Vellenaux A Novel, Edmund William Forrest [read with me TXT] 📗
- Author: Edmund William Forrest
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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:
Chapter 14 Pg 91"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
Chapter 14 Pg 92Practiced 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,
Chapter 14 Pg 93Saying 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
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