Books: The Mystery of the Four Fingers

F >> Fred M. White >> The Mystery of the Four Fingers

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

"Oh, I do indeed," Vera whispered. There were tears in her eyes now and
her cheeks were wet. "It is not for my own sake--it is for the sake of
the poor girl upstairs. I had promised to say nothing of that to
anyone--to try and save her--and I left you and ran the risk of for ever
forfeiting your affection. But if Beth is better in the morning I will
try to get her to absolve me from my promise and induce her--"

"She is not capable of giving a promise of rescinding it," Venner said.
"Don't you think it would be far better if, instead, you discussed the
matter with your brother, Charles Le Fenu?"

"So you know all about that?" Vera cried.

"Yes, I do. I have seen him to-night. Gurdon has already had an interview
with him--an interview that almost cost him his life. We have been having
some pretty fine adventures the last two or three days--but if it all
ends in saving you and lifting this cloud from your life I shall be well
content. I am not going to ask you to go into explanations now, because I
see they would be distasteful to you, and because you have given some
foolish promise which you are loth to break. But tell me one thing. You
said just now that you had not seen your sister for three years, though
she has been living with your brother, whom you visited quite recently."

"That is easily explained," Vera said. "It was deemed necessary to tell
Beth one or two fictions with a view to easing her mind and leaving her
still with some slight shadow of hope, which was the only means of
preventing her reason from absolutely leaving her. These fictions
entailed my keeping out of the way. Beth is exceedingly different from
me, as you know."

"Indeed, she is," said Venner, smiling for the first time. "But does it
not strike you as an extraordinary thing that I should be fighting in
this fierce way in your behalf, and that you should be placing negative
obstacles in my way all the time? I won't worry you any more to-night,
dearest--you look tired and worn out. You had better go to your own
room, and we can discuss this matter further in the morning."

It was dark enough and sheltered enough in that secluded corner of the
hall for Venner to draw the girl towards him and kiss her lips
passionately. Just for a brief moment Vera lay in her husband's arms;
then, with a little sigh, she disengaged herself and disappeared slowly
up the stairs.

She had placed Beth in her own room, which they would share together for
that night, at any rate. The younger girl was sleeping placidly; there
was a smile on her face--her lips were parted like those of one who is
utterly and entirely happy. She made a fair picture as she lay there,
with her yellow hair streaming over her shoulders. She just murmured
something in her sleep, as Vera bent over her and brushed her forehead
lightly with her lips.

"Oh, I wonder how long this cloud will last!" Vera murmured--"how much
longer I shall be till I am free! How terrible it is to have the offer of
a good man's love, and be compelled to spoil it as I do, or, at least, as
I appear to do. And yet I should be a happy woman if I could only throw
off these shackles--"

Vera paused, unable to say more, for something seemed to rise in her
throat and choke her. She was utterly tired and worn out, almost too
tired to undress and get into bed--and yet once her head was on the
pillow she could not sleep; she tossed and turned wearily. All London
seemed to be transformed into one noisy collection of clocks. The noise
and the din seemed to stun Vera and throb through her head like the
beating of hammers on her brain. She fell off presently into a troubled
sleep, which was full of dreams. It seemed to her that she was locked in
a safe, and that somebody outside was hammering at the walls to let her
free. Then she became conscious of the fact that somebody really was
knocking at the door. As Vera stumbled out of bed a clock somewhere
struck three. She flicked up the light and opened the door. A
sleepy-looking chambermaid handed her a note, which was marked "Urgent"
on the envelope. With a thrill, she recognised the handwriting of Mark
Fenwick. What new disaster was here? she wondered.

"Is there anybody waiting for an answer?" she asked tremblingly. "Is the
messenger downstairs?"

"Yes, miss," the sleepy chambermaid replied. "It was brought by a
gentleman in a motor. I told him you were in bed and fast asleep, but he
said it was of the greatest importance and I was to wake you. Perhaps you
had better read it."

With a hand that trembled terribly, Vera tore open the envelope. There
were only two or three lines there in Fenwick's stiff handwriting;
they were curt and discourteous, and very much to the point. They ran
as follows--

"I am writing you this from Canterbury, where I have been for the last
hour, and where I have important business. I have sent one of the cars
over for you, and you are to come back at once. Whatever happens, see
that you obey me."

