if he werethoroughly mystified. "She said you would find him fast asleep--Mawsonhad drugged him!"
Prydale looked at Byner and at his fellow-detectives. Then he turned tothe butler.
"Come on!" he said brusquely. "Take us there at once!" He glanced atEldrick. "I'm beginning to see through it, Mr. Eldrick!" he whispered."This maid's caught Pratt for us. Let's hope he's still----"
But before he could say more, and just as the butler opened a door whichled into a corridor at the rear of the hall, a sharp crack which wasunmistakably that of a revolver, rang through the house, waking equallysharp echoes in the silent room. And at that, Nesta hurried up thestairway to her mother's apartment, and the men, after a hurried glanceat each other, ran along the corridor after the butler and the footmen.
Pratt came out of his stupor much sooner than Esther Mawson had reckonedon. According to her previous experiments with the particular drug whichshe had administered to him, he ought to have remained in a profound andan undisturbed slumber until at least five o'clock. But he woke atfour--woke suddenly, sharply, only conscious at first of a terrible painin his head, which kept him groaning and moaning in his chair for aminute or two before he fairly realized where he was and what hadhappened. As the pain became milder and gave way to a dull throbbing anda general sense of discomfort, he looked round out of aching eyes andsaw the bottle of sherry. And so dull were his wits that his onlythought at first was that the wine had been far stronger than he hadknown, and that he had drunk far too much of it, and that it had senthim to sleep--and just then his wandering glance fell on some paperswhich Esther Mawson had taken from one of his pockets and thrown asideas of no value.
He leapt to his feet, trembling and sweating. His hands, shaking as ifsmitten with a sudden palsy, went to his pockets--he tore off his coatand turned his pockets out, as if touch and feeling were not to bebelieved, and his eyes must see that there was really nothing there.Then he snatched up the papers on the floor and found nothing butletters, and odd scraps of unimportant memoranda. He stamped his feet onthose things, and began to swear and curse, and finally to sob andwhine. The shock of his discovery had driven all his stupefaction awayby that time, and he knew what had happened. And his whining and sobbingwas not that of despair, but the far worse and fiercer sobbing andwhining of rage and terrible anger. If the woman who had tricked him hadbeen there he would have torn her limb from limb, and have gluttedhimself with revenge. But--he was alone.
And presently, after moving around his prison more like a wild beastthan a human being, his senses having deserted him for a while, heregained some composure, and glanced about him for means of escape. Hewent to the door and tried it. But the old, substantial oak stood firmand fast--nothing but a crow-bar would break that door. And so he turnedto the mullioned window, set in a deep recess.
He knew that it was thirty or forty feet above the level of theground--but there was much thick ivy growing on the walls of NormandaleGrange, and it might be possible to climb down by its aid. With a greateffort he forced open one of the dirt-encrusted sashes and lookedout--and in the same instant he drew in his head with a harsh groan. Thewindow commanded a full view of the hall door--and he had seen Prydale,and two other detectives, and the stranger from London whom he believedto be a detective, hurrying from their motorcar into the house.
There was but one thing for it, now. Esther Mawson had robbed him ofeverything that was on him in the way of papers and money. But in hiship-pocket she had left a revolver which Pratt had carried, alwaysloaded, for some time. And now, without the least hesitation, he drew itout and sent one of its bullets through his brain.
* * * * *
Eldrick and Collingwood, returning to the hall from the room in whichthey and the detectives had found Pratt's dead body, stood a littlelater in earnest conversation with Prydale, who had just come there froman interview with Esther Mawson. Nesta Mallathorpe suddenly called tothem from the stairs, at the same time beckoning them to go up to her.
"Will you come with me and speak to my mother?" she said. "She knows youare here, and she wants to say something about what hashappened--something about that document which Pratt said he possessed."
Eldrick and Collingwood exchanged glances without speaking. Theyfollowed Nesta into her mother's sitting-room. And instead of thesemi-invalid whom they had expected to find there, they saw a woman whohad evidently regained not only her vivacity and her spirits but hersense of authority and her inclination to exercise it.
"I am sorry that you gentlemen should have been drawn into all thiswretched business!" she exclaimed, as she pointed the two men to chairs."Everything must seem very strange, and indeed have seemed so for sometime. But I have been the victim of as bad a scoundrel as everlived--I'm not going to be so hypocritical as to pretend that I'm sorryhe's dead--I'm not! I only wish he'd met his proper fate--on thescaffold. I don't know what you may have heard, or gathered--my daughterherself, from what she tells me, has only the vaguest notions--but Iwanted to tell you, Mr. Eldrick, and you, Mr. Collingwood--seeing thatyou're one a solicitor and the other a barrister, that Pratt invented amost abominable plot against me, which, of course, hasn't a word oftruth in it, yet was so clever that----"
Eldrick suddenly raised his hand.
