Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN tf a <> THE PARADISE OF FOOLS SOME PRESS OPINIONS OF DEREK VANE'S NOVELS The Three Daughters of Night BY DEREK VANE "The dlnouement of this admirably written story is intensely and, if we may say so, classically tragical." Daily Telegraph. " We have been worked up to very considerable interest. The blindness which blights a promising career and changes hope and ambition to the blacknesj of despair, is always an inspiriting theme for the romancer, and Mr Vane has made exceptionally effective use of it." The Times, " I can honestly bid the author go on and prosper in his new career. I have not met a sweeter woman in literature for many days than the heroine of this story. If it were for her sake alone the book is well worth reading. The Author will do better work by and by ; he will never produce a more lovable creation than the central figure of his first book." Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR, M.P., in the Weekly Sun. "John MacGregor is a fine study of a strong man. . . . There is much pathos in the tale, which continues to excite our sympathy to the last page." Spectator. " Mr Derek Vane's 'The Three Daughters of Night' is well worth reading : it is interesting, several of the characters are fresh and strongly drawn, and it is well written. Irma's ennoblement and courage through trial is admirably told. " Guardian. " The author handles his materials well, and has contrived to make a very good story out of the morals and emotions of a few types of ordinary, though not entirely commonplace, humanity." Literary Woild. " A novel of distinct ability . . . with passages of genuine human passion." British Weekly. "The strength of the book goes into the character quiet, self-restrained, practical, and noble of MacGregor. This is finely drawn. The interest is well sustained, and the bye-plot of Mrs Luttrell's sister's love affair is delicately touched on." Birmingham Daily Post. THE SECRET DOOR BY DEREK VANE " We like it very much, and have no doubt that the great army of novel-readers will like it too." World. "A charm and freshness which make one really and deeply interested." Black and White. " It_is very strong in interest. The theme is artistically handled . . . and there is a very striking finish." Nottingham Guardian. " Messrs. Everett & Co. have just published a very interesting story entitled ' The Secret Door,' by Derek Vane. The title is explained by the question, ' In how many lives is there a Secret Door of which the warders are Fear and Anguish? " Maiiantt. " Mr Vane is obviously well ' up ' in Society and its doing*, and those who like to read about high life will certainly enjoy his story." Glasgow Herald. " A tale that proves thrilling and exciting in the last degree." Dundet Courier " The narrative always maintains its grip on the attention of the reader." Liverpool Courier. " The story is told with considerable skill, and the leading characters are real and lifelike, and the general working out of the plot shows that the writer, at any rate, possesses that dramatic instinct which is the first requisite of a successful story-teller." Christmas Bookseller. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS BY DEREK VANE AUTHOR OF 'THE THREE DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT,' "THE SECRET DOOR," "THE SOUL OF A MAN." " The Paradise of Fools, to few unknown." LONDON EVERETT & CO., LTD. 42 ESSEX STREET, STRAND, W.C. TO T. P. O'CONNOR, ESQ., MP THE PARADISE OF FOOLS CHAPTER I " For the play was the tragedy ' Man.' ' " CAN you spare me a few minutes, Godfrey ? I won't detain you long." The speaker was a young and charming woman, a wife, who was not much more than a bride, for she had only been married six months. But she spoke in a half-deprecating way, and hesitated by the door as though not sure of her welcome. A man about forty seated at the writing-table threw down his pen a little impatiently and turned round. " Come in," he said, pulling forward a chair. ; ' Won't you sit down ? . . . Well ! " the signs of impatience becoming more apparent as she did not speak, " what is it, Audrey ? You have something to say to me ? " ' Yes. I am afraid you have forgotten, and I didn't like to remind you, but Jack is so anxious to start work I promised him I wouldn't delay any longer. I hope you won't think us very troublesome. I know what a lot you have had to see to since we came home." 6 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS The tone and words were nervous and hesitating, as though she were already accus- tomed to rebuffs and shrank from asking a favour. There was nothing about her that indicated the idolised wife or spoilt beauty, and yet many women have been both with far less excuse. She was slender and fair and young, with a fine, flower-like grace which seemed to set her apart from the rough, workaday world. Yet it was not a hot-house type of beauty or womanhood, but rather suggested some dainty wild flower, which has grown up unseen and unknown. " It is quite time he did do something," was the harsh reply. " He's been idle long enough. What is he waiting for ? " " He is waiting for you. You know you promised to help him. You have no right to say he is idle ; he is only too anxious to work. He has always done what he could." The delicate colour deepened in the girl's face, and she spoke out boldly, resenting the injustice. Hers was not the timidity of a feeble, cowardly nature, but the weakness that comes from over-sensitiveness and ignorance of one's own strength. ' Well, haven't I settled a definite income on your mother, and isn't that the same thing as helping him? I don't know what more you expect. Not many men would have done half as much." " I only expect what you promised," she said coldly. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 7 " A man promises many things when he is in love," he replied with brutal frankness, " which he is not supposed to keep in his sober senses." Godfrey Vansittart had lost heavily that day on the race-course and had drunk more wine than usual at dinner, or he would scarcely have so completely forgotten his good breeding. '' You and your family have cost me a good deal rather more than you are worth, 1 am beginning to think. You got the best of the bargain." Every drop of blood seemed to drain from the girl's face, and after the first quiver that shook her from head to foot, she sat like a statue. ' You coward ! " she said slowly " you coward! " He turned on her fiercely. " Don't take that tone with me, it won't answer, so I warn you. Don't forget that you are dependent on me for every penny; there are no settlements, remember. I took care of that. I have given you everything position, wealth, an old and honourable name, and what have I got in return?" He gave a sneering laugh. " A wife who doesn't understand how to hold the position I have given her, who has nothing to say for herself, who is altogether too superior and ethereal for an ordinary person like myself." ' What a pity you didn't think of all this before! What a pity you did not realise your value and my insignificance months ago when you pursued me with your unwelcome attentions. 8 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Yes, unwelcome ! I have never pretended they were anything else. You gave me no peace until I promised to marry you and because " she waited a moment " because we were poor and helpless, because I had a young brother and an invalid mother to think of, I, at last, consented." Every word fell with icy clearness and con- tempt. He had driven her beyond the point oi endurance, and she was no longer afraid of him. ' There was no one else I cared for, I was grateful for your kindness to us, and I thought and hoped that a warmer feeling might come in time. I know now how wrong I was to take such a risk, but I did not understand then. I know now," with sudden passion, " that I ought to have begged my bread in the street before 1 did such a thing. But even when I found out my mistake, as I very soon did you didn't leave me long in ignorance I tried to do my duty towards you to the best of my ability. I tried to be a good wife." ' What is all this leading to ? " the man asked contemptuously. : ' I have never heard you make such a long speech before. Are you posing as a martyr ? " " If I have failed," she went on, as though he had not spoken, " it has not been for want of trying, but because as you so courteously reminded me I am not accustomed to this kind of life, and we have nothing in common. If you had shown me a little help or kindness J should soon have understood, but you laughed THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 9 at every mistake 1 made until I grew silent and nervous and stupid." ; ' I am sorry I cannot contradict you," he said. ' You boast of your rank, of your ancient lineage," she broke out passionately, " but the poorest creature in the streets might easily show more true breeding. How many times have you humiliated me your wife in public and in private? You know nothing of the fine old motto of your class : noblesse oblige. You got tired of me after the first few weeks, and you did not hesitate to show it. But," speaking more quietly, " I did not come here to reproach you or to indulge in useless recriminations. I came for justice." ' Will you kindly explain as quietly as possible ? I have no taste for domestic heroics." ' You used the word ' bargain ' just now, let us keep to that point of view. When I agreed to marry you it was on the distinct understanding that out of your abundance I should be allowed to help my own people, who have been unfor- tunate. My mother was to be provided for and my brother to be given a start in life. The first part of the agreement has been fulfilled I am now asking for the second." He gave an ugly laugh. " Perhaps I ought to have had it put down in black and white, but I didn't know as much then as I do now, and I would not have dreamed of offering you such an insult. I thought a gentleman's word was as good as his bond. I ask you now, Godfrey will you provide the io THE PARADISE OF FOOLS means for Jack to be trained as an artist? You know the money will not be thrown away, that he has quite exceptional talent." " I have been told so often enough," he said, still in the same tone. ' We have waited four months, thinking you would be sure to make some proposal, but it is time the matter was settled now. What are you going to do ? " " Nothing," he said, and an evil look settled on the dark heavy face, which had once been handsome, but now showed plainly the effects of an undisciplined life. " Nothing more than I have done. That is my answer once and for all, so it is useless to pursue the subject." ' You go back on your word? You give yourself the lie ? " She drew her breath sharply, and the effort to control herself was apparent. " If you won't give the money then, as you promised, will you lend it? Let Jack have his education, and he will be only too glad to pay it back to you as soon as he can. You know he loves his work ; it would break his heart to give it up now he thought it was all settled. " Godfrey," stretching out her hands with a pleading gesture, " do this one thing for me, and I will be so grateful I will try and be more what you wish, I will do anything I can to repay you. Godfrey, you cared for me once, perhaps it is partly my fault that things have gone wrong, let us make a fresh start. It is horrible to live this life. Will you help me to make it better ? " THE PARADISE OF FOOLS n The delicate iace quivered with emotion, the beautiful starry eyes were raised entreat- ingly to his. She looked such a girl in her plain white gown, but neither her youth nor beauty availed her here. Vansittart was out of health and in a vicious, evil mood, and his wife was a victim ready to his hand. He threw off the slender fingers that timidly touched his sleeve. ' That'll do," he said roughly. " It's no use getting up a scene. I'm not so easily cajoled. I've given you my answer, and please under- stand it's final." She sprang to her feet, half beside herself with anger and indignation. It was not only that he had insulted her cruelly and of intention, but he had wronged the brother who was so dear to her ; he had shown himself a man it was impossible to respect, with whom it would be an unbearable degradation to live any longer. ' Very well," she said, and her voice throbbed with scorn and loathing, " you have broken your part of the bargain, I have no hesitation in breaking mine. I am going away at once to-night, going back to the home I would to God I had never left. I have done with you; nothing on earth should ever persuade me to live again under the same roof. I am stifled here a prisoner, a nonentity to be mocked at and flouted. You have broken my spirit you would have broken my heart if I had loved you. I can bear it no longer." She turned to the door, her hand at her 12 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS throat, where sobs were rising. She did not want to break down here. She was worked up to a pitch of hysterical passion and excitement she had never known before ; she felt that her self-control was leaving her. She was so young, little more than twenty, and, up to a few months ago, she had never heard a harsh word. Her husband's unkindness had terrified and be- wildered her; she had grown dull and half stupid, as she said. Now she was roused from her apathy and ready to do anything to escape. " Don't talk such nonsense," he said, seizing her arm. " Do you think I am going to have any scandal in my house? As, unfortunately, you are my wife, you will remain in your proper place. I have paid pretty dearly for my infatua- tion. You are not going to bring disgrace on me too." She wrenched herself free with a passionate o-esture. o " Don't touch me," she said ; " I can't bear it. Let me go quietly. It will be better for you and for me." Again he seized her arm. " Do you want me to send for your maid,'' he said contemptuously, " and tell her to look after a silly, hysterical woman? Sit down and have done with this folly." But she turned on him fiercely, pushing him from her and trying to get to the door. His grasp loosened, and with another wrench she was free. But as she tore herself away, his foot slipped on the polished floor. For a THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 13 moment he struggled to keep his balance, then, before she had time to realise what was going to happen, he had fallen heavily to the ground, striking his head against the base of a statue as he fell. Audrey stopped with her hand on the door in the moment of escape. She looked round bewildered. What had happened? She was breathing heavily, she felt as though some horrible nightmare had got hold of her. Why didn't Godfrey move? She touched the handle and hesitated. It would be wise to go before he recovered but she still waited. She leaned forward, trying to see his face, but it was turned away, and the room was half in darkness. Then, very slowly, moving half unconsciously like one in a dream, she took a step towards him. He was a tall, heavily built man, and she thought how much room he seemed to take up. She shuddered back once as she almost touched his outstretched hand with her foot. He was lying with his head against the stone plinth of the statue which stood near the door. The long windows were open into the garden, and the moonlight shone in through the trees, making strange patterns on the floor. A little puff of soft summer wind came in and lifted the hair on Godfrey's head, but still he did not move. His wife dropped on her knees by his side. " Godfrey! " she whispered, " Godfrey, what is the matter ? Are you hurt ? " But there was no answer. 14 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Godfrey," touching his arm half fearfully, " what is it ? Why don't you speak ? " This horrible silence had come in the midst of her struggle and excitement, and she was half- stunned by the shock. She never thought of calling for assistance ; she was as frightened and helpless as a child. She went a little closer, and leaning over the body looked into the face, which lay in shadow. Then she started back with a choking cry, her hands pressed to her breast, her eyes fixed and glazed with terror. Godfrey was dead! God- frey was dead, she told herself. No living man could lie so still could look so white and ghastly. He must have struck his head against the sharp stone and killed himself. She stopped short. "Killed himself?" something seemed to whisper. Was that correct ? Had he had no help? Whose hand had given him the fatal push which made him reel and fall? Who had struggled with him madly, neither knowing nor caring what might happen? As, but for her, he would not have fallen, was she not respon- sible? Was not his blood her husband's blood on her head? She shuddered and cowered away like a guilty creature. Her mind was so overwrought and confused that she hardly knew what she was doing. As she knelt there, staring blindly into space, all kinds of thoughts and fancies flashed past. She remembered the old tradition which says that if the murderer's hand dares to touch its victim, blood will gush from the wound, and she suddenly stretched out her hand towards her husband. If he made no sign would she be innocent? Would he absolve her, knowing that, indeed, she had not meant to call down such a judgment on him? But the next moment she snatched back her hand. She did not dare to touch that silent figure. " Dead ! " a voice seemed to say over and over again. " Dead ! dead ! " It was an awful thing, impossible to realise. She rose to her feet, the dazed look clearing a little from her eyes. She looked wildly round the room, then held her breath while she listened intently. There was nothing to be seen ; nothing to. be heard. She must make her escape before any- thing was found out. She would not stop there to be pointed at and reviled to be dragged to prison, perhaps, and death. She was not guilty before Heaven she was not! but appear- ances were against her, and she dared not face the risk. She noiselessly opened the door and peered out into the hall. The servants had switched off most of the lights before going to bed, and the house was dark and silent. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Then swiftly crossing the hall, which was thickly carpeted, she ran up the staircase to her own room. As she went the old clock on the stairs chimed the half hour after eleven. Her maid had been told that, as a rule, she need not wait up for her mistress after eleven. Audrey opened the door of her room praying that she 16 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS might not be there. ... It was empty. She turned the key, and dropped exhausted on the floor. She was safe! It was nearly an hour later the same night when Mr Vansittart's private secretary, Paul Herschel, came out of his little sitting-room at the end of the corridor leading from the hall, and stood still a minute, looking round. " He said he'd see me before he went to bed," he muttered. " How much longer am I to wait.'" He walked slowly down the corridor to the hall, where he waited again. He knew his master, and he knew he did not like to be inter- rupted or hastened. He expected everybody in the household to await his convenience. The great gilt chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, which had been brought from an old French palace and could flash out a hundred lights, was all in darkness. But there was enough light left in the old hall to show what a beautiful place it was. Tapestry hung from the walls, framed in polished satinwood, with here and there a family portrait or some trophy of the chase. Skins of all descriptions tiger, bear, jackal were scattered about the floor, brought home by dead and gone Vansittarts, who had all been outdoor men good shots, hard riders, hard fighters. Here were all the charm and mellowness of a bygone age, with the luxury of modern life. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 17 The secretary's dark face darkened a little more as he stood in contemplation. " I'm sure he was there after dinner," he thought, as his glance fell on the library door, " for 1 saw Mrs Vansittart go in and heard them talking. He was evidently put out about some- thing, but that is nothing unusual," with a twist of his thin lips. But there was no sound to be heard anywhere now, and after waiting another minute Mr Herschel tapped on the library door. There was no answer, and he gently turned the handle and looked in. For a moment he thought the room was empty, then he saw something big and dark lying on the ground. With a startled exclamation his hand dropped from the door and he sprang forward. He called to his employer by name, not once, but twice and thrice, but not a word or a sign came in reply. He caught his breath sharply and looked searchingly round the room. The next minute .he walked to the door and closed it noiselessly. As he came back his foot kicked against something lying close to the body, and he looked to see w T hat it was. His face changed swiftly. Stooping down he picked up one end of a thin gold chain and saw that it was broken. He looked for the other end and found it twisted round the sleeve-links in Mr Vansittart's right shirt cuff. He untwisted it carefully and got up, his face set and white. He had recognised the chain at once as one Mrs o Vansittart often wore round her neck; she had B i8 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS worn it that night. It was a flimsy modern thing but it must have needed some force to break it. He held it with a weighing motion in his hand, while thought followed thought. Mrs Vansittart had been there, that was evident. What did it mean? How had her chain got broken and caught on her husband's arm ? Had he shown any signs of illness then ? If so, why had she left him and not summoned assistance? Now he came to think of it, he remembered hearing a noise that might have been a fall when he was sitting waiting in his room. But he was too far off to hear distinctly, and the heavy mahogany doors deadened every sound. Paul Herschel dropped the chain into his pocket and knelt down by the motionless form on the floor. He unfastened the waist- coat and shirt and put his hand on the broad bare chest over the heart, looking intently into the still face, with its closed eyes and heavy mouth, which had fallen a little open. Some twenty minutes later he, too, came out of the library, without calling anyone to attend on the master of the house, who, while he could speak and command, had never gone un- attended. He closed the door behind him and went slowly and softly up the stairs. But though Mr Herschel's bedroom was on the second floor he stopped on the first landing, and walked cautiously down the corridor to Mrs Vansittart's room. Here he stopped and listened with bent head outside her door. The THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 19 dark, inscrutable face, with the lank, black hair and heavy-lidded eyes, which it seemed an effort to raise, would have made a curious and inter- esting study. The lips were thin, and had a trick of pressing one on the other as though life had taught this man to keep back most of what he thought or felt. As he stood there listening with eyes as well as ears a faint sound reached him. It was like the sound of some creature in pain a piteous, stifled moaning. His brows contracted as he heard it, and his hands clenched. Then he crept stealthily away, and silence reigned at last in the old house, which alone kept watch and ward over its dead master, the last of his race. CHAPTER II " Have you ever heard footsteps that creep From the ice of the flesh to the heart? " ALL night Audrey Vansittart lay staring into the darkness with eyes that saw nothing but the scene she had left below. All night she lay in fear and trembling, wondering what she should do. At times she wished she had had the courage to give the alarm directly her husband fell, but the next moment she shuddered away from the thought. What should she have said? What explanation could she give without incriminating herself ? Would not a few adroit questions have brought out the whole story? And once it was known that they had quarrelled, and it was her hand that had pushed him down, might not she be held guilty of his death ? Even if she escaped the last and worst punishment, there were others scarcely less terrible. The public investigation, the gaze and comments of the crowd, the news- paper reports all the horrible notoriety and shame which must follow such a sensational affair, would be torture to a sensitive nature like hers. Mind and body shrank back appalled from such an ordeal. No, for everybody's sake it would be better to hush the matter up. Her husband, she 20 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 21 knew, would have hated that his name and honour should be thrown to the crowd to be smirched and degraded; and such a scandal would be the death-blow of her ailing mother, whose life and happiness were bound up in her own. She did no one any wrong by silence, she could do no one any good by speaking. Everything pointed to silence as the better and wiser way. There was no fear that, because man did not punish her, she would go unpunished. When would she get that still white face out of her eyes? When would she be able to drug her memory and forget? Her penance could only end with her life. That fatal moment had set her apart from her fellows for ever; she was not as they were, she never could be again. She stood alone ; she must always be an out- cast ; she was stamped with the brand of Cain. She put her hand up to her forehead. Could she feel it burning there now? Hour after hour passed with a terrible swift- ness. Before morning she must settle so many things, and so far she had settled nothing. How would it be found out? And what must she do and say then? He had been lying there all night alone. How such neglect would have angered him! She shuddered as she thought of his bitter, sullen wrath. More than once, in an agony of fear, she had almost cried aloud, fancying she heard his step on the stairs: that he was coming to call her to account. Even now she could scarcely realise that he was dead. 22 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS When morning came she fell into an uneasy doze, too exhausted to keep awake any longer. But it had scarcely deepened into forgetfulness when a shrill scream from below dragged her back to a terrible knowledge and remembrance. She sprang up in bed, every sense on the alert. It had come, then merciful God ! it had come ! She looked round wildly like a hunted animal seeking a way of escape. What should she do ? She was shut in a prisoner face to face with this terrible thing. She cowered down in the bed, pulling the clothes over her head, putting her fingers in her ears to shut out every sound. The next moment she had dashed everything on one side, and was hurrying on some clothes with trembling hands. The instinct of self- preservation that makes the simplest creature wise told her that she could not let that scream pass unnoticed. The servants would wonder if she did not come out and inquire what was the matter. As she flung open her door and rushed out on the landing, Mr Herschel was running down the .stairs from the upper story. Audrey looked over the balustrade and saw a group of frightened servants standing huddled together in the hall. " What is the matter ? I heard somebody screaming. What is it? " she cried out. They stared up with white, horror-stricken faces, but nobody answered. " Fletcher," calling to the butler, " do you hear me ? Why don't you speak ? What is the matter with you all ? " THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 23 She looked very young and helpless as she stood there with her fair hair streaming on her shoulders, one hand holding together the lace at her throat. Not one of the watching servants had the heart to deal the blow. They had often pitied their gentle mistress, who seemed made for care and tenderness, and got so little of either, and they wondered now how she would bear the horror that awaited her. " Shall I go down and see what is wrong, Mrs Vansittart ? " a voice said behind her. " If you will go back to your room I will come and tell you all about it in a few minutes. Please go," as she hesitated, " I am sure it would be best. You will take cold out here." And yielding to the tone of authority in the quiet voice, she went. She suddenly realised that she was shivering from head to foot, and taking a long fur-lined cloak from her wardrobe wrapped herself in it and sat down in a low chair with her back to the light. In those few minutes of suspense she neither thought nor felt. Every nerve waited for what was to come. There was a light tap on the door, her stiff lips moved, but she could not speak, and after a moment's hesitation Paul Herschel came in without wait- ing for an answer. She looked up at him, but still she could not speak, though she knew she ought not to show her feelings too plainly yet. The man never forgot that look. It was at once frightened the terrible shrinking fear of a child appealing helpless; the look of a dumb animal caught in 24 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS a snare. He turned away the next moment and told her what had happened, with his eyes on the ground, standing before her with bent head in an attitude of respectful sympathy. He had ceased to speak, and still she made no answer, but he did not lift his eyes. Then, after another moment, her voice came, a strained, unnatural voice. " My husband," she said " what is it you say, my husband is dead ? You found him lying on the floor of the library, and he must have been dead some hours? But he was alive and well last night. . . . My God ! What an awful thing ! Are you sure ? Is there no mistake ? It seems impossible." " I have sent for Doctor Locke," he said, " but I am afraid there is no mistake." " But why why ? What is the cause ? How can it have happened ? " " He must have been struck down by some heavy weapon. There is a terrible blow on his head, which would be sufficient to kill him, I should think. It must have been the work of some thief who came to rob the house, for the gold ornaments have gone from the writing- table, and a few other valuables. Mr Vansittart caught the man red-handed, I should say, and was killed before he could summon assistance. When the thief found what he had done he was alarmed and made off with the little booty he had got. That seems the only possible explanation." " The gold ornaments have gone from the writing-table and some other valuables," Audrey repeated slowly in an indescribable tone. " I don't understand oh! I don't understand. What does it mean ? " " It means," Mr Herschel said gently, " that somebody got in the library last night after we had all gone to bed. Probably some wretched tramp who, seeing the .lights and the open windows, yielded to sudden temptation and crept in to pick up what he could. Perhaps Mr Vansittart was asleep in his chair, he has not been very well of late, and suddenly woke up to find the thief in the room. You know he would not hesitate to tackle him single-handed." Audrey's hands were still tightly clasped, but the look of horror and bewilderment on her face was yielding to one of relief. Had the door opened on an unexpected way of escape ? Was a simple explanation already provided that would stop further questioning? And yet and yet. ... It was strange that a thief should have got in that night of all nights ; it seemed almost too convenient. " Do you think he is likely to be caught? " she asked in sudden fear a minute later. "Is there anything by which he could be traced? " Supposing he were apprehended and charged with causing her husband's death she would be bound to come forward and exonerate him. She could not let an innocent man surfer for her. " Of course you will offer a reward, but I'm afraid there is not much chance of catching the thief. He hasn't left a mark or sign, as far as 26 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS I saw, that could lead to his identification. It is so quiet all about here that anybody could easily come and go unnoticed. Of course there are the gold ornaments, but they could be melted down and got rid of easily enough. " I have locked the library door and brought you the key," he went on after a moment, as she did not speak. " I thought it better to leave everything just as it was until the police came." She gave a startled cry. " Of course the police had to be sent for," he said gently, " but they are sure to be as considerate as they can." :c Was the room in much disorder ? " she asked in a low tone. " No ; a chair had been knocked over and a vase broken, not much else. One of the house- maids went in first; it was she who screamed. She was naturally terrified, poor girl, when she found her master lying on the floor, close to the open window." Audrey sprang to her feet. " What do you say close to the window ? ' : she echoed, looking at him wildly. " It can't be it is impossible! You mean close to the door." " Didn't I tell you before that Mr Vansittart was found near the window?" Herschel said with a startled look. " No doubt the thief was trying to escape that way when he caught him. Where else did you think he would be ? " Audrey suddenly laughed hysterically, and put her hand to her throat. Did she not know far better than anybody THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 27 else where Godfrey Vansittart had fallen and died? He had been standing by the door to stop her exit, and when she pushed him away he had slipped on the polished floor, which was only covered here and there with rugs, and fallen with his head against the statue which stood near the door. What did it all mean? Was she going mad? "Hush!" Mr Herschel said authoritatively when she laughed again. ; ' Don't break down now, you have been so brave. I must go, there is a good deal to look after, and you had better try and get some rest. You have a very trying time before you, I am afraid." " Rest? " she said, looking at him with haggard eyes. " Do you think there is much chance of that for me ? " He hesitated a moment. " Will you take my advice ? " he said. " Believe me, I am only anxious to do my best for you in every way." ' You have been very kind," she said warmly, " and I have not too many friends, as perhaps you know. What is it ? " " Let me have some breakfast sent up to you, and make yourself eat it. Then take a tablet I will give you, lock the door against everybody, and go to bed. There is not much fear that you will not go to sleep with my medicine. I have been a bad sleeper for some years myself, and I always keep it by me. Remember," and he looked her straight in the face for almost the first time, " that though I am your most 28 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS faithful servant, and will spare you in every way I can, you must inevitably have much to bear during the next few days, and I am sure you would wish to bear it bravely. Then rest now while you have the chance." ' Thank you," she said, and held out her hand. " I shall be only too glad to take your advice, though I feel that I am slipping my duties off on to your shoulders. I didn't know I had so kind a friend in the house." He bowed low over the slender hand as it lay in his, and his lips moved, but he did not speak. ' There is one point we have not mentioned," he said before he went. " May I ask what time you came upstairs last night? And didn't you know of Mr Vansittart's absence until you woke up this morning ? " " It was striking half-past eleven as I came up the stairs," she said thank Heaven she could tell the truth here. !t 1 didn't see my husband again, but I didn't attach any import- ance to that, as when he was late he would occasionally sleep in his dressing-room." ' You were later than usual, then, in going to bed. I believe in a general way you retire rather early. You must not mind my asking these questions. I want to prepare you as much as I can for what other people will say." He knew how often she spent her evenings alone, for Mr Vansittart had few domestic tastes, and still kept up his bachelor habits, and he the paid secretary well-mannered and highly educated though he was, was never THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 29 expected in the drawing-room unless he had an invitation. " We had several things to discuss," she replied, not quite easily, " which made me later than usual." " So you would be the last to see him alive ? It is the rule of the house, is it not, for the servants to go to bed before eleven o'clock ? " ' Yes, that is the rule, and the housekeeper enforces it. When I came out of the library the place was shut up and everybody gone as far as I know unless you were still up? " She broke off with a quick glance of inquiry. " No, I had had a busy day and was tired and went early to bed." He had known that this question must come, and was prepared. It was a deliberate lie, but he was not much afraid of being found out. Nobody knew w r hen he left his sitting-room, as nobody troubled to go in in the evening, and he had seen and heard nothing when he went upstairs in the first hour of the morning. When Audrey was alone she asked herself again and again how it was possible that Godfrey could have been found lying by the window? Had he not been quite dead, after all, when she left him, and had he rolled over there in his unconsciousness ? She shuddered as her vivid imagination pictured that final death struggle. Or and this seemed the more prob- able explanation had the thief moved the body for some purpose of his own, perhaps to see if he were really dead? It must have been the 30 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS sight of that terrible figure which made him go off so quickly; he would be afraid of being caught in its company. As soon as Mr Herschel could escape from the manifold duties that claimed him he went up to his own room and shut himself in. Then he took Mrs Vansittart's broken chain from his pocket and knotted it round his neck, conceal- ing it under his clothes. " She won't miss it at present," he said, " and when she does it will be too late to remember when and how she wore it last." He lapsed into thought, and his face grew fierce and lowering. He was thinking of the struggle there must have been, he was com- paring the big, burly man with the delicate woman, and he cursed him in his heart for a coward. It was a marvel how she had managed to escape. He wondered once more how it had all happened ; what had been the beginning and how the fall had come. If it had not been for the broken chain and the raised voices he had heard coming from the library it might have been possible to believe that Mr Vansittart had fallen down in a fit of some kind, and that his wife knew nothing of it. But now that was out of the question, especially since he had seen Audrey. For a long time Mr Herschel did not move. He had so much to think out and consider. His life had changed completely in an incredibly short time. Last night at twelve o'clock he had been full of doubt and torment, ruin stared THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 31 him in the face. This morning at the same hour he was like a man from whom a heavy burden had been miraculously removed. He could hardly realise that it had gone, it seemed too good to be true. He threw up his head and drew a deep breath the breath of a free man. Was he going to do something more than exist at last? Was life going to be worth living after so many years ? He remembered his loveless childhood, his stunted, unhappy youth, where every natural joy and impulse had been sternly repressed, and work was held out to him as his only hope and salvation. So that at last he took to it in desperation and earned a fair measure of success. But his was not the nature of the born student, which asks for nothing more than leisure and opportunity to work. He took scholarships and degrees as the means to an end, and every now and then, when the world called to him too loudly, he broke loose and spent all he had saved in a mad round of pleasure. He hated poverty so he lived a life of luxury at another man's expense. His body was well cared for, but his mind was under- worked and his heart was starved. The French know what this may mean when they say that " Rien ne deprave comme de ne pas etre aime." He got up at last and shook himself. He looked a new man. Already he held his head more erect, there was more assurance in his manner. Did he not to some extent command 32 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS the situation? Had not Mrs Vansittart herself put him in charge and looked to him for help? Surely his tide was at the flood, and if he did not take it he would remain for ever in obscurity. Not many fresh opportunities come to a man of forty-five. He went slowly down the stairs with a demeanour that betrayed nothing of the fierce exultation raging within him. His was a padlocked face ; it knew how to keep its owner's secrets. In the hall he found Nell, the beautiful collie which had been Mr Vansittart's constant com- panion, lying outside the library door, whimper- ing uneasily from time to time. She had never been refused admittance before, and her instinct told her there was something wrong. " Nell! " he called gently" Nell, old girl! " and he held out his hand. But the collie made no response. He went closer, and she watched him steadily. Mr Herschel did not trouble himself much about animals as a rule, but out of his present state of satisfaction he threw a kind word to a creature in distress. If he had known more about dogs, he would have stopped where he was, but he went nearer. He had barely touched the library door in the act of stooping to pat the collie when, with a low growl, she sprang at his outstretched hand and caught it between her teeth. She let it go the next moment, and he sprang back with an exclama- tion of pain. He stood a little way off, cursing her under his breath. What did it mean ? She had never done such a thing before. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 33 ' That was not wise of you," he said presently, when he had recovered his self- possession, though he was still very white. The animal shivered and cringed against the door as he looked at her under his heavy lids. ' Your master is dead, he can do nothing for you now, whereas I," he smiled, as her eyes dropped before his, " I may be able to do a good deal. Yes, you made a mistake, my friend, you see that now, don't you ? A mistake for which, I fancy, you will have to pay pretty heavily. It would, in any case, be a satisfaction to wipe off some old scores on something that belonged to him, of which he was fond. You have been more at home here than I, you have gone in and out as you pleased, where I had to ask permission. Talk about being treated like a dog!" He laughed. "Why! I shouldn't have known myself if he had treated me one half as well." He walked away, and the collie lay shivering and listening to his departing footsteps. When they were no longer to be heard she got up and scratched at the library door and moaned for admittance. But there was neither voice nor answer. Then she threw back her head and voiced her misery and fear in a long wailing cry that echoed through the house, and made Audrey stir uneasily in her drugged sleep. The servants heard it below and huddled together, trembling with fear and superstition. c The dog knows," they told each other. ' The dog knows." c CHAPTER III " At the door of life, by the gate of breath, There are worse things waiting for men than death." THE inquest was held in the servants' hall at Grey Friars, and everything was done by those in authority to make the painful ordeal as easy as possible for the young widow, with whom general sympathy was expressed. The dead man had been of a domineering, haughty temperament that brooked no interference, that trampled ruthlessly on anything and everything that got in his way, but he was a good sports- man, and that covered a multitude of sins. Also, though he might, on occasions, be insufferably insolent to his equals or superiors, as a rule he had a friendly greeting for the men who touched their hats to him and the women who curtsied when he rode through the village. Half of them were dependent on him for their daily bread ; they lived at his gates much as generations ago the serfs had lived and served their feudal lord. So that if there was no great grief at his death, there was general consternation and wonder and indignation. Who could have dared to lay a hand on " the Squire ? " Only a stranger, that was certain. 34 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 35 " It's a sad pity," one juryman said to another in a subdued tone, " that he hasn't got a son to come after him. There's been Vansittarts here as long as I've heard tell. Who do you think will be the new master ? " ' That's what I've been wondering," was the cautious reply. " It's an old family and it's been dying out for years. There can't be many of them left." Doctor Locke was one of the principal witnesses called when the inquiry opened. He deposed that he had attended Mr Vansittart whenever he was in residence at Grey Friars and needed medical advice. He had known him for many years and was a friend of the family. In his opinion the deceased had died from the effects of a blow on the head dealt by some heavy weapon, possibly a stick. He could not say for certain that it was the blow which had killed him ; death might have been the result of shock. He had been treating Mr Vansittart for a heart affection, and it was quite possible that this was the actual cause of death. What he meant was that a perfectly healthy man might have recovered from the attack, though it would be sufficient taken in conjunction with a weak heart to cause the death of deceased. Asked whether deceased would have been struck to the ground at once by the blow or fallen down himself in the act of dying, witness declared he could not say for certain, but he should be inclined to take the latter view. He had found the body lying on the floor close to 36 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS a low chair. Judging from appearances, Mr Vansittart might have been sitting in the chair, trying to recover from the blow, when he was attacked by syncope and fell out. If nothing had been stolen from the room he might have thought that the blow had been self-inflicted by striking his head against some heavy article as he fell. But there was nothing near enough to make this view very probable, even if there had not been the evidence of the missing valuables. Everybody in the hall knew each other more or less, and the inquest was more in the nature of a friendly inquiry than a formal legal proceeding. The prevailing idea was to spare the family, to be as expeditious as possible, and not to have any unpleasantness. So that the old doctor who had known most of them from their childhood was not subjected to a very severe cross-examination, and was allowed to give his evidence in his own way. Mr Herschel breathed more and more freely as he listened. He wondered once, with a sudden sick shudder, what would have happened if the inquest had been held in a Coroner's Court in London. What would have been elicited then? Would the law have been satisfied with the medical opinion of an inexperienced country doctor, almost past his work? But before Doctor Locke stepped down a curious little incident occurred. " At what time would you fix the death of the deceased ? " the Coroner asked. " I should have said between eleven and THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 37 twelve o'clock at night, but for the evidence of a silent witness to the contrary/' the doctor answered dramatically, evidently enjoying the sensation he was about to make. Paul Herschel started involuntarily and caught his breath. What was coming? What was it? He had no idea. In a flash of time his thoughts flew back to that night, to the scene in the library, to all he had seen and done. There was something he had missed, he knew now; something this simple old man had found out which he had overlooked. God! What could it be? How often a crime had been discovered through what seemed an insignifi- cant trifle! He could remember but the doctor was giving his answer, slowly and pompously, to the question that had followed: ' What witness do you mean ? " the Coroner asked amid a hush of expectation. 1 The deceased's own watch. It had stopped at a quarter-past twelve. When he fell down, he must have rolled on to his watch in some way and broken it. It had stopped, as I have stated, with the hands pointing to a quarter after midnight. Otherwise I should have said that he had been dead longer, but I think we must accept that evidence as conclusive." There was a little buzz of excitement, and the doctor was not ill-pleased at being the object of general attention and interest. Such dramatic moments were rare in his dull, monotonous life, and the sluggish blood crept slowly to his cheek. He was not often of so much importance, for 38 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS it was a healthy village, which had, moreover, a habit of doctoring itself. Mr Herschel put his hand up quickly to his face, and sat for a minute immovable. The mask-like immobility would give way occasion- ally under any severe mental strain, and he had felt the muscles of his face contract nervously. But he gave no other sign of sharing in the general excitement. Evidence was given that the valuable gold ornaments had disappeared from the writing- table, as well as a jewelled Moorish dagger and some other costly trifles, which pointed to robbery as having been the object. There were two lodges on the Grey Friars estate, one of which had been unoccupied for some time. It would be the easiest thing in the world to climb over the gate at the empty lodge and get into the grounds. Then the intruder had only to walk up to the open windows of the library, to which the light would guide him, and go in. It seemed, indeed, simplicity itself, and might have happened easily enough before now. Only there were no bad characters in the village except poachers, who would have disdained to steal anything but game, and there were few tramps passing through. That it must have been the work of some such Ishmael nobody doubted, though the jury listened respectfully to the various remarks and suggestions which the Coroner considered he was privileged to make before dismissing them to their duty. They returned in less than a THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 39 quarter of an hour, and their verdict was unanimous. It was the formal one of " Murder against some person or persons unknown." " But there's not much doubt who did it," was the general opinion when the verdict became known in the village. " It was Wednesday, market-day, remember, at Crowswood, and that's the only time we get any strangers passing through. It was some wretched thieving tramp, late on the road and thinking perhaps he'd be able to sleep in the empty lodge. Then he'd see the lights and the open windows with all them beautiful things lying ready for him to take a bit of a temptation, for such as him, mind you! and he'd walk up softly and find the Squire dozing perhaps in his chair." The speaker paused for effect. ' Yes yes? " said the eager listeners. :{ What more could he want? He'd creep in, and just when he got fairly started the Squire would wake up and go for him, you know what he was. The man would get a rare fright, and he'd up with his stick without thinking and bring it crashing down on the Squire's head to make him leave go. He wouldn't stop for nothing more, and perhaps he don't know to this day all the harm he's done." "So that's how you think it happened, do you ? " somebody asked with a sneer. " You're a very clever fellow, Bob Green." The discussion was being carried on at the Red Lion, and the last speaker had sat so quietly in his corner smoking that he had passed 40 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS unnoticed. Otherwise the rustics would not have gossiped so freely, for Silas Kirke or Mr Kirke, as he was generally called in the village was held by them in considerable awe and respect. He was a Radical, a Free-thinker, and many other things of which they understood little and cared less, and both Godfrey Vansittart and the Rector had tried to get him out of the place and failed. He owned a tiny cottage on the common, at least a mile away from the cosy village street, where everybody else was, and there he had lived alone for over a year now. Where he had come from and what he did for a living nobody clearly knew, but in olden times he would have probably been burnt as a wizard. Now he was feared and respected as a " wise man." He certainly had a wonderful knowledge of herbs and simples, and could be found wandering about the country at all hours. The village had secretly more faith in him than in Dr Locke, and if it had not been for fear of " the Squire," they would have consulted him oftener than they did. ' We didn't know you was there, Mr Kirke," said Bob Green humbly, dropping suddenly from his lofty perch. " May we ask what your opinion is in the matter, sir? " " How do you know I have one ? Why should it interest me ? He didn't command my body and soul as he did yours. He's tried for months to get rid of me, but he couldn't. I was stronger than him in the end. What is he now ? What was imperial Caesar, dead, and turned to THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 41 clay? Something to stop a hole and that's all your mighty master is good for now. But I the outcast, the butt of his heavy wit and ill- humour am here, alive and well. So much for earthly pomp and vanity ! " He laughed sardoni- cally as he got up and swung out of the door. " I sometimes think Mr Kirke ain't altogether what you'd call quite right in his head," Bob Green ventured when he was safely out of hearing. Bob still felt a little sore at having been ridiculed before his admirers. " He's got more sense in his little finger than you've got in your whole body, Bob Green," the landlord of the Red Lion observed, " and I'd advise you to leave him alone. A man that can wander about a churchyard between twelve and one o'clock picking herbs, just because they've got more goodness in them at the turn of night, isn't a man for you nor me " with magnanimity " to presume to judge. He could put a spell on you as easy as I turn this tap." And the landlord drew himself a mug of beer. Bob murmured something about not meaning any harm, that nobody could respect Mr Kirke more than he did, and the matter dropped. The idea of a spell was not a pleasant one to any of the company. Meanwhile Silas Kirke was walking home with his long, swift stride that covered the ground so easily. He walked, as he generally did, with his hands clasped behind him, gazing straight ahead, as though he were making for some goal which he alone could see. 42 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " The fools ! " he said once and again " the fools ! They can't see a yard in front of them, and what need when it is all so clear and simple ? Who was it said that the folly of fools was the safety of the wise? It's true enough, anyway. Some clever hands and clever brains have been at work here, but why should I concern myself? It's like dram-drinking, though. When you've once got the taste for it, you can't ever lose it again. How it brings back the old days ! I can feel the excitement tingling through my veins now." He had something of the look of a hound on the scent as he strode along with his head thrust forward, turning neither to left nor right When he got home he took out a large sheet of foolscap, on which, with much deliberation, he drew a plan that resembled a family tree. At least it bore Godfrey Vansittart's name at the top, and springing from it were various branches, each one distinguished by some letter or sign. But though these could have conveyed nothing to anybody else, Mr Kirke locked the document carefully away when he had finished with it. It was the day before the funeral, and Audrey was sitting alone, trying to nerve herself to go down to the library and take a last farewell of her husband. She had not seen him since the night he died. The shock had completely prostrated her, and she was thankful to have an excuse to remain in her own room away from everything and everybody. She would lie quite still hour after hour in a nightmare of horror which she had not the strength to throw THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 43 off. It was like a dark cloud wrapping her round ; for a time she could see nothing beyond it. The thought that haunted her most of all was connected with the doctor's evidence and the broken watch. Was not Godfrey dead when she left him? Might he possibly have been saved after all? It was horrible to think that he should have been left to die alone and unaided. But her respite was over now, she must get up and face the world again. She could no longer hide herself away or people might wonder. The fact that their marriage had not been a happy one could scarcely fail to be known among their friends and neighbours, so that an excessive display of grief would not be expected from her. Which simplified matters in some ways. Though Audrey bitterly re- gretted the terrible consequences of her moment's passion, she could not forget her husband's harshness and cruelty. Death made it possible to forgive, but the bitter memory remained. Her life had been spoilt at the outset, her youth crushed and blackened. She told herself she must go down, that the dead must be paid the last tribute of respect, but still she lingered. Friends and relatives had taken their final farewell, the servants had filed through, and now the great darkened room was empty, waiting for her. Waiting for her his wife his . She shuddered away from the accusing thought. While she lingered the day had come to an end, and when at last she went slowly down the beautiful shallow 44 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS staircase the shadows of night were gathering round the old house. Her footsteps made no sound on the thick crimson carpet, which threw into almost startling relief the slight black- gowned figure crowned with hair of pale gold and holding a mass of gorgeous blossoms in her arms. This was Audrey's offering to the dead, just a great sheaf of flowers from the Grey Friars' conservatories. The usual form such floral offerings take a wreath, a cross, a harp with a broken string would he not have smiled sardonically at any one of them? There was nobody in the hall, and she waited a moment outside the library door to gather strength and courage. Then she turned the handle and went in. The atmosphere of the room still and hot and scented caught her by the throat almost like a living thing, filling her with vague fears and suggestions. She took a step forward and stopped. In the centre of the room Godfrey Vansittart lay in state, surrounded by all the pomp and ceremony that wealth can lend to death. The darkness was faintly lighted by wax candles in ancient silver sconces placed round that regal couch whose purple velvet drapery swept the floor. Raised some feet from the ground, it caught and held the attention from the first moment of entrance. Audrey's breath came thick and fast as she gazed. How he filled the room! He was as dominant and overpowering in death as he had been in life. Silence and darkness; these formed the THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 45 background to that one supreme personality. Had she ever understood before what they might mean? What terrible forces of nature they were? . . . And the flowers! She shud- dered as she looked at the masses of white blossoms scattered everywhere. They were thick and heavy and waxen ; the flowers of death, and they filled the room with oppression. As she stood there there, almost on the spot where he had fallen, the scene grew before her shrinking gaze, perfect in every detail. She saw it all. The frantic struggle, the heavy, swaying figure, the crash and horrible stillness. She saw herself, a frozen figure of fear, holding her breath, and listening listening. She threw back her head with a little choking cry ; then stopped and clenched her teeth. She must not break down here. She must force back that memory bury it deep if life were anyhow to be made endurable. She went forward and laid her flowers on the velvet pall. As she stood there, with bowed head, she suddenly threw out her hands with a half-caressing, half-pleading gesture. The pity of it! oh, the pity of it! The life cut short before its time ; he who had loved fresh air and great spaces, the stretching gallop, all the fierce delights of the fighting, outdoor man- shut away from them all in this narrow bed where no sound might reach him! Her heart ached that it should be so. Darkness and silence for Mm\ thpt he should lie there, quiet and still, with meekly folded hands! How 46 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS unthinkable it all was. How bitterly he would have resented that he should go before his time. " I'm sorry, Godfrey God knows I'm sorry," she sobbed under her breath. " I wish we had never met. It would have been better far for you and for me." Something touched her foot and she sprang back with a startled cry. The library door opened gently the next moment and a woman looked in. Audrey had stooped down, nervous and agitated, to see what was there and did not notice that the door had opened behind her and nearly closed again. She found Godfrey's dog lying under the bier, half-concealed by the drapries. " Nell," she whispered softly, and the animal looked up at her, its wistful eyes full of tears. " Oh, poor Nell," she said, taking the beautiful head in her arms, " and yet I'm glad that somebody loved him I'm glad that he will be missed." The dog nestled against her, moan- ing faintly. ' You don't hate me, do you, you understand? I couldn't help it, Nell. ... I wish I could cry too, I wish I could care more. But you won't forget him, will you? He loved you he was always good to you. I want you to remember because once, for a little while, I think he tried in his way to be good to me." The door was still open, the woman still waited, but Audrey had her back turned and knew nothing. The next moment she put the dog gently from her and got up. ' You shall keep watch, if you will, Nell. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 47 Nobody has a better right than you," she said. " Nobody loved him as well." She turned to go, hesitated, and walked back. " Good-bye," she whispered, laying her hand on the coffin-lid " good-bye and forgive me. Heaven help us both! The future is dark and I go in fear. For you, at least, there is peace. . . . Do you hear me where you are? Do you understand? If so, I think you will have mercy and forgive." She moved away, and the door closed noise- lessly as she approached. When she opened it the hall was empty. The little churchyard was a flood of sunshine when Godfrey Vansittart came to join the dead men of his race in the stately sepulchre set apart for them. The birds were singing, roses blooming, the bees busy. The year was at the full, and Nature was scattering her gifts with a lavish hand, calling on all men to rejoice. Life, not death, was in the air. " A day for a marrying, not for a burying," one old crone remarked to another as they stood in the churchyard. ' Blessed the corpse the rain rains on,' that's what I think. What's the good of the sunlight to him ? " And the other mumbled in agreement. It was a goodly procession. Half the county followed the man who had shown them the way so often when hounds were in full cry. He had been a daring rider, taking fences with a laugh that made other men hold their breath. 48 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS If Godfrey Vansittart had prayed for anything, he would have prayed: " A short life in the saddle, Lord, Not long life by the fire." So perhaps, after all, death had been kind to him coming when it did. But though there were plenty of friends and neighbours assembled to show him the last honour in their power, there was not more than a man or two of his own name, and these were distant relatives of whom he had seen little in life, but who came now as a mark of respect to the head of their house. The Vansittarts were dying out as other old families have done, and the little group standing nearest the grave was almost painfully small. They were all relatives with the exception of Verona Maxwell, an intimate friend and neighbour whose property adjoined Grey Friars, and who had known Godfrey from her childhood. The two old women were whispering together on the edge of the crowd, looking like two ancient crows with their fluttering black gar- ments and bent heads. They had not had such an excitement for many a day. '' I wonder if he's here now the man who did it," one said, peering round eagerly with the bleared eyes of age. " They say innocent blood calls and calls till it gets the murderer back. He may go right away, he may try his hardest not to hear, but sooner or later he'll be treading the same road. And when he treads it he goes to his doom." CHAPTER IV " The dead who do not die." MR KIRKE was standing near, and as he listened to the old crones' wisdom he smiled grimly to himself. He, too, was wondering whether the guilty person was among the crowd, taking an intimate part in the proceedings, perhaps, or present only as an onlooker. Mr Kirke's trained intelligence had taught him the same thing as the old woman's instinct: there was an unconquerable attraction to the murderer in the place of the murder. He walked away before the service was over, thinking and pondering. His interest was keenly excited. A mystery was to him what drink is to some men; once give way and he was done for. He could not stop until he was satisfied. And for Silas Kirke to be satisfied meant that the mystery was a mystery no longer ; every thread would have been unravelled, every hole and corner explored. He might have become one of the most famous detectives in London if he had not suddenly thrown up all his chances and come down and buried himself at Grey Friars. That was more than a year 49 D 50 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS ago now, and since then he had never touched his old work. He was all the more hot and eager now for the long abstinence. His nostrils quivered, his eyes gleamed; he had the look of a human bloodhound deadly, determined, untiring. Woe be to the man or woman upon whom Silas Kirke's suspicions might fall! When he reached his cottage, he took out the chart he had made the other day and studied it carefully. There was Godfrey Vansittart and there were all the people who might in one way or another benefit by his death. Kirke worked from the lowest human motive ; personal gain and advantage, though not necessarily of a pecu- niary nature. There were other things that counted for as much or more than riches with some persons. First on the list came the dead man's wife. What had she to gain ? Freedom, release from a cruel, tyrannical husband, possible happiness in the future ; all good things. Even if gossip had not been rife in the village, brought in by servants from the great house, her face would have betrayed her. Mrs Vansittart was not a happy woman, and she could have little hope of better things to come. Had she been brood- ing over her wrongs until she was ready to seize any means of escape? He thought of the fair, spiritual face and for a moment the supposition seemed too monstrous to contemplate. Then be remembered the women known and chron- icled at Scotland Yard. The women with the faces of saints and the hearts of fiends, who THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 51 were far more dangerous than those whose appearance was a warning in itself. The only other person in the house at the time of the murder (for that was what Mr Kirke had made up his mind it was), besides the servants, was the secretary. Where did he come in ? What good could his employer's death do him? Surely harm rather, for he might possibly be thrown out of work. The man might have no love for his master, very probably had not, but unless there was some hidden motive, which at present could not even be sur- mised, it was not likely that he had raised his hand against him. This left the relatives who might benefit pecuniarily by Godfrey Vansittart's death, the servants, and the vague personality of the mid- night thief, who had been so unanimously judged to be guilty that Kirke immediately had his doubts. About all of these people, however, he must find out more before he could even take them into serious consideration. So far there was a slight balance against Mrs Vansittart, but Kirke acknowledged that it was purely circumstantial. He knew of nothing definite to warrant it. He scouted the idea of the death being in any way an accident. Vansittart's heart trouble had not been bad enough to make him give up any of his ordinary pleasures and pursuits. Why should it suddenly kill him before he had even time to summon assistance ? Besides, some valu- able articles had disappeared from the room 52 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS either stolen by the suspected tramp, or taken by somebody else to provide a false scent. If the latter the case was a strange and complicated one. Kirke stood for a minute with the document in his hand before he locked it away in his desk again. His eyes grew fixed and empty ; he was as immovable as a statue, a brooding figure of fate. Did he see even a little way into the future and did he pause afraid? Could he guess something of the horror and misery which had been born on that fatal night? Blood and tears were mingled, and the innocent would suffer with the guilty. " I'm a fool," he muttered. " Why couldn't I keep out of it? Why couldn't I be content with gathering herbs and doctoring the yokels? There's danger here, I feel it I know it! There's something strange and awful under that deceitful calm, that plausible explanation. Why should I get into trouble for him the man I hated that I'm thankful to have out of the way ? " But even as he communed with himself Kirke knew that he would go on, and that he was not doing this out of any wish to avenge the dead, or even to win the large reward offered for the arrest of his murderer, but simply out of pure love for the work. He had a passion for the curious and mysterious both m nature and man- kind. His instinct was to speculate and burrow ; to probe for hidden motives and hidden things. It was better than food and drink to him; no opium-eater ever craved for his drug more than Kirke did for this his favourite stimulant. He THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 53 would not have gone out of his way to seek it, but it had come to him here in this village in the heart of green England and he could not refuse the proffered draught. At this hour Godfrey Vansittart's last will and testament was about to be read to the little party remaining in the great dining-room of Grey Friars, according to the instructions left by its dead master. The friends and neighbours had gone, and less than a dozen people were left. Audrey sat in a low chair facing the family lawyer, who had his papers spread out on the table. Near her were her mother, a sweet-faced old lady, small and fragile, and Miss Maxwell, a handsome woman of six-and-twenty. The rest of the party were men. A portrait of Godfrey hung on the wall just over the lawyer's head, and Audrey tried not to see it, and failed. It was a speaking likeness, painted a few years ago before he had begun to grow stout and coarse ; while he was still the big, handsome dare-devil, haughty and over- bearing, but with something of the graciousness of youth left. To her imaginative mind it might have seemed that he was taking part in the ceremony the chief part even as he looked down at those assembled at his command. That he was still with them, that there would always be something of him in the old home of which he had been so proud. At least, that bold, defiant presence made Audrey nervous and uncomfortable ; she could not get away from it. The will was brief and to the point. Grey 54 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Friars was not entailed, though for generations past it had descended as a matter of course from father to son, and Godfrey could leave it to whom he pleased. He left it to his wife on certain conditions. These were that she should live there for at least nine months out of every year, and see that the estate was properly kept up, as it had been in his lifetime. If she failed to fulfil these conditions the property went to a distant cousin, and Audrey was left absolutely penniless. At her death, if there were no children, Grey Friars went back to a Vansittart. There were legacies to friends and servants, instructions as to favourite horses and dogs, but nothing else of any great moment. The dis- posal of Grey Friars was the one matter of supreme importance. The old lawyer laid down the will and took off his glasses, but nobody spoke a word. Openly or covertly everybody was looking at Audrey. It was a curious will. Had he known, they wondered, that she would not remain here unless obliged to do so? Had he resented the slight to the stately old abbey where the Grey Friars had lived before the eighth Henry turned them adrift and gave it to a Van- sittart? Would he compel her to stop and care for it, as he had cared for it? It was a gloomy home for a young woman without husband and children, who had no great love for outdoor pursuits. It stood in lofty seclusion with park- land and meadow sloping away on either side, and at the foot of the terrace where the monks THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 55 had walked and read their missals lay a shimmering sheet of water, known as the Abbot's Pool. To Audrey there had always been something gloomy and depressing about the whole place. It belonged far more to the past than to the present. When she sat alone in the hall, which had once been the Refectory, she could picture the monks flitting in and out in their grey robes, grave of face, noiseless of foot; ghosts of men. And the grounds were as dark and austere as the house. No flaunting flower-beds made a blaze of colour on the lawns ; instead a great cedar-tree threw its branches far and wide, where the owls nested and hooted to the night. How often Audrey had woke up, trembling, at their weird cry! The monks had loved their shady alleys and velvet lawns, and such garden as there was, which in their time had been chiefly used for medicinal purposes, was nearly a quarter of a mile away from the house. Mrs Lennard leant forward and laid her hand gently on her daughter's arm. The tension was getting almost unbearable. No one spoke or moved, everybody seemed waiting for Audrey and she sat there, still and white, a vacant look in her beautiful eyes. The touch roused her to consciousness. She shuddered convulsively, and, looking up, gazed straight into her hus- band's face. There was a moment's suspense, and then a shrill cry rang out the cry of a soul in torment. She flung up her arms. " No! No! " she cried wildlv, " I can't it 5 b THE PARADISE OF FOOLS is impossible! Don't ask me, Godfrey, it is cruel, cruel! You have no right, I can't bear it, the living should not stop with the dead. It is a terrible house, full of ghosts old, and grey, and terrible ! It knows too much. I I Her mother's arms were round her, her lips were silenced against her breast, her mother's voice was in her ears, soothing and restrain- ing, or something might have been said beside which this wailing protest would have counted for nothing. As it was, Audrey had everybody's pity and sympathy. She had been through a terrible time, and the wonder was that she had not broken down before, they said. It was not surprising that she should shrink from living in the house where her husband had been mur- dered. Had he known what manner of death he should die, he would never have laid such a cruel command on her. ' The house knows too much," Mr Herschel repeated to himself when the painful scene was over. " Curious she should say that ! It reminds me of something I read the other day: ' All things created by man have souls, and remember, and are influential.' Nonsense, of course, but if it were true in this case? My God ! if it were true ? " After thinking the matter over carefully, Audrey accepted the conditions laid down in her husband's will, though with many mis- givings, and took possession of her inheritance. If she had had any means at all, or had known THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 57 how to earn sufficient to live on, she would have turned her back on the old house for ever with a comparatively light heart. It was not a gift, but a burden that had come to her. But she was helpless and had to think of others. If she undertook the charge of Grey Friars she could be a help instead of a burden to her mother ; she could give the beloved brother the career for which he longed ; she could spend her money wisely and well, and try to atone for what she had done amiss. Perhaps in time peace and forgiveness would come. She was not even sure that she had the right to run away. It might be that this was her penance: to live in the dead man's house, to be reminded of him by day and by night, to care for the things he had cared for, to give her youth in exchange for the years of which she had robbed him. In a little while things began to settle down; the usual routine of the house went on again. Mrs Lennard and her son came to live with Audrey at Grey Friars, which was the one piece of happiness her inheritance gave her, and Mr Herschel remained to help in the management of the estate and look after things generally. For Audrey knew nothing of business, though now she was determined to learn. Having accepted her husband's bequest she meant to carry out his wishes to the best of her ability; not only in the letter, but the spirit. He should not find her wanting. She felt his presence everywhere and what she did was done to him. She would sometimes consult Verona Maxwell 58 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS as to what Godfrey's wishes would have been in certain outdoor matters, of which she knew little or nothing. Verona was a sportswoman and a landowner, and understood what would be expected by the county. Besides, she and Godfrey had been so much together that she knew his views and what he had been in the habit of doing. A reward of ^500 had been offered for any information that would lead to the arrest of the murderer, but so far, though one or two doubt- ful characters had been questioned and detained, not the slightest real clue had been discovered. Only Silas Kirke worked on untiringly in secret and silence, and nobody even guessed that he took any interest in the matter. He had come to be looked upon as an eccentric recluse, so that his strange habits and ways passed almost unnoticed now. There was a right of way through the park at Grey Friars, and this had always been one of his favourite walks, possibly because he knew how much the Squire disliked to see him there. He did not always keep strictly to the public footpath, but would wander off when he had the chance to the old medicine- garden of the monks where some curious and valuable herbs were to be found, which tradition said had been originally planted by the Grey Friars. Godfrey had been aware of this pro- pensity of his, and it made him furious, but though he had often tried to catch Kirke in the act, he had never succeeded. When Kirke heard that the estate had been THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 59 left to Audrey, and that she was therefore now a wealthy woman, he began to look on her with more interest and suspicion. Had she known of this ? It seemed probable. In the first days of his infatuation her husband would very likely have told her, and she would have remembered it later on when trouble and difficulties arose. Still, wealth and freedom alone would not have been sufficient inducement for a woman of her class and position to commit such a terrible crime. If she were, indeed, guilty, there must be a much stronger motive concealed in the background than any he could as yet imagine. He really only suspected her, because there did not seem even so much cause for anybody else to have committed the murder, unless which Kirke was beginning to wonder there had, after all, been a midnight thief who had killed Godfrey Vansittart in self-defence. He had made inquiries into the antecedents of the few people who benefited under the will, but he could not find anything doubtful enough in their lives upon which even to hang a theory. He reluctantly acknowledged to himself that he was practically at a standstill. Audrey was passing through the hall on her way to bed one night, when she noticed some- thing on the library door and stopped to see what it was. The next moment she gave a startled cry and sprang forward. It was one of the bills that had been printed offering a reward for the arrest of her husband's murderer and the thick black letters stared at her from the 6o THE PARADISE OF FOOLS white background with horrible distinctness. It was like an accusing finger, and she fell slowly back as though the thing were alive and could reach her. She had seen it, of course, before, when the secretary had first submitted the notice for her approval, and knew every word of it by heart. But coming upon it there on the door of the room where he had died it seemed like a new thing ; it took a significance it had never had before. Who could have put it there? Who would have dared? And she turned cold at the thought what had been in the mind of the person who did it? What object was to be obtained by bringing that ghastly notice into the dead man's house? She read the heading again and again in a frozen, mechanical way, as though she were trying to realise the meaning of the words and could not. " Murder. ^"500 reward." Murder. . . . Murder. What a terrible word it was! How full of meaning! What dreams and visions it raised of lonely places, of stark forms, and staring, empty eyes upturned to the sky, as though appealing for vengeance. Vengeance ! ' The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." So it had been with the first murder; so it would be with the last. The dead crying and crying to be avenged. The call of the blood which rose up even to heaven ; the blood which could not rest, which could not be covered up until justice had been done. