The Evil Genius. A domestic story

Front matter

¥ILKIE COLLINS'S NOYELS. Crown Svo., cloth extra, Illustrated, y. 6_ each ; post 8i'0. , illustrated boards, zs. each ; cloth limp, zs. 6_ each. — .o^-o- — ANTONINA. Illustrated by Sir John Gilbert. BASIL. Illustrated by Sir John Gilbert and J. Mahoney. HIDE AND SEEK. Illustrated by Sir John Gilbert and J. Mahoney. THE DEAD SECRET. Illustrated by Sir John Gilbert. QUEEN OF HEARTS. Illustrated by Sir John Gilbert. MY MISCELLANIES. With a Steel-plate Portrait of Wilkie Collins. THE WOMAN IN WHITE. With Illustrations by Sir John Gilbert and F. A. Fraser. THE MOONSTONE. With Illustrations by G. Du Maurier and F. A. Fraser. MAN AND WIFE. Illustrated by W. Small. POOR MISS FINCH. Illustrated by G. Du Maurier and Edward Hughes. MISS OR MRS. ? With Illustrations by S. L. Fildes and Henry Woods. THE NEW MAGDALEN.

Illustrated by G. Du Maurier and C. S. Reinhardt. THE FROZEN DEEP. I ll_t_ted. by G. Du Maurier and J. Mahoney. THE LAW AND THE LADY. Illustrated by S. L. Fildes and Sydney Hall.I -i _ <5C J THE TWO DESTINIES. THE HAUNTED HOTEL. Illustrated by Arthur Hopkins. THE FALLEN LEAVES. JEZEBEL'S DAUGHTER. THE BLACK ROBE. HEART AND SCIENCE : A Story of tlie Present Time "I SAY NO." LONDON : CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY, W. domestic Stotu BY WILKIE COLLINS ;iN THREE VOLUMES VOL. I ft o n 5 o it CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY 1886 [Tlie Right of Translation is Reserved. And the Sole Right of adapting ' The Evil Genius 'for Performance on the Stage has teen legally secured by the A itthor.] Jlfftctionatela gltbicatefc 10 HOLMAN HUNT. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. BEFORE THE STORY. CHAPTER PAGE MISS AVESTERF IELD'S EDUCATION - - 1 THE STORY. FIRST

Book. I. Mrs

PRESTY PRESENTS HERSELF - 111 II. THE GOA'ERNESS ENTERS - - - 123 III. MRS. PRESTY CHANGES HER MIND - 133 IV. RANDAL RECEIVES HIS CORRESPONDENCE 151 V. RANDAL AVRITES TO NEAV YORK - - 156 VI. SYDNEY TEACHES- - - - 165 VII. SYDNEY SUFFERS- - - - 173 VIII. MRS. PRESTY MAKES A DISCOVERY - 185 IX. SOMEBODY ATTENDS TO THE DOOR - CONTENTS. VIII CHAPTER PACE X. KITTY MENTIONS HER BIRTHDAY - 217 XI. LINLEY ASSERTS HIS AUTHORITY - 233 XII. TWO OF THEM SLEEP BADLY - - 244 XIII. KITTY KEEPS HER BIRTHDAY - - 253 XIV. KITTY FEELS THE HEARTACHE - - BEFORE THE STORY. miss avesterfield's education. 1. — The Trial. The gentlemen of the jury retired to consider their verdict. Their foreman was a person doubly distinguished among his colleagues. He had the clearest head, and the readiest tongue. For once, the right man Avas in the right place.

Of the eleA'en jurymen, four shoAA'ed their characters on the surface. They were : 1 VOL. I. The hungry juryman, who Avanted his dinner. The inattentive juryman, who drew pictures on his blotting paper. The nervous juryman, Avho suffered from fidgets. The silent juryman, Avho decided the verdict. Of the seA'en remaining members, one Avas a little droAvsy man who gaA'e no trouble ; one was an irritable invalid Avho served under protest; and five represented that vast majority of the population - — ■ easily governed, tranquilly happy — wliich has no opinion of its own. The foreman took his place at the head of the table. His colleagues seated them selves on either side of him. Then there fell upon that assembly of men a silence, never known among an assembly of Avomen — the silence which proceeds from a general reluctance to be the person avIio speaks first.