* * * * *

"You will tell the gentleman I will be down in a few moments," Vera said.
"I will not detain him any longer than I can help."

"What is to be done?" the girl wondered directly she was alone. She felt
that she dared not disobey this command; she would have to go at all
costs. She knew by bitter experience that Fenwick was not the man to
brook contradiction. Besides, at the present moment it would be a fatal
thing to rouse his suspicions. And yet, she felt how impossible it was
for her to leave Beth here in the circumstances. Nor could she see her
way to call up Venner at this hour and explain what had happened. All she
could do was to scribble a short note to him with a view to explaining
the outline of the new situation. Ten minutes later she was downstairs in
the hall, where she found the man awaiting her. He was clad in furs, his
motor cap was pulled over his eyes as if he shrank from observation; but
all the same Vera recognised him.

"So it is you, Jones," she said. "Do you know that you have been sent all
the way from Canterbury to fetch me at this time in the morning? It is
perfectly monstrous that I should be dragged out of bed like this;
perfectly disgraceful!"

"I don't know anything about that, miss," the man said sullenly. "It is
the guv'nor's orders, and he gave me pretty plainly to understand that
he would want to know the reason why if I came back without you. Don't
blame me."

"I'm not blaming you at all," Vera said, coldly. "Nor am I going to stand
here bandying words with you. I will just go to my room and put on a fur
coat--then I shall be ready."

"Very well, miss. That's the proper way to take it. But where is the
other young lady?"

Vera's heart fairly stood still for a moment. Fenwick's note had said
nothing about her sister, though this man seemed to be aware of the fact
that she was here. There was only one thing for it, and that was to lie
boldly and without hesitation. She looked the speaker in the face in
blank astonishment.

"I fail to understand you," she said. "There is nobody here but me; there
could be nobody here but me. And now I have nothing further to say. One
moment and I will be with you."

CHAPTER XVII

MERTON GRANGE

Vera came down a few moments later ready for her journey. Now that she
had had time to think matters over, she was looking forward with some
dread to her forthcoming interview with Mark Fenwick. Surely something
out of the common must have taken place, or he would never have sent for
her at such an extraordinary time, and Vera had always one thing to
contend with; she had not forgotten, in fact, she could not forget, that
for the last three years she had been engaged in plotting steadily
against the man by whose name she was known. Moreover, she was not in the
least blind to Fenwick's astuteness, and there was always the unpleasant
feeling that he might be playing with her. She had always loathed and
detested this man from the bottom of her soul; there were times when she
doubted whether or not he was a relation of hers. As far as Vera knew, he
was supposed to be her mother's half-brother, and so much as this she
owed the man--he had come to her at the time when she was nearly
destitute, and in no position to turn her back on his advances. That it
suited Fenwick to have a well-bred and graceful girl about him, she knew
perfectly well. But long before would she have left him, only she was
quite certain that Fenwick was at the bottom of the dreadful business
which had resulted in Beth's deplorable state of mind.

But as to all this, Vera could say nothing at the moment. All she had to
do now was to guard herself against a surprise on the part of Fenwick.
She had been startled by the mere suggestion on the part of her companion
that she had not been alone at the Great Empire Hotel. Much as she would
have liked illumination on this point, she had the prudence to say
nothing. Silently she stepped into the car, a big Mercedes with great
glaring eyes; silently, too, she was borne along the empty streets. It
wanted yet three hours to daylight, and Vera asked how long they would be
in reaching their destination. Her companion put on speed once the
outskirts of town were reached. Vera could feel the cold air streaming
past her face like a touch of ice.

"Oh, about an hour and a half," the driver said carelessly. "I suppose it
is about fifty-five miles. With these big lamps and these clear roads
we'll just fly along."

The speaker touched a lever, and the car seemed to jump over the smooth
roads. The hedges and houses flew by and the whole earth seemed to
vibrate to the roar and rattle of the car. It was Vera's first experience
of anything like racing, and she held her breath in terror.

"What would happen if a wheel gave way?" she asked. She had muffled her
face in her veil, so that she could breathe more freely now. "Surely a
pace like this is dangerous."

