4
The next thing that I remember most clearly is seeing Mr. Betterton putthe fateful Paper down again, take up her Ladyship's Veil and bury hisFace in its cloudy Folds. I heard him murmur faintly, after awhile:
"Now, if I dared, I would believe myself almost happy!"
Then he rose, picked up the Paper, and with it went up to the LadyBarbara.
"'Tis done, as you did command," he said quite quietly, and placed theDocument in her Hand. She took it from him and rose to her Feet.
"A Light, I pray You," she said coldly.
He brought one of the Candles across and stood beside her, holding italoft. She read the Paper through with great Deliberation, noddingApproval from time to time as she did so. Then she folded it into avery small Compass, while she thanked him coldly and guardedly. He thenwent back to the Desk with the Candle and put it down. During these fewSeconds, whilst his back was turned to her, I noticed that the LadyBarbara took a heavy, jewelled Brooch from her Gown and fastened it byits pin to the Document. Her movements were methodical but very quick,and my own Mind worked too slowly to guess at her Intention.
The next moment, Mr. Betterton was once more by her side. Eager, alert,and with the glow of Triumph in his Eyes, he flung himself at her Feet.She was his now!--his by Right of Conquest! He had won her bymeasureless Self-Sacrifice, and now he meant to hold the Guerdon forwhich he had paid so heavy a Price.
"Because you deigned to cross this humble Threshold," he said, and hisarms encircled her Waist with the masterful and passionate Gesture of aVictor, "the poor Actor places his Name and Fame, his Pride and baffledRevenge, at your feet."
"At the World's Feet, Sir Mountebank!" she cried exultantly, and with aswift movement she flung the weighted Paper far out through the Window.Then, leaning out into the Darkness, she called at the top of her Voice:"To me, Adela! Here is the Message from Mr. Betterton. Take it to myLord Sidbury at once!"
But Mr. Betterton was no longer in a mental State to care what happenedafter this; I doubt if he realized just what was impending. He wasstill on his Knees, holding on to her with both Arms.
"Nay!" he said wildly. "That is as You please. Let the whole Worldthink me base and abject. What care I for Honour, Fame or Integrity nowthat You are here, and that You will be my Wife?"
Ah! the poor, deluded Fool! How could he be so blind? Already the LadyBarbara had turned on him with flashing Eyes, and a loud, hystericalLaugh of measureless Contempt broke from her Lips.
"Your Wife!" she exclaimed, and that harsh laugh echoed through theSilence of the House. "So, Mr. Actor, you thought to entrap the Daughterof the Marquis of Sidbury into becoming your Wife! ... Nay! youmiserable Fool! 'Twas I entrapped and cheated you.... Your Wife! YeSaints in Heaven, hear him! His Wife! The Wife of Thomas Betterton,the Mountebank!! I!!!"
Her Words, her Laughter, the Bitterness of her Contempt, stung him likea Whip-lash. In an instant, he was on his Feet, staggered back till hecame in contact with the Desk, to which he clung with both hands, whilehe faced her, his Cheeks pale as Ashes, his Eyes glowing with a Lightthat appeared almost maniacal.
"You cheated me?" he murmured inarticulately. "You lied to me? ... You... I'll not believe it ... I'll not believe it...."
She appeared not to heed him, was gazing out of the Window, shoutingdirections to some one--her waiting-maid, no doubt, or otherConfidante--who was searching for the Paper down below.
"There, Adela!" she called out eagerly. "Dost see ... just by thosebushes ... something white ... my brooch.... Dost see?"
Suddenly she gave a Cry of Triumph, and then turned back exultantly toher baffled Foe.
"My maid," she said, somewhat wildly, and panting as if she wereexhausted with fast running. "We had planned it all ... She is devotedto me ... She has been on the Watch ... She has the paper now ...There!" she added, and with outstretched arm pointed out into the Gloombeyond. "There; Do you see?"