It Avas the foreman's duty, under these circumstances, to treat his deliberatiA'e brethren as we treat our watches when they stop: he Avound the jury up and set them going. "Gentlemen," he began, "have you formed any decided opinion on the case — thus far ?" Some of them said " Yes," and some of them said " No." The little drowsy man said nothing. The fretful invalid cried, " Go on!" The nervous juryman suddenly rose. His brethren all looked at him, inspired by the same fear of having got an orator among them. He was an essentially polite man ; and he hastened to relieve their minds. " Pray don't be alarmed, gentlemen ; I am not going to make a 1—2 speech. I suffer from fidgets. Excuse me if I occasionally change my position." The hungry juryman (Avho dined early) looked at his watch. " Half-past four," he said.

" For HeaA-en's sake cut it short." He Avas the fattest j.erson present ; and he suggested a subject to the inattentive juryman who dreAv pictures on his blotting-paper. Deeply interested in the progress of the likeness, his neighbours on either side looked over his shoulders. The little drowsy man Avoke Avith a start, and begged pardon of everybody. The fretful invalid said to himself, " Damned fools, all of them!" The patient foreman, biding his time, stated the case. " The prisoner Avaiting our verdict, gentlemen, is the Honourable Roderick AVesterfield, younger brother of the present Lord Le Basque. He is charged with wilfully casting away the British Barque John Jerniman, under his command ; for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining a share of the insurance money, and further of possessing himself of certain Brazilian diamonds, which formed part of the cargo.

In plain Avords, here is a gentleman born in the higher ranks of life accused of being a thief. Before we attempt to arrive at a decision, Ave shall only be doing him justice if we try to form some general estimate of his character, based on the evidence — and we may fairlj' begin by inquiring into his relations AA-ith the noble family to which he belongs. The evidence, so far, is not altogether creditable to him. Being at the time an officer in the Royal Navy, he appears to have outraged the feelings of his family by marrying a barmaid at a public house." The drowsy juryman, happening to be awake at the moment, surprised the foreman by interposing a statement. " Talking of barmaids," he said, " I know a curate's daughter. She's in distressed circumstances, poor thing ; and she's a barmaid somewhere in the North of England.

Curiously enough, the name of the town has escaped my memory. If Ave had a map of England " There he was inter rupted, cruelly interrupted, by one of his brethren. " And by what right," cried the greedy juryman, speaking under the exasperating influence of hunger — " by what right does Mr. Westerfield's family dare to suppose that a barmaid may not be a perfectly virtuous AA'oman ?" Hearing this, the restless gentleman (in the act of changing his position) AA-as suddenly inspired AA'ith interest in the proceedings. "Pardon me for putting myself forward," he said, with his customary politeness. " Speaking as an abstainer from fermented liquors, I must really protest against these allusions to barmaids." " Speaking as a consumer of fermented liquors," the iiiA'alid remarked, " I Avish I had a barmaid and a bottle of champagne before me now."

Superior to interruption, the admirable foreman went on. "Whatever you may think, gentlemen, of the prisoner's marriage, AA'e have it in evidence that his relatives turned their backs on him from that moment — Avith the one merciful exception of the head of the family. Lord Le Basque exerted his influence with the Admiralty, and obtained for his brother (then out of employment) an appointment to a ship. All the witnesses agree that Mr. Westerfield thoroughl}- understood his pro fession. If he could have controlled himself, he might have risen to high rank in the NaA'y. His temper was his ruin. He quarrelled Avith one of his superior officers " " Under strong provocation," said a member of the jury. " Under strong proA'oeation," the fore man admitted. " But provocation is not an excuse, judged by the rules of discipline.

The prisoner challenged the officer on duty to fight a duel, at the first opportunity on shore ; and, receiving a contemptuous re fusal, struck him on the quarter-deck. As a matter of course, Mr. Westerfield wyas tried by court-martial, and was dismissed the serA'ice. Lord Le Basque's patience was not exhausted yet. The Merchant SerA'ice offered a last chance to the prisoner of retrieving his position, to some extent at least. He was fit for the sea, and fit for nothing else. At my lord's earnest request the owners of the John Jerniman, trading betAveen LiA'erpool and Rio, took Mr. Westerfield on trial as first mate ; and, to his credit be it said, he justified his brother's faith in him. In a tempest off the coast of Africa, the captain was washed overboard ; and the first mate succeeded to the command.

