The Middle of Things Page 29

  CHAPTER XXIX

  WHO IS TO TELL HER?

  But Viner, instead of ordering the teacups, whispered a word or two toMiss Penkridge, and then beckoned Lord Ellingham and the two solicitorsto follow him out of the room. He silently led them to his study andclosed the door.

  "Miss Wickham will be all right for a while under my aunt's care," hesaid, with a smile that had a certain meaning in it which was not loston Mr. Pawle or on Mr. Carless, "but there are matters connected withher which ought not to wait, even for ten minutes hanging round MissPenkridge's tea-table. Now, I have been thrown headlong into this case,and like all the rest of you, I am pretty well acquainted with it. And Itake it that now that the murder of Ashton has been solved, the realquestion is--what is the truth about the young lady who was certainlyhis ward?"

  "That is right!" exclaimed Mr. Pawle. "Carless--and Lord Ellingham--I amsure, agree with me."

  "Absolutely--as far as I'm concerned," asserted Mr. Carless. "HisLordship will speak for himself."

  Lord Ellingham answered Viner's smile with one equally frank.

  "I don't know whether I'm Lord Ellingham or not!" he said. "I have hadconsiderable doubt on that point ever since our conference the otherday. But I will say this, gentlemen: I had some conversation with MissWickham the other day, after we left your office, Mr. Carless, when shewas kind enough to allow me to escort her home, and--well, to be frank,gentlemen, whether she is my cousin or not, I--to me an old-fashionedphrase--desire her better acquaintance! And if she is my cousin, why,then--the title is not mine but hers!"

  The two lawyers exchanged significant glances.

  "Admirably spoken, My Lord!" said Mr. Pawle. "Excellent!"

  "It is just what I would have expected of his Lordship," remarked Mr.Carless. "I have known His Lordship since he was first breeched! But Ibelieve Mr. Viner has something to say?"

  "Yes--this," answered Viner. "Drillford found on Cortelyon the paperswhich are missing from those which Ashton had evidently kept togetherwith a view to proving his ward's right to the title and estates. He is asharp, fellow, Drillford, and he told me just now that he had glancedover those papers since Cortelyon's arrest, and he--well, I only juststopped him from letting out to Miss Wickham who--if the papers and thededuction to be drawn from them are correct--she really is. I am rightin supposing," he continued, suddenly interrupting himself, "that theEllingham title runs in the female as in the male line?"

  "Quite right, Mr. Viner," said Mr. Carless. "Quite right. It does! Ibelieve I mentioned the other day that there has already been oneCountess of Ellingham in her own right. The male line came to an end atone period--the daughter of the last male holder succeeded, and the manwhom she married took the family name of Cave-Gray, and their eldest son,of course, succeeded on the death of his mother. Quite right, sir."

  "Then," suggested Viner, "don't you think it would be advisable, ratherthan that Lord Ellingham should be kept in suspense, that we should goround to the police-station and inspect the documents? I don't knowwhether Drillford will give them up until his prisoners have been broughtbefore the magistrate, but he said he would give them to the properpersons eventually, and in any case he will show them to you threegentlemen."

  "Good!" said Mr. Pawle. "Let us go at once--it is only a fewminutes' walk."

  "And in the meantime," suggested Mr. Carless, "Miss Wickham might beasked to remain here--under the wing of the excellent Miss Penkridge?"

  Viner laughingly remarked that he had no doubt whatever that MissPenkridge would willingly assume this position of trust, and leading hiscallers into the hall, left them for a moment while he returned to thedrawing-room. He was smiling when he returned.

  "I think Miss Wickham will be safe for some time," he said. "Horrified asshe is at the conduct of the wicked Mrs. Killenhall, she is sufficientlyfeminine to be taking a vast interest in my aunt's account of how shebrought off her wonderful stroke of genius this afternoon. So--shall wego round?"

  Drillford, found alone in his office, showed no surprise when Vinerbrought in and introduced his companions. He already knew the twolawyers, and exchanged comprehending words with them, but he looked atLord Ellingham with the same interest which Viner had seen in him whenMiss Wickham was present.

