CHAPTER XX
As Bennet entered the room, Eversleigh looked at him and forced a smile,but he turned livid when he observed the other's aspect. There was nosmile on Bennet's face, but something disquieting and even threateningappeared upon it. Eversleigh, seeing it, said to himself that theexpected day of reckoning had indeed come. His first feeling was almostone of relief, but that soon gave way to a determination to make as muchof a stand as he could. He tried to encourage himself by thinking thatBennet had always been a friend of his and of his family. Unaware thatKitty had preferred Gilbert to Bennet, and of the sentiments Bennet nowhad with respect to his son, he had some hope that it might be possibleto "do something with Harry," as he phrased it vaguely to himself.
"Well, Harry, back again?" he said, trying with a prodigious effort tospeak calmly. "I did not anticipate seeing you so soon."
"Yes, Mr. Eversleigh," remarked Bennet, bluntly; "I have returned prettyquickly, because I desired to see you immediately with a view to askingyou for an explanation of a circumstance which puzzles me extremely.Still, I dare say you can clear the matter up. It is about BeauclerkMansions. I have just come from them this very minute."
As Bennet had come in Eversleigh had stood up; he now sank into hischair. Harry remained on his feet, gazing at the solicitor, and therewas a note of anger in his voice as he addressed Eversleigh.
"An explanation, Harry," said Eversleigh, waving Bennet to take a seatbeside him. "About what?"
"Well, Mr. Eversleigh," said Bennet, drily, "when I left you thismorning I told you I would take a run down to the Mansions to have alast look at them; do you remember?"
"You made some little jest of it," returned Eversleigh, nervously.
"Yes; I was trying to appear light-hearted about it. I was notlight-hearted really. But that does not matter in the slightest degree.I did go to the Mansions----"
Bennet stopped, as he was in doubt what to say next.
"You went to Beauclerk Mansions?" said Eversleigh; "and----"
"I'll tell you as exactly as I can what took place. On the pretext ofinquiring if there was a flat to be let, I got into conversation withone of the porters. I saw the man did not know who I was. He told methere were two or three desirable flats vacant; would I care to lookover them? I don't know quite why I did it, but I thought I would take aglance at the vacant flats, keeping the porter in talk the while. Youfollow me?" asked Harry, breaking off as he saw the eyes of thesolicitor wandered over the room.
Eversleigh was listening, but not carefully; he guessed well enough whatBennet would tell him, and he was casting about for some appeal thatwould touch Bennet and induce him to stay his hand.
"Oh yes," he responded; "I am following you perfectly, Harry."
"As I went over the flats with the porter," Bennet resumed, "I noticedthe property was in very good order, and I remarked to the man that itmust be well managed and be very valuable. The porter replied that theproperty was well managed, especially since the new management had takenit up. I was surprised, as you may imagine, to hear of a new management,but I naturally supposed that you or rather Mr. Silwood, had made thechange. I asked how long the new management had been in power, and wastold it had been for about a year."
Bennet paused, gazed at Eversleigh, and repeated, "About a year."
"About a year," said Eversleigh, mechanically.
"The porter went on to say," continued Bennet, "that he understood theproperty had been in new hands for that time, and that was why it was insuch good order--the new broom was sweeping cleaner than the old. Whenhe spoke of the property being in new hands, I thought it more than abit odd, and I asked him in whose hands the property now was. He gave methe name of a firm of house-agents of whom I have heard before, but notin connection with your firm, Mr. Eversleigh. This surprised me again,and I put the question if he knew who was the owner of the property, andhe answered that it belonged to a company, named 'Modern Mansions,Limited.' When he said this, I looked at him in amazement, but I sawthat he was in earnest, and stated what he believed to be true."
Again Bennet stopped and fixed his gaze on Eversleigh, but thesolicitor said not a word--he opened his lips as if to speak, butremained silent.
"You do not speak, Mr. Eversleigh!" cried Bennet. "Well, let me finishmy story. He had told me that the property belonged to 'Modern Mansions,Limited,' and he so surprised me that I blurted out that I thought hemust be wrong, and that I had understood it was owned by a Mr. Bennet,whose father had been the original proprietor. 'No,' said the man; 'itdid belong to him, but he sold it to the company just about twelvemonths ago!'"
Bennet paused once more, as if to give Eversleigh an opportunity ofmaking a remark, but he did not avail himself of it.
"Still you do not speak!" cried Bennet. "But to finish with my yarn. Ifelt positively certain that the porter was making a big mistake, as Iknew I had not sold Beauclerk Mansions, but I thought I would carry myinquiries a step further. Therefore, keeping up the pretence of wantinga flat, I asked the porter if he could get me a copy of the agreement orform of lease for a flat; no doubt, I said, there was a regular form tobe had in the office of the company. That was so, he thought; would I gowith him to the manager's office? Well, I did go, and I got the form;here it is," said Bennet, taking a printed paper from his pocket andplacing it before Eversleigh.
"Not that there was any need of that as proof the Mansions were mine nolonger," Bennet continued. "I had a short talk with the manager, and Isoon had no doubt about it. Now, Mr. Eversleigh, you have heard what Ihave said. I demand an explanation from you. What have you to say?"
Eversleigh looked at Bennet, then at the ceiling, then at the floor, butcould not find speech.
"Have you nothing to say? What meaning, Mr. Eversleigh, am I to place onyour silence? Why don't you speak?"
Hitherto Bennet, believing like all the rest of the world that therecould be nothing wrong with so eminent a firm as Eversleigh, Silwood andEversleigh, had supposed there might be some explanation of thesecurious circumstances; he was suspicious, but imagined there might be apossible justification. What he could not understand was why Eversleighhad written and spoken to him as if the Mansions were still his.Eversleigh's silence now told him quite unmistakably there was somethingvery wrong about the whole matter.