His seamanship and courage saved the A'essel, under circumstances of danger which paralysed the efforts of the other officers. Lie Avas confirmed, rightly confirmed, in the command ofthe ship. And, so far, we shall certainly not be Avrong if A\'e view his character on the faA'ourable side." There the foreman paused, to collect his ideas. Certain members of the assembly — led by the juryman who Avanted his dinner, and supported by his inattentive colleague, then engaged in drawing a ship in a storm, and a captain falling overboard — proposed the acquittal of the prisoner Avithout further consideration. But the fretful invalid cried " Stuff!" and the fiA'e jurymen Avho had no opinions of their OAvn, struck by the ad mirable brevity .vith Avhich he expressed his sentiments, sang out in chorus, "Hear! hear! hear!"

The silent juryman, hitherto overlooked, noAv attracted attention. He Avas a bald-headed person of uncertain age, buttoned up tight in a long frock-coat, and Avearing his gloves all through the proceed ings. When the chorus of five cheered, he smiled mysteriously. Everybody Avondered Avhat that smile meant. The silent jury man kept his opinion to himself. From that moment, he began to exercise a furtive influence over the jury. Even the foreman looked at him, on resuming the narrative. " After a certain term of service, gentle men, during which Ave learn nothing to his disadvantage, the prisoner's merits appear to have received their reward. He Avas presented with a share in the ship which he commanded, in addition to his regular salary as master. With these improved prospects he sailed from Liverpool on his last A'oyage to Brazil ; and no one, his Avife included, had the faintest suspicion that he left England under circumstances of serious pecuniary embarrassment.

The testimony of his creditors, and of other persons Avith Avhom he associated, distinctly proves that his leisure hours on shore had been employed in card-playing and in betting on horse races. After an unusually long run of luck, his good fortune seems to have deserted him. He suffered considerable losses, and was at last driven to borroAving at a high rate of interest, Avithout any reasonable prospect of being able to repay the money-lenders into whose hands he had fallen. When he left Rio on the homeward voyage, there is no sort of doubt that he was returning to England, to face creditors AA'hom he Avas unable to pay. There, gentlemen, is a noticeable side to his character Avhich Ave may call the gambling side, and Avhich (as I think) was too leniently viewed by the judge." He evidently intended to add a Avord or two more.

But the disagreeable invalid in sisted on being heard. " In plain English," he said. " you are for finding the prisoner guilty." " In plain English," the foreman rejoined, " I refuse to ansAA'er that question." "AVhy?" " Because it is no part ofmy duty to at tempt to influence the A-erdict." " You have been tr}'ing to influence the verdict, sir, ever since you entered this room. I appeal to all the gentlemen present." The patience of the long-suffering foreman failed him at last. " Not another word shall pass my lips," he said, " until you find the prisoner guilty or not guilty among your selves — and then I'll tell you if I agree to your verdict." He folded his arms, and looked like the image of a man Avho intended to keep his word. The hungry juryman laid himself back in his chair, and groaned.

The amateur artist, who had thus far found a fund of amusement in his blotting-paper, yawned discontentedly and dropped his pen. The courteous gen tleman Avho suffered from fidgets requested leave to Avalk up and down the room ; and at the first turn he took woke the droAvsy little man, and maddened the irritable invalid by the creaking of his boots. The chorus of five, farther than ever from arriving at an opinion of their OA\rn, looked at the silent juryman. Once more he smiled mysteriously; and once more he offered no explanation of what Avas passing in his mind — except that he turned his bald head slowly in the direction of the foreman. Was he in sympathy with a man who had promised to be as silent as himself ? In the meantime, nothing was said or done. Helpless silence prevailed in every part of the room.