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 61 Her breath came in choking, heavy gasps ; a nameless terror wrapped her round and half paralysed her senses. Was Godfrey waiting? Could he not rest in his grave? Would there be no peace for her until she had confessed? He seemed to be drawing her with invisible cords towards an inevitable end. She might fight and struggle, she might plead for mercy, but the result would be the same, the cords would not give way. Quickly or slowly she must go on, there was no escape. It was as though she saw some horror crouching at the end of a long road a road shut in on every side, which she was bound to travel. She might trifle with things by the way, she might make use of any and every excuse to linger, she might deaden her senses in a mad round of pleasure or dull them with toil, but through it all she would be aware of the horror waiting at the end of the road. It could wait with patience, because it was so sure of its victim. " Mrs Vansittart what is it? what is the matter? " a voice asked sharply, and she turned with a pitiful, appealing cry like a child, holding out her hands. She scarcely realised who it was beside her, only that it was something human, something she could catch hold of, which might save her from the black abyss into which she was falling. " Look ! look ! " she whispered hoarsely. " On the door behind which he died! In his own house he calls for vengeance ; he bids the murderer stand forth. Who can fight against 62 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS him? It stopped and caught me like the hand- writing on the wall ; I couldn't get past. How did it come there ? Who is helping him? There's no mercy anywhere, only justice. Not even justice, only vengeance. And I and I -" An hysterical sob caught her by the throat and she stopped, swaying helplessly and wring- ing her hands in impotent misery. Mr Herschel tore down the flaring placard and half-led, half -carried the overwrought woman to a chair. " Hush ! " he whispered authoritatively, " you don't know what you are saying, but there may be listeners, we must be careful. That notice being put there is probably only a silly bit of melodrama on the part of one of the servants, but I will find out. You may trust me to get to the bottom of it. Somebody's got the idea from a penny novelette, and thought it would be fine to make a sensation. Of course the servants have been upset by what has happened, and are at present in an excitable, hysterical state. You know what the lower classes are, how they like to make the most of any tragedy." He talked on, soothing, persuading, but with the touch of command which a woman appre- ciates in a man at such a time and to which she unconsciously yields. Gradually Audrey grew calmer. :c It was a good thing I happened to come along," he said. " You had worked yourself up into a terrible state. Of course it was not much wonder, but don't let it happen again if THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 63 you can help it. Let the dead past bury its dead. There are some memories it is not wise to cherish." " But what," she whispered, " what if they force themselves on you by night and by day if they press close up and will not be denied ? " He put his hand to his forehead to push back the thick, lank hair, which felt heavy all at once. ' That way madness lies," he answered sternly. ' You have had a great shock, and you must do your best to forget, otherwise you may do or say something some day you will after- wards bitterly repent. In most lives there is a door of which it is well to lose the key. We do not stand or fall alone, remember, and the living are more than the dead." ' What do you mean? " she asked, half fear- fully. " I don't understand." " Nothing to distress you," he said quietly. " I want to be your friend, that is all. Have I earned the right, do you think? " " Of course," she said warmly. " I don't know what I should have done without you all through this terrible time. You have spared me in every way you could." He lifted his heavy eyes and looked her straight in the face without a word. She shivered and thought what strange eyes he had. She had scarcely noticed them before ; as a rule, they were half-closed. Now they almost seemed to speak. What was it they wanted to say ? CHAPTER V " The moving finger writes." SILAS KIRKE was sitting in his cottage a few nights later when he heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. He started when he saw Mr Herschel standing outside. They had never exchanged more than an occasional " Good- day " in passing, so that Kirke naturally won- dered what had brought the secretary from the great house to see him at this time. " I have called to speak to you on a matter of some importance," Mr Herschel said. " May I come in ? " Kirke led the way to his sitting- room and the two men sat down. ' You will wonder what has brought me," Mr Herschel said. " Perhaps you will be able to form some idea when I tell you that I have been talking to Loder." Kirke's eyes flickered, but he said nothing. He had bright, restless eyes, which were a little out of harmony with the set, rigid face. " May I ask why you suborned one of Mrs Vansittart's servants to post a certain notice on her library door? You must have known it would naturally shock and startle her." Mr Herschel spoke in a tone of measured restraint. 64 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 65 ' You may ask, but I am not obliged to tell you. However, I don't mind doing so. My motive was curiosity." " And you did not mind what fresh suffering you gave to a lady who has already had enough to bear, and who I think can never have done you any harm. Loder, of course, was very much to blame, but he is an ignorant country lad and evidently under your influence. I had to drag the truth from him, he seemed afraid of what you might do to punish him." ;< I bear Mrs Vansittart personally no ill-will ; why should I ? As you say, she has never done me any harm. It was a whim, a freak; such tricks appeal to me. The world has given me some hard knocks ; why should I spare others, especially those in high places, with whom I have no sympathy ? " :< It was a cruel trick," Mr Herschel said, but there was a note of relief in his tone, " but as you don't seem to realise the wrong you were doing, I shall advise Mrs Vansittart to overlook the matter this time. But don't presume on this forbearance. If you try any such game again, it will be punished with the utmost seventy. You may not be quite right in the head, but you know well enough what you are about, or if not you must be made to understand that your privileges as ' wise man,' hermit or whatever character you prefer have their limits. You must keep your hands off Grey Friars." " So you think I am not quite right in the head ? " Kirke said slowly. E 66 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " I should imagine not," contemptuously. " What man in his senses would lead the life you do? From your face you might be any age, but judging from the way you scour the country and turn night into day, I suppose you are not much over forty. No man turns his back on everything and everybody at that age without a very good reason. Either he's gone queer, or else " Mr Herschel stopped abruptly. " Or else ? " Kirke repeated. " I suddenly wondered whether there might be a more serious reason for your strange, lonely life. But we need not go into that now, or at any time, unless you make it worth my while. Live and let live is a very good motto. Nobody will interfere with you unless you are trouble- some, and I think you will see the wisdom of confining your malicious tricks to the villagers in future. They are afraid of you ; we are not." " I appreciate your clemency ; it is more than I could have expected. So you are going to hush the matter up. You will say nothing about it. I suppose you are speaking with Mrs Vansittart's authority now ? " " Mrs Vansittart has left the matter in my hands." :{ Times have changed, have they not, in a few weeks ? You are a person of some import- ance now at the great house, you are a force to be reckoned with. I had hardly realised that. But I beg your pardon, of course it is no business of mine. My tongue runs on too fast. So you THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 67 will advise Mrs Vansittart to let sleeping dogs lie? I think that was your expression, and a very good one it is, too." Mr Herschel looked at him sharply, but Kirke's face was so blandly smooth that he could find nothing in it. What was there to fear? What harm could a poor, half-daft creature do, who spent his time in gathering herbs and doctoring credulous rustics? He might have impish ways, as such half-witted creatures often had, but they were the consequence of his twisted mind, not the outcome of deliberate thought and intention. What could Grey Friars, in its wealth and assured position, have to fear from the friendless solitary who lived at its gates? " Very well, so long as you understand it is all right," Mr Herschel said, as he rose to go. " Of course, Mrs Vansittart's friends wish to spare her feelings as much as they can, that is why I have been so lenient. Any gossip on such a matter must be extremely painful to her." " People will gossip among themselves if they don't gossip loud enough for her to hear. It would be strange if they did not," Kirke said. tf Why, there hasn't been such a sensation in the county for years. And, of course, that big reward will keep up the interest. There must be lots of minds at work on the mystery now- thinking and sifting and planning, and what doesn't strike one may strike another. Ah! Mrs Vansittart mustn't despair, her husband's murderer will be brought to justice yet." 68 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Kirke rubbed his hands gleefully, and Mr Herschel shivered as though a cold wind had touched him. " I don't mind telling you now as we're more friendly that that was why I wanted the placard put up in his own house. It would have been a good test. If the murderer had happened to come upon it unexpectedly, he would have betrayed himself in some way, I'm convinced. Pity you couldn't have watched all the servants go past." " There is not the least reason to suspect any one of them," Mr Herschel said sharply, " and certainly no traps will be laid for anybody in the house. You have been brooding over the affair until you are ready to imagine anything. It can't be good for you, you're too queer and excitable already; you had better put it all out of your mind." ' You think so ? Well, I'm not sure but what you're right." ' There is very little doubt that it was the work of some strange hand a tramp, most likely ; and I'm afraid that, as he has not yet been arrested, he may escape altogether." " It's queer he should disappear so utterly, without leaving a trace or a sign. It doesn't look quite like an inexperienced hand. There were^the gold ornaments too, what's become of them?' : " Melted down long ago, most likely. But all this is merely guess-work, and it's time I was going. I'm glad we have had this talk and cleared everything up ; we shall understand one another in future. Good night." As the door closed behind the secretary a grim smile slowly dawned on the face of the man who had stood and watched him go. His right hand opened and closed once or twice, and he stared intently into space as if he saw something there. "Half-witted!" he muttered presently, and the amusement deepened. " A foolish, dodder- ing creature, more to be pitied than blamed, a sort of harmless wandering lunatic. . . ." He laughed aloud. " And yet you're a clever man, Mr Herschel, and you ought not to have been so easily deceived. But your head's a bit turned with success ; you're over-excited and a little too pleased with yourself, and so you don't see as clearly as you should. ... So my lady trusts you does she? Likes you, perhaps? Leaves a good deal in your hands, at all events. Very foolish of her." He began pacing up and down the room, softly and stealthily, as though someone could hear. " It's the first time I've had a good look at you, or I shouldn't have been so soon discour- aged. There are more possibilities than I reckoned on. I wish I could have kept you here a little longer, but we shall meet again. I put you on one side too easily ; it shows how out of practice I am. But I shall make up for lost time now." What a face it was! Mr Kirke reflected, as he paced the room. He called it up again and 70 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS again, taking it feature by feature. The curiously-shaped head, the clever brows, and most interesting of all the eyes and the mouth. What strength of will there was what power of self-repression ! And, side by side with these, a capacity for passion and enjoyment almost terrifying in its intensity. He was not the less, but the more, dangerous because of his self- control. It was like snow on a volcano. The fire was damped down and few people ever suspected that it was there, but it burned and smouldered within, and there was always the possibility that it might burst into flame. Paul Herschel was not a man to readily attract either men or women, and occupying, as he did, a subordinate position in another person's house, his character and peculiarities had passed almost unnoticed. Audrey had had no idea how strong and helpful he could be until the occasion arose, and Silas Kirke had also been misled by his external appearance. Of medium height and build, with a slight stoop, saying little and moving softly, he looked the man of thought far more than the man of action. Kirke took out the Vansittart chart, which he had not looked at for some days, and rested his pencil heavily against the secretary's name. It seemed to him that a clue to the mystery might be found there. The man had some big thought or intention in his mind, he was sure. There was an air of suppressed excitement about him, which he could not entirely conceal. Either he knew who the guilty person was, or he was THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 7r trying to find out. If the first, what hindered him from claiming the reward? If the second, whom did he suspect? Kirke unlocked a cupboard in which he kept his books and passed his hand slowly along the rows of neatly bound volumes. It was a curious collection and might have occasioned remark had it been openly displayed. There were books on ancient customs and superstitions, books on herbs and plants, and one row dealing entirely with celebrated crimes and criminals. It was here that the hand stopped. He took out one volume after another, read- ing until late into the night with a complete absorption that was oblivious of time or place. When at last he got up his mouth closed like a trap, and his eyes glowed with a sombre fire. "That's it!" he exclaimed aloud. "By Heaven! I believe I'm on the right track." CHAPTER VI ".What are we waiting for, you and I?" Miss MAXWELL'S home was called the Tower House, and here she lived alone with an old governess for chaperon. Her parents had died when she was a child, but she did not seem to mind her rather lonely life. Occasionally she spent a few weeks in London, but as a rule she was quite content with her country friends and pursuits. Not that she was merely a sports- woman, or incapable of shining in more critical circles. She would have been a striking personality anywhere. As she walked in the garden this morning with a guest who was staying in the house there was something in her manner and appearance which seemed to focus attention. The impres- sion would have been the same in a crowd. It was not only the almost regal bearing a thought too stately and dignified perhaps for her years you felt that here was a strong individuality, you knew that this woman was not made of common clay. But she could see the small things of life as well as the great. It was the critical eye of the mistress that swept over 72 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 73 the smooth lawns and gorgeous flower-beds. Her servants knew that they could no more have neglected their work with her than with the hardest task-master. " Then you will come with me this afternoon and call on Mrs Vansittart ? " she was saying to the man beside her, with whom she was on terms of the closest friendship. " I shall be very pleased if you think she would care about seeing a stranger so soon. It must be hard to take up the ordinary routine of life again after going through such a terrible experience." " I am sure she would like to see you on her brother's account. He is studying painting, and has the greatest admiration for your work. When he heard that you were staying here he begged me to bring you over if possible. He is quite a nice boy and extraordinarily clever, I should say. I think you will be interested in him." ' The youthful painting prodigy is very much like other prodigies I am afraid, he so often comes to nothing. Still, one always hopes to find the exception, and, of course," with a light laugh, " it is a point in his favour that he should admire my pictures." Leigh Beresford was a lucky man. He had been able to follow his own inclinations, and they had resulted not only in success, but in a happy life. He had a fair income, independent of any effort of his, so that he could give his beloved art the time and devotion which would 74 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS have been impossible to a poor man who had his living to earn. And she had amply repaid him. At five-and-thirty he was one of the foremost artists of the day rich, courted, admired. " And if the worst comes to the worst," he added, " he will have had his dreams. Art is such a beautiful enchantress, and deals tenderly with her devotees. Even if they fail to follow her, she leaves them a little of her glamour wherewith to gild the dull, grey world. They see not with the eyes of the multitude." " Do you think," Verona asked slowly, " that it is better to have dreamed and awoke than not to have dreamed at all ? " " Certainly. For a little while, at all events, you have left the world behind ; you have had visions