The March of Fate. A novel

Front matter

H iRovel, uv B. L. FARJEON, AUTHOR OP "GREAT PORTER SQUARE," "TOILERS OF BABYLON, :' " A YOUNG GIRL'S LIFE," "THE MYSTERY OF M. FELIX," &c. JiV THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : F. V. WHITE & CO., 31, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND, W.C. 1893. PRINTED BT KELLY AND CO. LIMITED, GATE STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, W.C., AND KINGSTON-ON-THAMES. CONTENTS. TLbc jfirst SUnfe— Supplfeo bp fll>r. slMUtngton of Sbepbero's 3Busb. CHAP. PAGE I. — An Invitation to Chudleigh . . 1 II. — Miss Haldane's Birthday ... 9 III. — A Dinner and an Interruption . . 22 IV. — The Story of Honoria ... 31 V. — Rachel Diprose .... 46 VI. — The Lake of Lilies .... 59 VII. — Off to London ..... 74 VIII. — Simpson is Inquisitive ... 90 IX. — Mr. Haldane Explains Himself . 104 X. — Honoria Disappears . . . 119 XI. — Simpson Perseveres .... 131 TJbe Secono Xtnfe— Supplied bp flhv. 3Barlow\ private Jnqutq?, Surrey Street.

W.C. CHAP. PAGE XII.— Mr. Barlow 145 XIII— An Old Story 160 XIV. — Betrayed 174 XV. — Mr. Barlow at Work .... 186 XVI. — Adeline Ducroz's Diary . . . 191 XVII— The Diary Continued . . . .207 ?Jbe first Xinfc-Suppliecbg iTftr. flDtlltngton of Sbepbero's Busb.

Chapter I. An Invitation To Chudleigh

It is now four years since I received a note from Mr. Haldane, of Manor Hall, Chudleigh Park, requesting me to call upon him on a little matter of business. Under ordinary circumstances my reply would have been that I had given up business, and that I regretted I could not tear myself away from my garden and birds, and my pipe and news paper, of all of which I am particularly fond, but I had special reasons for reading his note twice over before deciding what to do about it. And having read the letter a vol. I. THE MAECH OF FATE. 2 second time I put it in my pocket, and stepped into my garden in a brown study. When a man is in a brown study, a pipe assists him, so I lit mine ; and motion assists him, so I paced the nicely gravelled paths, up one side and down the other, revolving the subject in my mind without arriving at a definite conclusion.

It was my lark which brought me to a full stop. As a rule the notes of an imprisoned lark are apt to become a trifle shrill, but this is not the case with my bird, whose trilling is remarkably soft and dulcet. I suppose it is mere sentiment for me to say that I could never bring myself to eat larks in a pie, or roasted before the fire, which I regard as barbarism. Big birds I like, but these tiny creatures, which in my mind are associated with blue clouds and flowers and summer days, should be allowed to go free to gladden the world with their harmony. You will see by this remark that I preach what I do not practise ; otherwise I should open the cage of my lark, whose outdoor life is passed just AN INVITATION TO CHUDLEIGH. 3 below my bedroom window, and who wakes me in the morning to remind me that the most beautiful part of the day is waiting for me.

It is a summons not to be neglected, so up I get and work in the garden till George, or the little maid in our service, comes and tells me that breakfast is ready. Well, as I was saying, when I went into the garden the lark was piping away most industriously, and it continued to pipe as I trod the new gravel down. Suddenly it stopped, and the silence that ensued was so surprising that I stopped too, and my brown study came to an end ; and at that very moment George walked out of the house and joined me. " Hallo, George," said I. " Hallo, father," said he. Let me set things clear about myself and him — as to what kind of persons we are, I mean. As a young man I started upon the active duties of life in the service of Her Gracious Majesty ; enamoured of red coats and drums 1* THE MAECH OF FATE.

I enlisted for a soldier, and being wounded in one of our little wars in Africa was sent home invalided, unfit for further service. Then I became associated with an old friend, who kept a private enquiry office. It luckily happened about that time that a small legacy fell to me, and my friend proposed that I should invest it in his business and become a partner. I agreed, and we were so successful that I retired at the end of sixteen years with an income sufficient for my wants. The business is still carried on by my partner in his own name, Barlow, with a Co. tacked to it. My name, Millington, was never used in the concern. When I sailed from Enoland for Africa I left a wife and child behind me, and when I returned my wife was dead, which was a severe blow, for she was a good creature, and we loved each other.