" Why the devil doesn't somebody begin ?" cried the invalid. " Have you all forgotten the eA'idence?" This startling question roused the jury to a sense of what Avas due to their oaths, if not to themselves. Some of them recollected the eA'idence in one way, and some of them recollected it in another; and each man in sisted on doing justice to his oaa'ii excellent memory, and on stating his own unansAver able view of the case. The first man Avho spoke began at the middle of the story told by the witnesses in court. " I am for acquitting the captain, gentlemen ; he ordered out the boats, and saA-ed the lh'es of the crew." — " And I am for finding him guilty, because the ship struck on a rock in broad daylight, and in moderate weather." — "I agree with you, sir. The evidence shows that the vessel was steered dangerously near to the land, by direction ofthe captain, who gave the course." — " Come, come, gentlemen ! let us do the captain justice.

The defence declares that he gaA'e the customary course, and that it was not followed when he left the deck. As for his leaving the ship in moderate Aveather, the evidence proves that he believed he saw signs of a storm breAving." — " Yes, yes, all A'ery Avell; but what Avere the facts? When the loss of the ship was reported, the Brazilian authorities sent men to the wreck, on the chance of saving the cargo ; and, days afterwards, there the ship was found, just as the captain and the crew had left her." — - " Don't forget, sir, that the diamonds were missing, when the salvors examined the Avreck." — "All right, but that's no proof that the captain stole the diamonds; and, before they had saA'ed half the cargo, a storm did come on and break the vessel up : so the poor man was only aa -rong in the matter of time, after all." — " AHoav me to remind you, gentlemen, that the prisoner was deeply in debt, and therefore had an interest in stealing the diamonds." — " Wait a little, sir. Fair play's a jewel.

Who was in charge of the deck Avhen the ship struck ? The second mate. And Avhat did the second mate do, when he heard that his owners had decided to prosecute? He committed suicide! Is there no proof of guilt in that act?" — " You are going a little too fast, sir. The coroner's jury declared that the second mate killed himself in a state of temporary insanity." — "Gently! gently! Ave have nothing to do with what the coroner's jury said. What did the judge say when he summed up?" — " Bother the judge ! He said what they all say: 'Find the prisoner guilty, if you think he did it; and find him not guilty, if you think he didn't.' And then he went away to his comfortable cup of tea in his private room. And here are AYe perishing of hunger, and our families dining Avithout us." — " Speak for yourself, sir; I haven't got a family." — " Consider yourself lucky, sir; /have got tAvelve, and my life is a burden to me, owing to the difficulty of making both ends meet." — " Gentlemen ! gentlemen ! we are wandering again.

Is the captain guilty or not? Mr. Foreman, AA'e none of us intended to offend you. Will you tell us what you think?" No; the foreman kept his word. " Decide for yourselves first," Avas hi3 only reply. In this emergency, the member afflicted vol. 1. with fidgets suddenly assumed a position of importance. He started a neAv idea. " Suppose we try a show of hands," he suggested. " Gentlemen who find the prisoner guilty will please hold up their hands." Three votes Avere at once registered in this way, including the vote ofthe foreman. After a moment of doubt, the chorus of five decided on following the opinion wliich happened to be the first opinion expressed in point of time. Thereupon, the shoAV of hands for the condemnation of the prisoner rose to eight. Would this result have an effect on the undecided minority of four ?

In any case, they Avere invited to declare them selves next. Only three hands Avere held up. One incomprehensible man abstained from expressing his sentiments eA'en by a sign. Is it necessary to say who that man Avas? A mysterious change had now presented itself in his appearance, which made him an object of greater interest than ever. His inexplicable smile had vanished. He sat immovable, with closed eyes. Was he meditating profoundly ? or was he only asleep ? The quick-witted foreman had long since suspected him of being simply the stupidest person present — with just cunning enough to conceal his own dulness by holding his tongue. The jury arrived at no such sensible conclusion. Impressed by the intense solemnity of his countenance, they believed him to be absorbed in reflections of the utmost importance to the verdict.

After a heated conference among themseh'es, they decided on inviting the one independent member present — the member who had taken no part in their proceedings — to declare his opinion in the plainest possible form. " Which way does your view of the verdict incline, sir ? Guilty or not guilty ?" 9 The eyes of the silent juryman opened Avith the slow and solemn dilation of the eyes of an oavI. Placed between the alternatives of declaring himself in one AA-ord or in two, his taciturn AA-isdom chose the shortest form of speech. " Guilty," he answered — and shut his eyes again, as if he had had enough of it already. An unutterable sense of relief pervaded the meeting. Enmities Avere forgotten, and friendly looks were exchanged. With one accord, the jury rose to return to court. The prisoner's fate was sealed.

