XIV
It is astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things tohappen. It had taken only a few minutes, apparently, to change all thefortunes of the little boy dangling his red legs from the high stoolin Mr. Hobbs's store, and to transform him from a small boy, living thesimplest life in a quiet street, into an English nobleman, the heirto an earldom and magnificent wealth. It had taken only a few minutes,apparently, to change him from an English nobleman into a pennilesslittle impostor, with no right to any of the splendors he had beenenjoying. And, surprising as it may appear, it did not take nearly solong a time as one might have expected, to alter the face of everythingagain and to give back to him all that he had been in danger of losing.
It took the less time because, after all, the woman who had calledherself Lady Fauntleroy was not nearly so clever as she was wicked; andwhen she had been closely pressed by Mr. Havisham's questions about hermarriage and her boy, she had made one or two blunders which had causedsuspicion to be awakened; and then she had lost her presence of mind andher temper, and in her excitement and anger had betrayed herself stillfurther. All the mistakes she made were about her child. There seemedno doubt that she had been married to Bevis, Lord Fauntleroy, and hadquarreled with him and had been paid to keep away from him; but Mr.Havisham found out that her story of the boy's being born in a certainpart of London was false; and just when they all were in the midst ofthe commotion caused by this discovery, there came the letter from theyoung lawyer in New York, and Mr. Hobbs's letters also.
What an evening it was when those letters arrived, and when Mr. Havishamand the Earl sat and talked their plans over in the library!
"After my first three meetings with her," said Mr. Havisham, "I beganto suspect her strongly. It appeared to me that the child was olderthan she said he was, and she made a slip in speaking of the date ofhis birth and then tried to patch the matter up. The story these lettersbring fits in with several of my suspicions. Our best plan will beto cable at once for these two Tiptons,--say nothing about them toher,--and suddenly confront her with them when she is not expecting it.She is only a very clumsy plotter, after all. My opinion is that shewill be frightened out of her wits, and will betray herself on thespot."
And that was what actually happened. She was told nothing, and Mr.Havisham kept her from suspecting anything by continuing to haveinterviews with her, in which he assured her he was investigating herstatements; and she really began to feel so secure that her spirits roseimmensely and she began to be as insolent as might have been expected.
But one fine morning, as she sat in her sitting-room at the inn called"The Dorincourt Arms," making some very fine plans for herself, Mr.Havisham was announced; and when he entered, he was followed by no lessthan three persons--one was a sharp-faced boy and one was a big youngman and the third was the Earl of Dorincourt.
She sprang to her feet and actually uttered a cry of terror. It brokefrom her before she had time to check it. She had thought of thesenew-comers as being thousands of miles away, when she had ever thoughtof them at all, which she had scarcely done for years. She had neverexpected to see them again. It must be confessed that Dick grinned alittle when he saw her.
"Hello, Minna!" he said.
The big young man--who was Ben--stood still a minute and looked at her.
"Do you know her?" Mr. Havisham asked, glancing from one to the other.
"Yes," said Ben. "I know her and she knows me." And he turned his backon her and went and stood looking out of the window, as if the sight ofher was hateful to him, as indeed it was. Then the woman, seeing herselfso baffled and exposed, lost all control over herself and flew intosuch a rage as Ben and Dick had often seen her in before. Dick grinneda trifle more as he watched her and heard the names she called them alland the violent threats she made, but Ben did not turn to look at her.
"I can swear to her in any court," he said to Mr. Havisham, "and I canbring a dozen others who will. Her father is a respectable sort of man,though he's low down in the world. Her mother was just like herself.She's dead, but he's alive, and he's honest enough to be ashamed of her.He'll tell you who she is, and whether she married me or not."
Then he clenched his hand suddenly and turned on her.
"Where's the child?" he demanded. "He's going with me! He is done withyou, and so am I!"
And just as he finished saying the words, the door leading into thebedroom opened a little, and the boy, probably attracted by the sound ofthe loud voices, looked in. He was not a handsome boy, but he had rathera nice face, and he was quite like Ben, his father, as any one couldsee, and there was the three-cornered scar on his chin.
Ben walked up to him and took his hand, and his own was trembling.
"Yes," he said, "I could swear to him, too. Tom," he said to the littlefellow, "I'm your father; I've come to take you away. Where's your hat?"
The boy pointed to where it lay on a chair. It evidently rather pleasedhim to hear that he was going away. He had been so accustomed to queerexperiences that it did not surprise him to be told by a stranger thathe was his father. He objected so much to the woman who had come a fewmonths before to the place where he had lived since his babyhood, andwho had suddenly announced that she was his mother, that he was quiteready for a change. Ben took up the hat and marched to the door.
"If you want me again," he said to Mr. Havisham, "you know where to findme."
He walked out of the room, holding the child's hand and not looking atthe woman once. She was fairly raving with fury, and the Earl was calmlygazing at her through his eyeglasses, which he had quietly placed uponhis aristocratic, eagle nose.
"Come, come, my young woman," said Mr. Havisham. "This won't do at all.If you don't want to be locked up, you really must behave yourself."
And there was something so very business-like in his tones that,probably feeling that the safest thing she could do would be to get outof the way, she gave him one savage look and dashed past him into thenext room and slammed the door.
"We shall have no more trouble with her," said Mr. Havisham.
And he was right; for that very night she left the Dorincourt Arms andtook the train to London, and was seen no more.
When the Earl left the room after the interview, he went at once to hiscarriage.
"To Court Lodge," he said to Thomas.
"To Court Lodge," said Thomas to the coachman as he mounted the box;"an' you may depend on it, things are taking a uniggspected turn."
When the carriage stopped at Court Lodge, Cedric was in the drawing-roomwith his mother.
The Earl came in without being announced. He looked an inch or sotaller, and a great many years younger. His deep eyes flashed.
"Where," he said, "is Lord Fauntleroy?"
Mrs. Errol came forward, a flush rising to her cheek.
"Is it Lord Fauntleroy?" she asked. "Is it, indeed!"
The Earl put out his hand and grasped hers.
"Yes," he answered, "it is."
Then he put his other hand on Cedric's shoulder.
"Fauntleroy," he said in his unceremonious, authoritative way, "ask yourmother when she will come to us at the Castle."
Fauntleroy flung his arms around his mother's neck.
"To live with us!" he cried. "To live with us always!"
The Earl looked at Mrs. Errol, and Mrs. Errol looked at the Earl.
His lordship was entirely in earnest. He had made up his mind to wasteno time in arranging this matter. He had begun to think it would suithim to make friends with his heir's mother.
"Are you quite sure you want me?" said Mrs. Errol, with her soft, prettysmile.
"Quite sure," he said bluntly. "We have always wanted you, but we werenot exactly aware of it. We hope you will come."