"You have to take risks, miss," the driver said coolly. "We are moving at
about five and forty miles an hour now. I'm very sorry if it makes you
nervous, but my instructions were to get back as quickly as possible."

"I don't feel exactly nervous," Vera said.

"Oh, no, you are getting over it. Everybody does after the first few
moments. When you get used to the motion you will like it. It gives you a
feeling like a glass of champagne when you're tired. You'll see for
yourself presently."

Surely enough Vera did see for herself presently. As the feeling of
timidity and unfamiliarity wore off she began to be conscious of a glow
in her blood as if she were breathing some pure mountain air. The breeze
fairly sang past her ears, the car ran more smoothly now with nothing to
check its movement, and Vera could have sung aloud for the very joy of
living. She began to understand the vivid pleasure of motoring; she could
even make an excuse for those who travelled the high roads at top speed.
Long before she had reached her destination she had forgotten everything
else beside the pure delight of that trip in the dark.

"Here we are, miss," the driver said at length, as he turned in through
a pair of huge iron gates. "It's about a mile up the avenue to the
house--but you can see the lights in front of you."

"Have we really come all that way in this short time?" Vera asked. "It
only seems about ten minutes since we started."

The driver made no reply, and Vera had little time to look curiously
about her. So far as she could judge, they were in a large park, filled
with magnificent oak trees. Here and there through the gloom she seemed
to see shadowy figures flitting, and these she assumed to be deer. On
each side of the avenue rose a noble line of elm trees, beyond which were
the gardens; then a series of terraces, culminating in a fine house of
the late Tudor period. Beyond question, it was a fine old family mansion
in which Fenwick had taken up his quarters for the present.

"What do you call the place?" Vera asked.

"This is Merton Grange, miss," the driver explained. "It belongs to Lord
Somebody or another, I forget his name. Anyway, he has had to let the
house for a time and go abroad. You had better get out here, and I'll
take the car to the garage. I wouldn't ring the bell if I were you, miss.
I'd just walk straight into the house. You'll find the door open and the
guv'nor ready to receive you. He is sure to have heard the car coming up
the drive."

Vera descended and walked up the flight of steps which led to a noble
portico. Here was a great massive oak door, which looked as if it
required the strength of a strong man to open it, but it yielded to
Vera's touch, and a moment later she was standing in the great hall.

Tired as she was and frightened as she was feeling now, she could not
but admire the beauty and symmetry of the place. Like most historic
mansions of to-day, the place had been fitted with electric light, and
a soft illuminating flood of it filled the hall. It was a magnificent
oak-panelled apartment, filled with old armor and trophies, and lined
with portraits of the owner's ancestors. It seemed to Vera that
anybody might be happy here. It also seemed strange to her that a man
of Fenwick's type should choose a place like this for his habitation.
She was destined to know later what Fenwick had in his mind when he
came here.

Vera's meditations were cut short by the appearance of the man himself.
To her surprise she noted that he was dressed in some blue material, just
like an engineer on board ship. His hands were grimy, too, as if he had
been indulging in some mechanical work. He nodded curtly to the girl.

"So you've come at last," he said. "I daresay you wonder why I sent for
you. There is a little room at the back yonder, behind the
drawing-room, that I have turned into a study. Go in there and wait
for me, and I'll come to you as soon as I have washed my hands. I hope
you have brought all you want with you; for there is precious little
accommodation for your sex here at present. You can take your choice of
bed-rooms--there are enough of those and to spare. I have something
serious to say to you."

With a sinking at her heart Vera passed into the little room that Fenwick
had pointed out to her. At any other time she would have admired the old
furniture and the elegant refined simplicity of it all; now she had other
things to think of. She stood warming her hands at the fire till Fenwick
came in and carefully closed the door behind him.

"Now we can get to business," he said. "I daresay you wonder why I sent
for you instead of leaving you in London for the present. Up to now I
have always regarded you as perfectly safe--indeed, I thought you were
sufficiently grateful to me for all my kindness to you. I find I am
mistaken."

Vera looked up with a challenge in her eyes. She knew that she had
something to face now, and she meant to see it through without showing
the white feather. She was braced up and ready, now that the moment for
action had come.

"Have you ever really been kind to me?" she challenged. "I mean, have you
really been kind to me for my own sake, and out of pure good-nature? I
very much doubt it."

