Time, The Avenger

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 424, 20 December 1911, Page 2

Time, The Avenger

(.Ail Rights Reserved.)

THE UNRAVELLING OF A STRANGE WILL MYSTERY,

By HEDLEY RICHARDS, Author of "The Haighs of Hillcrest," "From Mill to Mansion,," "Diana's Inheritance," Etc., Etc.

THIRTY-FOURTH INSTALMENT. " I hope you don't mind me taking your seat, but you see, Hugh is master of the house, so of course, I am the mistress," said Louise, who had evidently made up her mind that Nina should understand the position.

" I am too troubled to care about anything. But Hugh is not master of Gelder Hall," said Nina. " What do you mean ? " he exclaimed, while Louise fixed her eyes on the other girl, wondering if she had persuaded her father to leave the estate to her and thinking that if that were the case she would have to alter her tactics.

" Lionel Hudspith's innocence has been proved, and he is master of Gelder Hall," said Nina. " What ! Well, I'm not surprised as I should have been if father had not given me a hint that he believed it was possible he would prove his innocence. But where is the fellow?" said Hugh.

" Lionel Hudspith and Mr. Dalrymple are the same person," replied (lis sister.

" Well, I never ! And to think he has been living among us all these years ! " said Hugh ; and as he spoke he remembered how his father had urged him to marry Mona Dalrymple and he felt convinced that he had known the truth.

" Nina, what made my father commit suicide ? " he asked, after a minute.

" I suppose I must tell you, but it is awful to have to tell such things of our father;" and without looking at Louise who had drawn near, Nina told what she knew, and as she finished she burst into tears.

Hugh looked grave. He had not had a very high opinion of his father but he had not thought him capable of murder ; neither had he ever suspected him of being concerned in the forgery for which Lionel Hudspith had suffered. Perhaps if he had told Hugh the truth about the latter he would have carried on the fraud after his father's death, if he could have done so without fear of discovery. The difference between Hugh and his father lay in this : Hugh did a wicked thing on the spur of the moment, led on by his evil impulses, whereas his father's was carefullyplanned, wickedness. And now he felt shocked. Murder was an awful thing, he told himself, forgetting that through his cruel conduct which had prayed on her mind, Gertie'e health had been broken. He did not know she was dead, but he had been quick to see that it was his conduct which had caused Mrs. Hayes to turn informer and in his heart he cursed himself for having made love to Gertie. At last he said :

" Of course, apart from the estate, my father must have saved a large sum of money, and there is what he inherited under his uncle's will ; so we shall be rich in spite of the turn affairs have taken."

" I will never touch a penny of the money my father has left. But for that fraud he would only have inherited a trifle' from his uncle. The will that was left would never have been made, and I regard all my father leaves as oelonging to Lionel Hudspith," said Nina. " You are a fool ! " replied Hugh ; and Louise smiled scornfully as she said :

" Then if you do not touch one penny there will be more for mon mari."

Nina raised her eyes and gazed at the girl in surprise. She had heard of madame as good and noble ; evidently Louise did not take after her mother. She made no remark, however, but after a little time she left the room.

At that hour madame was seated alone in her sitting room, the detectives having just left. As soon as the news of Mr. Hudspith's suicide had reached him he had come into Wittonbury on purpose to tell her, in spite of Mrs. Hayes's entreaties that he would not leave the inn. She had Sally, he told he" ; and he wished to see madame, with whom he had a long conversation, and now Julie was thinking over what he had told her.

" Miss Penman, if you please, ma'am," said Mary opening the door and madame rose as her friend entered the room, exclaiming :

"Is anything wrong ? Where is Louise ? "

" Oh, madame, she has deceived us both ; but don't let it upset you—she is safely married," said MisrPenman.

" Married ! " echoed madame. " Yes ; I am quite sure about that. Yesterday soon after dinner, about a quarter-past two, she came into tin sitting-room, and it struck mesh; Looked uncommonly nice, so I said ' Where are you going, my dear ? She just laughed and said, ' For ; stroll. But what is the use of hav ing nice clothes it one does not wen: them? Now, you have your fort; winks, ma chere, and Louise wil take you one walk later.' Then sh went out and I fell asleep, not wak ing till the servant brought me a note. Oh, madame, that note nearl. killed me. She said that she had Eoi some time been engaged to Mr. Hug) Hudspith and was that afternoon be ing married to him in Belvertoi Church." ".Gnd forbid ! " exclaimed madam'

who had become pale as death. " It's true they were married. She advised mo to go and look at the register, then when I was satisfied they were legally married to hold my tongue until to-night, as should the news reach Mr. Hudspith before their arrival at Gelder Hall this afternoon it would mean ruin ; but. if they imparted the news themse'ivcs Louise had little doubt they would gladly receive her as his son's wife. After reading the letter I went to the church and saw the entry in the register. This is a copy;" and Miss Penman handed madame a slip of paper. " I came home by a late train to : day in order to give them time to interview Mr. Hudspith," she added.

