an astonished silence ensued. the lawyer's observation was so very unexpected, that no one knew exactly how to reply. mr. barras did not look like a man inclined to jest, being lean-faced, dour, and clean-shaven, with a thin-lipped mouth, and scanty iron-grey hair. his severe black eyes peered sternly at the world from under shaggy grey eyebrows, and he constantly appeared to hold the attitude of a hanging judge, sentencing a criminal to the gallows. barras was not popular with his fellows, but he had the name of an extremely honest man, and was supposed to be aggressively just. also he was deliberately cautious in expressing an opinion; therefore it was scarcely to be wondered at, that his late remark considerably startled the three people who had assembled to hear the will read. being a woman, clarice was the first of the trio to recover the use of her tongue, and spoke indignantly.
"what do you mean by that, mr. barras?" she demanded, breathlessly.
"exactly what i say, miss baird; and i would have you remark that i addressed myself to dr. jerce here, who has not yet replied."
"you take me by surprise, barras," said jerce, with a shrug. "all i can reply is that horran was the most strictly honest man of my acquaintance. had he not been so, the late mrs. baird would hardly have chosen him as her executor, or as the guardian of her children."
"exactly," said the lawyer again, and opened his portentous black bag. "but the question is, may not the late mrs. baird have been mistaken as to the true character of the man?"
"your own client?" said clarice, indignantly.
"i am a man, as well as a lawyer," retorted barras, coldly.
"still, uncle henry, whom every one liked--"
"popularity implies weakness, to my mind, miss baird. strength has its enemies, i have always found."
"what do you think, ferdy?" asked clarice, staggered by the lawyer's air of conviction.
"about uncle henry? oh, it's all rot. he was one of the best, even though we didn't get on over well."
"there, mr. barras," said clarice, with an air of triumph.
he took no notice of her, but produced from his bag a sheaf of important-looking documents. "i had better read the will," said barras, coldly.
"one moment," broke in jerce, as barras unfolded a sheet of parchment with a judicial air. "we must tell you about the death, and--"
"i have heard everything," interrupted the lawyer, mounting his golden pince-nez. "i have read all that was to be read in the papers."
"and you think?--"
"i think that my late client was the eighth victim of the purple fern series, murdered by the surviving villain."
"and the motive?" questioned miss baird, suddenly.
"the same motive that brought about the death of the other victims," was the solicitor's cold reply--"wealth, or, if you like, robbery."
"i don't agree with you. nothing was taken from the room."
"how do you know?"
"because i know everything that is in the room, and nothing is missing. that is plain enough."
"on the face of it," admitted barras, "but i think that i can show you your error."
"do you mean to say that the motive for uncle henry's murder was robbery?" asked ferdy, sitting up from his lounging attitude.
"i do, and i have good reason to say so."
"then explain," said clarice, curtly, but secretly bewildered.
"i am about to do so, if you will permit me," said barras, with his most acid smile.
"i beg your pardon. go on."
mr. barras made a short explanation before reading the will, as they thought he was about to do. "your parents," he began, looking at the twins, "mr. and mrs. baird, lived at tremby hall, a short distance out of this town. mr. baird died, and left the property, which came to about four thousand a year, more or less, solely to his wife, your mother. when she died, the property was handed over to my late client, mr. henry horran, who acted as your guardian. for this he received, under the late mrs. baird's will, five hundred a year. it was much needed by mr. horran, as he was then desperately poor."
"how do you know that?" questioned clarice, listening intently.
"i was mrs. baird's lawyer, and afterwards became mr. horran's," said the iron-grey man, severely, "so i speak of what i know. mr. horran, as i have just explained, received five hundred a year, as your guardian. he had also, seeing that you both were infants, so to speak, complete control of the property--that is, you each were left two thousand a year, and it was arranged that you should come into possession at the age of twenty-five. meanwhile, mr. horran was to look after you, educate you, and guide you."
"he did all that," said clarice, with emotion, although ferdy did not openly second her speech, and wriggled uneasily.
"at five hundred a year," remarked barras, pointedly.
"go on--go on," said jerce, impatiently.
"you, mr. baird, and you, miss baird, being twins, were each three years of age when your mother died. you are now each three and twenty, and in another two years will come into unfettered possession of four thousand a year, divided equally. you, mr. baird, receive, at the age of twenty-five, two thousand a year; and you, miss baird, also at the age of twenty-five, receive the same sum, annually."
"yes, yes," said jerce, who appeared to be irritated by the minute way in which the lawyer was detailing everything; "and, of course, there is the accumulation on the income of four thousand a year, for--let me see--twenty years, up to the present."
"that is the whole point," remarked barras, solemnly, "but i shall come to that point shortly. you, mr. baird, were allowed two hundred a year from the age of twenty--that is for the last three years."
"yes," snapped ferdy, "and little enough it is."