But George was spared, and a great blessing the young fellow has been to me. He is a working carpenter, sober, steady, and loyal. A year or so before I received Mr. Haldane's note my lad was sent down to AN INVITATION TO CHUDLEIGH. 5 Manor Hall, Chudleigh Park, to assist in some alterations there. He was away three months, and he came back mad in love with a maid in the service of Mr. Haldane's only daughter, Miss Agnes Haldane. What had passed between George and pretty Rachel Diprose I did not exactly know, but I had an uncomfortable suspicion that the girl was playing fast and loose with him, as girls often do with straightforward men like my lad. They corresponded, letters passing between them about once a week, and one reason, I think, why I was suspicious of Rachel Diprose was that she wrote too good a hand for a lady's maid.

It is an odd confession, but I should have been better pleased if she had written more like a servant who had received an imperfect education. I had, as was to be expected, a great desire to see the girl who, if my boy's hopes were to be realised, was to become my daughter-in law, but she had no friends in London, and had, in fact, never been in the city. Conse quently there was no house in which she THE MARCH OF FATE. could step except at an inn or a lodging house, which would not be proper for a single young girl. It would not do to ask her to stop in mine, there being no elderly female to look after her, and George sleeping in it — though, for the matter of that, he could have got a room elsewhere ; but I decided that it would not do. Nor would it look well for me to go expressly to Chudleigh Park to take observations of Rachel Diprose.

She might think I was come to spy upon her, for the purpose of seeing if she was good enough for my lad, and this was a proceeding which any girl of spirit would resent. That is how the matter stood when Georo-e joined me in the garden. " I've got something to tell you, old man," I said. " Fire away, father," he said. " I have received a letter from Chudleigh Park," I said. " Not from Rachel ! " he cried. " No, not from her. What should she have to write to me about ? It's from Mr. AN INVITATION TO CHUDLEIGH. 7 Haldane. He wants to see me, and I've half a mind to go. It would give me an opportunity of seeing Rachel." " I should like you to see her," said George. " Of course you would. I had some acquaintance with Mr. Haldane when I was partner in Barlow & Co. But it's not so much for his sake as for yours that I am inclined to go to Chudleigh Park."

" It is very good of you, father. Yes, go." " George," said I, " when do you think of getting married ? " " I can't get Rachel to name the day," replied George. " She declares she will never marry till her }Toung mistress is happily settled." '■ Isn't that rather hard on you ? " " I should have preferred it the other way, but I love her all the more for her faithful ness to Miss Haldane. It isn't a bad quality, is it, dad ? " "It is a very fine quality. Perhaps you can tell me whether there is any likeli- THE MAKCH OF FATE. 8 hood of Miss Haldane being soon happily settled ? " "I don't quite know," said George, rue fully. " Things seem a bit muddled. I've got an idea that Mr. Haldane wants his daughter to marry a gentleman she doesn't care for." " That's bad. Has she set her heart on someone else ?

" George pursed his lip, and I did not press the point. " I shall start for Chudleigh Park to-morrow." " All right, father. Give Rachel my love, and say I'm longing to see her. 0, I may as well tell you that there's to be fine doings in the park to-morrow. It's Miss Haldane's birthday, and there'll be games and prizes, and cake and tea for the people in the village. You will be there in time for all the fun of the fair."

Chapter II. Miss Haldane's Birthday

It would be difficult to find in all Bucking hamshire a more picturesque estate than Chudleigh Park. I haven't the gift of describing scenery well, men and women being more in my way, but you may be able to draw the picture for yourself out of the following bald material. An enclosed park of a hundred acres or so, at the principal gate of which is the keeper's lodge, an ivy covered cottage twinkling with diamonded windows. There are footpaths in all directions, and a broad carriage-road leads to the doors of the old Manor House, which is built in the Tudor style. The spaces of grass and velvet moss are wonderfully well kept, not the least sign of litter or disorder meeting the eye whichever way it turns. Upland and lowland are dotted with fine old oaks, and on the east side of the park, where it joins Chudleigh Woods, is a broad lake covered with lilies.

Midway across this lake a rustic bridge saves you the trouble of walking to either end, and the moment you are on the other side you plunge into the tangles of a lovely English forest. It is of vast extent, stretching for miles ; there are acres of foreign ferns, and acres of wild flowers, and it would be hard to say at which period of the year the woods are most beautiful. I think 1 have said enough to show that Chudleigh Park is a place in which Nature seems to invite a man to happiness. But black care finds its way into palaces as well as into hovels, and I am not at all sure with respect to this visitor, whether the poor man's abode hasn't the best of it. I had written to Mr. Haldane to say that I was coming down to Chudleigh Park, but as I did not mention the time or day of my arrival I felt myself free for a few hours when I reached the village.

