Lady Jezebel

Front matter

BY FERGUS HUME AUTHOR OF "THE MYSTERY 01' A HANSOM CAB" LONDON C. ARTHUR PEARSON LIMITED HENRIETTA STREET, W.C. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGB I. THB STRANGER . . . . .1 II. THB " THREE BLIND MICE " . . .14 III. A VILLAGE PRIEST . . . . .28 IV. LOVELY PEG ..... 41 V. THE LADY OF THE MANOR . . . .53 VI. THE ENTERPRISE ..... 65 VII. DOCTOR BY APPOINTMENT . . . .77 VIII. LADY JEZEBEL AT HOME .... 89 IX. GHOSTS IN THE GRANGE .... 101 X. TWO IN A PDNT ..... 113 XI. RECOLLECTIONS OF A CODNTRY PARSON . . 126 XII. AT BAY ...... 139 Xin. THEY CALL IT LOVE ..... 151 XIV. PEG IS ENLIGHTENED .... 164 XV. A STORY OF THE PAST .... 177 V vi CONTENTS CHAP. PAGK XVI. KRAIL'S STATEMENT .... 190 XVII. AN UNEXPECTED VISIT .... 204 XVIII. THE BRIBE ...... 217 XIX. THE CONFESSION .... 229 XX. NEMESIS ...... 243 XXI. AFTERWARDS ......

CHAPTEE I THE STRANGER ONE evening late in June, during a year of the present decade, a young man, something over thirty, found himself isolated on the banks of a river. To speak more cor rectly, it was the estuary of the stream which stretched before him, and not far off, as he could hear and see, the sullen waves of the German Ocean were tumbling on low-lying sandy beaches. The waters, mostly salt, and a trifle fresh — for it was at the point where the incoming tide met the river current — were usually discoloured a turbid yellow, but on this especial evening, at this especial hour, they rolled scarlet under the widely-spread hues of the sunset. On the verge of this spacious river-mouth, by the borders of the crimson flood, stood the stranger in a contem plative attitude. So might Moses have stood at the miracle of the first plague in Egypt.

The gentleman was dark-complexioned, but not ill-looking, with keen black eyes; a firm mouth, adorned on the upper lip with a black smartly-pointed moustache ; a somewhat pro minent chin, clean shaven ; and curly black hair, cut short in military style. Indeed, his alert figure and square-set shoulders were very soldierly in appearance, and he carried him self in the imperious fashion of one accustomed to dominate and command his fellow-creatures. He wore a serviceable shooting suit of brown homespun, with cap to match, also a neat blue white-spotted scarf under a turn-down collar, and stout walking-boots of russia leather. His whole appearance was that of a man attentive to his dress, but above the weakness of a dandy, who turns himself into a clothes-pole for the hanging thereon of fine raiment.

Chapter II The

" THREE BLIND MICE " " TF you will wait a moment, until I make JL fast my boat," said Peg, taking the painter in her hand, "I shall guide you through the wood to the ' Three Blind Mice.' " " H'm ! An inn with a nursery-rhyme sign : that sounds promising." " Of what ? " asked the girl, dragging the punt further in among the reeds. " Of strange adventures ! " "Adventures are to the adventurous ! " was Peg's quotation as she sprang up the bank. "Ah! you know Disraeli's apothegm?" said Durk, in surprised tones. " Do you take me for an ignorant savage ? " cried the girl petulantly. " I have read 'Ixion in Heaven' and ' Coningsby.' The apothegm, as you call it, occurs in both. But we can't stay here to talk literature all night ; come with me, and I'll guide you through the Faery Wood." " The Faery Wood ?

" " So I call it," replied Peg gravely. " It is the wood wherein Hop-my-Thumb was lost — the forest of the Sleeping Beauty " " Who is now awake," interrupted Harry Durk, smiling. " Oh, ho ! Do tramps pay compliments, Doctor?" " They pay everything except ready money; so I am sorry for mine host of the ' Three Blind Mice.' " " Oh, if you are hard up, don't grieve," said Peg carelessly. " Munch is an easy creditor ; also his wife is sick. Cure her, and the bill is paid." "Ah, you argue on the barter system. Is there no doctor attending Mrs. Munch ? " " No ; the nearest doctor lives at Holm caster, and that is fifteen miles away. If you have no practice, and want one, Mr. Durk, why not settle in these parts ? I can promise you plenty of ague patients ; these swamps sicken them by the score." " A tempting prospect !