"Why don't you speak, Mr. Eversleigh?" he asked, roughly, springing fromhis chair and towering over the solicitor.
"Harry," began Eversleigh, brokenly, shrinking before the angry eyes ofhis client, "Harry, your property, as you know, was in Mr. Silwood'sdepartment of the office. Mr. Silwood----"
But Eversleigh paused tongue-tied; there was a slackening of the musclesof his face. He seemed on the point of collapse.
As Bennet regarded the solicitor the expression of his face becomehorrible; all the evil of his life seemed suddenly stamped upon it; itwas cruel, fierce, brutal, devilish. He saw that Eversleigh had noexplanation to offer; he realized that he had been the victim of fraud,and that his property was gone--it had been stolen from him by hissolicitors! As this came home to him, his mood was little short ofmurderous, and it must be admitted there was some excuse for him.
"Silwood's death," he said harshly, "does not matter to me in the least.He is dead, and it is you that I have to deal with. What has become ofmy property?"
Harry's rough tones made Eversleigh shrink still more, but he managed tospeak.
"Mr. Silwood is dead," he quavered, wishing the while that he was deadtoo. "But his death is so recent that there has not been sufficient timeto go into all his affairs."
"I care nothing for his affairs. What has become of my property? Tell methat."
"You must know, Harry, that Mr. Silwood's death has made a greatdifference to me."
"It has nothing to do with me. What has become of my property?"
"It is possible," said Eversleigh, weakly, "that there may have beenthings in his department that are slightly irregular. No doubt," he wenton more firmly, "he thought he was acting in your best
interests when hesold your property."
"Sold my property," repeated Bennet, with a fierce snarl. "If he soldit, what did he sell it for? And where is the money?"
Eversleigh was mute.
"Again you have nothing to say! Now I ask you just one question. Did youknow, or did you not know, when you wrote me yesterday that you wouldprocure the advance of ten thousand pounds on the property, that it hadbeen sold already? Answer me!"
Bennet's eyes blazed with rage and menace as he thundered the last wordsat Eversleigh.
Eversleigh partly rose from his chair, clutching as he did so at hiscollar; then he sat down with a loud groan, covered his face with hishands, and broke into sobs.
Bennet stood over him and shook him violently.
"You did know," he shouted. "You knew all the while that my flats hadbeen sold. Do you know what you are? You are a thief and aswindler--that's what you are!"
"Harry," pleaded Eversleigh, feebly.
"Don't call me 'Harry,'" replied Bennet. "You have lied to me and stolenfrom me. I must think," he wound up, as he released his hold of theother and walked up and down the floor.
Meanwhile Eversleigh's sobs subsided, and he ventured to look at Bennet.Bennet noticed the glance at once.
"I believe," said he, "if I did what I ought to do, I should have youarrested at once for fraud; but I don't see that that would do me anygood."
"Harry," said Eversleigh, haltingly, "I was your father's friend, and Iwas never unkind to you."
"Never unkind to me! What have you done with my money?"
"I never had a penny of it."
"Oh, you put the blame on Silwood! He is dead, and cannot deny thecharge."
"I never had anything to do with selling your property, Harry. I did notknow it had been sold until a day or two ago--until yesterday, in fact."
"But you did know when you wrote me. You lied about it."
"I did," acknowledged Eversleigh. "I could not help it. Consider how Iwas situated!"
"You were to get me the ten thousand pounds, and to pretend to sell theMansions?"
"That was it."
"You can get me the ten thousand?"
"No; that was a pretence too. I cannot get you the money."
"Worse and worse!" exclaimed Bennet. "What has been done with themoney?"
"Mr. Silwood might have told you, I cannot. I had none of it, I againassure you," protested Eversleigh.
Bennet now sat down.
"Let us understand each other," he said. "So far as I make the matterout, the position is this: you state Mr. Silwood disposed of my propertyand appropriated the proceeds--is that it?"
Eversleigh bowed.
"What do you intend doing?"
"Nothing. What can I do?"
Bennet sat very still, thinking what was the best course for him totake.
"Do you suppose," he asked at length, "that Mr. Silwood was guilty ofother--irregularities?"
"How can I tell? For many years Mr. Silwood attended to all thefinancial business of the firm, and I never concerned myself with it atall. And now I can only find out very slowly and gradually how mattersstand."
"Have you no capital? No means of your own?"
"No. I have always lived up to my income--you know how I have lived,Harry, for you have often shared my hospitality," said Eversleigh,appealingly.
"Oh, your hospitality be ----!" cried Bennet, rudely. "How does thathelp either you or me now? If anything, it makes matters worse. What Iought to do is just what I said. I should go to another solicitor, tellhim how the case stands, and in a short time you would be in prison. Butwhat good will that be to me? I must think everything over verycarefully. I shall not be precipitate."
Eversleigh held up his head a little.
"Thank you, Harry," he said.
"I'm not thinking of you," rejoined Harry, brutally. "One word, however.How many people know about my property being disposed of--in thisirregular manner by Silwood?" asked Bennet, sarcastically.
"No one but myself."
"Can I depend on that statement?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, I shall take no action to-day. I am going home now, and to-nightI'll make up my mind. I shall see you again to-morrow, and tell you whatis my intention."
And Bennet strode out of the room. As he descended the stairs he almostcannoned against Gilbert Eversleigh, who was going up to see his father.Bennet hardly returned the salute Gilbert gave him, but the sight of hissuccessful rival had given him an idea.