CHAPTER XXI. LADY DOROTHEA
The Cour de Bade, at which excellent hotel the Martins were installed,received on the day we have just chronicled a new arrival. He had comeby the diligence, one of that undistinguishable ten thousand Englandsends off every week from her shores to represent her virtues or hervices, her oddities, vulgarities, and pretensions, to the critical eyesof continental Europe.
Perfectly innocent of any foreign language, and with a delightfulambiguity as to the precise geography of where he stood, he succeeded,after some few failures, in finding out where the Martins stopped, andhad now sent up his name to Lady Dorothea, that name being "Mr. MauriceScanlan."
Lady Dorothea Martin had given positive orders that except in theparticular case of this individual she was not to be interrupted by anyvisitor. She glanced her eye at the card, and then handed it across thetable to her son, who coolly read it, and threw it from him with the airof one saying to himself, "Here's more of it! more complication, moreinvestigation, deeper research into my miserable difficulties, andconsequently more unhappiness." The table at which they were seated wasthickly covered with parchments, papers, documents, and letters of everyshape and size. There were deeds, and bonds, and leases, rent-rolls,and valuations, and powers of attorney, and all the other imposingaccessories of estated property. There were also voluminous bills ofcosts, formidable long columns of figures, "carried over" and "carriedover" till the very eye of the reader wearied of the dread numerals andturned recklessly to meet the awful total at the bottom! Terrified bythe menacing applications addressed to Mr. Martin on his son's account,and which arrived by every post, Lady Dorothea had resolved upon herselfentering upon the whole state of the Captain's liabilities, as well asthe complicated questions of the property generally.
Distrust of her own powers was not in the number of her Ladyship'sdefects. Sufficiently affluent to be always able to surround herselfwith competent subordinates, she fancied--a not very uncommon error, bythe way--that she individually accomplished all that she had obtainedthrough another. Her taste in the fine arts, her skill in music, herexcellence as a letter-writer, were all accomplishments in this wise;and it is not improbable that, had she been satisfied to accept hersuccess in finance through a similar channel, the result might haveproved just as fortunate. A shrinking dislike, however, to expose themoneyed circumstances of the family, and a feeling of dread as to thepossible disclosures which should come out, prevented her from acceptingsuch co-operation. She had, therefore, addressed herself to the taskwith no other aid than that of her son,--a partnership, it must beowned, which relieved her very little of her burden.
Had the Captain been called away from the pleasures and amusementsof life to investigate the dry records of some far-away cousin'sembarrassments,--to dive into the wearisome narrative ofmoney-borrowing, bill-renewing, and the rest of it, by one whom he hadscarcely known or seen,--his manner and bearing could not possiblyhave betrayed stronger signs of utter weariness and apathy than henow exhibited. Smoking his cigar, and trimming his nails with avery magnificent penknife, he gave short and listless replies to herLadyship's queries, and did but glance at the papers which from time totime she handed to him for explanation or inquiry.
"So he is come at last!" exclaimed she, as the Captain threw down thevisiting-card. "Shall we see him at once?"
"By Jove! I think we've had enough of 'business,'as they call it, forone morning," cried he. "Here have we been since a little after eleven,and it is now four, and I am as sick of accounts and figures as though Iwere a Treasury clerk."
"We have done next to nothing, after all!" said she, peevishly.
"And I told you as much when you began," said he, lighting a freshcigar. "There's no seeing one's way through these kind of things afterthe lapse of a year or two. Fordyce gets hold of the bills you gaveMossop, and Rawkins buys up some of the things you had given renewalsfor, and then all that trash you took in part payment of youracceptances turns up, some day or other, to be paid for; and whatbetween the bills that never were to be negotiated--but somehow do getabroad--and the sums sent to meet others applied in quite a differentdirection, I'll lay eighty to fifty in tens or ponies there's nogentleman living ever mastered one of these embarrassments. One must bebred to it, my Lady, take my word for it. It's like being a crack rideror a poet,--it's born with a man. 'The Henderson,'" added he, after apause, "she can do it, and I should like to see what she couldn't!"
"I am curious to learn how you became acquainted with these financialabilities of Miss Henderson?" said Lady Dorothea, haughtily.
"Simply enough. I was poring over these confounded accounts one day atManheim, and I chanced to ask her a question,--something about compoundinterest, I think it was,--and so she came and looked over what I wasdoing, or rather endeavoring to do. It was that affair with Throgmorton,where I was to meet one third of the bills, and Merl and he were tolook to the remainder; but there was a reservation that if Comus won theOaks, I was to stand free--no, that's not it--if Comus won the doubleevent--"
"Never mind your stupid contract. What of Miss Henderson?" broke in LadyDorothea.