" said Durk gravely. " I must consider your proposal." " Then don't consider it in a satirical vein ! " retorted Peg. " But here we are in the enchanted wood ; take care to follow me closely ! " " I shall, if only to escape the goblins." Thus bantering, the pair climbed briskly up the path which led through the wood, under the shade of larch, and elm, and sycamore. Evidently these trees clothed a ridge, which shut out the village of Holmwick from the stream and estuary of the Holmfleet ; for after ascending some distance the path took an abrupt turn and dip. The descent was so easy, the path so broad, that Durk and his guide soon found themselves on flat ground, and emerged from the wood into a kind of meadow-land. A footpath, commencing at a stile, meandered through green fields towards a mass of red-roofed houses which clustered round the tall spire of the church ; but so shadowy was the light that Durk could not distinguish the scene clearly.

Deferring sight-seeing and investigation until the morrow, he obediently followed his guide towards the twinkling windows of the village. A ten minutes' walk brought them into a narrow street ; another two minutes and they were in a square, rendered imposing by the central presence of the church. Finally the girl pointed out an old-fashioned inn with a swinging sign, and a hospitably open door, through which poured a flood of amber-hued light. " There is your abode for the night, Mr. Durk," she said abruptly. " Good night ! " "But, wait — wait!" cried the doctor, as she moved off quickly into the shadows. " I wish to " He spoke tothe empty air, for like a ghost the girl had flitted through the twilight and had disappeared into a dark street on the farther side of the square. Bather discon solately Durk retraced his steps and sought the inn, consoling himself with the reflection that on the morrow he would see his charm ing ferry-girl once more.

The doctor was more fascinated by her looks and conduct than he chose to admit even to himself ; for Harry Durk was a wary young man, and doubted the mischief-making, heart-breaking sex. Hitherto in his wanderings he had escaped feminine snares, but now, as he vaguely felt, the hour of his subjugation was at hand. Fate is stronger than the gods : woman is the conqueror of man : and 'tis idle to preach trite sermons on stale texts. Munch, the landlord, whose name was as queer as that of his inn, proved to be a typical host of the Dumas creation. He was burly, red-faced, fat, very obliging, and as conversational as a barber. Durk announced himself as a wayfarer, and demanded lodging for the night, also supper, of which he was sorely in need. While the ideal Boniface vanished with celerity to prepare the meal, his guest was pleased to take stock of the com fortable parlour into which he had been con ducted.

The quaint room, and the primitive furniture with which it was filled, appealed to the young man's romantic vein. Herein, thought he, an adventure might begin. Blind mortal, his adventure had begun at that moment when the punt of Miss Charon emerged from the river reeds. But Durk was not cognisant of Fate's contri vances. The parlour was of no great size or height, with two deep embrasures shut in by latticed panes. Herein blushed scarlet geraniums in dels pots, and jars of fragrant mignonette, together with blue figured bowls of dried rose leaves, which exhaled the perfumes of long vanished summers. An antique sideboard stood against the wall opposite the fireplace, on either side of which were framed samplers stitched by patient fingers with Scriptural scenes. Scriptural also were the pictures on the tiles of the fireplace itself ; and overhead a dim oval mirror framed in wondrously carved black oak, reflected the primness of the room.

It was prim, for the books — old copies of annuals, volumes of sermons, and antique editions of antique poets — were set in regular order on the circular table in the centre of the apartment ; and the chairs, decked with woollen antimacassars, stood in stiff rows against the walls. There were vases of paper flowers resting neatly on crotchet-work mats, baskets of wax fruit, green glass ornaments with jingling pendants, and a quaint tall grandfather's clock ticking solemnly, next to an equally tall glass-doored oaken press. Durk felt that he had been transported back to the early Victorian era, that age of ugly furniture, and uglier knick knacks. Yet as has been said before, there was something of romance in the prim, dusky, scented room. A neat-handed Phyllis, red-cheeked, and bouncing as a dairymaid, cleared the round table of its ancient literature, covered it with a snowy and lavender-scented cloth, and thereon set a cold sirloin of beef, a cottage loaf, golden butter, and a tankard of home brewed.