"i quite understand that, seeing you are young and gay," said the lawyer, drily. "well, then, for three years you have been receiving this allowance, which comes--i may tell you--from the letting of tremby hall to those americans. so you see, all of you, that the income of mr. ferdinand baird, coming from this outside source, so to speak, leaves the four thousand a year intact."
clarice heaved a weary sigh. "why explain all this?" she asked. "we know the most part of it."
"quite so," said barras, deliberately, "but you do not know all."
"all what?"
"all that i am about to tell you, if you will permit me to speak."
the girl looked at him hard. there seemed to be a great deal lurking behind the solicitor's manner. "go on, please," she said, apprehensively.
"when dr. jerce refers to the accumulation on the income of four thousand a year for twenty years," continued mr. barras, "he must not forget, that besides the five hundred per annum to mr. horran, there was also the sum required for education, for the keep of this house, and for the clothing of the children--i allude to you two," added barras, looking over his pince-nez.
ferdy nodded. "i understand and so does clarry."
"now, then," said mr. barras, having reached this point, "i shall read the will, as you no doubt understand exactly how the monies stand--that is, how they were left by your late mother."
"but we don't understand about the accumulations," protested clarice. "i am coming to that," said the lawyer, significantly. "allow me to conduct this conversation in my own way, so as to make everything plain. the will--listen--the will of mr. henry horran--"
"but he had nothing to leave," burst out ferdy; "you said so."
"i did not exactly say so," said barras, deliberately, "but it is a fact. since the five hundred a year ceased at mr. horran's death, seeing that he could not longer continue his duties as guardian, he certainly had nothing to leave. but the will of the late mrs. baird gave him the power to appoint a new guardian."
"what a shame!" cried ferdy, flushing; "we--clarry and i--are old enough to handle our own money."
"possibly, but the will must stand," said barras, drily, "and, after all, as you will see, the new guardian is the best that could be appointed. from what i have seen of this young lady"--he bowed to clarice--"and from the frequency with which i have come into contact with her since mr. horran's illness, i am quite sure that a better appointment could not have been made."
ferdy started. "what has clarry to do with it?" he demanded, angrily.
barras took no notice, but read the will of horran. it was short, and to the point, containing a few legacies to servants, a disposal of his jewellery to friends, and the appointment of clarice baird to the post of guardian, which horran's death would leave vacant. ferdy could scarcely contain his wrath, when barras ceased. "do you mean to say that clarry has been appointed over my head?" he asked, white with rage; "over my head, when i am the man."
"i do say so," said barras, quietly, "and in my opinion, seeing what i know of miss baird, it is an excellent suggestion."
"it's a shame. i should have been made guardian."
"ferdy"--clarice pulled the fuming youth down into his chair with a strong hand--"you and i can talk of that later. meanwhile, as the appointment has been made, you can do nothing."
"i'll see a lawyer--i'll go into court--i'll--"
"you can do nothing," said jerce, calmly and soothingly. "horran had the full right to appoint whom he chose, and if he thought that miss baird was the most suitable person, you must accept the decision."
ferdy sat down, silenced for once, but in a royal rage. clarice laid her hand on his arm, but he jerked himself angrily away, whereupon a look of pain passed over her face. "you will not find me a hard guardian," she said, softly; then, as he still remained sullen, she turned to barras. "are there any arrangements made as to where we shall live?" she asked.
"no," answered the solicitor, replacing the will in his bag. "you can live here, or wherever you like. the will gives you complete control of four thousand a year, until you reach the age of twenty-five in two years, when you will, of course, give your brother half that income, and then--as you know--your guardianship ceases."
"i won't have clarice as my guardian," cried ferdy, wrathfully. "you must," said the girl, in a firm tone. "what is the use of going on like this, ferdy? the will is a good one in law."
"a very excellent will," said barras, primly.
"a great responsibility for you, miss baird," said jerce, quietly.
"i am perfectly well able to bear it, doctor," she replied, sharply.
"see here," said young baird, suddenly, and rousing himself from a brown study; "this will gives clarice control of the four thousand a year."
"yes," answered barras, "and, of course, your allowance of two hundred can continue, still arising from the letting of the hall."
"well, then," went on ferdy, rapidly, "the will--so far as i can see and so far as you tell me--does not say anything about the accumulations on the four thousand during the last twenty years."
"on two thousand, if you please, mr. baird," said barras, leisurely. "do not forget that the late mr. horran received five hundred for his services--that is annually--and that the rest of two thousand was required for the various items i have mentioned."
"i remember," said ferdy, hastily. "well, then, the accumulation on two thousand a year for twenty years must be in the bank, or invested, and free from clarice's control."
"no. by the will, miss baird would deal with the accumulations, as well as with the income. for the next two years she receives the four thousand a year, and what she does not spend--having full power under both wills--she can let out at interest."
