just for a moment it looked as if ralph's pretty scheme was destined to fall to the ground. naturally, mary had the haziest idea of what was taking place. she could only see that the man whom she knew as sir vincent dashwood was looking most terribly uneasy and casting imploring glances at mrs. speed.
it seemed strange that anybody should in any way be craving the good favours of the faded-looking woman, but such was the case. if she had had lie so-called baronet's life in her hands he could not have regarded her with more entreaty. and, as to her part, mrs. speed looked from one man to the other in a dazed kind of way, as if she had not the slightest idea what was taking place. her face turned from red to white and then to red again; she seemed to have some difficulty with her breathing.
"i--i don't understand," she gasped. "you are asking for me. it must be wrong to say that this gentleman is sir vincent dashwood."
ralph had recovered his equanimity by this time. his obvious course now was to prevent mary from guessing at the true nature of the situation. she must not know yet. and she had been so sweet and frank and candid with ralph that not for the world would he have her know the trick that had been played on her, yet. that confession would have to come at the proper hour, with the proper setting, say the rose garden at the dower house on a moonlight night.
"nevertheless, i am quite correct," he said. "i assure you that the gentleman who has just come in is no other than sir vincent dashwood, of dashwood hall. as a matter of fact, i was in the fortunate position of placing a valuable proof of his identity in his way. but the matter has developed itself so recently that it is possible few people know of the change."
"sir vincent dashwood!" mrs. speed repeated, as if the words had some fascination for her. "and so he is sir vincent dashwood. and who, sir, may you be?"
the question came about in the form of a challenge. mrs. speed moved a step forward as if to stand between ralph and the other man. there was just the suggestion of protection in the movement. ralph smiled in reply.
"it does not much matter who i am," he said. "as a matter of fact, my name is ralph darnley, and i came to you with a message from the late ralph dashwood, who, at one time, was married to your sister."
"you knew him very well?" the woman asked in the same dazed way.
"i knew him very well indeed," ralph replied, "but that we will go into presently. in the meantime, this young lady desires a word with you. perhaps you will be so good as to settle with her first, my business will keep till afterwards."
and ralph moved off in the direction of the passage. dashwood could do no more than follow him in the circumstances. he looked restless and anxious and whistled rather ostentatiously to cover his agitation.
"upon my word you have made it very awkward for me," he said. "i never dreamed of seeing you here. mrs. speed is an old friend of yours, i presume."
"i have never seen her before today," ralph said, aroused by the eagerness of the question, "i came to bring her a message as you heard. she appeared to be surprised to see me, but not more than she was surprised to hear of your new dignity."
"she didn't know it, you see," dashwood explained. "i--i haven't told her yet. she was very good to me in my poorer days, and i am grateful for it. still, she knows the truth now, and there is an end of it. odd that i should find you mixed up like this with quite a different phase of my life. don't you think so?"
"not at all; it is not in the least odd if you knew everything. still, it does not matter. you can afford to disclose your identity now."
"but i can't," dashwood replied, "those lawyer people are making a great fuss. anybody would think that they had the title and estate to dispose of. all the family recognise my position, nobody makes the least objection, and yet those solicitors ask for all kinds of additional proofs. i don't half like it."
ralph made no reply. he knew all about the objection raised by the family lawyers and was in a position to enlighten dashwood's mind to a painful degree.
but all this would come in time; meanwhile, the puppet must play his part in the comedy. any further conversation was cut short by the entrance of mary. in a tentative kind of way dashwood wanted to know what she was doing here.
"no getting away from the old faces and the old places," he said. "i come to see mrs. speed, so does mr. darnley, and you turn up at the same time. what are you after?"
"it does not in the least matter," mary said coldly. "i happened to be staying under mrs. speed's roof at the time she had the misfortune to change houses; in her hurry she took away with her certain things belonging to me. i came to fetch them. it is very simple. are you quite ready to go, mr. darnley?"
"i think i will come," ralph said impulsively. "what i have to say to mrs. speed will keep till another day. she seems to be very unsettled here as yet. perhaps you will take that message to mrs. speed for me, sir vincent?"
dashwood's anxious features cleared wonderfully. his air had hitherto been one of guarded suspicion. he had a vague idea that ralph was concealing something. it would be no fault of his if mrs. speed and darnley met again.
"certainly, certainly," he said. "is that your cab at the door, mary? let me lend you a hand with those boxes. we shall have the pleasure of seeing you down at dashwood before long, i hope. independence of spirit is all very well, but you will find your new life a little trying after a bit. and there is always a home for you at the hall. drop me a line to say when you are coming. goodbye."
the speaker fairly bundled mary into the cab. ralph followed with a grim smile on his face. he was just as anxious to get away himself; it would be a pity if his scheme broke down just as everything was going on splendidly.
"what does it all mean?" mary demanded as the cab drove away. "what connection is there between that man and mrs. speed? and why did she look at you as if you had been some accusing ghost? and why was our friend so afraid that mrs. speed should know his new title?"
"what a list of questions!" ralph laughed. "would you mind if i deferred the reply for a few days? do you suspect that anything is wrong?"
"of course i do," mary exclaimed. "that woman has some guilty knowledge on her mind. so has sir vincent dashwood. and you looked angry and confused as he came in. i know that mrs. speed came originally from our part, that she is the sister of ralph dashwood's first wife. she knows all about the family quarrel and the tragedy that followed. and she is in possession of certain papers that vincent dashwood needs."
"how do you know that?" ralph asked.
"i overheard the conversation at keppel terrace. vincent dashwood came here to get those papers; i heard him say so. and he is at yonder house today for the same purpose. if that man turns out to be an impostor, why, my father----"
"i implore you not to build up on that," ralph said warmly, "pray don't. your father will never be sir george dashwood. if you come back to the hall again in the same capacity as before, your experience----"
mary laughed good-naturedly. her face cleared; she discerned exactly what was passing in the mind of her companion.
"very well," she said, "i will dismiss that contingency from my mind. notwithstanding, i should dearly like to come back into my kingdom again. but you need not be afraid that i should revert to the old order of things. the change in me is permanent; the old pride and coolness have gone; i have learned to love and feel for my kind. do you know what i would do if the property were mine? i would turn the dower house into a retreat for broken-down artists and authors and the like, where they could regain their strength and rest at no expense to themselves. oh, i would do so many things to render the lives of deserving people happy."
mary's cheeks glowed and her blue eyes sparkled with a tenderness that ralph had never seen in them before. there was soul in the girl's face now, the soft expression without which woman's beauty counts for nothing. and from the bottom of his heart ralph was glad. it was hard work to keep from mary the fact that the kingdom she so longed for was in her grasp.
"it does me good to hear you speak like that," he said. "no, i must not come in, for i have a great deal to do. give my kind regards to connie, and say that i shall call the next time i am in town. i am very anxious to see miss cameron also. but you say she is coming down to the dower house on saturday. goodbye."
mary's hand lay in ralph's for a moment and their eyes met. and then the girl knew that ralph still loved her, and the knowledge thrilled her with a sudden happiness. she did not dare to stop and analyse her feelings, but deep down in her heart she knew that when the time came ralph would have his own way.