This was a feast for the gods, and Durk, without being one, speedily made a hearty meal. The repast ended, he lighted a cherished briar-root, and as it was yet too early for even a weary pedestrian to think of bed, he summoned Munch for a confabulation. The ponderous landlord soon made his ap pearance, accepted the offer of a pint of his own ale, and in shrewd country fashion answered Durk's questions. These began with a reference to Peg Krail, alias — in the traveller's own whimsical fancy — Miss Charon, alias Lamia of the Swamps. " Who is she, landlord ? " asked the doctor when he had explained the ferrying, and the guiding, and the giving of the name. "Miss Peg!" said Munch, scraping his head. " She be Pass'n Blink's young lady." "He is not her father, I suppose ? " remarked Durk. " Noa, he ain't !

I should call him Miss Peg's gardyanne, sir. Her father and mother died long since; that is, sir," corrected Munch, "her mother died; but her father ah ! " here Munch shook his head and dipped into the home-brewed. " She don't know about him," he concluded when he emerged. " What do you mean, man ? " demanded Harry, darting a sharp glance at his host. "It be quite a winter tale in these parts," said Munch meditatively, "and we knows it well, all but she. I do wonder as her has not larnt it these many year. But Pass'n Blink he's for keeping it from she." " Keeping what from she ? " demanded Durk, mimicking the provincial dialect of the landlord. " Why, how her father came to be jailed for murder ! " "What ! " Harry felt a chill run through his veins at this ominous speech. That so gracious and original a girl should have for father a man who had committed murder seemed incredible.

Yet apparently it was so, for Munch delivered the statement with con siderable relish. " Her father is Jabez Krail," said he, nodding. " The steward of Lady Jezebel " " Mrs. Grant of Marsh Grange, you mean." " Well, yes, I do mean Mrs. Grant, sir ; but we knows her better hereabouts by her Bible name." " What has she done to deserve it ? " " Killed two partners, sir, husbands as you might say. Her be tirrible for sure." " I should think so, if what you say is true. But how did it come about ? " Munch looked at his guest. "You be strange hereabouts, sir?" he asked, and on receiving a nod in answer, he continued : " Well, there ain't no reason as you should be in the dark ; but if I tell 'ee, don't 'ee tell she." "Miss Krail?" "Ay, Miss Peg! Her don't know nothin' of Lady Jezebel's history."

" I'm not so sure of that," retorted Durk, remembering the girl's hints. "I should not be surprised if she knew more than you give her credit for ! " " Her don't know nothin' of Lady Jezebel's history," repeated Munch, with slow obstinacy, " for Pass'n Blink he don't want she to know. And why ? I sees you askin'. This why, sir : 'cause it were her father Jabez as killed the second husband ! " " Who killed the first ? " " Mrs. Alymer herself ! " "Who is Mrs. Alymer?" asked Durk, puzzled by the introduction of this new name. " She be Mrs. Grant. Alymer was her THE " THREE BLIND MICE " 23 first name, and Grant her second. She be dressin' up like a play-actor to ketch a third partner; but none o' the country-side will have a word for she. Noa, not though she's as rich as the Bank of England." "I don't quite gather your meaning," said Harry, in a helpless tone.

"Would you mind telling me the story from the beginning ? " " Surely, if you don't tell she." " Miss Krail — Peg, as you call her. No, I shan't say a word to her." " Her be a fine lass, Miss Peg," said Munch, with a nod. " Clever, too ! for Pass'n Blink he be a rare scholard, and he teached her a mort of larnin'." " The story ! the story ! " exclaimed Durk, who wished to find out Peg's good qualities for himself. "It be two of 'em, sir, jest like the pardners. First, Mr. Alymer. He was Squire of Grange, y' must know ; and he brought Lady Jezebel there thirty year gone. She wasn't very young then, 'n' they do say as she was a old maiden from Hindy, where she tried to ketch a 'usband and culdn't. " An Indian spin ! " I don't rightly know what that is, sir," rejoined Munch gravely. " Howsomever, she did git Cap'n Dick Alymer, as was in the h'army.