"oh!" said clarice, quickly. "then two thousand of our united income was let out at interest by mr. horran?"
"that i can't tell you, miss baird."
"but it must have been," insisted clarice, "for mr. clarke--"
"my late client certainly allowed him a loan of one thousand pounds some years ago, at ten per cent.," said barras, politely, "but that is all the loan i know of."
"but the rest of the money?"
"what money?" asked jerce, suddenly.
"the two thousand a year which uncle henry did not spend. even if nothing was done with it, the amount in twenty years would increase to forty thousand pounds."
"and that should be given to me," put in ferdy, quickly, "seeing that clarry has the full income."
"half of which is in trust for you, mr. baird," said barras, in his dry way; "but the accumulations, miss baird," he added, addressing clarice, "certainly amount to the sum you mention; and if these monies were let out at the same rate of interest which my late client extorted from mr. clarke, the amount in the banks ought to be much greater. unfortunately"--mr. barras stopped and hesitated.
"well?" asked clarice, impatiently. "well, the money isn't in the bank. i have all the books of the late mr. horran, and all his business papers, but in no instance can i find what he has done with forty thousand pounds, or with possible accumulations."
jerce started up in dismay. "is this the reason why you asked me if horran was a scoundrel?" he demanded.
"that is the reason," replied barras, serenely. "i want to know what has become of that money. i think i can guess, however."
"you can guess?" repeated clarice, puzzled.
"yes. you wondered why mr. horran was murdered. i answer, for the sum of forty thousand pounds."
barras said this so quietly, that he took away the breath of his hearers, and they looked at one another, unable to speak. seeing this, barras explained himself still further. "i collected the rents of the baird property," he said. "two thousand a year i paid into the london bank, according to the directions of mr. horran, and that i can account for, by the books and the papers, since it went in mr. horran's income as guardian, in keeping up this house, and in educational and clothing expenses. but the remaining two thousand a year i paid personally to mr. horran, as it came in, and he never accounted to me for its use. there was no reason that he should do so," added the lawyer, coolly, "seeing that mr. horran had full power under mrs. baird's will to deal with the estate as he chose. certainly, judging from mr. clarke's loan, which came under my notice, i fancied that mr. horran might be investing the money, or letting it out at large interest, but i can find nothing in the papers left by the deceased likely to throw any light on its disposal."
"it is most extraordinary," said clarice, thoughtfully. "do you mean to say, mr. barras, that uncle henry had forty thousand pounds in his room when he died?"
barras placed his finger-tips together and leaned back. "i leave it to you, miss baird. mr. horran always insisted that i should bring to him two thousand a year of the rents, in gold. i always, according to his wish, paid him in gold. you sent me up the papers from his desk, and, of course, i have all his business letters, deeds, and the rest of such things in my office. but in no case can i find what has become of this forty thousand pounds. when i saw in the papers that no cause could be assigned for the murder of my late client, and recollected that the purple fern villains always struck down the rich, it dawned upon me that, instead of investing the two thousand a year, which he regularly received--and in gold," emphasised the lawyer, "mr. horran kept the money in his room, and was murdered for its possession."
"but why should he have kept the money in his room?"
"instead of at the bank, you would say." mr. barras shrugged his shoulders again. "well, my late client must have been a miser--that is all the explanation i can give. but i am certain that he was murdered for the sake of that forty thousand pounds, and that it has been stolen. and now, dr. jerce, you will understand why i asked you if your friend was an honest man or a scoundrel."
"an honest man?" said jerce, energetically. "you have supplied the reason for the money being missed yourself. horran may have been a miser, although i never noticed that he was; he may have kept this money in his room, and he may have been murdered for it."
"i would have you observe, doctor," said barras, dryly, "that all your sentences commence with 'may.' this is all theory."
"but if the money has been stolen," suggested clarice, "it may be traced in some way."
"you can't trace gold, miss baird, and horran always insisted upon having the money in gold. that is what makes me think that he was a miser. i called him a scoundrel--if he spent the money on his own pleasures he certainly was a scoundrel. if, on the other hand, he merely kept the gold to enjoy looking at, and it was stolen from him at the time of his death, he was simply a miser, and has paid, by his painful end, for being a miser. however"--barras stood up--"there is no more to be said. i think that i have made myself plain, miss baird, and whenever you like to come to my office, i shall talk over future money arrangements. meanwhile, i must prove the will, pay the death duties and legacies, and put things straight. i shall now take my leave."
"will you not stop to tea or dinner, mr. barras?"
"no, i thank you," said the lawyer, stiffly, and, taking up his bag, he walked in a stately manner out of the house. ferdy rose, and after hesitating for a moment, ran after him quickly. jerce and clarice were left alone. "what will you do?" asked jerce, slowly.
"i must ask anthony," said clarice, mechanically.
"captain ackworth?"
"anthony," she repeated quietly, "the man i intend to marry."