Can You wonder that her Trickery, her Contempt had made him mad?Indeed, even I felt that at that moment I could have held her slenderthroat between my two Hands and crushed the Life out of her. To a Manof Mr. Betterton's temperament, the Provocation was obviously beyond hisPowers of Endurance. Even in the dim Light, I could see a positive Furyof Passion akin to Hate literally distorting his Face. The next secondhe was once more by her side, and whilst she still cried wildly: "Do yousee? Do you see? Run, Adela, run!" he seized her in his arms andretorted roughly:
"I see nothing now but your Beauty, and that has made me mad."
"Run, Adela! Run!" she cried again. "That message from Mr. Bettertonis for the whole World to see!"
But he held her tightly round the Shoulders now, and she, probablyrealizing her Danger for the first time, strove to struggle against hisEmbrace.
"Let me go!" she commanded. "Let me go! or I swear by God in Heaventhat I will find the Strength to kill myself and You."
"I love You," was his only reply to her Threat. "Nay!" he added,speaking in rapid, jerky Phrases, the while she continued to strugglewith ever growing loss of Power. "You shall kill me later if You will,but not till I have lived. My Dear, my Love, my Saint! Have I notworshipped you for days and months? Have I not held You in Dream in myArms? You are my Muse, my Divinity, my Hope! Mine! Mine! Exquisite,adorable Lady Barbara! No! No! You cannot escape, struggle how Youmight. This is my hour! 'Tis you who gave it me, and I defy Heavenitself to rob me of a single instant!"
My God! what could I do? More and more did I curse the Folly andCowardice which had kept me riveted to this Spot all this while. Nowthere was nothing for it but to reveal my Presence, to draw upon myfoolish Head the Contempt and Anger of a Man for whom I would gladlyhave laid down my Life. My Brain became confused. I ceased to seeclearly. A ruddy Mist was gathering before my Eyes. I was on the Vergeof losing Consciousness and was struggling pitifully to retain Commandover my Senses. Through this fast approaching Swoon I could hear, asthrough an intervening Veil, the hoarse and broken Accents of the Voicethat I loved so well:
"You are here alone with me. The last shred of my Reason is scatteredto the Winds. England, Fame, the World, are empty Words to me. Do younot see that now I am ready to die an hundred Deaths, for at last Ishall have lived ... I shall have held You in my Arms."
And one great and pitiful Appeal from her Lips: "Oh, God! If there isJustice in Heaven--defend me now----"
And, even half conscious as I was, I saw her--yes, saw her quitedistinctly give a sudden wrench which freed her right Arm. She plungedher Hand into the bosom of her Gown, and the next instant the flickeringlight of the Candle flashed a vivid gleam upon the narrow steel blade ofa dagger which she held. This, with the swiftness of lightning, broughtme back to the Consciousness of the present, grim Reality. With a loudand sudden Cry, I darted out of my Hiding Place and stood there beforethem both, pale no doubt with a well-nigh unearthly Pallor, which musthave given me the Appearance of a Ghost.
It was now the Lady Barbara who was nigh to Swooning. But, with thatcoolness which comes at times to the Helpless and the Weak, I hadalready snatched her Veil from the Desk, and whilst she tottered andalmost fell into my Arms, I wrapped it around her Head.
"Quick! The Door!" I said. "You are quite safe!"
I dared not look at Mr. Betterton. Indeed, I could not even now tellYou in what Attitude or with what Expression of Face he watched mewhilst I seemed thus to take Command of the Situation. The Lady Barbarawas trembling so violently that some few moments elapsed before she wasable to walk across the Room. When she finally did so, her Foot kickedagainst the Dagger which had dropped from her Hand when I so suddenlyappeared before her. She gave a faint Cry of Horror, and I stooped andpicked up the Dagger and placed it back in her Hand without looking ather.
5
Her Ladyship then went on towards the door. But suddenly she came to ahalt, and I, who was close to her heels, paused likewise,
for I feltthat every drop of Blood within me had turned to Ice. From the Hallbelow there had come the sound of angry Altercation and a Man's voicewas raised loudly and peremptorily, saying:
"Let me pass, man! I will speak with Mr. Betterton."