This enabled me to view the festivities in which the inhabitants were indulging. It was a declared holiday all over the place, and I found myself in the midst of the familiar features of a country fair. Rather a second hand exhibition, but there was no lack of fun. Some caravans had come, and were doing good business. The outside shows, of course, were the main attraction. There were the fat woman and the man skeleton, and the coil of deadly cobras ; there were clowns, and dwarfs, and giants, and acrobats ; and there was a tamer of wild beasts, with his foot on a tiger, holding two lions by the throat, and glaring at a dozen others, who, but for his eagle eye, would have torn him to pieces. In the park the entertainments were of a better qualit}-. A cricket match was being played, serious and comic races were to be run, the school children were to sing and recite, and there were prizes for everybody it seemed, in money and books and articles for home use and decoration.

Very old and very young people were especially catered for. The velvet spaces of the beautiful park were gay with flags and carriages and music. Some creditable waxworks were being ex hibited ; there were two capital Punch and Judy shows ; here a conjuror, surrounded by a delighted crowd, was displaying his skill, and at a little distance was a tent in which a fortune-teller revealed the past and foretold the future. I had not long been in Chudleigh Park before I learned that Mr. Haldane was not merely a rich gentleman living in private splendour upon his income ; he was more king than master of the vast estate, and he was spoken of as a proud and haughty gentleman, as one who was feared rather than loved. What, then, was the secret of this open-hearted holidaj'-making, in which a sympathetic desire to make those beneath him happy was so conspicuous ?

I soon discovered that the credit belonged to his daughter Agnes. Wherever I went I heard nothing but praise of Miss Haldane's sweetness and goodness, and it was something in favour of Rachel Diprose that she should be so firmly attached to a mistress for whom every one had a good word. " Bless her sweet face ! " said an old woman. " She's an angel from heaven ! " And she recounted a story of kind deeds which made my heart warm as I listened. Her story was followed by others from those who had received kindnesses at Miss Haldane's hands. Generally in such scenes there is to be detected an element of dissent or discontent from some carper, a discordant note which mars the harmony, but it was not so here : the affection expressed for the young lady at the Manor House was perfect and sincere.

This set me thinking. Hitherto I had felt no curiosity concerning the unrevealed matter of business upon which I had been summoned to Chudleigh Park, and I had assented to Mr. Haldane's request to see me for the sole reason that I desired to make the acquaintance of Rachel Diprose and judge for myself whether she was a girl likely to make my son happy. But now my attention wandered from her to the master of the estate. I had become interested in his daughter, and should be glad of an opportunity to serve her. Why this thought should obtrude itself in connection with my mission, the particulars of which I had yet to learn, I may be permitted to explain. Mr. Haldane had requested me to call upon him on a little matter of business. Well and good ; that sounded innocent enough, and as if there was not much in it.

But I knew better ; my experience had taught me that there must be a great deal in it. Mr. Haldane wished to see me, and had selected me as his agent, because of my previous connection with a private inquiry office which had already executed some com misions for him. Now, when a gentleman goes to such a source for assistance, the matter he discloses is in every instance a matter which he is anxious to keep from public knowledge, and in nearly every instance which he wishes to keep from the knowledge of his family. What concerns the gentleman directly concerns his imme diate family indirectly ; if he fears exposure, be sure there is some disgrace attaching to it, and disgrace to him means disgrace to them. Why, there are numbers of offices in London which are filled with ghosts and skeletons.

You enter one and see neatly arranged on shelves a number of tin boxes, each securely locked, and each with a name or mark upon it, denoting to whom it belongs. The place you stand in is a sepulchre. The boxes, smothered with dust, upon which you gaze, are coffins in which ugly skeletons are buried. Open one and up the mystery jumps and stares you in the face, shocking your sensi bilities and causing you to raise your hands in amazement at the revelation. What ! Your old friend who poses before the world as the pink of morality, as a man of stainless character and honour, a philanthropist, perhaps, or a statesman, or a teacher of morals, whose homilies upon conscience edify the public — is it possible that he could have been guilty of this foul wrong ? Quite possible, my friend. Do not be too curious to pry into the hidden life of the man or woman in whose society you delight, and whose presence in your home gives pleasure to you and your wife and children.