of fairer things." " But it is such a shock to be dragged back. The real thing seems all the worse for that absence more grey and cold and hard. You have lost your bearings, you have to find yourself again, and to most people " with a laugh " the process is not an agreeable one. You see, your dreams became realities, so perhaps you hardly understand." " It is true that my lines have fallen in pleasant places, but I have not left off dreaming yet, so there may be disappointments awaiting me still. I can hardly hope to escape the common lot. Besides, though the world calls me a lucky man, and I should be ungrateful to deny it, I have not reached the heights any THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 75 more than I have sounded the depths. You know what Browning says: ' We have not sighed deep, laughed free, Starved, feasted, despaired been happy.' I suppose contrast counts for a good deal. Contentment may dwell on a dead level, but scarcely happiness for long." " Don't provoke the gods to snatch their favours away! A beautiful, serene life like yours is a great gift. A career of your own choosing, which has more than justified your choice, fame, honour and friends what more do you want? " " I don't know. Perhaps, as I see you tfiink, I have had too much. And yet, after all, it is a lonely life beyond a certain point. There are times when one cannot paint, there are hours when the friends go, and then " He broke off abruptly. ' You will laugh at me for being sentimental, and yet you, too, must have had this feeling. Everybody who lives alone gets it sometimes." " I know what you mean. All at once, perhaps for no particular reason, the horrible question crops up: What is the good of it all? Where does it lead? And the answer comes back: Nothing and Nowhere." There was a bitter forlorn note in the woman's voice, which the man could not fail to hear. He hesitated a moment, then he spoke his thoughts. They had been in the habit of doing that with each other for some time past. 76 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " What is it, Verona ? " he asked gently. " Since I have been down this time you have not seemed in very good health or spirits. Has anything gone wrong?" " Would you have called me a person of placid temperament at any time ? " she asked in reply. " Don't you know that I am cursed with an ill-regulated mind, which sorrows or rejoices without rhyme or reason ? " " Yes, I know you are too easily carried away, though, at the same time, you take things deeply. It is the so-called artistic temperament." " Which you have not." " Which I am glad to say I have not to any great extent. It scarcely makes for the happi- ness of its owner. If the power of enjoyment is doubled, so is the power for suffering, and you don't need me to tell you of which there is apt to be most. Try not to take things so much to heart." " Excellent advice, but how hard to follow, especially just now. Godfrey Vansittart's death was a great shock to me, we had known each other so long; I had grown up with him, as it were. I was rather a lonely child, and I used so to admire the big, handsome boy on the other side of the fence. He wasn't always nice to me " with a laugh " he was apt to forget me altogether when he had companions of his own age and sex, which was terrible, but it made no difference to my feelings. I dare say I admired him all the more for his lordly ways. You know we women have never yet been able to forget perhaps we never shall that in the beginning of time we followed meekly behind our lord and master with the other goods and chattels." " It has not left much outward trace on you at all events," he answered smiling. Certainly Verona Maxwell did not suggest humility in any form. The tall, erect figure, with its classic proportions, the long, curving lines, graceful yet generous, the proud dark head on the full throat, all told of a woman more fitted to command than entreat. Hers was the regal beauty of a young empress, dark, glowing, tropical ; but when Cleopatra deigns to lower her proud head, it moves us more than the humility of lesser women. " I understand," he went on more gravely, " that it must have been a great blow to lose your old friend and neighbour in such a terrible way, and, of course, everything here must remind you of it. You ought to have a change, your nerves have been severely tried. You don't look as if you were sleeping well. Why not go away? " " Perhaps I shall presently. But I don't think I am in the mood for country-house visiting, still less am I inclined to go abroad. I am afraid I'm beginning to get tired and to ask cui bono? " :< That shows you are not yourself. As a rule you are more capable of taking part in everything and enjoying it to the utmost than ;8 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS half the women one meets. You are so full of life and vigour. You have reminded me more than once of Atalanta, swiftest-footed of mortals." " She ran races with her lovers, didn't she ? It was a primitive, but perhaps not a worse way of choosing a husband than some of the modern ones. After all, if he outran her, she knew that, at least, he had the one gift she valued more than any other." " Yes, I'm afraid we are very little, If any, wiser, in such matters than the ancients. There is a horrible lot of chance about it all. Either happiness like no other happiness perfect, all- satisfying or a misery equally great." " That may be so to you, or to me, because we expect a good deal. But that is not the way with most mortals, which is a fortunate thing. Think of the married people you know. Do they " she gave a hard laugh " walk on the mountain tops, with radiant faces turned to the sun? Not many of them, I think. But neither do they grovel in the depths. They walk along the commonplace, middle road with nearly all the rest of the world." " I suppose you are right, though I don't like to believe it. Love is such a beautiful thing that it seems a thousand pities it should be degraded to such dull uses." ' You would look for a great deal ? " she asked slowly. " I suppose you have some ideal woman in the clouds? " " I scarcely know. At all events she is in THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 79 a very nebulous state at present. Though we are told that we all have a kindred spirit which would make our life complete, it is extraordinary how few of us manage to find it. So we go about with the sense of ' wanting,' knowing that some- thing should have been that is not." " Perhaps it is wise to make the best of what we can get." " Wise, yes, but there are better things in life than wisdom. I wonder," he said presently, " if you know these lines. I think they must have been written about some ideal, shadowy, beauti- ful woman : ' She cometh, veiled and sleeping, And she knoweth not her power.' That vision haunts me sometimes, and I try to paint it, but so far I have always failed. If justice could be done to it," and his voice throbbed, " I think it would make the most beautiful picture in the world." The woman grew cold as she listened. How cruel men were how cruel! " Miss Maxwell is going to bring Leigh Beresford over this afternoon," Jack Lennard said to his sister. " It's awfully good of her. You don't know how keen I am on meeting him, they say he's one of the best chaps going as well as one of the cleverest," he exclaimed with boyish enthusiasm. " I'm glad he is coming, then. He would be a good friend for you to have." 8o THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Oh, I don't expect that, you know," his face flushing. " Of course he won't bother much about me, he's got too much to do, but it will be something just to hear him talk and be in the same room with him." " Do pearls and diamonds drop from his lips, then? You are quite a hero-worshipper, Jack. You seem to have put Mr Beresford on a pedestal." And Audrey laughed. She was at her youngest and best with this much-loved brother. He made the one bright spot in her life, a breath of the outside world came in with him, stirring the heavy atmosphere of the old house. He laughed, with a light heart; he was eager, enthusiastic all that she had been once and was no more. And, knowing how she had wrecked her own life, she had an almost extrava- gant desire to make his happy ; to give him of the best. He should have every chance ; she would find comfort for her own failure in his success. " And he deserves to be put on a pedestal," Jack said emphatically, " not only because he can paint but because he doesn't degrade his art. You wouldn't catch him doing advertise- ment work for Brown's pills or Smith's powder. He paints his pictures as I suppose the old masters painted theirs because he can't help it, because all the beauty he sees and feels would be too much for him if he didn't try to give it expression. And so," his voice grew almost reverent, "and so you feel better for what THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 81 he does, you take a little of the beauty away with you, and it makes you hate the ugly things." 1 There must be a great charm in a life lived in beautiful surroundings, doing beautiful work. But I should think it makes one hard and selfish in a way. I mean," as Jack looked up indig- nantly, " you would have to do so much with abstract things that you might neglect humanity, lose interest in it, or fail to understand it. You might easily get more mind than heart, and be revolted by the sordid, unlovely things of life." Before Jack could answer the door opened and Miss Maxwell and Mr Beresford were announced. As Audrey advanced a few steps to meet them the artist looked at her with interest. It was a striking pathetic figure because of its youth and fragile loveliness. It seemed incongruous almost monstrous that this girl should be the centre of such a tragedy. She stood there in her trailing black gown, the mistress of the old grey mansion, on a lonely eminence, with many to watch and criticise what she said and did and few to help. She stood alone in her youth and beauty, with a woman's knowledge and experi- ence many women are never called upon to learn as much and the years of a girl. He looked at the starry eyes, whose purple beauty was so noticeable in the pale face, and he felt a thrill of wonder and pity. They were so clear-shining, so innocent; they reminded him of the eyes of a child when it awakes from sleep. F 82 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Did we interrupt a very interesting discus- sion ? " Verona asked as she sat down. " I thought Jack seemed rather excited about something." And she laughed across at the boy. " I think he was a little indignant with me," Audrey said, smiling mischievously, while Jack flushed and looked rather uncomfortable. " May we hear what it was about? " " I don't mind if Jack doesn't. My brother is studying to be an artist, as Miss Maxwell may have told you," Audrey said, speaking to Beresford, " and sometimes we have quite hot arguments on art, though I must acknowledge I know very little about it. We were having one just now when you came in. I said that though an artist's must be a beautiful life, in a way it must be a rather cold and abstract one, because it deals with abstract more than personal things. Of course, I mean in the case of a man who is absolutely devoted to his work." So this pretty creature could think, Beresford said to himself. " I am afraid there is some truth in what you say," he answered aloud. " You may cultivate a taste for beauty of form and colour until it makes the everyday world horrible and impos- sible. You lose more in one way than you gain in another by shutting your door against truth and reality. You are living a false life and you may develop into a cold-blooded, abnormal creature. I hope " with a friendly, quizzical smile at Jack " that your brother is not THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 83 contemplating some such hermit existence as a sacrifice to the goddess we both worship? " Mr Beresford thought Jack Lennard a nice, manly boy, and, though he was not nearly as good-looking, he occasionally reminded him of his sister. But he had all the joyous confidence of youth, which looks upon everybody as a friend, and she seemed to be strangely diffident, almost shy at times. She would grow suddenly silent and constrained and retire into herself. But her brother could always rouse her interest ; it was good to see how attached they were to each other. "Well, what do you think of him?" Jack asked eagerly when the visitors had gone. " Did I exaggerate ? " " I don't remember that you described his personal appearance," Audrey said teasingly. " I wasn't thinking of that, though even there I should think he could bear comparison with most men. He's not a finnicking, womanish creature like some artists, he's fond of games and outdoor life. He's a man before anything else." ' Yes," Audrey said slowly, " I should think that might be true." She was lying back in a low chair, her hands loosely clasped in her lap. This was almost the first stranger she had seen since her husband's death, and the interview had excited her a little. It was quite an event. He was an interesting man to talk to ; he could listen as well as speak. And he showed a chivalrous deference to women which she had not been accustomed to in 84 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Godfrey or his friends. They were ready to flatter and spoil a pretty woman, but not to respect her opinions or to treat her as an equal in intellect and understanding. " He says I'm under quite a good man," the boy gossiped on, " who is all I want at present. But when I go to London I am to let him know, and he will tell me what to do, and see I get with the right people. Isn't it good of' him to trouble a man like that? " " Very good. I saw you showing him some of your sketches. Was he pleased with them ? " " I think he must have been," with modest pride, " for he looked at me all at once as though we were friends. It sounds beastly conceited, but he really did. You know he's got a jolly pleasant way with him. And he said, ' I shouldn't be surprised if you make a name for yourself some day if you work hard.' I felt as though I could stand on my head! I had to cling on to the table, or I should have gone whooping round the room." " Oh, Jack, what a baby you are ! " " Oh, come now, I'm not so much younger than you after all. I'm eighteen and you're twenty-two, only four years difference." " Is that all? It might be a hundred, don't you think? " " I'm sorry, old girl. I ought not to have said that. Forgive me, I didn't think." He threw his arm round her shoulders and rested his cheek against hers. " Of course all this awful business has made you feel old and miser- THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 85 able and good-for-nothing, but that'll pass, won't it? You'll get back your old self by and by, won't you ? You'll be like you were before you left us. Do you remember how happy we used to be what fun we had over nothing? They were good old days, weren't they, though we were as poor as church mice." " Better days than I am ever likely to have again." " But that's n nsense, dear. One can't grieve for ever at your age. I know enough for that. And and poor Godfrey was a good deal older than you and you hadn't much in common, had you? I know you did it chiefly on our account, and it was awfully good of you. Don't mind my talking like this " caressingly " but I'm afraid you're getting a bit morbid. Of course, one wouldn't want you to forget yet awhile, but I wish you wouldn't brood so much alone." " One gets over honest grief, Jack, sooner than over some other things." ; ' I don't think I understand," he said ques- tioningly. " I don't seem to know you as well as I did. You puzzle me sometimes. What other things do you mean ? " " Failure and wrong, mistakes that can never be put straight, wasted opportunities all the miserable things that come between human beings and spoil their lives. When you say I sit alone and brood, I am thinking of Godfrey taken away so suddenly from all he loved and enjoyed ; I am thinking how little good I did him, that he would have been far better without 86 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS me. And I," she threw out her hands with a little desolate gesture, infinitely pathetic, " am I much better off? I seem to myself sometimes to be living in a splendid tomb with a never- dying memory." " Audrey ! " the boy cried in horror. " There ! never mind, I ought not to have said that. As you say, I'm morbid and hysterical. But you must give me time. One cannot get over such things all at once. I'm best left alone; one must dree one's own weird. It's extraordinary how little even those who love you best can help you. " It's all right, Jack, don't look so unhappy. But we won't speak of this again. Leave it to time isn't that what people say? Time that consoles, or wears you out, which is it? In any case, which offers you the only hope." CHAPTER VII " Destiny with men for pieces plays." IT was not often that the postman called at Silas Kirke's cottage, but he had brought him a letter to-night, and apparently one of some import- ance by the attention he was giving it. He nodded his head as he put it down at last after reading it slowly through a second time. " It goes far to confirm my suspicions," he thought. " At least there is a motive and a fairly strong one. Many a man has been killed for less." The letter was from a clever London detec- tive, and it gave some details of Paul Herschel's life, which the secretary would have been dis- mayed to find were familiar to anybody but himself. On one of his rare visits to town, he had unknown to himself attracted the atten- tion of the police owing to his being frequently seen in the company of a notorious anarchist, a Pole, named Tarnowski. He was watched and his antecedents inquired into, but as nothing could be discovered against him, and he dis- appeared in a few weeks, the matter dropped, and Herschel never suspected that for a few 87 88 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS days he had been a person of some interest to Scotland Yard. That was a year or two ago now, but his name was still remembered and the circumstances in connection with it, though he himself had put the whole affair out of his mind long ago. It was not quite a pleasant incident to remember! He had been in considerable difficulties at the time, difficulties which he had never succeeded in shaking off since, and at his wits' end for money. He was out of employment, and beginning to feel the first pangs of hunger the real hunger that knows it cannot be satisfied when by chance he met Michael Tarnowski. And being in sore straits, and filled with hate and envy of all those who had the good things of life which he lacked, he almost allowed himself to be drawn into Tarnowski's schemes almost, but not quite. But though the police did not know this, it was only the fact of his obtaining the appoint- ment of secretary to Mr Vansittart, which saved Paul Herschel from throwing in his lot with the enemies of society. ' The circumstances were suspicious," the detective wrote, " but nothing could be proved against him. I should say he was hovering on the border-line when something happened that kept him on the right side. From what I know of the man I shouldn't think it had to do with any scruple of conscience, or fear or horror of the life he was contemplating, but simply that he found something which promised as well or better with less risk. I am quite sure he was an THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 89 unscrupulous scoundrel, all the more dangerous because he had a quiet, gentlemanly bearing. I'm not surprised that you want to know some- thing about him. I always had an idea that he might turn up again one day in some shady affair. He was a man I instinctively distrusted.'' Kirke had found in his books on crimes and criminals one case that resembled in a certain degree the Grey Friars mystery. The secretary's behaviour and appearance on the night of his visit had excited his suspicion, and what he read suggested an idea to him. Before, he could see no reason why Herschel should have raised his