The Unknown Bridegroom

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 317, 3 December 1910, Page 7

The Unknown Bridegroom

(Ail Rights Reserved*);

OR,

THE MYSTERIOUS WEDDING RING.

I3y the Author of "Stella," "Two Keys," Etc., Etc.

PART 10

"Oh, you can't play that game or me, Mr. Leighton," she observed, flippantly. "Of course, I thought it was you who was being married to her. I believed the knot was tied all fair a nd square, a nd I should never have known any different it Florence hadn't told me that s strange man had taken your place, and the shock it gave her when she found it out was what made her fainl."

"Yes. f know that is what she claims," Leighton returned, still holding the girl's gaze with his magnetic eyes ; "but she was labouring under great mental excitement, as we all know, and so liable to be mistaken. Now, if I, with my two friends and you—which would be four against one —should swear that Miss Richardson was married to me that night—and T have the certifirate as additional evidence —it would be very difficult for her t y prove the Contrary. See ?" "Yes. I see." replied Anna, musingly, "and —I—T shouldn't wonder if it could be done, provided—the returns are satisfactory," she concluded, with a sly smile. "Well, here is something to tide over your present necessities," her companion observed, as he slipped a note into her hand. "I hope that n 0 witnesses will ever be required to swear to anything of the kind, but if they are, you will hear from me again. One thing more, Anna — don't ever go to the bank again to inquire for me. I am going away, and shall not be there any more."

CHAPTER XII. THE NEW BARONET. On the very day of his arrival in London, Walter Leighton proceeded zlirectly to the otlice of Messrs. Wellington and Hayes, to whom he presented his letter of introduction from the banker and other papers to jrove his identity.

To his exceeding joy it was an 3asy task to make clear to them beyond question that he was the next-of-kin, being the son of a younger brother of the late Sir Julicn. No other applicants had presented themselves, although the lawyers had been advertising for many months, and had almost despaired of finding an heir to the estate, which in that case would lapse to the Crown.

"It is a fine inheritance, young man, a very fine inheritance—Worthing and Towers, in Sussex, and a grand estate, with its magnificent rent-roll, and you are to be congratulated upon coming into it," the lawyer said ; "but as Sir Julicn and Lady Leigh lon were dear personal friends, as well as clients, it is but natural that I should regret there is no son to reign in his father's place."-

"Yes, pi course," said the young man, somewhat coldly ; "but where there never any children ?" "Yes, there were three born to them ; ' but they are all dead—at least, it is supposed that such is the fact."

"Supposed!' Is there any doubt about it ?" abruptly demanded the would-be heir, a sudden blur obscuring his sight, every atom of colour forsaking his face.

To have so nearly attained the summit of his ambition, and then lose all by the possible appearance of some missing heir, would be more than he could endure.

•'No, do not be alarmed, my .friend. There can be no doubt at this late day, and Sir Julien and Lady Leighton gave up all hope years ago. They -were very unfortunate with their children." the lawyer observed, with a regretful sigh. "It is .-, sad story. Do you earn to listen to it ?" he questioned, bending a scarehhiFv loo!< upon the young man's face. '"Certainly. Of course, I am deeply interested," he tried to say, in a proper tone. "Well, thev lost their eldest child, a bov, when he was only three months old, and nearly thirteen years ago," Mr. Wellington resumed. "This was a terrible blow to them, but thev were somewhat comforted when, a year later, a daughter was bom to' them. Two years afterwards there came another boy, and then life looked very bright to them again. Winn this lost child was about a year and a half old. Lady .Leighion's health began, to fail, and her physicians ordered her to the south of France for a few months. The little girl was allowed to accompany her parents, but the boy, who was a robust and very noisy little fellow, was forbidden to go. lest he worry his mother, and he was left behind with a trusty nurse, who had been in the family for many years. They wore sent to Brighton to board with a good woman who had once been housekeeper for Lady Leighton, but who had married and settled in that place. Lady Leighton improved rapidly, and at the end of four months was pronounced able to return. As they wished to spend a little time in London before return'ng to the Towers, Sir Julien. who was eager for a sight of his bov, wrote to the nurse to join them on a slated day at the Arcadia, an betel where they were accustomed to stop during their visits to-town. On the same day ho also wrote to the proprietor of the hotel, bespeaking a suite of rooms for himself and family. But as it happened—a n d it was mi unusual circumstance—the hotel was so full they could not be accommodated, and the prpprietqr was obliged to telegraph him to that effect. Sir Julien immedialply graphed to another hotel and secured a suite, then wrote to the nurse at Brighton, telling her of the change he had made. It appears, however, that she did not receive this last communication, but, according to the story of the woman with whom she and her charge had been boarding, she left Brighton on the specified dale to obey the instructions of Sir Julien's first letter,

and that was the last- that was ever seen or heard of cither nurse or baby by any of their friends." "Mom- strange .'" exttlaiined Walt or Leighton, a s the man paused.