Turn your eyes inwards, and let sleeping dogs lie. Well, then, I argued this way. Mr. Hal dane had sought my services in a matter which, dragged before the public, would cause unhappiness to the young lady who seemed to be loved by everyone who knew her, and who was spoken of as an angel from heaven. Interested in her happiness was a young girl my son George worshipped. For his sake, for my own, for the sake of Rachel Diprose, and last, but not least, for the sake of sweet Miss Haldane, I would undertake the task which Mr. Haldane had it in his mind to entrust to me. When Miss Haldane was happily settled Rachel would consent to make my George happy. It was clearly my duty, therefore, to do what I could towards Miss Haldane's happy settlement in life. A roundabout way of reasoning, I dare say, and founded upon mere conjecture.

How far I was right or wrong will be seen as we go on. I had wandered out of the beaten paths during my musings, and now I wandered into them again, and mixed with the holiday folk. Hearing the voices of children singing I walked forward and stood on the outskirts of the circle of people who were listening to the pleasant performance. The school children wrere marshalled in order, and had just com menced an original song composed by a local poet in honour of Miss Haldane. The children, who all had new frocks on, had been carefully drilled, and sang admirably ; and standing by himself was the local poet, with his hands clasped, listening to his verses in a state of agonised rapture, convinced, no doubt, that the eyes of the world were upon him. The song being ended, the little girl who sang the solo part was called up to the gentry, and a young lady presented her with a book.

Who this young lady was was made clear to me by the local butcher calling out, " Three cheers for Miss Haldane," which were lustily and VOL. i. heartily given without regard to the number. The village people waved hats and handker chiefs, and would have cried themselves hoarse had not the fugleman, exhausted with his efforts, come to a sudden stop, whereat they followed suit. Partially recovering, the butcher demanded three cheers for Mr. Hal dane, which also were given, with less hearti ness, but still with some show of enthusiasm. Miss Haldane, who wore a dress of pure white, blushed prettily, and nodded with much sweetness, and turned to her father with smiles saying something to him, which, of course, at the distance I was from her, I could not hear. The most beautiful season of the year is spring, as it is the most beauti ful season of life, and surely a sweeter ex emplification of this was never seen than in the person of Miss Haldane.

Her face was the loveliest I had ever beheld, and" there was a quality of goodness in it which seemed to influence all surrounding things, and to invest them with something of her own charm of sweetness and tenderness. When she dismissed the happy child who had sung the solo, she called up the poet to receive his meed of praise and thanks. He behaved very sheepishly, and scarcely dared to touch the hand she held out to him, but the trying and triumphant ordeal was soon over, and he retired to dream of future fame and glory. At this moment, a man, who had approached me without my observing him, touched my arm. " You are a stranger here," he said. " Yes," I answered ; " I only arrived to day." " Mr. Haldane," said the man, " has sent me to enquire who you are." I took a card from my pocket, on which my name was printed, without my address, simply " Mr. Millington," and handing it to him, said that perhaps he would take it to Mr. Haldane.

He looked at it, looked at me, and went away, and I saw him give the card to Mr. Haldane. Returning soon, the man said : " Mr. Haldane would like to speak to you." 2* I followed him, and observed that Mr. Haldane was moving away from his com panions, with the evident intention of speaking Jprivately to me. Upon our coming together, the man who had conducted me stood a little apart. " I saw you among the people," said Mr. Haldane, " and knew you were a stranger." " You have sharp ejres," I thought, but I said nothing to that effect, only that I had written to him that I was coming to Chudleigh Park in compliance with his request. " I received your letter," he said, " but you did not inform me you were coming to-day." He paused a moment. " I cannot speak to you till to-morrow." " That will be convenient to me, sir," I said.

He called to the man who had brought me to him. " Simpson, see that this gentleman has a room somewhere in the village to-night." " Yes, sir," said Simpson. I was surprised at his reference to me as " this gentleman," but I set it down to his not wishing to make my name known. One thing leads to another, you see, and when you wish to keep things dark you cannot be too careful. But he could not keep my name from Simpson, who had seen it on my card. "That is all, I think," said Mr. Haldane. "I shall be disengaged to-morrow at twelve." " I will call upon you punctually, sir," I said. He nodded and walked away, but he had not gone a dozen yards, before he turned and beckoned to me. I went to him, Simpson stopping discreetly at a distance. "You need not say anything," he said, " about my sending for you." " No one shall know, sir," I said. He nodded again, and walked off, this time for good.

Chapter III

A DINNER AND AN INTERRUPTION. Simpson sauntered towards me with a careless, unconcerned air, as though the idea of introducing himself had just occurred to him. There is something in the manner and bearing of certain classes of men which at once betrays their calling. For instance, a jockey. Seeing one even for the first time, who could mistake him ? You look at his face, and you wonder how he feels off a horse. He is like a sailor walking along macadamised roads after a long voyage. A butcher, too. It is impossible for him to disguise himself. In private life he is generally respectably dressed ; his clothes are remarkably new, and his boots and hats have a wonderful polish on them ; but you cast just one glance at him, and you see the inner man, in flannel apron, knife in hand, with a " buy, buy, buy !