"Mrs. Mallathorpe!" he said quietly. "I think you had better let mespeak before you go any further. Perhaps we--Mr. Collingwood and I--knowmore than you think. Don't trifle, Mrs. Mallathorpe, for your own andyour daughter's sake! Tell the truth--and answer a plain question, whichI assure you, is asked in your own interest. What have you done withJohn Mallathorpe's will?"
Collingwood, anxious for Nesta, was watching her closely, and now he sawher turn a startled and inquiring look on her mother, who, in her turn,dashed a surprised glance at Eldrick. But if Mrs. Mallathorpe wassurprised, she was also indignant, or she simulated indignation, and shereplied to the solicitor's question with a sharp retort.
"What do you mean?--John Mallathorpe's will!" she exclaimed. "What do Iknow of John Mallathorpe's will? There never was----"
"Mrs. Mallathorpe!" interrupted Eldrick. "Don't! I'm speaking in yourinterest, I tell you! There was a will! It was made on the morning ofJohn Mallathorpe's death. It was found by Mr. Collingwood's lategrandfather, Antony Bartle: when he died suddenly in my office, it fellinto Pratt's hands. That is the document which Pratt held over you--andnot an hour ago, Esther Mawson took it from Pratt, and she gave it toyou. Again I ask you--what have you done with it?"
Mrs. Mallathorpe hesitated a moment. Then she suddenly faced Eldrickwith a defiant look. "Let them--let everybody--do what they like!" sheexclaimed. "It's burnt! I threw it in that fire as soon as I got it! Andnow----"
Nesta interrupted her mother.
"Does any one know the terms of that will?" she asked, looking atEldrick. "Tell me!--if you know. Hush!" she went on, as Mrs. Mallathorpetried to speak again. "I will know!"
"Yes!" answered Eldrick. "Esther Mawson knows them. She read the willcarefully. She told Prydale just now what they were. With the exceptionof three legacies of ten thousand pounds each to your mother, yourbrother, and yourself, John Mallathorpe left everything he possessed tothe town of Barford for an educational trust."
"Then," asked Nesta quietly, as she made a peremptory sign to her motherto be silent, "we--never had any right to be h
ere--at all?"
"I'm afraid not," replied Eldrick.
"Then of course we shall go," said Nesta. "That's certain! Do you hearthat, mother? That's my decision. It's final!"
"You can do what you like," retorted Mrs. Mallathorpe sullenly. "I amnot going to be frightened by anything that Esther Mawson says. Nor bywhat you say!" she continued, turning on Eldrick. "All that has got tobe proved. Who can prove it? What can prove it? Do you think I am goingto give up my rights without fighting for them? I shall swear that everyword of Esther Mawson's is a lie! No one can bring forward a will thatdoesn't exist. And what concern is it of yours, Mr. Eldrick? What righthave you?"
"You are quite right, Mrs. Mallathorpe," said Eldrick. "It is no concernof mine. And so----"
He turned to the door--and as he turned the door opened, to admit theold butler who looked apologetically but earnestly at Nesta as hestepped forward.
"A Mrs. Gaukrodger wishes to see you on very particular business," hemurmured. "She's been waiting some little time--something, she says,about some papers she has just found--belonging to the late Mr. JohnMallathorpe."
Collingwood, who was standing close to Nesta, caught all the butlersaid.
"Gaukrodger!" he exclaimed, with a quick glance at Eldrick. "That wasthe name of the manager--a witness. See the woman at once," he whisperedto Nesta.
"Bring Mrs. Gaukrodger in, Dickenson," said Nesta. "Stay--I'll come withyou, and bring her in myself."
She returned a moment later with a slightly built, rather careworn womandressed in deep mourning--the woman in black whom they had seen crossingthe park--who looked nervously round her as she entered.
"What is it you have for me, Mrs. Gaukrodger?" asked Nesta. "Papersbelonging to the late Mr. John Mallathorpe? How--where did you getthem?"
Mrs. Gaukrodger drew a large envelope from under her cloak. "This,miss," she answered. "One paper--I only found it this morning. In thisway," she went on, addressing herself to Nesta. "When my husband waskilled, along with Mr. John Mallathorpe, they, of course, brought homethe clothes he was wearing. There were a lot of papers in the pockets ofthe coat--two pockets full of them. And I hadn't heart or courage tolook at them at that time, miss!--I couldn't, and I locked them up in abox. I never looked at them until this very day--but this morning Ihappened to open that box, and I saw them, and I thought I'd see whatthey were. And this was one--you see, it's in a plain envelope--it wassealed, but there's no writing on it. I cut the envelope open, and drewthe paper out, and I saw at once it was Mr. John Mallathorpe's will--soI came straight to you with it."
She handed the envelope over to Nesta, who at once gave it to Eldrick.The solicitor hastily drew out the enclosure, glanced it over, andturned sharply to Collingwood with a muttered exclamation.