He married she, and they come here to live in the Grange, under their own vine an' fig-tree, as one might say. She wasn't liked, bein' a rampin', silly, crazy Jane, as dressed in play-actin' clothes, and behaved round the country-side outrageous. But Cap'n Dick he seemed to like her well enough, till he took to the bottle. Then they fought vicious, and she took to brandy likewise ; so they both got drunk together, to the great scandal of Pass'n Blink and the gentry. So it went on till the Eastern come." " The Eastern ! Who was he or she ; or what was it? " " 'Twas a he, sir," replied Munch. " A black-brown-faced nobleman wi' dimind eyes. They called him a Bajer, I did 'ear ; an' he 'ad bin a friend of Cap'n Dick's in Hindy. He came arter Lady Jezebel when she an' her fust 'ad been wed some ten year.

Then things got wuss and wuss, till one night Cap'n Dick and the Eastern disappeared." " Disappeared ! How and why ? " "Well, 'twasn't rightly known; p'raps she made trouble; but 't any rate theer was a hedger an' ditcher out one night in them marshes round the Grange, and he saw two THE " THREE BLIND MICE " 25 men runnin' in the swamp. One was arter the other with crooked knife thing ; and Giles — the hedger and ditcher's name, sir — was of opinion that the Eastern was chasin' Cap'n Dick. Both was yellin' like mad, till the fust he missed his footin' and went plump into the bog; and the second, the Eastern with the knife, he ran away." " Where did he run to ? " " Ah, nobody iver found out. From the night as Giles saw him chasin' Cap'n Dick in the moonlight, not a soul iver sot eyes on 'im agin.

There was trouble as you may guess, and the perlice they come from Holmcaster and arsked a mort o' questions. Lady Jezebel, she says as the Eastern and Cap'n Dick got mad on some Hindyan drug, and the fust chased the second into the swamp. But the perlice culdn't find either, and they culdn't do nothin', so in the end there was nothin' more sid. But arter that the gentry wuldn't hev nothin' to say to Mrs. Alymer, and the folk hereabouts took to calling her Lady Jezebel." " So much for the first murder, which, so far as I can see, she did not commit. And the second ? " "Jabez Krail did that," said Munch; "but Lady Jezebel, she was at the bottom of both murders. When she found as the gentry wuldn't 'ave nowt to do wi' her, she went away to Lunnon, then to furrin parts among the 'eathin, where she stopped twelve months.

Then she come back with 'er second, Mr. Grant, and they lived at the Grange." " What kind of a man was Mr. Grant ? " " A overbearin', swearin', evil gent, sir, as took the name of the Lord in vain, ivery word, and they do say as he beat his pardner frightful. Missis, she used to fly for help to Jabez Krail, who lived in a cottage in this village wi' his wife an' babe — Miss Peg as is now. Well, there was words between Mr. Grant and Jabez over this, and the steward was kicked out ! " " Mr. Grant discharged him ? " " Jest so, sir ; an' Jabez he sid he'd be revenged, foolish like. Well, sir, a week arter Mr. Grant he was found dead in the Grange wi' a crooked sword in his heart, the sword of the Eastern they do say. The 'ousekeeper, Rosalind Kinder, she 'eard Grant and Jabez fighting, and saw 'im coming out of the room where the body was arterwards found.

It was on 'er evidence as they put Krail in jail." THE "THREE BLIND MICE" 27 " Did he defend himself ? " "Lord bless you, yes, sir," said Munch, rising. " But it weren't no good. He got the benefit of the doubt, and a lifer instid of 'anging. His wife, Mrs. Krail, she took the disgrace to 'eart and died ; so Pass'n Blink bein' a lone man and a bachelor, he took the babe and brought 'er up to develop into Miss Peg. An' Lady Jezebel, she's living all alone wi' Rosalind and Kinder, and Old Eb and Young Eb, in tha' Grange." " Who are they ? " " Kinder's the steward now, sir, and Rosa lind, she's his wife. Old Eb's the son of the pair of 'em, and Young Eb's his orfspring. They live along wi' Lady Jezebel and her ghosts." " Her ghosts ! " said Durk, recollecting what Peg had said anent the supernatural. " Two ghosts," said Munch, in a whisper. " Cap'n Dick and Grant ; they 'aunt the Grange ! "