  "Of course, you may see the whole lot, gentlemen," he said as he unlockedthe drawer. "I don't want you to take these things away now, though,because we'd like to produce them when these people are brought uptomorrow morning. But after they've been shown, I'll hand them over--andin the meantime you can rely on it that they'll be taken care of--rather!Well, now, here's the missing ring! Hyde, you know, admitted to pickingup one--this is the other, without doubt. And--there's thefifty-thousand-pound diamond. Of course, Cortelyon robbed Ashton afterhe'd killed him as a piece of bluff--what he wanted was these papers. Heevidently gave Cave, or Starr, his accomplice, certain of the papers, toplay the game with, but the really important ones he kept in his ownpocket, where I found 'em. There you are, gentlemen."

  He handed over a stout linen-lined foolscap envelope to Mr. Carless, andthat gentleman, whose fingers trembled a little in spite of hisdetermined attempt to preserve his professional coolness, drew certainpapers from it, and laying them on a desk close by, beckoned the othermen to his elbows, and began to examine them. For several minutes thefour pairs of eyes ran over the various documents, Mr. Carless' fingerpointing to one particular passage or another during their hasty perusal,and he and Mr. Pawle nodding assent as they exchanged glances andmuttered remarks.

  "Not a doubt of it!" exclaimed Mr. Carless suddenly. "Not one doubt!Observe the extraordinary care which the missing Lord Marketstoke took tosafeguard his own interests and those of his daughter, in case he everwished to revive his claims. Here, for instance is his marriagecertificate. You see, he took good care to be married in his own real,proper, legal name! Here, again, is the birth certificate of hisdaughter. You see how she is described--Avice Wickham Cave-Gray, daughterof, et cetera, et cetera. And here is his death certificate--that too isall in order. You see, all these are duly attested copies--we could, ofcourse, insist on having them verified over there, but I've no doubtabout their genuineness--what do you say, Pawle?"

  "I should say there's no doubt whatever," answered Mr. Pawle readily."But now, this memorandum, evidently written by Ashton himself, inLondon, soon after he got here?"

  Mr. Carless ran his eye over the document which Mr. Pawle indicated.

  "Aye!" he said. "A most important, most valuable piece of evidence. Yousee that Cortelyon's name is mentioned in it. What's he say--'_The onlyman besides myself who is in full possession of the facts_,' Gad--that'llhang this scoundrel! Yes, here it is--the full history of the case, verylucidly summarized; he must have been a very good business man, thisunfortunate Ashton, poor fellow! But what's this he's put at the end, asa sort of note?"

  "'Since arriving in England and making inquiries in London and aboutMarketstoke and Ellingham as to the character and abilities of the youngman who is the present holder of the title and estates which are by rightmy ward's I have had considerable doubt as to whether or not I shouldexercise the discretion extended to me by her father. Having nobody of myown, I have left her all my fortune, which is a handsome one, and shewill be a rich woman. The young man seems to be an estimable andpromising young fellow, and I am much exercised in mind as to whether itmight not be best if Cortelyon and I kept the secret to ourselves untilour deaths.'"

  Mr. Carless read this passage aloud, and then smote the desk heavilywith his hand.

  "There's the secret of the murder!" he exclaimed. "You see, gentlemen,Ashton, one holder of the secret, was honest; the other, Cortelyon, was arogue. Ashton wanted nothing for himself; Cortelyon wanted to profit.Cortelyon saw that by killing Ashton he alone would have the secret; heevidently got two accomplices who were necessary to him, and he meant, bysuppressing certain facts and enlarging on others, to palm off animpostor who--mark this!--could be squared by one hundred thousandpounds! Oh, a bad fellow! Ke
ep him tight, Mr. Inspector, keep him tight!"

  "You needn't bother yourself, Mr. Carless," answered Drillfordlaconically. "We'll see to that!"

  Mr. Carless again cast an eye on the passage he had just read, and then,touching Lord Ellingham's arm, drew his attention to it again, whisperingsomething in his ear at which the young man's cheek reddened. Then hegathered up the papers, carefully replaced them in their linen-linedenvelope, and handed them to Drillford.

