while the events bearing on the life-story of ethel thursby, as narrated in the last few chapters, were duly working themselves out, certain other events destined to exercise an important influence on her future, the chief factors in which were two people of whose very existence she was unaware, were in process of evolution.
it was eleven o'clock on a bright may morning, and captain verinder, who had only lately risen and had but just finished his breakfast, which this morning had consisted of nothing more substantial than a tumbler of rum and milk, was engaged in a rueful examination of the pockets of the suit of clothes he had been wearing the previous evening.
"not a stiver more," he said, with a grimace, as he tossed his waistcoat across the room; and with that he turned and counted for the second time the little pile of silver and coppers which he had previously extracted from his pockets and placed on the chimney-piece. "seven shillings and elevenpence-ha'penny, all told," he muttered; "and there's seventeen days yet to be got through before the end of the month."
it was not the first time by many that he had found himself "cornered," but the process became none the pleasanter through repetition.
he turned away with a shrug, and began to charge his meerschaum with the strong tobacco he was in the habit of smoking.
"when we find ourselves in a hole of our own digging, or in a scrape, the result of our own folly, we have a way of telling ourselves that the truest philosophy is to grin and bear it. of course there's nothing else to be done, but it's only cold pudding at the best." he spoke aloud as he had a way of doing when alone. "verinder, my dear boy, if there was ever any man who sold himself cheap, you were that one last night. let us hope you will take the lesson to heart, and not carry your nose quite so high in the air in time to come."
having lighted his pipe, he drew his shabby dressing-gown about him and seated himself in a somewhat dilapidated easy-chair by his open window in tilney street, soho--a narrow thoroughfare of tall, old-fashioned houses that had seen better days.
for anything beyond a small assured income of eighty pounds a year, captain verinder had to trust to the exercise of his wits. at this time he was a man of sixty, rather below the medium height, but still slim and upright for his years, and with something that might be termed semi-military in his appearance and carriage. the mental exercise in question took the form of billiards. although far from being a fine player, his natural aptitude for the game had been cultivated by long practice, till he had attained a degree of proficiency at it which he found to answer his purpose very well indeed. that purpose was neither more nor less than to haunt the public rooms within a wide radius of his lodgings, on the lookout for those simpletons with more money than sense, of whom there is an unfailing supply in big cities, who can only be convinced at the expense of their pocket that in the art of billiard-playing they have not yet got beyond their apprenticeship. the captain regarded it as a very poor week indeed at the end of which he did not find himself in pocket to the extent of fifty shillings, or three pounds--or rather, would have found himself that sum in pocket but for his ineradicable propensity for treating himself and others to innumerable "drinks" and cigars. when perfectly sober, he was one of the stingiest of mortals, but after his third glass he began to thaw, and, a little later, the veriest stranger would have been welcome to share his last shilling. it is a by no means uncommon trait.
on the evening of the day prior to the one with which we are now concerned, the captain, in the course of his rounds, had encountered a sheep-faced, but gentlemanly-looking young fellow, in whom he thought he saw an easy prey.
what, then, was his rage and amazement when at the end of the evening the captain's eyes opened to the fact that it was a case of the biter being bitten, and that the sheep-faced provincial, instead of being the greenhorn he looked, was, in reality, a graduate in the same school as himself.
small wonder, then, was it that his thoughts this morning were bitter, when, after emptying his pockets, he realised that the absurdly inadequate sum of seven and elevenpence-halfpenny was all that was left him to exist on till the next quarterly payment of his income should fall due, which would not be till between a fortnight and three weeks hence.
he was still smoking moodily when he heard his landlady's shuffling footsteps on the stairs, and, a moment later, her head was protruded into the room. "if you please, captain, here's a lady asking for you," said mrs. rapp, a londoner born and bred.
"a lady asking for me? impossible!" exclaimed the captain as he started to his feet.
"not at all impossible, uncle augustus," said a full rich voice, and thereupon, following close upon the heels of mrs. rapp, there advanced into the room a tall and stately female figure, attired in black. pausing in the middle of the floor, she raised the veil which had hitherto partially shrouded her features.
the captain stared for a moment or two, and then from his lips broke the one word, "giovanna!"
"yes, it is i--your niece giovanna--come all the way from italy to see you."
mrs. rapp discreetly withdrew.
notwithstanding her years, which now numbered not far short of forty, giovanna was still a very handsome woman, with a large and generous style of beauty which would have made her a striking figure anywhere. although she called the captain uncle, there was no blood relationship between the two, her mother having been merely augustus verinder's stepsister by a previous marriage. they had never met but once before, when the captain had spent a month at the osteria of giuseppe rispani, giovanna being at that time a girl of sixteen. ever since her desertion of her husband in america she had passed as a widow--la signora alessandro. she had not been without offers of marriage meanwhile, but had not seen her way to accept any of them. as to whether her husband was alive or dead, she had no knowledge.
giuseppe rispani had recently died, and vanna, having realised the small fortune bequeathed her by him, had now come to england, which she had long wished to visit.
in the course of the confidential talk that ensued between vanna and her uncle she was induced by the latter to relate to him all about her marriage, the details of which were quite new to him.
she began by telling him of the arrival of the young englishman, mr. alexander, at catanzaro; of his long stay at the osteria of the golden fig; of the coming of two other englishmen, one of whom proved to be the father of mr. alexander, and of their departure next day. then she proceeded to recount how the young englishman proposed to her, how she accepted him, and how she did not learn till her marriage-day that her husband's full name was john alexander clare. she made no mention of her father's discovery by means of the peephole in the ceiling, but simply said, "i knew before my marriage that my husband's father, on the occasion of his visit, had given him six thousand pounds in english money." then she went on to tell of the departure of her husband and herself for america, of the death of their child; and of their subsequent separation, which she made out to have been a matter of mutual arrangement; and wound up by saying, "from that day to this i have heard no tidings of my husband."
"neither, i'll wager, have you ever made any effort to find out who the father was that could afford to give his son six thousand pounds in order to get rid of him," remarked the captain when she had come to the end of her narrative.
"no. what business was it of mine?" demanded vanna with a stare.
"ah, that's just the point which you have never thought it worth your while to test. yet, who can say that it might not have proved to be very much your business indeed?"
then to himself he added: "this seems to me a little matter which may be worth inquiring into. but, good gracious! to think that there should be such imbeciles in the world as this niece of mine!"