The A'erdict was " Guilty." 2.' — The Sentence. The low hum of talk among the persons in court ceased when the jury returned to their places. Curiosity now found its centre of attraction in the prisoner's wife — who had been present throughout the trial. The question of the moment was : How Avill she bear the interval of delay which precedes the giving of the verdict ? In the popular phrase, Mrs. AVesterfield was a showy woman. Her commanding figure was finely robed in dark colours ; her profuse light hair hung over her forehead in little clusters of ringlets ; her features, firmly but not delicately shaped, were on a large scale. No outward betrayal of the Avife's emotion rewarded the public curiosity : her bold light-grey eyes sustained the general gaze without flinching. To the surprise of the Avomen present, she had brought her two young children with her to the trial.

The eldest Avas a pretty little girl of ten years old ; the second child (a boy) sat on his mother's knee. It was generally ob served that Mrs. Westerfield took no notice of her eldest child. When she whispered a word from time to time, it was always addressed to her son. She fondled him when he grew restless ; but she neA'er looked round to see if the girl at her side Avas as weary of the proceedings as the boy. The judge took his seat, and the order was given to bring the prisoner up for judgment. There Avas a long pause. The audience — remembering his ghastly face when he first appeared before them — AA'hispered to each other, " He's taken ill ;" and the audience proA'ed to be right. The surgeon of the prison entered the witness-box, and, being duly sworn, made his medical statement. The prisoner's heart had been diseased for some time past, and the malady had been neglected.

He had fainted under the prolonged suspense of waiting for the A-erdict. The swoon had proA'ed to be of such a serious nature that the witness refused to answer for consequences if a second fainting-fit was produced by the excitement of facing the court and the jury. Under these circumstances, the verdict was formally recorded, and sentence Avas deferred. Once more, the spectators looked at the prisoner's wife. She had risen to leaA'e the court. In the event of an adverse A'erdict, her husband had asked for a farewell intervieAv ; and the gOA'ernor of the prison, after consultation with the surgeon, had granted the request. It was obserA'ed, when she retired, that she held her boy by the hand, and left the girl to follow. A compassionate lady near her offered to take care of the children while she was absent.

Mrs. AVesterfield ansAvered quietly and coldly : " Thank you — their father Avishes to see them." The prisoner Avas dying ; nobody could look at him and doubt it. His eyes opened Avearily, when his wife and children approached the bed on which he lay helpless — the wreck of a grandly made man. He struggled for breath, but he could still speak a word or two at a time. " I don't ask you what the verdict is," he said to his wife ; " I see it in your face." Tearless and silent, she waited by her husband's side. He had only noticed her for a moment. All his interest seemed to be centred in his children. The girl stood nearest to him : he looked at her with a faint smile. The poor child understood him. Crying piteously, she put her arms round his neck and kissed him. " Dear papa," she said ; " come home and let me nurse you."

The surgeon, Avatching the father's face, saw a change in him which the other persons present had not obserA-ed. The sailing heart felt that parting moment, and sank under it. " Take the child aAvay," the surgeon whispered to the mother. Brandy was near him ; he administered it Avhile he spoke, and touched the fluttering pulse. It felt, just felt, the stimulant. He revived for a moment, and looked wistfully for his son. " The boy," he murmured ; " I Avant my boy." As his wife brought the child to him, the surgeon whispered to her again. " If you haA'e anything to say to him, be quick about it !" She shuddered ; she took his cold hand. Her touch seemed to nerA'e him with new strength ; he asked her to stoop over him. " They won't let me write here," he Avhispered, " unless they see my letter."