  "Much obliged to you," he said. "Now, at what time are these miscreantsto be put in the dock tomorrow? Ten sharp? Then," he declared, with ashrewd glance, "I shall be there--and in all my experience I shall neverhave set eyes on a worse scoundrel than the chief one of 'em! Now,gentlemen, shall we go?"

  Outside, Mr. Carless took Lord Ellingham's arm.

  "You know what this really means--to you?" he said.

  Lord Ellingham laughed.

  "Of course!" he answered.

  "Remember," continued Mr. Carless, with a knowing glance at Mr. Pawle,"you needn't give in without a struggle! You can make a big fight. You'rein possession; it would take a long time to turn you out. You can havelitigation--as much as ever you wish. But--I don't think there's theleast doubt that the young woman we're going back to is your cousin, andtherefore Countess of Ellingham."

  "Neither do I!" said his client with a smile. "Nor, I think, doesMr. Pawle?"

  "Not a doubt of it!" affirmed Mr. Pawle.

  "Very well," said Mr. Carless, and pulled his companions to a halt."Then--the question now is--who is to tell her?"

  The two lawyers and Viner looked from one another to Lord Ellingham--butLord Ellingham was already eager and responsive.

  "Gentlemen," he said quickly, "I claim that right! If I am to abdicatein favour of another, let me have at any rate the privilege of firstgreeting the new sovereign! Besides, as I have already said to you--"

  Mr. Carless interrupted him by pointing toward Viner's house, of whichthey were now in sight.

  "I dare say our friend Viner, who has, as he says, been strangely mixedup in this strange affair, can manage matters," he said dryly. "And asthings are, nothing could be better!"

  Viner took his companions back into his library, and opening a door,showed Lord Ellingham a small study which lay beyond.

  "I'll bring Miss Wickham to you at once," he said. Then, with a glance atthe two lawyers, which went round again to Lord Ellingham, he addedquietly, "When you have told her, you'll let us know what she says?"

  "Aye, aye!" muttered Mr. Pawle. "Good--we must know that!"

  Viner went away to the drawing-room and presently brought Miss Wickhamback with him. She looked from one solicitor to the other with somethingof a smile.

  "More mystery?" she asked.

  Mr. Carless, with a courtly bow, took the girl's hand.

  "My dear young lady," he said, "there is, this time, a mystery to beexplained. And--allow me to hand you into this room--there is a younggentleman in here who will explain it, all of it, a thousand times betterthan we old fogies possibly could!"

  He closed the door on her, and turned to Mr. Pawle.

  "I'll trouble you for a pinch of that old snuff of yours, Pawle!" hesaid. "Um--dear me! What extraordinary moments we do pass through!Viner, my dear fellow, you're a book-collector, I know. To--er--pass thetime, show me some of your treasures."

  Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes, went by, while Viner showedsome of his most treasured possessions in the way of print and binding tothe two old lawyers. They were both past masters in the art ofmake-believe, and they contrived to show great interest in what wasexhibited to them, but Viner knew very well that when Mr. Pawle wasexpatiating on the merits of an Elzevir or Mr. Carless on the beauties ofa Grolier, they were really wondering what the two young people in thenext room, so strangely thrown together, were saying to each other. Andthen, as he was about to unlock a cabinet, and bring out a collection ofautograph letters, the door of the inner room was opened, and the twoappeared on the threshold, one looking extremely confident, and the otherfull of blushes and surprise. And--they were holding each other's hands.

  "Gentlemen--our very good friends," said Lord Ellingham, "it is onlyright that we should take you into our confidence at once. There will beno litigation, Mr. Carless--no difficulties, Mr. Pawle. I absolutelyinsist on resigning--what is not mine--to my cousin, the Countess ofEllingham. And--not in any return, gentlemen!--she has promised to giveme something which I shall prize far more than any title or anyestate--you understand? And now, if Mr. Viner will excuse me, there arejust a few more things we have to say to each other, and then--"

  He drew the girl back into the room and closed the door, and the threemen, once more left to themselves, solemnly shook hands with each other,heaving sighs of infinite delight and gratification.

  THE END