The voice was that of my Lord Stour.
The Lady Barbara stood quite still for a moment, rigid as a carvedStatue. Then a low, inexpressibly pathetic Moan rose to her Lips.
"Oh! for the Earth to open!" she cried pitiably, "and bury me and thisShame----"
She was overwrought and weak with Emotion, but in any Event it was aterrible Position for any Lady of Rank to be found in, at this latehour, and alone. Overcome no doubt with the superabundance of harrowingSensations, she tottered as if about to swoon. Mr. Betterton caught heras she fell.
"My Divinity! My Queen!" he murmured quickly. "No one shall harm you,I swear it! No one shall!" Then he added under his breath: "Heavenabove me, help me to protect her!"
Whereupon he lifted her up in his Arms as if she were a Child, andcarried her as far as the Embrasure of the Window. Then, with one ofthose quick movements which were so characteristic of him, he drew theCurtains together, which shut off the Bay from the rest of the Room andscreened its fair Occupant completely from view.
He was a different Man now to the Passion-racked Creature of awhile ago;absolutely calm; the Man I had known and loved and respected all theseyears. Though my whole Being was still convulsed in an Agony ofApprehension, I felt that from him now would come moral Comfort for meand Protection for the unfortunate Lady, whose Burden of Sorrow had atlast touched his Heart. And I do verily believe, dear Lady, that inthat Instant of supreme Danger for us all, his Passion fell from himlike a Curtain from before his Eyes. It had gone through itsculminating Anguish when he discovered that she whom he loved had liedto him and cheated him. Now, when she stood here before him, utterlyhelpless and utterly crushed, his Infatuation appeared to writhe for oneMoment in the Crucible of his own Manliness and Chivalry, and then toemerge therefrom hallowed and purified.
6
In the meanwhile, less than a minute had elapsed. My Lord Stour hadascended the Stairs, undeterred by the Protestations of Mr. Betterton'sServant. The next moment he had violently wrenched the Door open and nowstood before us, pale, trembling with Rage or Excitement, hatless, hisMantle thrown back from his Shoulders. His right Hand clutched hisnaked Sword, and in his Left he had a crushed ball of paper, heldtogether by her Ladyship's brooch. His entire Attitude was one of firmand deadly Menace.
"I heard a Voice!" he exclaimed, staring wildly around him. "I saw aFace--a Form.... This Paper was flung out from yonder Window ... waspicked up by a serving Wench.... What does it mean?" he queriedharshly, and advanced threateningly towards Mr. Betterton, who wasstanding midway between him and the curtained Bay.
"How can I tell?" riposted the great Actor blandly, with a carelessShrug of his Shoulders. "I was not moon-gazing, as your Lordshipappears to have done. A paper, did You say?"
"You are not alone," retorted my Lord roughly. "I heard a voice ... justnow...."
"We are all apt to hear voices in the moonlight, my Lord," Mr. Bettertonrejoined simply. "The Artist hears his Muse, the Lover his Mistress,the Criminal his Conscience."
His unruffled calm seemed to exasperate his Lordship's fury, for he nowappeared even more menacing than before.
"And did You perchance hear a Voice to-night, Sir Actor," he queried,his voice hoarse with Passion, "warning You of Death?"
"Nay!" replied Mr. Betterton. "That Voice whispers to Us all, andalways, my Lord, even in our Cradles."
"Then hear it for the last time now, and from my Lips, you abominableMountebank!" my Lord cried, beside himself in truth. "For unless Youdraw aside that Curtain, I am going to kill You."
"That is as you please," retorted Mr. Betterton simply.
"Stand aside!" commanded his Lordship.
But Mr. Betterton looked him calmly up and down and did not move oneinch.
"This is a most unwarrantable Interference," he said quietly, "with theFreedom of His Majesty's well-beloved Servant. Your Lordship seems toforget that every inch of this Floor is mine, and that I stand on itwhere I please. I pray you, take that Paper--that Message--elsewhere.An it came down from Heaven, read it--but leave me in Peace."