Chapter III

A VILLAGE PRIEST STRANGE dreams visited the wanderer on that night when he slept under the hospitable roof -tree of the "Three Blind Mice." The story told by Munch of the dual murder had gripped his heart-strings and stirred his imagination with such power that, in spite of his weariness, there was no slumber to be obtained. Durk, who usually went off into deep sleep when his head dented the pillow, tossed, and turned, and stared into the dark night, with his brain on fire. He had wandered in many countries, he had fought for his own hand in the naked lands at the back of beyond; but never, till on this sea coast of his own mother-country, had he come within touch of so tragic a circumstance. In the small hours he secured a trifle of uneasy slumber ; but when daylight glimmered faintly through the latticed window, he woke again to a recollection of Lady Jezebel, and her two murdered husbands.

The tragedy of her life was infinite. To Durk that lonely Grange, encircled by lonely marshes, was as accursed as the blood stained house of Atreus. Upon the hearth of Mrs. Grant sat Ate with unwinking eyes ; and through the deserted rooms glided the unquiet ghosts of the dead, who cried in un heard voices for vengeance. The Eastern — as Munch called the Rajah friend of Captain Alymer — had slain the first husband, and Jabez Krail had murdered the second ; but it might be, as Durk thought, that both criminals had been tools in the hands of Lady Jezebel, instruments of her evil will. No doubt she fully deserved the name of Ahab's wicked wife. With the first crimson of dawn Harry was up and away over the ridge. Unrefreshed by sleep, puzzled by the tragical problems pro pounded by the landlord, he wished to clear his brains by a dip in the chill waters of the estuary.

Without difficulty, by following the well-defined path through the wood, he gained the Holmfleet, and took therein a long and refreshing swim. As he dressed himself on the bank, his eyes wandered to the weather stained walls of Marsh Grange, and he thought, in his fanciful way, that it looked hardly less sinister in daylight, than it had done at night. The evil nature and deeds of Lady Jezebel seemed to infect the very walls within which she dwelt. "I expected to hear evil of the woman," thought Durk, as he returned over-ridge to the village, "but not such details of crime and terror. I came down here to see her ; but is it wise to do so ? Doubtful ! It may be as well to see the Reverend Mr. Blink on the subject. When he knows who I am, and why I come here, he may be able to advise me. I never took advice before, but in this case, from lack of experience, it is advisable to hear what an older head than my own thinks of these matters."

Re-entering the inn, Dr. Durk informed the landlord that he purposed remaining at Holmwick for a few days, and that he would retain a parlour and bedroom for his accommo dation. Then he fell to an excellent breakfast with an equally excellent appetite ; and this dispatched, he asked Munch to point him out the house of Parson Blink. This the land lord did willingly, and asked no questions, although he was devoured by curiosity to know why a smart gentleman was bent upon staying in so out-of-the-way a place as Holm wick. " I be mortal glad you wish to see Pass'n," said Munch, while the doctor lighted his pipe. " He be a rare scholard, and you won't get tired along o' he." " I shan't get tired, in any case," replied Durk, laughing. "If I do, there's always Miss Peg to whom I can talk." " You won't tell she about them murders ?

" "Be content, my friend; I am the most discreet of mortals. So I go up yonder street to find the Rector's ? Thank you. Good-bye for the present. I'll be back to luncheon." With this farewell, Durk took his way out of St. Wulf's Square — as it was named, after the church — and walked leisurely along the narrow street, up which Peg had vanished on the previous night. It was a crooked, cobble stone way, with an up-grade, and on either side tall, peak-roofed houses rose to a con siderable height. Indeed, this ancient lane — for it was nothing else — reminded Harry greatly of Florentine thoroughfares. There was a suggestion of the Renaissance about its looks and narrowness, and he almost gulled himself into the belief that he was on Italian soil, and not in a sedate English village. But this fancy vanished when he reached the top of the steep, and found himself in an open space, which was closed at the one end by a grave square Georgian mansion of red brick.