" expression on his features. The same with valets and body - servants. The nicely smoothed hair, the half-sliding, half-confident motion of their bodies, the cut of their clothes, when they wear their own, the quietly observant eye, unmistakably proclaim their calling. It was Simpson's, as I correctly judged ; he was Mr. Haldane's valet, and it was not long before he volunteered the information, which was thrown out as a feeler, and as an invitation to a like confi dence on raj part. But I was on my guard ; my plan was to ask questions, and to answer as few as possible. So I fenced and parried, and Simpson made no demur which gave me rather a high opinion of his abilities. All this time you may be sure I had not forgotten Rachel Diprose, but I had seen no one resembling the portrait George had of her ; and it occurred to me that Simpson was the man to enlighten me as to what kind of girl she was.

Upon my prompting he furnished me with an account of the domestics in Mr. Haldane's establishment, from the housekeeper and butler downwards ; he told me their several names, and I noticed, when he mentioned Rachel Diprose, that there was just that difference in his tone which denoted that she was a person who held a special place in his mind. I began to speculate. whether Simpson was a married man. " The housekeeper and butler are married, I think you said ? " " Yes," he answered. " That must make it comfortable for them," I observed. " Good situations, everything provided, no butchers' bills to pay, and putting by a pound now and then for a rainy day." "They've nothing to complain of," said Simpson. "Some gentlemen," I said, "object to keeping married people in their employ, but Mr. Haldane is more liberal-minded."

" That doesn't prove liberal-mindedness." " Perhaps not ; I'm speaking in a general way. Now, you" — and I cocked my eye knowingly and reflectively at him — " I should take you to be a married man, with a charming wife and family." " Wrong. I'm a single man." " All the more agreeable for you," I said, shifting my ground. "There you are, a bachelor, with a lot of nice girls about him that he can pick and choose from. You must be in clover. There's pretty Rachel Diprose, now, a favourite with her young mistress, and I'll wager with a bit of money put by." He looked at me, seemed suddenly to remember something and instantly shut up. Which caused me to drift into other subjects. We had walked out of the park and into the village while we were conversing, and Simpson stopped before a public-house called " The Brindled Cow."

" You can get a bed here," he said. " I'll make it all right with the landlord." " And perhaps," I said, " you won't mind taking a drink with me. I feel a little strange, being in a strange part of the country, and shall be glad of company. If ever you come to London we might spend an evening to gether." Had I thought twice I should not have thrown out the hint. He took it up quickly. "I'll drink with you with pleasure," he said ; " and I'll spend an evening with you in London when I've got one to spare. What's your address ? " I was fairly beaten, I own, and, without giving him offence, could not refuse to tell him where I lived. Then we went into the inn. The arrangement for a bed being made, I inquired what particular tipple my new friend preferred, and asked the landlord to join us. "Spirits just before going to bed," said Simpson, " beer in the morning, and port wine in the evening.

That's my system. The landlord has a good bottle of port wine in his cellar." It being evening now, I called for the bottle of good port wine, in accordance with Simpson's system, and then, at his suggestion, we adjourned to a small room in which there was a bagatelle table, and began to drink and smoke and play. I could have beaten him easily, but I allowed him to beat me, and as he pocketed the twopences for which we played I saw that losing was a winning game for me. I drove another nail in by remark ing that I had had no dinner, and asking would he join me. Certainly he would, he replied ; it was all hurry-scurry up at the Hall ; and if I wanted to know what duck and green peas were like, the landlord of " The Brindled Cow " would show me. So the dinner was ordered, and wre con tinued to play bagatelle till it was ready.

" You're a man after my own heart," said Simpson, as he polished off the choicest slices of the duck, and ladled down the green peas, which really were delicious. " I didn't take to you at first, but it shows how a man may be mistaken. What's all that row about outside ? " The landlord, wdio had entered to at tend to our wants, replied that Miss Haldane had come from the park to the village, to see how the people were enjoying themselves ; but the sounds we heard were the reverse of festive. A woman's shrill voice and excited murmurs reached our ears. Simpson went to the window, and exclaimed : " By the Lord ! It's that girl Honoria come back ! There's mischief brewing." And out he went, leaving, to my surprise, some dainty morsels on his plate. I hastened after him and, keeping close, pushed my way through a number of people gathered round two women, whom they hemmed in.