hand against his employer, now he could. The idea was far-fetched, perhaps, but experience had taught him that crimes are not always com- mitted for intelligent, adequate reasons. He had written off to a professional friend of wide experience, asking him to make some inquiries about Paul Herschel and, to his surprise and delight, he had received the foregoing reply. There was one particularly significant sentence in the letter. " I know that this man was not only almost penniless eighteen months ago, but that (during his more prosperous days, I suppose) he had got into the hands of the Jews, and old Sam Fisher would have gone for him if it had been worth his while. But you can't get blood from a stone." No, but times had changed with Mr Herschel, and old Sam would know it, Kirke reflected grimly. He was a regular leech ; he never let go until he had sucked his victim dry. Even in the rare cases when a man apparently outwitted him by getting ruined, he did not despair; he never put anything down as a bad debt. There was always the chance that he might pick up again. Sam knew that many a man will pay his moneylender to keep him quiet when he will let an honest tradesman wait. " He'd get a pretty good screw up there," Kirke told himself with a nod in the direction of Grey Friars, " and Sam would have his share. Not only that, having once been nearly sold, he'd have no mercy. If Herschel didn't pay up to time, there'd be trouble. I wonder I wonder " and he stared hard into vacancy " whether he had got into a fix ? " The result of Mr Kirke's reflections was that the next morning he took the train to London, and on his arrival made his way to a certain gloomy street off the Strand, where Mr Samuel Fisher did an extensive business in an office of two rooms. He sent in his name and was received almost immediately. ' This is an unexpected pleasure," Mr Fisher said effusively, holding out a plump, not over- clean hand. " I thought you were quite lost to London, Mr Kirke, though I never could under- stand why you buried such abilities as yours in the country. I can't see what attraction people find in fields and trees ; give me human nature." He had certainly had a good deal of it, and could have supplied much curious information anent the shady side. Mr Fisher was plump THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 91 and beaming, and timid clients, who had expected to see the typical moneylender of fiction lean and hawk-eyed were agreeably surprised when they found a bland, smiling, elderly man who might have been a prosperous tradesman. He had unlimited patience, too, and would listen to their roundabout stories and needless explanations how they had never done such a thing before, and the exceptional circum- stances that made them do it now with a sympathetic interest that quite won their hearts. That when, too late, they learnt the implacable greed, the merciless determination that lay like rock under the smiling surface was a matter that only concerned themselves. ' You wouldn't see me here now, but that I had to come up on a matter of business," Kirke said shortly. " I want a little confidential talk with you." Mr Fisher continued to smile, but he did not look quite as comfortable. " Anything, I'm sure, that I can do," he murmured blandly. " It may be as well to remind you that you owe me a good turn for my help in that little affair you know of. Things might have turned out rather unpleasantly for you that time if I hadn't known the wisdom, in my profession, of having friends everywhere. Well, now, I've come to ask a favour of you in return." Mr Fisher looked still more uneasy, but he managed to assure his visitor that he awaited his pleasure. 92 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " You know a man, Paul Herschel, by name ? " The moneylender had curious eyes, large and pale. Suddenly they turned unluminous and stale like a snake's. ' Yes," he said, " I know him." " He has been on your books for some time, hasn't he ? I want to know whether he owes you very much? I promise that your name shall not be mentioned in the matter." " He owes me nothing now." Kirke gave an exclamation and almost started to his feet. "Nothing?" he repeated. "But he was pretty heavily in your debt a little while ago, wasn't he ? " This was in the nature of an experi- ment, but he saw that he had made a good shot. " Heavily for him, yes. Three months ago he owed me 200." In a flash Silas Kirke remembered that it was three months since the master of Grey Friars was found murdered. " Do you mind telling me how it was paid ? ' " Not at all. I have no liking for Mr Herschel, and if you ' want ' him you may have him and welcome as far as I am concerned. He was unwise enough," and the plump rosy face looked suddenly dangerous, " to threaten me to come and make a scene here, to talk about the police." He gave a snarling laugh. " He soon saw his mistake, but it was too late then for apologies and regrets. I had had enough of him for some time, and I thought I would teach my gentleman a lesson. That it wasn't as hard a one as I expected was more my THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 93 misfortune than my fault. I don't understand to this day how he contrived to get it." ' What do you mean ? " " He had been out of work and owing me money for some time when he got a post in the country as secretary to a private gentleman. I agreed not to do anything to damage his pros- pects if he would pay the interest regularly; I didn't want to ruin him for my own sake. Well, I renewed again and again, knowing what his salary was and that he was doing all he could, and so it went on up to about three months ago. Then suddenly he came here and said he hadn't got the money and was sick of being fleeced. Talked some nonsense about having paid me at least six times the amount he had borrowed. Of course he didn't take into consideration that I had had practically no security and had waited for my money two or three years." "And then ?" : Then I let him have it. I said that if he didn't pay me the ^200 he owed within a week I would have him summoned, and his employer would know all about it. This would most likely mean his dismissal, I knew, and a loss to me, but I could afford myself that little bit of revenge. He lost his head I think he had been spending my money rioting about town and his nerves were not too steady and implored and threatened by turns until I had him turned out. He wrote letters and sent telegrams all the week, but I never answered them except the last, and that was to say that 1 94 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS should expect the ,200 by twelve o'clock the next day or he must take the consequences. I hinted that I could give Mr Vansittart some interesting information which would turn him adrift in the world without a character. " Well, by noon the next day the money came." ' The money came," Kirke repeated slowly, and his face paled. " Can you let me have the date ? " Mr Fisher looked it up. " The i;th of June," he said. " And on the night of the 24th of June Mr Vansittart was killed in his own house, and to this day no trace of his murderer has been found." ' You don't mean you're not thinking," the moneylender exclaimed, his rosy face changing, " that that this man Herschel had anything to do with the murder? Of course, I saw the reports in the papers, but it appeared as if the unfortunate gentleman had had a struggle with some chance tramp or burglar who had come to rob the place." The word " Murder " has a terror of its own, unlike any other. Men inured to crime and evil of every other description will shrink back appalled at the mention of it. The murderer stands apart from his fellows on a terribly lonely eminence ; nobody will have anything to do with him. Even a man like Samuel Fisher grew pale at the thought of shedding blood. ' That was the verdict of the Coroner's jury certainly," Mr Kirke said with a contemptuous THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 95 twist of his lip. " But as they were a set of country bumpkins anxious to make things as easy as possible for the family, I don't know that we need take their decision as absolutely final and convincing. ' Where did Herschel get that ^200? You, no doubt, made a good many inquiries about him when he came to you. Had he so far as you know any means of raising such a sum ? " " Certainly not. That is why I was so sur- prised when I received it. He was in a terrible state of mind up to the last day, that was evident from his desperate messages. Still, of course, when they are driven into a corner, people do manage to work miracles sometimes. Pve seen it before. They know it's now or never." " And they also take risks then that they wouldn't dream of taking in their sober senses. I don't say that this man meant to do his employer any harm, but he may have got into such a fix that that was the only means of saving his own skin. Suppose, for a moment, that he had ' borrowed ' to put it euphoniously ^200 from Mr Vansittart and got found out. Abso- lute ruin and disgrace stared him in the face. He would be prosecuted and imprisoned for Vansittart wouldn't have any mercy and when he had served his time, crime or starvation would be all the career that was waiting for him outside the prison gates. I know the man, and I can imagine something of what he must have felt and thought. " He has had a soft life and loves luxury and 96 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS he would be condemned to convict labour. He is a man of intellect and cultured tastes, and he would be compelled to consort with brutes and fools. I can picture his state of mind border- ing on madness his desperate straits ; how he would look here and there, try every possible and impossible chance, and grow more frantic as each one failed. There is never any telling what a man will do when he is cornered. He becomes another being ; he will fight like an animal for life and liberty. Some men, of course, commit suicide at such a crisis, others " He paused significantly. The ex-detective's face was flushed and eager, the nostrils twitched slightly, his eyes glowed. He was absorbed in his own vision, he seemed to be following the man's mind thought by thought. Mr Fisher looked at him in wonder and admiration. " Good Lord! Mr Kirke, how it takes hold of you," he said. " You just love the work, you're a born hunter. Once on the trail and I wouldn't give much for your quarry's chances. And to think you could give it all up! What- ever made you do it? But I suppose you're taking to it again now? " Mr Kirke slowly lifted his eyes and pressed his hand across his forehead like a man half dazed. He had been back in his old life, the life that throbbed with excitement and interest. He had been an expert in murder cases ; that had been his particular branch of detective work in the old days at Scotland Yard. He had THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 97 developed his special faculties by study and training until he was little more than a human bloodhound; until he lived but to follow the devious ways of crimes that result from the primitive passions of love and hate and greed. Under one of those three general headings Mr Kirke would have put nearly every murder case he had had in hand. The moneylender was looking at him a little curiously, and Kirke pulled himself together. ;< It is natural I should still take a keen interest in my old work," he said curtly, " though for good and sufficient reasons I decided to give it up. One likes to take things easier as one gets older. It suits me better to study Nature now- adays than people. Still, I may look into the Grey Friars case in an amateur way just to give me a little amusement. Of course, you under- stand that all this is quite between ourselves." " Of course, I wouldn't breathe a word," the moneylender protested. " And I wish you every success, Mr Kirke. It seems a queer business altogether, but if any man can find out the rights of it, you can." " A little amusement," he said to himself when his visitor had taken his departure ; " it's a good deal more than that. Why, the man looked as if he'd been drinking, and he had the eyes of a hungry wolf. To think of him being buried in the country where nothing happens as a rule from year's end to year's end. This affair must be quite a godsend to him." Mr Fisher was an acute observer of human 98 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS nature, his business had made him so, and he was a little puzzled about Mr Kirke. The ex- detective was a man in the prime of life ; it was absurd of him to talk as though age had any- thing to do with his retirement. What could have been his reasons? Why should a man have suddenly thrown up the work he loved, which was making him rich and famous, and hide himself away from all his old friends and associations? It was strange, to say the least of it. But Mr Fisher kept his thoughts to him- self. He knew better than to interfere in any way with Silas Kirke. Meanwhile Mr Kirke was walking to the station on his way back to Grey Friars. He had ascertained all he wanted to know for the present, and far more than he had expected. He was glad to walk; the steady, monotonous action soothed his nerves, which were a little excited by his success. The old life had caught hold of him again. This promised to be one of the most interesting human problems he had ever touched. He thought of it all the way down in the train ; he would think and live with it now day after day, giving up his whole mind to it, so that any flaw in his theory, any discrep- ancy must be discovered sooner or later. He would go over every detail with unwearying patience ; nothing was too small or insignificant to escape his attention. Two facts stood out from all the rest in bold relief. One was that Paul Herschel had un- accountably become possessed of ^200 when THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 99 he was at his wits' end for money. The other that his employer, Godfrey Vansittart, had been found murdered a week later. Was there any connection between the two events? Mr Kirke thought there was. As Mr Vansittart's private secretary Herschel would know a good deal of his affairs and would have access to many of his papers. He would know where he kept his cheque-book, among other things. It would be easy for him to tear out a form and forge his master's name for the sum on which his future depended. True, it would only save him for a while, but when one is fight- ing for every breath, even the briefest respite is welcome. The forgery might not be discovered for some time ; Mr Vansittart was not a careful business man, and, meanwhile, something might turn up, help might come from somewhere. It was the gambler's hope, the outside chance on which desperate men will speculate. In any case, if the worst came to the worst, he might have time and opportunity to escape, to get out of the country. And that he knew he could not do now with the moneylender's spies keeping watch. His crime had been discovered with unex- pected swiftness ; he had begged for mercy in vain, and maddened by his employer's scorn and anger (Kirke could imagine how hard the master of Grey Friars could make such a scene), he had attacked and flung him to the ground. Whether Mr Vansittart had struck his head in falling and killed himself, or whether the ioo THE PARADISE OF FOOLS secretary had used some weapon was, of course, a moot point. But the more Kirke thought of the matter the more he was convinced that this was the true explanation of the murder. After- wards the secretary had thrown some valuables away to give the affair the appearance of having been the work of a thief. He would have kept his head sufficiently to think of his own safety, and this was a course that would almost obviously have suggested itself. That Mr Vansittart was a bigger and stronger man than his assailant weighed very little against this reasoning. A man attacked unawares may be easily worsted by his physical inferior. " So I have now two theories, either of which would be sufficient to account for this man's guilt, though not to prove it," Mr Kirke reflected as he paced up and down his room that night with his soft cat-like tread. ' Two strong human motives for which murder has been com- mitted over and over again. I'll work up the cheque theory first and see what comes of it. If it fails, there is the other, the thing for which wise men and fools go beggars the real lever that moves the world." CHAPTER VIII " Comes the woman to the hour." BEFORE Leigh Beresford returned to town he and Verona spent an evening at Grey Friars. Dinner was over and the ladies had gone to the drawing-room, leaving Herschel and Beresford to smoke together. Leigh had no great liking for the secretary, the little he had seen of him, and he had a notion that the feeling was returned, though he always made a point of being particularly courteous to anybody in a subordinate position. ' You must lead a very quiet life here," he said now by way of conversation. " And I suppose it is worse in the winter." ' I don't know that the time of year makes much difference to me. I seldom, if ever, go anywhere ; of course I am not asked. I believe most of the people hereabouts enjoy the winter, there is plenty of hunting and dancing as a rule, besides other gaieties." The secretary's voice grated a little. He was not in a good humour ; he had felt rather out of it to-night. These people had so many topics in common of which he knew little or nothing. 101 102 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS He greatly preferred being without visitors when he had Audrey more or less to himself, for Jack was only a boy and Mrs Lennard was a gentle old lady who never interfered with anybody. Then he would talk and Audrey would listen, for he could talk well when he chose, and he exerted all his powers to interest and please her. She would put in a word here and there, and they both enjoyed these friendly evenings which made a break in their monotonous lives. Audrey always remembered how Herschel had helped her at a critical time and she tried to show her gratitude. It would have seemed to her un- grateful to question whether she had any real liking or friendship for him. Beresford was touched a little by the picture of unwilling abnegation which the secretary's words called up. It comes hard to most people to be merely onlookers, to stand still and watch the world go round. But he hardly knew what to say. " I hope you get a good holiday once in the year," he said kindly. ' You must want it. It is not good for anybody to be shut up too much. Do you belong to these parts ? " " I don't know that I really belong anywhere. Lots of people don't, though of course a man like you can hardly realise that. It is astonishing how many waifs and strays there are in the world for whom nobody provides homes and entertain- ments, as they are decently clad," and he laughed. Another time it would have hurt his pride to lower himself, but he was in a reckless mood THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 103 to-night. He saw that he was making his com- panion feel uncomfortable and that pleased him. " But beggars cannot be choosers, and of course I ought to consider myself lucky to be here. And so I do. It's a pleasant easy berth, very different from what it was in my late employer's time. He had a heavy hand for anybody who had the misfortune to offend him." ' Did you happen to do so ? " " I ? " sharply. " No. What made you think that? " Mr Beresford looked at him in surprise. " I suppose what you said just now, but I really wasn't thinking much about it. I am sorry if I have said anything to annoy you." ' You haven't, of course not. Why should it? I'm afraid I am rather touchy, a position like mine is apt to make one so. Please don't trouble any more about it." Leigh Beresford tried a change of subject. " It's curious," he said, " that nothing has ever been found out in connection with Mr Vansit- tart's death. It is not often that a murder leaves so little trace or after consequences. It's five months now since it happened, isn't it? " " About that, I suppose. But do you really think that murders are generally discovered ? " ' There is an old saying that ' Mordre wol out,' and I suppose on the whole it is a very true one. When the murderer has succeeded in defying detection, he often gives himself up to justice, so the principle is made good in that way. The shedding of blood is the one great crime which the earth refuses to conceal." 