" Mr. Hudspith is dead," replied madame, who then briefly explained to Miss Penman what had happened; and cutting short her exclamations of horror and surprise madame went to her room and came out dressed for the street, saying she was going to Gelder Hall to assure herself that Louise was acknowledged by the man who had married her, though for her part she should have considered death preferable to marriage with such a man.

" Are you going to walk there ? " asked Miss Penman.

" No ; I am going to get a conveyance at the inn. I am tired. This has been an exciting day." " Mv brother will be able to drive you, I am sure, and be able to start much sooner than you would get a trap from the inn. Why, here he is!" she said, as they stepped into the ntrcet, and Mr. Penman came along in a little trap. Miss Penman signed to him to stop, and as he drew up close to the pavement she explained in a few words what had happened, and asked if he would drive madame to Gclder Hall.

" I shall be very pleased ; the pony wants exercise, I have driven some friends home, but they only live a mile out of the town, and Punch is frisky for want of more to do," he said, as he helped madame into the trap, and wishing Miss Penman good night they drove off.

CHAPTER XXXVI

GAR AND MONA

It was a silent drive. Madam* was blaming herself for not having looked better after Louise ; yet she knew well enough that the girl would have gone her own way in spite of her. Still, it was very bitter to her to think that her child was the wife of the son of the man who had so greatly wronged Lionel Hudspith, and Hugh himself was bad. Madame's heart ached as she thought it was through her daughter poor Gertie had been driven to attempt suicide. Hugh had forsaken the poor girl in order to woe Louise.

While madame was thinking of him Hugh Hudspith was reading a paper which the butler stated the superintendent of police had said was to be given to him. It was accompanied by a few lines from the superintendent saying that the letter had been enclosed in a statement which his father had left, and he had opened it thinking it might contain further information concerning the forged cheque.

The letter was in an envelope addressed, "To my son, Hugh Hudspith."

The letter began : " When you read this letter I shall be dead and my death will have been hastened by your folly. I warned you not tc have anything to do with Mrs. Hajes's granddaughter, and you promised to keep clear of her. You failed to keep that promise and in reveugc Mrs. Hayes has told what she know about the forged cheque. She was the only one who could prove Lionel Hudspith's innocence and she has done it. If you had kept clear of the girl Gertie we would have been safe, and when Mrs. Hayes died it would have been impossible for my cousin to have proved his innocence. You have been a fool and you shall pay for your folly. Through you I have lost the estate, and in preference to spending years in prison I have made a hurried exit from this world ; therefore I am going to punish you by leaving a detailed statement which will corroborate that given by Mrs. Hayes and preclude you inheriting the Gelder estate. My will is clear and distinct. What I leave is divided between you and your sister. " Marcus Dewhirst Hudspith." " Slon Dieu, is it not dreadful to blame you ? " said Louise. Hugh did not reply ; he was Looking at a slip of paper which had fallen out of the letter. It was a notice of death : " On the 22nd. inst., igcd seventeen years, Gertie, beloved rranddaughter of Mrs. Hayes, of the Iclder Inn, Wittonbury." "So petite Gertie is dead," said Louise. Hugh did not reply ; he was thinking of Gertie as she had looked when she pleaded with him to marry iier. and in that moment he knew what remorse meant.

Just then the butler entered the room, saying in an apologetic tone : "If you please, sir, a lady wishes to see you. She said I was to say she was madame."

" Show her in here," he said ; and Louise leaned back in her chair, laughing softly as she said : " What will ma mere say ? " In another minute the butler opened the door, and madame entered — a tall graceful figure dressed in black. Hugh rose, and held out his hand ; she was his wife's mother and he loved Louise. Moreover, madame was a woman to be admired. Hugh had heard that Lady Dairymplc esteemed her much, and there was an indefinable charm about her, therefore he determined to meet her pleasantly. Madame ignored his hand and stood facing him, as she said :

"Is it true thr.t you ha\-■ ;.:. ; ;ed Louise ? " "Of course it is, ma mere. \.' were married by special licence. See, this is what the clergyman gave me; - ' and Louise handed her the certificate of marriage. Madame perused it carefully ; then she handed it back to her daughter, as Hugh said : " Come, madame. let us be friends; we stole a marcn on you, but, all is fair in love and war."