"Well, she came over, as I told you, and took up a pencil and beganworking away with all sorts of signs and crosses,--regular algebra, byJove!--and in about five minutes out came the whole thing, all square,showing that I stood to win on either event, and came off splendidlyif the double should turn up. 'I wish,' said I to her, 'you 'd justrun your eye over my book and see how I stand.' She took it over to thefire, and before I could well believe she had glanced at it, she said:'This is all full of blunders. You have left yourself open to threecasualties, any one of which will sweep away all your winnings. Takethe odds on Roehampton, and lay on Slingsby a couple of hundredmore,--three, if you can get it,--and you 'll be safe enough. And whenyou 've done that,' said she, 'I have another piece of counsel to give;but first say will you take it?' 'I give you my word upon it,' saidI. 'Then it is this,' said she: 'make no more wagers on the turf. Youhaven't skill to make what is called a "good book," and you 'll alwaysbe a sufferer.'"
"Did n't she vouchsafe to offer you her admirable assistance?" asked herLadyship, with a sneer.
"No, by Jove!" said he, not noticing the tone of sarcasm; "and when Iasked her, 'Would not she afford me a little aid?' she quickly said,'Not on any account. You are now in a difficulty, and I willingly comeforward to extricate you. Far different were the case should I conspirewith you to place others in a similar predicament. Besides, I have yourpledge that you have now done with these transactions, and forever.'"
"What an admirable monitor! One only wonders how so much moralitycoexists with such very intimate knowledge of ignoble pursuits."
"By Jove! she knows everything," broke in the Captain. "Such a canter asshe gave me t' other morning about idleness and the rest of it, sayinghow I ought to study Hindostanee, and get a staff appointment, andso on,--that every one ought to place himself above the accidents offortune; and when I said something about having no opportunity at hand,she replied, 'Never complain of that; begin with _me_. I know quiteenough to initiate you; and as to Sanscrit, I 'm rather "up" in it.'"
"I trust you accepted the offer?" said her Ladyship, with an ambiguoussmile.
"Well, I can't say I did. I hate work,--at least that kind of work.Besides, one doesn't like to come out 'stupid' in these kind of things,and so I merely said, 'I 'd think of it--very kind of her,' and so on."
"Did it never occur to you all this while," began her Ladyship; and thensuddenly correcting herself, she stopped short, and said, "By the way,Mr. Scanlan is waiting for his answer. Ring the bell, and let him comein."
Perhaps it was the imperfect recollection of that eminentindividual,--perhaps the altered circumstances in which she now saw him,and possibly some actual changes in the man himself,--but really LadyDorothea almost started with surprise as he entered the room, dressedin a dark pelisse, richly braided and frogged, an embroideredtravelling-cap in his hand, and an incipient moustache on his upperlip,
--all evidencing how rapidly he had turned his foreign experiencesto advantage. There was, too, in his address a certain confidentassurance that told how quickly the habits of the "Table d'hote" hadimpressed him, and how instantaneously his nature had imbibed the vulgarease of the "Continent."
"You have just arrived, Mr. Scanlan?" said her Ladyship, haughtily, andnot a little provoked at the shake-hand salutation her son had accordedhim.
"Yes, my Lady, this instant, and such a journey as we 've had! No wateron the Rhine for the steamers; and then, when we took to the land, aperfect deluge of rain, that nearly swept us away. At Eisleben, or somesuch name, we had an upset."
"What day did you leave Ireland?" asked she, in utter indifference as tothe casualty.
"Tuesday fortnight last, my Lady. I was detained two days in Dublinmaking searches--"
"Have you brought us any letters, sir?"
"One from Miss Mary, my Lady, and another from Mr. Repton--very pressinghe said it was. I hope Mr. Martin is better? Your Ladyship's last--"
"Not much improvement," said she, stiffly, while her thin lips werecompressed with an expression that might mean pride or sorrow, or both.
"And the country, sir? How did you leave it looking?"
"Pretty well, my Lady. More frightened than hurt, as a body might say.They 've had a severe winter, and a great deal of sickness; the rains,too, have done a deal of mischief; but on the whole matters are lookingup again."
"Will the rents be paid, sir?" asked she, sharply.
"Indeed, I hope so, my Lady. Some, of course, will be backward, and begfor time, and a few more will take advantage of Magennis's success, andstrive to fight us off."
"There must have been some gross mismanagement in that business, sir,"broke in her Ladyship. "Had I been at home, I promise you the matterwould have ended differently."
"Mr. Repton directed all the proceedings himself, my Lady. He conferredwith Miss Mary."
"What could a young lady know about such matters?" said she, angrily."Any prospect of a tenant for the house, sir?"
"If your Ladyship really decides on not going back--"
"Not the slightest intention of doing so, sir. If it depended uponme, I'd rather pull it down and sell the materials than return to livethere. You know yourself, sir, the utter barbarism we were obliged tosubmit to. No intercourse with the world--no society--very frequentlyno communication by post. Surrounded by a set of ragged creatures, allimportunity and idleness, at one moment all defiance and insolence, atthe next crawling and abject. But it is really a theme I cannot dwellupon. Give me your letters, sir, and let me see you this evening." Andtaking the papers from his hand, she swept out of the room in a haughtystate.
The Captain and Mr. Scanlan exchanged looks, and were silent, but theirglances were far more intelligible than aught either of them would haveventured to say aloud; and when the attorney's eyes, having followed herLadyship to the door, turned and rested on the Captain, the other gave abrief short nod of assent, as though to say, "Yes, you are right; she'sjust the same as ever."
