ralph's face grew stern as he stared at the intruder. the newcomer returned the stare with insolent audacity. the pleased and softened expression had left lady dashwood's features, she looked white and anxious, and ralph could see that her hands were trembling. it was quite evident that she was greatly afraid of the man with the cold black eyes.
"beg pardon," the newcomer muttered. "didn't know you were engaged. friend of yours?"
"mr. ralph darnley," lady dashwood said. "a very old friend of the family, or, at any rate his father was. let me introduce you to mr. vincent dashwood."
"i have heard of you," said ralph, with a queer vibration in his voice. "i understand that one time your father had some idea of claiming the succession to the property. i have heard my father speak of your branch of the family."
dashwood muttered something that ralph could not quite follow.
"we could tell a different story, the old lady and self," he went on suggestively. "i shall have a pleasant surprise for sir george some of these days. i'm only waiting for some papers from the other side and i shall move. my father married a californian lady, you see, and they are pretty careless there in their keeping of records. still, it is only a matter of time."
"that is very strange," ralph said grimly. "my father also married a californian lady. oh, you need not look so uncomfortable; i am not likely to interfere with your claim. indeed, i may be in a position to assist you a little later."
just for the moment there was a queer grey tint on vincent dashwood's face. he seemed to be horribly frightened about something. but the expression passed, and his old saturnine look returned. ralph was smiling, too, as if something amused him. lady dashwood glanced from one to the other furtively, as if she feared some outbreak of violence. there was no means of reading ralph's thoughts from the expression of his face, or dashwood would not have been standing there so utterly at his ease. for he was a scoundrel of the vilest type, the class who do not hesitate to blackmail women.
"well, i'll just go and look round till you have finished with the gentleman," dashwood said airily. "then mind that you are ready for our little business, old lady. i've got to be in london this evening, and no mistake about it. by the way, the hall is in the hands of the firemen and police, but i'm told that no great damage has been done."
the speaker swaggered from the room with his hands in his pockets, whistling as he went. ralph's expression grew stern and hard.
"so this is one of the crosses that you have to bear," he said. "at the risk of being curious, i must ask you a question. is this the man for whose sake you have been raising money on the family jewels? how long has it been going on?"
lady dashwood clasped her hands and the tears came into her eyes.
"nearly two years," she whispered. "thank god, you have come to me, for my strength would not have borne the burden much longer. nobody knows anything; nobody suspects but slight. and he pretended to be my grandson. we were both utterly deceived. he knows everything, he told me all about the original quarrel, he had letters which i had written from time to time to your--to my son. and he is an infamous scoundrel. he desired me to keep his presence and his claim a secret, and for the credit of the family i did so. the few who know him think he comes from the yorkshire side of the house. he traded on my fears; he knew what i thought of him. and when he had drained me of thousands, and in sheer despair i pressed him to push on his claim, he always pleaded that he could not get certain papers--his mother's marriage certificate, i think it was. mind you, i believed in him implicitly; with all the sacred private information he had, i could do nothing else. and slight also was equally deceived. he has had nearly everything of mine that he could lay his hands on. you see that i am powerless to protest; if i had forced him to speak, there would only have been a scandal. he has been getting bolder lately or he would not have spoken so freely to you just now. and directly i saw your face today i knew at once that it had all been a hideous mistake. you will free me from that man, ralph?"
"not quite yet," ralph replied. "you must play your part a little longer. if, as you say, you have nothing more to bestow, you need not be afraid of him. that man has given me a new idea for bringing about the object that i have most closely at heart. i am going to make use of him, if necessary. if it is not necessary, then i shall make very short work of mr. vincent dashwood. but before that you must tell me everything. mind, i say everything as regards my--your son's marriage with maria edgerton. i believe that marriage was the cause of all the mischief."
"indeed it was," lady dashwood said. her voice was filled with the deepest sadness. "what will you think of me when you hear of the part i played in that unhappy affair? but i cannot tell you now, i am unfit to go into the matter at present. the shock of meeting you has been almost more than i can bear. come and dine with me here on saturday night, and i will tell you everything. my dear ralph--if i may call you so in private--is it possible that your coming is the augury of a happier time for me? happiness i won't ask for, but i should like to go down to the grave in peace."
"it shall be no fault of mine if you do not," ralph replied. "i have planned out my scheme and i am going through with it to the end. there may be troubles and trials to come, but everything is going to end happily for us all. goodbye."
ralph held out his hand, but lady dashwood drew him down to her chair.
"give me a kiss, my bonny boy," she whispered. "it may be as well for us to keep up the formality and play the drama till the time comes, but it is no harm to kiss an old woman and let her look into the eyes that she has seen in her dreams for forty weary years. god bless you, ralph, and prosper your schemes, for nothing you do will be wrong."
ralph went on his way presently through the shrubbery in the direction of the hall. a great crowd of people still lingered there, but the police had kept almost intact the trim lawn and the beds of brilliant flowers. inside the house were a posse of police and a few firemen from longtown. in the stable yard the scarlet fire engine glittered in the sun. so far as it was possible to see, no great harm had been done.
nobody was allowed in the house except the firemen and police, an inspector informed ralph, who had asked for sir george. none of the structure had been much damaged, none of the furniture had suffered anything except from smoke and water. there was just a suspicion that one of the great beams under the hall floor was still smouldering, and the firemen were going to stay until they were absolutely sure on the point.
"most extraordinary thing, darnley," sir george said. "there seemed to be nothing but smoke. slight will tell you that there was nothing but smoke. at the present moment an expert in this kind of things is making an examination with a view to discovering the cause of the outbreak. nuisance to have these people here, but it can't be helped."
"better these, sir george, than mr. mayfield's friends," slight croaked. "at any rate, we have got rid of them for the present. if somebody set the house afire on purpose, they could not have done us a better turn, seems to me."
slight spoke loudly as a man in a kind of uniform came up. he touched his cap to sir george, and looked fixedly at the old butler. evidently he had overheard what was said.
"many things more unlikely than that," he said. "sir george, i think that i have discovered the origin of the mischief, if you will kindly come this way."
"of course i was joking," slight said indignantly. "you don't suppose that i mean to imply that the fire was anything but an accident, mr. sayers?"
"all the same it was no accident," the official said grimly. "if you will come this way, i will prove to you that the fire was a wicked and deliberate act on the part of somebody."