" Love ! " and her eyes literally blazed. " You talk about hive. I tell you that love is too pure a tiling "for you to feel. Passion you may know, but not love. That is a thing you cannot understand. Love is unselfish and forgets itself in doing good to the loved one. Passion ruins others for its own selfish gratification, and sends its victims to an untimely grave. Hugh Hudspith, hut for me poor Gertie would have taken her own life, and though you are my daughter's husband I tell you that I believe her death lies at your door.' Hugh had grown pale and his mouth twitched. He did not like tc hear such plain truths ; but Louise. came to the rescue :

"Ma mere, you speak foolishly. Petite Gertie ought to have taken care of herself. Louise did so, and to-day she is Mrs. Hugh Hudspith—rich, prosperous, and with one very good husband," she said, twining her arm round Hugh's neck. Madame turned away with a quick movement of disgust and left the room, crossing the hall so rapidly that the footman had to hasten to open the door and madame swept down the steps and into the waiting trap. " Please drive me home," she said to Mr. Penman.

Mona Dalrymple had left Gcldci Hall and returned home the day her father became conscious, and the morning after Marcus Hudspith's suicide her father and mother joined her. It had been a little risky for Mr. Dalrjmple—as he was still called—to be moved ; but he had insisted, as he wanted to be home in the crisis that had now come. So the doctor had to let him have his own way and after he had rested, he declared he was not any worse, and lay on a couch in the drawing room listening to his wife who was reading aloud, though it must be confessed his thoughts often wandered to Gelder Hall and the strange things that had happened during the last few days.

Presently a footman appeared with a request from Mr. Gar Hatton to know if Mr. Dalrymple was well enough to see him.

"Certainly. Where is he?" said his master.

" In the library, sir." " Show him in here," was the reply. In another moment Gar Hatton appeared, looking very bright, yet there was a slight hesitancy in his manner as he shook hands with Lady Dalrymple and her husband. Turning to the latter, he said : " I don't wonder . you refused to give me Mona after the injustice my grandfather did you ; but he tells mc you have forgiven him, so perhaps I may venture to hope ? " Mr. Dalrymple clasped Gar's hand as he said :

" I didn't refuse my consent on that account. I knew your grandfather had done what he believed to be right in view of the jury's verdict. You hnow the evidence was frightfully strong, and I thought that some day it might transpire that I was Lionel Hudspith, and unlqss my innocence was proved—and it didn't seem likely—l judged that Lord Hatton would bitterly resent my having allowed you to marry Mona, so I resolved to veto such a match." " And now ? " said Gar, eagerly. " Now it rests with Mona. You will find her in the garden. Go along, my boy," said Mr. Dalrymple, with a smile.

" It saddens mc to think that the circumstances which have brought Mona such happiness have been so terrible for Nina. I shall go and sec her to-morrow. I thought it better to wait till after the inquest," said Lad} Dalrymple.

" Poor girl ! I suppose it would be useless to ask her to come to us for a time ? " replied her husband. " Quite. If I know anything of Nina she will feel the shame keenly, and want to get away from here." "No doubt. By the way I've been thinking that Miss Holmes will be vexed that I did not tell her who I am," said Mr. Dalrymple. "It is better not ; the excitement would have been too much for you. Now you are safe at home we can be a little more venturesome. Oh, Richard, I cannot tell you how thankful I am that all this has been made clear. Before wc went away you were quite changed, and I felt sure something was troubling you. Thank God, the shadow has passed!" said his wife.

Meanwhile Gar had found Mona sitting under a shady tree in the lien. She was wearing a white dress and looked very lovely, and the bright colour that rushed into her ;heeks when she saw him made her look even more henutiful. " Mona, I have spoken to yur father, and he has sent me to v'i,' he said, seating himself beside her nml drawing her close to him. " '!*■ told me I was to -et my ;vir.vffrom you—that you were in tell m ' whether I was to be the ha;m ; e.d or most miserable of men ; but I have little fear, sweetheart, because I know you love me. Is not that so. Mona ? " he asked, tenderly. " Yes. Gar, I love you, and T should have loved you to the end of my life, whether we were married or not." " I know you would. Oh, Mona, this is the happiest day of my life." he said, taking her in his arms, and kissing her rapturously. (.To be Continued,)