"And _you_, Captain," said Scanlan, in his tone of naturalfamiliarity,--"how is the world treating _you?_"
"Devilish badly, Master Scanlan."
"Why, what is it doing, then?"
"I'll tell you what it's doing! It's charging me fifty--ay, sixty percent; it's protesting my bills, stimulating my blessed creditors toproceed against me, worrying my very life out of me with letters.Letters to the governor, letters to the Horse Guards, and, last of all,it has just lamed Bonesetter, the horse 'I stood to win' on for theChester Cup, I would n't have taken four thousand for my book yesterdaymorning!"
"Bad news all this."
"I believe you," said he, lighting a cigar, and throwing another acrossthe table to Scanlan. "It's just bad news, and I have nothing else formany a long day past. A fellow of your sort, Master Maurice, puntingaway at county races and small sweepstakes, has a precious deal bettertime of it than a captain of the King's Hussars with his head andshoulders in the Fleet."
"Come, come, who knows but luck will turn, Captain? Make a book on theOaks."
"I've done it; and I'm in for it, too," said the other, savagely.
"Raise a few thousands, you can always sell a reversion."
"I have done that also," said he, still more angrily.
"With your position and advantages you could always marry well. If you'djust beat up the manufacturing districts, you'd get your eighty thousandas sure as I'm here! And then matrimony admits of a man's changing allhis habits. He can sell off hunters, get rid of a racing stable, andtwenty other little embarrassments, and only gain character by theeconomy."
"I don't care a brass farthing for that part of the matter, Scanlan. Noman shall dictate to me how I 'm to spend my money. Do you just find methe tin, and I 'll find the talent to scatter it."
"If it can't be done by a post-obit--"
"I tell you, sir," cried Martin, peevishly, "as I have told you before,that has been done. There is such a thing as pumping a well dry, is n'tthere?"
Scanlan made a sudden exclamation of horror; and after a pause, said,"Already!"
"Ay, sir, already!"
"I had my suspicions about it," muttered Scanlan, gloomily.
"You had? And how so, may I beg to ask?" said Martin, angrily.
"I saw him down there, myself."
"Saw whom? Whom are you talking of?"
"Of that Jew, of course. Mr. Merl, he calls himself."
A faint groan was all Martin's reply, as he turned away to hide hisface.
Scanlan watched him for a minute or so, and then resumed: "I guessedat once what he was at; _he_ never deceived me, talking about snipe andwoodcocks, and pretending to care about hare-hunting. I saw my man at aglance. 'It's not sporting ever brought you down to these parts,' saidI. '_Your_ game is young fellows, hard up for cash, willing to give uptheir birthright for a few thousands down, and never giving a secondthought whether they paid twenty per cent, or a hundred and twenty.'Well, well, Captain, you ought to have told me all about it. Therewasn't a man in Ireland could have putted you through like myself."
"How do you mean?" cried Martin, hurriedly.
"Sure, when he was down in the West, what was easier? Faix, if I hadonly had the wind of a word that matters were so bad, I 'd have hadthe papers out of him long ago. You shake your head as if you did n'tbelieve me; but take my word for it, I 'm right, sir. I 'd put a quarrelon him."
"_He'd_ not fight you!" said Martin, turning away in disappointment.
"Maybe he wouldn't; but mightn't he be robbed? Couldn't he be waylaid,and carried off to the Islands? There was no need to kill him.Intimidation would do it all! I'd lay my head upon a block this minuteif I would n't send him back to London without the back of a letterin his company; and what's more, a pledge that he 'd never tell what'shappened to him!"
"These cockney gents are more 'wide awake' than you suspect, MasterMaurice, and the chances are that he never carried a single paper orparchment along with him."
"Worse for him, then," said Scanlan. "He'd have to pass the rest ofhis days in the Arran Islands. But I'm not so sure he's as 'cute as youthink him," added Maurice, after a pause. "He left a little note-bookonce behind him that told some strange stories, by all accounts."
"What was that you speak of?" cried Martin, eagerly.
"I did n't see it myself, but Simmy Crow told me of it; and that it wasfull of all the fellows he ruined,--how much he won from this man, whathe carried off from that; and, moreover, there was your own name, andthe date of the very evening that he finished you off! It was somethingin this wise: 'This night's work makes me an estated gentleman, _vice_Harry Martin, Esquire, retired upon less than half-pay!'"
A terrible oath, uttered in all the vehemence of a malediction, burstfrom Martin, and seizing Scanlan's wrist, he shook his arm in an agonyof passion.
"I wish I had given you a hint about him, Master Scanlan," said he,savagely.
"It's too late to think of i
t now, Captain," said the other; "the fellowis in Baden."
"Here?" asked Martin.
"Ay. He came up the Rhine along with me; but he never recognized me,--onaccount of my moustaches perhaps,--he took me for a Frenchman or aGerman, I think. We parted at Mayence, and I saw no more of him."
"I would that I was to see no more of him!" said Martin, gloomily, as hewalked into another room, banging the door heavily behind him.