"This is your gratitude," Fenwick sneered. "I think we had better
understand one another."

"I would give a great deal to understand you," the girl said boldly. "But
we are wasting time fencing here like this, and I am very tired. You sent
for me at this extraordinary hour, and I came. I have every right to know
why you asked me to come here."

"Sit down," Fenwick growled. "I sent for you because I did not trust you.
I sent for you because you have betrayed your promise. You are doing
something that you told me you would not do."

"And what is that?" Vera asked.

"Just as if you did not know. Let us go back a bit, back three years and
a half ago. Your father was alive in those days; it was just before he
met his death in Mexico."

"I remember perfectly well," Vera said, quietly. "I am not likely to
forget the time. Pray continue."

"Have patience please, I am coming to it all in time. Your father died
more or less mysteriously, but there is not the shadow of a doubt that he
was murdered. Nobody knows how he was murdered, but a good many people
behind the scenes can guess why. The thing was hushed up, possibly
because the tragedy took place in so remote a corner of the
world--possibly because the authorities were bribed. Tell me the name of
the man, or, at least, tell me the name of the one man who was with your
father at the time of his death."

Vera's face paled slightly, but she kept her eyes steadily fixed on her
companion's face. She began to understand where the point of the torture
was coming in.

"I will not affect to misunderstand you," she said. "The man who was with
my father at that time was Mr. Charles Evors. He was a sort of pupil of
my father's, and had more than once accompanied him on his excursions.
You want to insinuate that my father met his death at the hands of this
young man, who, overcome by certain temptation and a desire to obtain the
secret of the Four Finger Mine, murdered his master?"

"I am in a position to prove it," Fenwick said sternly. "I have given you
practical proof of it, more than once. Why should I have interfered in
the way I did, unless it was that I desired to save you pain? I could
have brought the whole thing into the light of day, but I refrained from
doing so because, it seemed to me, nothing could be gained by bringing
the criminal to justice. I had another reason, too, as you know."

"Yes, I am aware of that," Vera said. "I could never make it out--I could
never really believe that Charles Evors was guilty of that dreadful
crime. He was so frank and true, so kind to everybody! I know he was
weak--I know that he had been sent away from England because he had
fallen into bad company; I know, too, that he was a little fond of drink.
There was only one point on which he was reticent--he never spoke much
about his people; but I rather gathered that they were in a high
position."

"They were," Fenwick grinned. "You'd be surprised if you knew how high a
position. But go on."

"I was saying that I could not credit Charles Evors with such a crime. A
man who is so fond of children, so sympathetic to things weaker than
himself, could not have taken the life of a fellow-creature. He was fond
of my father, too, but that was not the strangest feature of the mystery.
Do you suppose for a moment that the man who was engaged to be married to
my sister could have laid violent hands on her father?"

"But he did do it," Fenwick cried impatiently. "Otherwise why did he
vanish so mysteriously? Why did he go away and leave us to infer that he
had perished at sea? It was the kindest thing we could do to let your
sister think that her lover was dead, though the shock seems to have
deprived her of her reason; and, though I acted all for the best, your
brother chose to proclaim me an abandoned scoundrel, and to say that your
father's death lay at my door. You know why it became necessary for you
to remain with me and treat your brother henceforth as a stranger. You
volunteered to do it, you volunteered to turn your back on your family
and remain with me. Why did you do so?"

No reply came from Vera's lips. It seemed to her that her safest course
lay in silence. To her great relief, Fenwick went on without waiting for
an answer.

"Now I am coming to my point," he said. "You have broken faith with me.
Three or four times since we came to England you have seen your brother.
You have seen him by stealth; you know all about that strange household
in Portsmouth Square where he chooses to hide himself under the name of
Bates. I want to know why it is that you have chosen to break your word
with me? I have had you watched to-night, and I have learned all your
movements by means of the telephone. You will stay down here during my
pleasure. If you fail to do so, or if you try to deceive me again, as
sure as I stand here at the present moment I will betray Charles Evors
into the hands of the police. Now look me in the face and answer my
question truthfully Do you know where that young man is?"

It was fortunate for Vera that she could reply in the negative. A few
more hours, perhaps, and she might have been able to afford the
information; but, luckily for her, the startling events that had recently
taken place in Portsmouth Square were not known to her in their entirety.
She could look Fenwick in the face.