"Good gracious!" he said. "That man Cobcroft was right! There _was_ aduplicate! And here it is!"
Mrs. Mallathorpe had come nearer. The sight of the half sheet offoolscap in Eldrick's hands seemed to fascinate her. And the expressionof her face as she came close to his side was so curious that thesolicitor involuntarily folded up the will and hastily put it behind hisback--he had not only seen that expression but had caught sight of Mrs.Mallathorpe's twitching fingers.
"Is--that--that--another will?" she whispered. "John Mallathorpe's?"
"Precisely the same--another copy--duly signed and witnessed!" answeredEldrick firmly. "What you foolishly did was done for nothing. And--it'sthe most fortunate thing in the world, Mrs. Mallathorpe, that this hasturned up!--most fortunate for you!"
Mrs. Mallathorpe steadied herself on the edge of the table and looked athim fixedly. "Everything'll have to be given up?" she asked.
"The terms of this will will be carried out," answered Eldrick.
"Will--will they make me give up--what we've--saved?" she whispered.
"Mother!" said Nesta appealingly. "Don't! Come away somewhere and let metalk to you--come!"
But Mrs. Mallathorpe shook off her daughter's hand and turned again toEldrick.
"Will they?" she demanded. "Answer!"
"I don't think you'll find the trustees at all hard when it comes to aquestion of account," answered Eldrick. "They'll probably take mattersover from now and ignore anything that's happened during the past twoyears."
Again Nesta tried to lead her mother away, and again Mrs. Mallathorpepushed the appealing hand from her. All her attention was fixed onEldrick. "And--and will the police give me--now--what they found on thatwoman?" she whispered.
"I have no doubt they will," replied Eldrick. "It's--yours."
Mrs. Mallathorpe drew a sigh of relief. She looked at the solicitorsteadily for a moment--then without another word she turned and wentaway--to find Prydale.
Eldrick turned to Nesta.
"Don't forget," he said in a low voice, "it's a terrible blow to her,and she's been thinking of your interests! Leave her alone for awhile--she'll get used to the altered circumstances. I'm sorry forher--and for you!"
But Nesta made a sign of dissent.
"There's no need to be sorry for me, Mr. Eldrick," she answered. "It's agreater relief than you can realize." She turned from him and went overto Mrs. Gaukrodger who had watched this scene without fullycomprehending it. "Come with me," she said. "You look very tired and youmust have some tea and rest awhile--come now."
Eldrick and Collingwood, left alone, looked at each, other in silencefor a moment. Then the solicitor shook his head expressively.
"Well, that's over!" he exclaimed. "I must go back and hand this willover to the two trustees. But you, Collingwood--stay here a bit--if everthat girl needs company and help, it's now!"
"I'm stopping," said Collingwood.
He remained for a time where Eldrick left him; at last he went down tothe hall and out into the gardens. And presently Nesta came to himthere, and as if with a mutual understanding they walked away into thenearer stretches of the park. Normandale had never looked more beautifulthan it did that afternoon, and in the midst of a silence which up tothen neither of them had cared to break, Collingwood suddenly turned tothe girl who had just lost it.
"Are you sure that you won't miss all this--greatly?" he asked. "Justthink!"
"I'd rather lose more than this, however fond I'd got of it, than gothrough what I've gone through lately," she answered frankly. "Do youknow what I want to do?"
"No--I think not," he said. "What?"
"If it's possible--to forget all about this," she replied. "And--ifthat's also possible--to help my mother to forget, too. Don't think toohardly of her--I don't suppose any of us know how much all thisplace--and the money--meant to her."
"I've got no hard thoughts about her," said Collingwood. "I'm sorry forher. But--is it too soon to talk about the future?"
Nesta looked at him in a way which showed him that she only halfcomprehended the question. But there was sufficient comprehension in hereyes to warrant him in taking her hands in his.
"You know why I didn't go to India?" he said, bending his face to hers.
"I--guessed!" she answered shyly.
Then Collingwood, at this suddenly arrived supreme moment, becamecuriously bereft of speech. And after a period of silence, during which,being in the shadow of a grove of beech-trees which kindly concealedthem from the rest of the world, they held each other's hands, all thathe could find to say was one word.
"Well?"
Nesta laughed.
"Well--what?" she whispered.
Collingwood suddenly laughed too and put his arm round her.
"It's no good!" he said. "I've often thought of what I'd to say toyou--and now I've forgotten all. Shall I say it all at once!"
"Wouldn't it be best?" she murmured with another laugh.
"Then--you're going to marry me?" he asked.
"Am I to answer--all at once?" she said.
"One word will do!" he exclaimed, drawing her to him.
"Ah!" she whispered as she lifted her face to his. "I couldn't say itall in one word. But--we've lots of time b
efore us!"
THE END
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