Vellenaux A Novel, Edmund William Forrest [read with me TXT] 📗

His Neighbors To

Believe. The Business On Which They Had Met Had Been Interrupted By The

Entrance Of A Servant With A Note To Sir Ralph,  But,  On His Leaving The

Room,  The Conversation Was Resumed By Mrs. Fraudhurst Saying:

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"I Would Much Rather,  Sir Ralph,  That This Subject Be Now Discontinued,

And Never Again Reverted To. The Papers To Which You Allude Are

Perfectly Safe In My Hands,  And I Do Not See That Any Good Could Accrue

By My Transferring Them To You,  Certainly None To Myself,  And It Might

Militate Against Me; For The Great Anxiety You Evince To Get Possession

Of The Documents Leads Me To Believe That You Have Some Particular

Object In View,  Something Which Does Not Appear Or,  The Surface,  And

Which You Desire Should Not Come To My Knowledge."

 

"But,  My Dear Madam,  You Surely Do Not Imagine That I Have Any Other

Motive In Requesting You To Hand Over To My Safe Keeping The Deed In

Question Than A Natural Desire To Be Quite Certain That Our Mutual

Interests Should Not Be Imperilled By Any Accidental Circumstance That

Might Disclose The Existence Of Any Such Document."

 

The Lady Looked Steadily At Him For A Few Seconds,  Then In A Clear

Distinct,  And Deliberate Tone,  Said,  "For The Last Seven Years The Will

Of The Late Baronet Has Been In My Possession,  During Which,  Time You,

Sir Ralph,  Have Made Frequent Attempts To Obtain It From Me,  Sometimes

On One Pretence,  Then On Another. Were I To Agree To Your Request,  What

Security Have I That You,  Who Have Acted So Vile A Part Against Miss

Effingham,  Would Not Act As Treacherously Towards Me,  Were I Once In

Your Power? While I Possess That Document,  I Hold My Position Here,  And

Can Thus Keep You At Bay. And Think You That I Will Thus Surrender My

Advantage To Please The Idle Fancy Of A Man Who Would Not Hesitate To

Stoop To Perform Any Act However Dastardly,  So That He Could Effectually

Escape The Penalty Of A Crime He Was Ready To Profit By,  But Cowardly

Enough To Shrink From The Consequences It Entailed? You Say That Our

Interest In This Affair Is Mutual,--It Is Not So,  And You Know It. You

Gain Nineteen Thousand A Year,  I Only One. Again,  Should The Will By Any

Mischance Be Found In My Possession,  Who Would Believe My Statement

That You Were A Party Concerned In The Abstraction Of The Said Deed,  You

Would Deny All Knowledge Of The Transaction And My Unsupported Evidence

Could Not Commit You. Of Course You Would Lose The Estate; But What

Would My Condition Be Then. No! I Have Everything At Stake--You,

Comparatively Nothing. I Will Not Accede To So Absurd A Proposition."

There Was A Short Pause,  The Widow Resumed Her Embroidery With An Air Of

Apparent Indifference. The Baronet Sat Abstractedly Gazing Out Of The

Window,  Evidently Turning Over Something In His Mind. As She Had Stated

He Had Tried To Wheedle Her Out Of The Papers,  But She Had Hitherto,  By

Great Tact,  Adroitly Managed To Shift The Conversation To Some Other

Subject,  In A Quiet And Playful Manner. He Was Therefore Not Prepared

For This Vehement Outburst; She Had Not Only Refused To Comply With His

Demand,  But Taunted Him With Stinging Words For His Pusillanimous

Conduct. He Knew Her Great Ambition,  And That The Sole Object Of Her

Life Was To Become Mistress Of Vellenaux,  And To Gain This She Would

Risk Everything. It Was Her Weak Point,  The Only Vulnerable Part He

Could Attack With Any Hope Of Success. He Had For Months Pondered Over

This; It Had This Advantage,  It Is True,  He Thought A Marriage Would

Secure Him In The Possession Of Both The Will And Her Silence; But Then

He Hated Her With A Cordial Hate. He Had Been For Years In Her Power.

During Her Residence At Vellenaux She Had Every Want Supplied,  And Was

Safe In Her Position. With The Only Evidence Of The Fraud That Had Been

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Practiced In Her Own Keeping; She Had Outwitted Him And Had In Reality

Obtained The Best Of The Bargain. The Knowledge Of This Cut Him To The

Quick And He Detested Her In Consequence.

 

Yet His Only Chance Of Obtaining That Which He So Coveted Was By An

Offer Of Marriage,  Not That He Intended To Fulfil Any Such Promise,

Quite The Reverse,  It Would Be A Lie,  A Villainous Deception,  But Had He

Not Willingly Defrauded Miss Effingham Out Of Her Property? And What Was

One Lie,  More Or Less,  It Would Be But Diamond Cut Diamond,  And Turning

The Tables On Mrs. Fraudhurst. All These Thoughts Flashed Through His

Mind As He Sat Gazing Out Upon The Sunny Landscape Below Him,  If It Must

Be Done,  As Well Now As At Any Other Time,  Perhaps Better. He At Length

Arose,  And After Taking Two Or Three Turns Up And Down The Apartment In

Order To Nerve Himself For Action,  Stopped Beside The Chair Of The Fair

Widow.