He had listened with almost, brenthlcss attention to Hie story : I>ut a feeling- of excessive uneasiness, a secret tear oppressed hi in in view of the mystery which appeared to envelop Lhe fate of the little heir of Worthing- Towers. "It certainly was very strange," his companion retnrnci ; unci then continued : "When Sir Julien anc Lady Lcighton arrived in Loudon late at night, having been detained several hours on their way, and did not find the nurse and child awaiting them, they were very anxious. The next morning Sir Julien telegraphed to Brighton to ascertain the reason of their non-appearance. The answer he received reassured them somewhat, as it explained that the nurse had kt't the previous day to join him at the Arcadia, according to his directions. He, of course, understood at once that his second letter had gone astray, and he immediately hastened to the other hotel to in pure for the truants, lie was told by the proprietor that, such a woman and child had presented themselves there the previous afternoon, the nurse asking to he shown to the apartments of Sir Julien Leiu-hton. She was told that he was not there, ; ,nd that she could not he accommodated, as the house was full. She had Ihen left, and had probablv sought some other place for the night. The baronet was nearly distracted, and hurried bach to his hotel, hoping to find the missing ones there. Of course, lie was disappointed, for she had no means of knowing- where to find him. Thinking she might have returned to P-righton, he telegraphed again to the old housekeeper. She had not been seen. F.very possible effort was made to find her—London was scoured from end to end during the :iext few weeks—but not the slightest :lue to either woman or child was found. They had disappeared as absolutely as if they had been suddenly blotted out of existence." "And was nothing ever learned of :heir fate?" questioned Walter Lcighton. with an anxious heart. "No : nothing tangible. It was ascertained a month or two afterwards that an hotel in another street not very far from the house where the nurse had been told to ?o had been burned down on that very night, and Sir Julien got the idea into his head that both woman and child had perished in the flames, although he could never gain any satisfactory information regarding the matter. The proprietor had been out of town that night, and the :Mcrk was so overcome by the disaster that he shortlv became a raving maniac. The books were all burn:d, so it was impossible to tell whether the missing ones had been registered there. It was pitiable to see the man haunt the vicinity and questioning people regarding the catastrophe ; but ir a great city like this such incidents are frequent, and soon forgotten, and three weeks after the fire a new hotel was going up on the old site." "How long did this happen ?" .questioned Lcighton.

"Sonic six or sown years—near seven. I should think." said Mr. Wellington. "It nearly broke iho hearts of both Sir .Julien and Lady I.eighton—they were never the same afterwards—and when, three years later, their little daughter died, it seemed as if the crowning' dlo.v to their misery had fallen upon them. Their silent home became intolerable to them, and, dismissing their servants and closing it, they travelled 'or a couple of yeais. They looked ;wentv years older when lhey renirned to the Towers. a »d lived I hero .n a very <|iiiet way. shunning all society. Tt was not long before Sir 7ulion's health failed. a nd ho was ordered to the Mediterranean, where le only lived a few weeks, to be lolowed a few months later by his >vife. and we have been searching for :he nearest of kin ever since."

"Was there no w >ll ? " inquired the awycr's listener.

"Yes : Sir .Julien made a will after the death of his daughter, leaving sverything to T.ady 1 .eight on. but icr ladyship's mind failed so rapidly during'her last illness she was incapacitated, and so the property must go to her nearest relative. I congratulate you upon being the 'ortunate man." the gent lonian concluded, with great cordiality. lie had been favourably impressed with the. young man's appearance and bearing', and truly, feeling that no must stake everything to win, r.eighlon had conducted' himself in the "most exemplary manner throughout, his negotiations with the distinguished lawyers. . Thus an arch-schemer came into possession of one of the finest estates in all Kngland, and after securing a competent housekeeper and corps" of servants, he repaired to Worthing Towers, where he immediately began to bring order out of chaos, and to make such repairs n nd improvements as his tastes and desires suggested. A couple of months passed, a nd everything was at last in perfect order, for plenty of money and a small army of workmen can accomplish wonders in a very short time.

It w a s a stately English home—an ideal spot, where lavish nature and the skill of man had combined to reproduce, as it were, another Eden. "And all this is mine !" mused Sir Walter Leighton, as he stood on those flawless granite steps one bright morning late in October. "The fates have certainly favoured mo far beyond my highest expectations. Only one thing is lacking to complete my triumph, and that is to win Florence and install her hero a s mistress."

ciiAPTKit xnr. THE CALIFORNIA I'.EALTY. "Let me see," the newly-made baronet mused, as he drew forth a note-book from his pocket, "the address of the so-called ' Seaver party,' as I learned in London, is Florence for the month of November, Venice for December, and Hotel du Quirinal, Koine, for .January and February. Hum ! 1 believe, since T have got everything so shipshape here. I will ru t , over to Paris for a couple of months: then I will put in an appearance at Koine about the first week in .January, the Seavers with the change in my fortunes, and try to persuade Florence that she belongs mi."