This was set in a pleasant garden, railed off with an iron fence, and its background con sisted of the trees which clothed the higher portion of the ridge. It was at this point that the ridge curved to the right, and, as it were, sheltered the Rectory and the under lying village from the sharp, salt breezes of the sea. The view from Durk's present stand ing-place, embraced the village of Holmwick, distant meadow-lands, outlying farms, clumps of trees, and a glimpse of far-away hills, blue against the blue sky. The ridge itself sloped gradually down till it flattened into the alluvial plain ; but there were no marshes visible, as it entirely shut them out from this side of its wooded heights. Also the Grange was hidden. On the one side of the hill lay fruitful lands and comfortable habitations ; on the other, waste marshes and the menacing pile of the great mansion.

The contrast was strange and striking. On presenting himself at the Rectory door, Harry sent in his card, and in a few minutes he was shown into a pleasant oak-panelled room, in which — to Durk's surprise, for it was midsummer— there was a good fire. But he ceased to be astonished when he saw an ex tremely old woman seated thereby. She was very small and shrunken, with a mask of wrinkles for a face ; a nut-cracker chin and nose, two dim, faded blue eyes, and a scanty sweep of snow-white hair, which disappeared under the frills of a huge cap, also white, and adorned with grey ribbons. Her dress was of some lustreless grey material, and across her narrow, stooping shoulders was pinned a muslin shawl. The old lady was exceedingly neat and clean, but looked as though she had com pleted her century.

She took no notice of Harry's entrance, but remained, with folded, withered hands, and with blear eyes fixed immovably on the flickering of the fire, which was almost killed by the yellow glare of the sunlight. The room was furnished in an old-fashioned manner similar to the parlour of the inn, and all the colours had faded to a uniform hue of a dim drab. A parrot, dwelling between the curtains of the bow-window in a fine brass cage, was the only speck of colour visible. It was a large tropical parrot, green, blue, and yellow in plumage, with a red top-knot, which it raised when the visitor entered. What with the drab tint of the room, the grey monotony of the old woman's dress, the bird made quite a blaze of brilliant hues, and sparkled gorgeously like a jewel as the cage swung in the sunlight.

It looked almost too vivid for its colourless surroundings. While Harry waited for Parson Blink, and divided an idle attention equally between the bird and the old woman, the latter turned her head with a jerk like a badly-working puppet, and caught sight of the former. At once her wrinkled face lighted up with weak curiosity. " Oh, there is a parrot," she piped thinly. " Naaman ! Naaman ! " shrieked the parrot harshly, swinging in its brass ring. " He was a leper ! See the Second Kings," said the old lady, exactly as though she were repeating a lesson. Then she jerked back her head to its former position, and, still without noticing the visitor, resumed her scrutiny of the blazing coals. While Durk was wondering what could be the meaning of the parrot's enigmatic speech, and the old dame's queer reply, he heard a step behind him, and turned to greet Mr. Blink.

The parson was a tall, burly man, with a severe, black-bearded face, and a pallid complexion, as of one much given to indoor life and close application to books. He was correctly dressed in clerical garb, and, for his years, which could not be less than sixty, he had a fairly good head of iron-grey hair. In the greeting which passed between them, Harry tried to gather from the expression of his countenance what his disposition might be. But the effort was futile. Mr. Blink's ivory-hued face concealed his real character as effectually as his speech hid his thoughts. Yet, despite this air of impenetrable reserve, there was something about the man which the young doctor liked. "Dr. Durk," said Blink, glancing at the card which he held still in his hand ; "it was you whom Margaret ferried across the river last night."

" Yes, Mr. Blink, and it was I who was guided by her to the inn where I found such good quarters. I wanted to thank her, but she went away." " You can thank her during the day," replied the clergyman, with an abstracted smile. "Do you purpose staying here, Doctor?" " For a week or two." "In that case I hope to avail myself of your services. We have many sick folk in this parish, and the nearest doctor is far away." " So Miss Krail told me last night. While I'm here, Mr. Blink, you can command my services as it pleases you. This old lady is not a patient, I presume ? " " Oh, no ! " replied Blink, coming to the centenarian, and patting her head. " This is Granny Tolk, my dear doctor. She is ninety five years of age, and very hearty for her years." " I saw a man with a rabbit," said Mrs. Tolk, without reference to anything in par ticular ; " the man hit the rabbit over the ears, and it died; that is all I know."