"I don't," she said. "I have never seen him since that fateful
morning--but I don't care to go into that. I admit that I have seen my
brother. I admit, too, that I have seen my sister; the temptation to find
them and see them once more was too strong for me. You will not be
surprised to find that I have some natural feelings left. It is not so
very extraordinary."

Fenwick shot a suspicious glance at Vera, but she was gazing into the
fire with a thoughtful look. She was acting her part splendidly; she
was deceiving this man who, as a rule, could read the thoughts of
most people.

"Perhaps you are right," he said doubtfully. "But to make assurance
doubly sure you are going to help me out of a difficulty. I suppose you
have not forgotten Felix Zary?"

"No," Vera said, in a curiously low voice. "I have not forgotten my
father's faithful companion. I should very much like to see him again. If
you know where he is--"

"Oh, I know where he is," Fenwick said with a laugh. "We will have him
down here as a pleasant surprise. That is all I want you to do--I want
you to write a letter to Zary, telling him that you are in great trouble,
and asking him to come down here and see you at once. I should like you
to write that letter now."

CHAPTER XVIII

A COUPLE OF VISITORS

Something in the tone of Fenwick's voice caused Vera to look up
hastily. Perhaps it was her imagination that in the unsteady light of
the flickering fire his face seemed to have changed almost beyond
recognition. The features were dark and murderous and the eyes were
full of a lust for vengeance. It was only just for a moment--then the
man became his normal self again, just as if nothing had happened. A
violent shudder passed over Vera's frame, but Fenwick appeared to
notice nothing of this.

"You want me to write that letter now?" she asked.

"At once," Fenwick responded. "I don't mind telling you that I am in
great trouble over business matters; there is a conspiracy on foot
amongst certain people to get me into trouble. I may even find myself
inside the walls of a prison. The man who can save me from all this is
your friend, Felix Zary. Unfortunately for me, the man has the bad taste
to dislike me exceedingly. He seems to think that I was in some way
responsible for your father's death. And, as you know, he loved your
father with a devotion that was almost dog-like. If I could get Zary
down here I should have no difficulty in convincing him that he was
wrong. But he would not come near the place so long as he knew that I
was present; so, therefore, I want you to write to him and conceal the
fact that I am on the premises. Directly he gets your letter he will
come at once."

"I have not the slightest doubt of it," Vera said slowly. "There is
nothing that Zary would not do for one of us, if you will assure me that
you mean no harm by him--"

"Harm?" Fenwick shouted. "What harm could I do the man? Didn't I tell you
just now that I want him to do me a service? One does not generally
ill-treat those who are in a position to bestow favors. Now sit down like
the good girl that you are, and write that letter at once. Then you can
go to bed."

"I will write it in the morning," Vera said. "Surely there cannot be
all this desperate hurry. If the letter is written before the post goes
out tomorrow afternoon it will be in good time. I am much too tired to
do it now."

Just for a moment Fenwick's eyes blazed angrily again. It seemed to Vera
that the man was about to burst forth into a storm of passion. The hot
words did not come, however, for Fenwick restrained himself. Perhaps he
was afraid of going a little too far; perhaps he was afraid of arousing
Vera's suspicions, and thus defeating his own object by a refusal on her
part to write the letter. He knew from past experience that she could be
as firm of purpose as himself if she chose.

"Very well," he said, with an almost grotesque attempt at good-humor.
"You look very tired tonight, and I daresay you have had a fatiguing
journey--and, after all, there is no great hurry. I will show you up to
the room which I have set apart for your use."

Vera was only too glad to get away. Despite her strange surroundings, and
despite the sense of coming danger, she threw herself on the bed and
slept the sleep of utter exhaustion. It was getting towards noon before
she came back to herself, invigorated and refreshed by her long rest.

So far as the girl could see, there were no servants in the house at
present besides an old retainer of the family and her husband. Fenwick
had made some excuse about the staff of domestics who were to follow
later on; but up to now he only had about him the men whom Vera had known
more or less well for the last two years. The meals appeared to be served
in a remarkably irregular fashion; even the lunch was partaken of
hurriedly by Fenwick, who pleaded the pressure of business.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18