He was iicrc interrupted in his soliloquy by the approach of Ihr butler, who, by the w a y. was an old servitor of the family, and who, upon learning that Worthing Towers was to be re-opened by the new heir, had aPP'h'd for his old position, lie now informed the young baronet that lie would like him to come and inspect the wine-cellars— which had been thoroughly renovated and restocked —and remarked that he had just put the last bottle in its place.

Leighton signified his willingness to comply with his request, and accordingly followed him to the cellar. It was situated beneath one of the wings, and was complete in every respect. It was partitioned o(T into various compartments, each containing its special varifity of wine, with the temperature exactly adjusted to best preserve the flavour of each peculiar vintage. "Well, this looks very fine. Burns. You have certainly made tt decidedly neat job of it. and I am well pleased," Sir Walter observed, as he went from room to room and glanced round the clean, nicely-whitewashed vaults, regarding with an atVect ionate expression the various casks a nd countless bottles so nicely arranged. "Thank you. sir: I've tried t 0 do my diiity, sir." the butter replied, with an air of conscious pride. As they were about to leave the place. Leighton suddenly caught sight of a door in one corner of the vault which was fastened with a padlock. "What is this, liurr.s ? Where does it lead to?" he inquired, regarding it curiously.

••That is the way to the old vaults sic." returned the butler, a peculiar look flitting across his face, while he turned abruptly, as if in haste to leave the place. "The old vaults!" repeated his master, without moving from the spot. "I say, Burns," he added,, looMing back over his shoulder at the man, who had reached the door and was fumbling' impatiently at the key, "don't l;e in a hurry ; I want to know more about these vaults. What caused them to be discarded and new ones built ? Come back here and tell me about it," he con:luded, peremptorily. The man, thus commanded, returned to his master's side, although rather reluctantly, it seemed to him, and this fact only served to increase his curiosity. "Well, sir, I don't know very muci. about them," he began, "for you see the. new vaults were built during the time of the late baronet's grandfather, lie made a great many improvements, for the house w a s very old ; some of it was taken down, and he added a great deal more. You see, my uncle on my mother's side lived here before me, and that's howt I come to know about it" "Yes, yes," interposed Leighton, a trifle impatiently, for he cared nothing for a gcncology of the butler's family ; "but what part of the building was taken down ?" "The old dining-hall and the rooms over it, sir.; that part was not thought to be safe for some reason. Some say it had settled, and, not being a sunny room at all, the new dining-hall was built on the east side of the house."

"Hum ! And so the wine vaults used to be under the old diningroom," said Leighton, meditatively. "1 suppose the settling of the building made them imsafe, too ?" ''Yes, sir ; perhaps so, sir," the lyutler answered, somewhat faintly. "What is in them now ?" questioned his companion.

"Nothing, sir ; leastways I—l don't snow as there is," said the man, with an uneasy shrug of his shouiicrs. "tt was said, sir, that in tho time of Sir Julien's grandfather there was a brother of the old man who went mad just about tho time the new dining-room was being built. The family was very proud, and wanted to keep the matter still, and not have him sent to a madhouse ; 3o when the old part of the house was torn down the vaults underneath were fitted up in a comfortable shape, and the. madman was put into'it with a keeper. Kverything was managed so clever there were only two or three who knew anything about it, and when he died, rather than have the story get out and make a great stir, the old baronet had one ot the small vaults double wailed and cemented tight for ft tomb, and put the poor creature in it."

T-eighton himself shivered at this point. "This is rather an unpleasant tale, Burns," he observed, and instinctively moving away from the padlocked door. "1 think T will not meddle with the place, and 1 hope \on will never repeat what you have told me. especially to any of the servants. You are probably the only one who knows anything about it, the others all being new." "That is true, sir ; and I'd never known it myself, only I happened to hear my uncle and aunt talking it oxer between themselves one night when I was a boy, and they thought L was fast asleep," the man explained. "You needn't fear sir. that I'll ever tell it," he added ; "tt isn't my taste even, to think about it. let alone "talking it over, and I'm mighty gUiu tho key has been lost."

He turned to lead the \v a y from the place as he concluded, Leighton closely following him.

The master and servant parted at the head of the stairs, the former going out of doors, where he took a stroll round the massive building to ascertain where the new wall had been erected.

It was a finely-constructed piece of masonry, and composed of immense blocks of granite; but the wall was solid from base to coping. There was not even a window in it, it being in the rear where windows were considered unnecessary ; but a couple of chimneys arose from the top, ami ivy and Virginia creeper had grown luxuriantly over the whole, and made beautiful contrast with the soft grey of the stone. "The Vaults must be about here, and doubtless run quite a distance underground." fhe -young baronet mused, as he paced the line walk that was bordered on each side by velvet turf. Suddenly he stopped short as M peculiar *ound struck his ear. and then his eyes sought IliC ground. (To be Continued).