 

"Eleanor," Said He,  Laying His Hand On Her Arm. She Looked Up Quickly,

For He Had Never Before So Addressed Her. "Eleanor,  You Are Unjust To Me

And To Yourself,  Ask Yourself Have I Ever Deceived Or Broken Faith With

You Since Our Compact After Sir Jasper's Death,  And The Answer Must Be

In My Favor. You May Say That I Have Acted Coldly And Kept Aloof From

You: This I Grant Is True,  But It Has Been Forced Upon Me; I Felt That

The Eyes Of The World Were Upon Us,  Watching Our Actions. Your Constant

Residence Here Has Been Talked Of And Cavelled At By Some Of The

Neighboring Families,  Who Have Not Recovered From The Surprise They Felt

On Hearing That Sir Jasper Had Died Intestate And Left His Orphan Niece

Unprovided For. It Was To Prevent Exposure That I Have Thus Acted

Towards You,  And I Believe That I Have Effectually Succeeded,  And Now I

Acknowledge That The Charm Of Your Society Has Become Almost

Indispensable To Me,  And I Will No Longer Be Held Back By The World's

Opinion. Listen To My Proposal,  Accept It Or Reject It As You Will,  I

Make It With All Sincerity. Place The Will Of The Late Baronet In My

Hands,  And Before This Day Month You Shall Be My Wife And Mistress Of

The The Manor."

 

"And Should I Survive You," She Said,  "Vellenaux And Its Broad Lands--"

 

"Reverts To Miss Effingham On Condition That She Allows You Five

Thousand Per Annum And A Suite Of Apartments In The West Wing,  During

The Remainder Of Your Life,  Which You Can Have Fitted Up To Suit Your

Taste And Convenience Without Delay,  In Case The Contingency You Mention

Should Arise Sooner Than I Anticipate."

 

"And This You Swear To Fulfil To The Letter," She Replied,  Advancing

Nearer And Fixing Her Eyes Upon Him As If To Read His Inmost Thoughts.

 

"On The Day After Our Marriage I Will Cause A Will To Be Drawn To That

Effect,  This I Swear To Do By The Honor Of Knighthood."

 

Her Countenance Lit Up And There Was A Sparkling Brilliancy In Her Large

Black Eyes As She Said,  "I Believe You--Wait A Few Seconds And I Will

Prove That I Do." She Then Quitted The Room,  But Did Not Keep Him Long

In Suspense; On Re-Entering She Placed The Parchment In His Hands,

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Saying As She Did So,  "Remember I Now Trust You,  But Beware How You

Betray That Trust."

 

He Opened The Document And Glanced Over It,  To Satisfy Himself Of Its

Authenticity; His Legal Experience Enabled Him To Decide At Once That It

Was Genuine. "Eleanor." He Then Said,  Taking Her Hand,  "Our Interests

Are Now Identical,  We Cannot Now But Act In Concert," And Raising Her

Hand To His Lips,  He Bowed Courteously To Her And Left The Room By One

Door,  While She Passed Out At Another.

 

"I Have Carried My Point,  Thought Sir Ralph As He Entered His Study,  And

Before This Day Month I Shall Have Sank Both Name And Title,  And Be An

Alien From My Native Land."

 

"I Have Carried My Point At Last," Exclaimed Mrs. Fraudhurst,  As The

Door Of Her Dressing Room Closed Behind Her; "Before This Day Month I

Shall Be Lady Coleman And Mistress Of Vellenaux."

 

It Was Late That Night Ere Sir Ralph Retired To Rest; Before He Did So

He Had Determined On His Future Career. For Years He Had Striven To

Wrest This Document From The Widow And Now With It In His Possession,  He

Lost No Time In Putting Into Execution The Plans He Had For So Long A

Time Been Maturing. This Was To Proceed Without Delay To London,  Raise

As Large A Sum As Possible By Mortgaging The Vellenaux Property To Its

Fullest Extent,  Then Retire To The Continent And Spend The Remainder Of

His Days In Foreign Travel,  Halting From Time To Time At The Different

Cities He Had Visited During The First Years Of His Married Life. For In

This Mode Of Living He Felt He Would Be More Secure Than He Could Ever

Hope To Be In England During The Life Of Mrs. Fraudhurst. It Is True

That He Could,  By Fulfiling His Promise Of Marrying The Widow,  Have

Sheltered Himself From The Consequences That Might Arise Should His

Share Of The Concealment Of The Will Ever Appear,  But He Could Escape

This Alternative By Pursuing The Course He Had Marked Out For Himself.

He Was Aware That A Desperate And Revengeful Woman Like Mrs. Fraudhurst

Would Leave No Stone Unturned To Bring About The Ruin Of The Man Who Had

Thus Deceived And Tricked Her; But The Old Lawyer Knew That She Was

Almost Powerless To Act Against Him With Any Chance Of Success,  As The

Only Two Persons Interested In The Matter Were,  To The Best Of His

Belief,  In India,  And Likely To Remain There For Some Years At Least,

And The Only Real Proof That A Will Had Been Made By The Late Sir Jasper

Coleman,  Was Now In His Possession,  Viz: The Will Itself,  And Her

Unsupported Testimony Would Not Be Taken As Evidence In Any Court Of

Law; Besides,  In The Transaction She Was In The Eyes Of The Law The More

Culpable Of The Two,  Being The Chief Instigator Of The Plot,  Therefore

It Was In A More Complacent Frame Of