He paused to get his breath again. " Lift up my left arm," he gasped. " Open the Avristband." She detached the stud which closed the wristband of the shirt. On the inner side of the linen there was a line Avritten in red letters — red of the colour of blood. She saw these words: "Look in the lining of my trunk." "AYhat for?" she asked. The fading light in his eyes flashed on her a dreadful look of doubt. His lips fell apart in the vain effort to answer. His last sigh fluttered the light ringlets of her hair as she bent over him. The surgeon pointed to her children. " Take the poor things home," he said ; " they have seen the last of their father." Mrs. AVesterfield obeyed in silence. She had her own reasons for being in a hurry to get home. Leaving the children under the servant's care, she locked herself up in the dead man's room, and emptied his trunk of the few clothes that had been left in it.

The lining AA'hich she was iioav to ex amine Avas of the customary material, and of the usual striped pattern in blue and white. Her fingers were not sufficiently sensitive to feel anything under the surface, when she tried it Avith her hand. Turning the empty trunk with the inner side of the lid towards the light, she discovered, on one of the blue stripes of the lining, a thin little shining stain which looked like a stain of dried gum. After a moment's consideration, she cut the gummed line with a penknife. Something of a white colour appeared through the aperture. She drew out a folded sheet of paper. It proved to be a letter in her husband's handwriting. An enclosure dropped to the floor when she opened it, in the shape of a small slip of paper. She picked it up. The morsel of paper presented letters, figures, and crosses arranged in lines, and mingled together in what looked like hope less confusion. 3. — The Letter.

Airs. AVesterfield laid the incomprehensible slip of paper aside, and, in search of an explanation, returned to the letter. Here again she found herself in a state of per plexity. Directed to " Airs. Roderick AVesterfield," the letter began abruptly, without the customary form of address. Did it mean that her husband Avas angry Avith her Avhen he Avrote? It meant that he doubted her. In these terms he expressed himself " I AA'rite to you before my trial takes place. If the verdict goes in my favour, I shall destroy what I have Avritten. If I am found guilty, I must leave it to you to do Avhat I should otherwise have done for myself. ' The undeserved misfortune that has overtaken me began with the arrival of my ship in the port of Rio. Our second mate (his duty for the day being done) asked leave to go on shore — and neA'er returned.

What motive determined him on deserting, I am not able to say. It was my OAvn wish to supply his place by promoting the best seaman on board. My owners' agents OA'er ruled me, and appointed a man of their own choosing. " What nation he belonged to I don't know. The name he gave Avas Beljames, and he was reported to be a broken-doAvn gentleman. Whoever he might be, his manner and his talk Avere capti Abating. Everybody liked him. "After the two calamities of the loss of the ship and the disappearance of the diamonds — these last being A'alued at five thousand pounds — I returned to England by the first opportunity that offered, haA'ing Beljames for a companion. " Shortly after getting back 'to my house in London, I Avas privately warned by a good friend that my OAA'iiers had decided to prosecute me for Avilfully casting aAvay the ship, and (crueller still) for having stolen the missing diamonds.

The second mate, who had been in command of the vessel when she struck on the rock, AA'as similarly charged along with me. Knowing myself to be innocent, I determined, of course, to stand my trial. My wonder was, Avhat Beljames would do. Would he folio av my example? or, if he got the chance, would he try to make his escape? " I might haA'e thought it only friendly to give this person a word of warning, if I had known where to find him. We had separated when the ship reached the port of Falmouth, in Cornwall, and had not met since. I gave him my address in London ; but he gave me no address in return. " On the voyage home, Beljames told me that a legacy had been left to him ; being a small freehold house and garden in St. John's AArood, London. His agent, writing to him on the subject, had reported the place to be sadly out of repair, and had advised him to find somebody who would take it off his hands on reasonable terms.

This seemed to point to a likelihood of his being still in London, trying to sell his house. " While my mind was running on these recollections, I was told that a decent elderly woman wanted to see me. She proved to be the landlady of the house in which Beljames lodged ; and she brought an alarming message. The man was dying, and desired to see me. I Avent to him immediately. " Few Avords are best, when one has to write about one's own troubles. "Beljames had heard of the intended prosecution. How he had been made aware of it, death left him no time to tell me. The miserable wretch had poisoned himself — whether in terror of standing his trial, or in remorse of conscience, it is not any business of mine to decide. Most unluckily for me, he first ordered the doctor and the landlady out of the room ; and then, when we two were alone, OAvned that he had purposely altered the course of the ship, and had stolen the diamonds.