"I'll not go," asserted my Lord harshly, "till you have drawn aside thatCurtain."
"Then we'll see whose Legs will weary first, my Lord, yours or mine,"was Mr. Betterton's unruffled rejoinder.
"Draw then and defend yourself!" cried my Lord, who before his Enemy'sunbroken Calm, had lost what Semblance of Self-Control he stillpossessed.
"I am unarmed," riposted Mr. Betterton simply.
"Then let Satan have his due," exclaimed the young Hothead, and raisedhis Sword ready to strike, "for your Soul shall go down to Hell atlast!"
In a moment, of course, I was on him. But he had the vigour of atrained Soldier, enhanced by an overwhelming Passion of Enmity and ofRage; and though I seized him unawares--I doubt if he had realized thatI was in the Room--he shook me off in an instant, as a Dog might shakeoff an importunate Rat. Before I had time to recover my breath from hisquick and furious Defence, he had turned on me and dealt me such avigorous Blow with his Fist between the Eyes, that the whole Room beganto gyrate around me and the Atmosphere became peopled with Stars. Istaggered and half fell against the Dresser that had sheltered me awhileago. For the space of half a dozen seconds mine Eyes were closed.
7
When I opened them again, the Scene had indeed changed. Her Ladyshiphad pushed the Curtains aside and stood there in the window Embrasure,revealed to her irate Lover. And he, though he must have known that shewas there all the Time, appeared so staggered by her Apparition that hisArm dropped by his side and his Sword fell with a clatter to the Ground,while he murmured as if in the last Throes of mental Suffering:
"Barbara ... my Barbara .. here--alone--at night ... with this Man!..."
Her Ladyship, however, appeared perfectly composed. The light of theCandles revealed her exquisite Face, pale but serene, and her small Headcrowned with the Aureole of her golden Hair, held up proudly as one whohath naught to fear, naught for which she need be ashamed. She pointedwith perfect steadiness to the Paper which my Lord still held tightlyclasped in his left Hand.
"That paper!" she said, and only a slight veiling of her Voice betrayedthe Emotion which she felt. "I sent it. 'Tis for you, my Lord. It willclear your Honour, and proclaim your Innocence."
But his Lordship did not appear to hear her. He continued to murmur tohimself mechanically, and in tones of the deepest Despair:
"Barbara ... alone ... with him!"
"Read that Paper, my dear Lord," her Ladyship insisted with calmdignity, "ere with another Thought you further dare to wrong me!"
These simple Words, however, so full of conscious Worth and ofInnocence, let loose the Floodgates of my Lord's pent-up, insensatejealousy.
"Wrong you!" he cried, and a harsh, almost maniacal laugh broke from hischoking Throat. "Wrong you! Nay! I suppose I must be grateful andthank Heaven on my Knees that You, my promised Bride, deigned topurchase mine Honour at the Price of your Kisses!"
At this gross Insult her Ladyship uttered a pitiful Moan; but ere shecould give Reply, Mr. Betterton, who hitherto had not interfered betweenthe Twain, now did so, and in no measured Tone.
"Silence, Madman!" he commanded, "ere You blaspheme."
But my Lord had apparently lost his last Shred of Reason. Jealousy wastorturing him in a manner that even Hatred had failed to do.
"God!" he exclaimed repeatedly, calling to the Almighty to witness hisSoul-Misery. "I saw her at that Window.... Who else saw her?... Howmany Varlets and jabbering Coxcombs know at the present moment that theLady Barbara Wychwoode spends the night alone with a Mountebank?" In anexcess of ungoverned Rage he tore the Paper to shreds and threw t
heScraps almost into her Ladyship's Face. "Take back your Proofs!" hecried. "I'll not take mine Honour from Your hands! Ah!" he added, andnow turned once more toward Mr. Betterton, who, I could see, was calmlymaking up his Mind what next to do. "Whoever you are--Man or Devil--areyou satisfied with your Revenge? Was it not enough to cover _me_ withInfamy; what need had You to brand _Her_ with Dishonour?"