104 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " But that is nonsense," Mr Herschel said roughly. "Why shouldn't a murderer be able to cover his tracks as well as a thief? If he is a weakling and gives way to hysteria, of course he is bound to come to the gallows. But take a man in perfect physical health, without remorse or conscience, there is no reason he should not keep his secret to the end. Even forget all about it at last." " Possibly there are some such abnormal creatures," Beresford said dryly, as he got up, " but I was talking of ordinary human beings. It is fortunate for the rest of the world that the others don't abound." When they entered the drawing-room Verona was seated at the piano and the others were giving her all their attention. It was impossible not to listen when Verona played, whether you liked her music or not. A good many people did not like it They said it made them feel uncomfortable. It recalled things that were best forgotten. It roused them from their well-fed contentment and reminded them of bygone hopes and dreams that had never contemplated so low a level. It was music that went away to look for things that people had buried or which they might not even have known were there and brought most of them back. The two men dropped silently into chairs and, each for his own reason, glanced first at their young hostess. Audrey's head rested on her hand, so that her face was half-concealed, and not a movement disturbed her almost rigid THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 105 pose. She had only heard Verona play once before sometimes she would not touch a piano for weeks and then she had not played as she was playing now. It was almost more than she could bear. If she had not held herself down with all her strength she must have done some- thing unutterably foolish. She knew this, so she sat with one hand clenched in the soft folds of her gown and her lips close shut to keep back the cry that lay behind them. A cry for mercy and pity a cry of anguish and rebellion, of a misery too great to be borne alone and in silence. Her heart was beating almost to suffoca- tion, beating in her ears, all over her, and her slender throat seemed compressed in an iron band. What was it that wonderful music was saying ? It was bringing back everything in a flood. Of late memory had been less relentless, now and again she had almost forgotten, a little bright- ness had come into her life. In intention she had been innocent, and she allowed herself to hope sometimes that her deed might not always be counted against her. Oh, what folly! As if the dead ever let go when they had been wronged! What living hands could clutch like dead ones? What living presence was ever as potent as the shadow of the dead? Godfrey would not allow himself to be forgotten for long. The last note died away and the little audience roused itself with a sigh of relief. The spell was broken. io6 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " You have a genius for making one feel that life is dust and ashes," Beresford said with a half- laugh. " I am never so conscious that ' both what is done and undone I rue/ as when I hear you play. As a rule I suppose I am as com- fortably conceited as most men it is only conceit that makes life endurable but when you play you rob me of every shred." He talked on, seeing that Audrey could not speak, and wishing to cover her silence. He did not wonder that she was moved. Hers was a temperament which would be very susceptible to music, as to other influences. She was too sensitive and highly strung for her own good. But Verona turned to her hostess. ' Won't you take my part, Mrs Vansittart? Do you hear what Mr Beresford is saying? He blames my poor music for his troublesome con- science. I am sure it hasn't had such a bad effect on you." Audrey looked up and her face was white and drawn ; it was impossible not to see the trouble in her eyes. : ' I don't think it is very exhilarating," she said, trying to smile. " I have never heard any- body play like you before, it is quite uncanny. What do you think of? All the miserable, horrid things you have ever felt or heard ? " " Of little or nothing after the first few bars. I give myself up to the inspiration of the moment. I let my music carry me whither it will, I am under its influence, and scarcely a free agent." THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 107 " It is a wonderful gift," Beresford said. " We are puppets in your hands, you do with us as you will." "It is a pity my influence ends with the music," she said with a laugh. " It is my one talent and I have cultivated it to the best of my ability. My fingers are well-trained, so I can give free rein to my imagination. But I have an idea that my audience is more or less responsible for the manner of my playing." ; ' What do you mean ? " ' Well, that, in a way, I am only a sensitive instrument. I translate the thoughts and feel- ings of those about me. If my listeners are gay and happy, my music will be so too. If the reverse She shrugged her shoulders. ' You don't really think that? " " I do, to a certain extent. I don't pretend to be very impressionable as a rule, but when I sit down to the piano I am another person. Is it so very improbable that in a sensitive condition we should be influenced by what is passing in the minds of those about us ? " " It certainly raises an interesting question," Beresford said gaily. " According to your theory we must be an unhappy lot at the present moment." " Not necessarily all of you," she answered. : ' I should receive the dominating impression. Shall we put my theory to the test? " ' You are getting too analytical for me," Audrey said, breaking up the discussion. " I am not capable of following such flights of io8 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS fancy. I think you two must postpone your argument for the present. I want Mr Beresford to sing something." He got up at once. " Do you know ' Melisande in the Wood ' ? " he asked. " Nobody seems to know much about Melisande, or why she should be in a wood, but perhaps the vagueness is part of the charm." He had not Verona's musical genius, but his voice was pleasant and well-trained. " Lean down, lean down to the water, Melisande, And look at your mirror'd face, With your eyes for fear and your mouth for love, And your youth for pity's grace." The girl's fate is foretold in the lines, " There is never a soul you shall know, Melisande, Your soul must stand alone." As Beresford turned round after singing the last words : " Your eyes shall long for sleep," he met Audrey's gaze, and for the first time it flashed across him how well the song would apply to her. The beautiful violet eyes looked strained and weary ; had they tried in vain to sleep? " And your youth for pity's grace." His heart thrilled in answer. Who would not pity that youth shorn of its rights? Verona caught the look and her face gripped. She guessed of what he was thinking. Yes, that lonely girlish figure would appeal to a man's chivalry, would rouse his interest and protecting care. She did not think it had gone THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 109 farther than that as yet. She must be careful that it never did. " It is a strange house," she said to Beresford as they were walking home together. " In poor Godfrey's bachelor days it was liberty hall and full of life and merriment. Look at it now! It is more like a stately mausoleum than any- thing else, you feel inclined to talk in a whisper as though somebody were lying dead." And she shivered as she drew her cloak closer round her. " Yes, it is not a cheerful place," he agreed. " And, as you say, there is something ' unheim- lich ' about it. It is a sad home and a sad life for Mrs Vansittart, but I hope better days are in store for her. She is young enough to make a fresh start." " Of course the marriage was a mistake for both of them, as they soon found out. With Godfrey it was a brief infatuation, with her an ambitious effort, which resulted in failure. I suppose she was dazzled at being offered a position so far above her own." " And yet she does not strike one as that kind of woman. I shouldn't have said she had any social ambitions, still less that she would have married a man for his money. It is such a dis- tasteful idea." There was shock in his tone. " What else could it have been ? She cer- tainly never showed much affection for him, and I think it was that that so soon turned him against her. She was so chilly and quiet, not in the least suited to him, poor fellow! Of no THE PARADISE OF FOOLS course he had his faults too, but he has paid for them now." " And she is paying still. Are you sure she is so much better off ? By the way, what do you think of the secretary, Herschel? You know him, of course, better than I do." " I have never thought much about him. In Godfrey's time he wasn't of much more account than the furniture. But Mrs Vansittart seems to have taken him up. Why, don't you like him ? " " I don't know that I do, but how did you guess? I hope I haven't made it apparent." " I know your voice," she answered quietly. " He is rather a queer, secretive-looking person, but he seems to know his place. He looks humble enough." " Do you think he does ? After all, downcast eyes and a deprecating manner, though rather unpleasant, are only superficial signs of humility. The man himself may be quite different." ' You seem to think he is." " I do. I could not help watching him to- night and it appeared to me that when he forgot to be humble he was inclined to be aggressive. That is generally the way with such people. And well, I did not quite like his manner to Mrs Vansittart. He seemed to take too much upon himself, to act as though he had a right to her attention, and she would be too kind to snub him as he deserves." ' You must have been very observant, I saw nothing of all this, but then I was not paying any attention to the man, I have always THE PARADISE OF FOOLS in regarded him as a nonentity. Of course he is very useful to Mrs Vansittart, as he knows all about the estate, and I suppose he tries to take advantage of it now there is nobody to check him. It is a pity she does not understand how to uphold her position better." : ' It is a very difficult one for a young girl with practically nobody to help her. Her brother is only a boy and her mother a semi- invalid. Couldn't you do something, Verona? You are so capable and experienced, and have an assured standing in the county. You are just the friend she needs." The woman's hand clenched under her cloak. How blind men were! blind and cruel! ' You can't help feeling sorry for her, I am sure, she has been through so much. You are her nearest neighbour, you ought to be on a friendlier footing." ' You forget I was Godfrey's friend." " Does that prevent you from helping his wife ? It is surely what he would have wished. Per- haps it is natural you should feel a little bitter against her if you think she didn't do all she might, but can't you forgive her now? Don't you think she has been punished enough? I have always thought of you as being above any petty womanish ways." She laughed. ' What a man's remark ! Are we so much smaller-minded than you, do you think, so much less generous ? I am sure a woman could never be as hard and callous to a man as he is some- ii2 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS times to her. But perhaps we make up for our mistaken leniency to your sex by being on occasions merciless to our own. It is a pity, we ought to hang together more and treat man as the common enemy." " You should not say that you who under- stand us so well. You would have more friends among men than women, I should say." " Perhaps I have, because I am fond of sport and outdoor life, but I am not sure that the indoor woman who keeps up all the old traditions doesn't come off best in the end. But we have wandered from the point. ... I will be a friend to Mrs Vansittart if she will let me ; it depends on herself." ' Then I am sure she will be only too glad. She is not fit to stand alone, that is how that secretary fellow has got so much influence. You will put him in his place." And Verona Maxwell thought again how blind men were, how selfish even the best of them. Well, she would keep her promise if Audrey did not make it impossible. She would be a friend to her if she left Leigh Beresford alone ; if not ... If not she realised suddenly, while every nerve stiffened, she might find it possible to become her bitterest enemy. Beresford found himself humming over a line of " Melisande " more than once that night before he went to sleep. ' With your eyes for fear and your mouth for love." That was how he would like to paint her, the lonely young mistress of Grey Friars. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 113 What had brought the fear to her eyes, the fear that lay always there, ready to spring forth at a word? It hurt him to see it. The tragedy of her husband's death might account for much, but scarcely for all. Before he left the next day Leigh Beresford chanced to meet Audrey in the village for a few minutes. ' Jack tells me he is coming to town to work after Christmas," he said. " Shall you come up with him ? " " I expect so. I should like to see him com- fortably settled. I can't bear to think of his going, I shall miss him horribly. But of course he must have the best teaching he can get." " I will look after that, if you will allow me. He is a very clever boy and ought to do well." ' I am so glad you think so and of course we shall both be very grateful for your help. It will make up for a good deal if Jack's life is a success, if good comes out of evil." He wondered what she meant. ; ' I shall hope to show you my pictures when you are in London. I have an old house at Chelsea looking on the river, rather a quaint place. I like to sit and watch the black barges crawling up and down, they take it so leisurely that it is restful to watch them. The noise and bustle of the great city only reaches us in a subdued hum." ' It will be quite a treat to see your pictures. I have often heard of them. I know so little of all the beautiful things that have been done in H ii 4 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS the world, that I feel quite out of it sometimes. I read a great deal, but that is not the same thing as seeing and hearing things for oneself." Just then Mr Kirke came past and Audrey nodded to him kindly. His lean figure, stooping at the shoulders, with its air of watchful alertness looked curiously out of place in the quiet village street, where there was never anything to hurry about. He seemed to belong to another world. One does not get those restless eyes in gazing at sheep and fields, or that look of life and energy in strolling through country lanes. " What a queer-looking person. Who is he ? " Beresford asked. " He calls himself a herbalist," Audrey re- plied, " he is out collecting herbs at all hours of the night and day, I believe. The village calls him a e wise man ' and holds him in considerable awe." " I don't wonder, he doesn't look quite canny. I caught his glance just now as he went past and it quite startled me for a moment. It was like a flash of steel. If I were a superstitious Southerner I should say he had the ' evil eye.' It is queer how that old superstition has been handed down from generation to generation. One wonders sometimes whether there can be anything in it." Silas Kirke went on his way, his thoughts busy. Was a fresh interest coming into the mystery, he wondered another player joining the game? Events had moved but slowly. Would there be a change soon? THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 115 Kirke had been very disappointed that in the two months which had elapsed since his visit to the moneylender he had scarcely advanced another step towards unravelling the mystery of the murder. He had been unable to discover anything of the forged cheque on which his first theory depended. From inquiries he had made he was convinced that if such a cheque ever existed the signature had excited no suspicion at the bank ; it had been paid without comment. If Paul Herschel had indeed forged his em- ployer's name for the sum of ^200 he had done it so skilfully that it had passed unquestioned until it came into Mr Vansittart's hands. Supposing the secretary had killed his employer when he was found out, his first act would be to look through Mr Vansittart's papers and destroy the cheque and any memorandum that might have been made on the matter. That done he would be safe ; there was no other evidence against him. If this had happened Kirke told himself that he could proceed no farther, the way was blocked. He must try another tack. : ' He seems to have covered his tracks pretty well," he muttered. "I'm rather nonplussed. If I could only find out where he got that money for Sam Fisher I should know what to do. Of course there's the possibility that he borrowed it from a relative or friend, only then why should he have killed Vansittart? And that Vansittart's death somehow lies at his door I am fully convinced," CHAPTER IX "What has been must always be." KIRKE was speculating and debating first one point and then another when he had almost a shock by coming suddenly upon the man of whom he was thinking. He was walking through the park, his hands in his pockets, his head thrust forward in his usual manner, when he saw the secretary leaning against a tree a little way off. He was looking down at the old grey house, which stood in a slight hollow, the lawns rising away from it, and there was something in his face which made Kirke stop and watch him intently. Herschel had not seen him, he was too deeply occupied with his own thoughts. The mask had dropped from the dark, secretive face and something of the inner workings of the man's mind was revealed. A fierce longing shone in his eyes as they gazed with a fixed intensity at the stately pile. It was the look that is given to an object greatly desired. The look of a homeless man for a home, of a lover for the beloved, of one who stands outside everything for the coveted inner u6 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 117 circle which he longs to enter. For a moment Paul Herschel's soul was in his eyes. You guessed something of what his life must have been its loneliness, its misery, its wickedness, the drifting to and fro between the prim con- ventionality on which his bread depended, and the savage excess, which was part of his nature. He had been torn this way and that and nobody had cared ; nobody had cared to help or to hinder. He was born an Ishmael with his hand against the world. Kirke rustled the leaves at his feet and the secretary looked round with a start. It was a quick suspicious look, but Kirke met it with innocent unconcern. " It's a beautiful day," he said, " I suppose we shan't get many more of them. The old place looks its best just now I think, the dying year seems to suit it somehow." ' Yes, I was just admiring the colouring," Mr Herschel replied. " As you say, the autumn tints seem to harmonise with its age and dignity." ' I could understand anybody being fond of a place like that," Kirke proceeded idly, " I could understand anybody taking care of it like they would a human creature, being proud of it and hating to think that it should ever be neglected or lowered in any way." ' I dare say. It is not an inheritance to be despised." " And to think that it should belong to a woman, an alien, of another race. A girl, v, r ho n8 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS is not in sympathy with it, who would probably rather live in a modern villa ! " " You are not very respectful," Mr Herschel said angrily. " I beg your pardon, I am so in the habit of talking to myself that I forget sometimes when I have a listener. But of course all the village knows that Mrs Vansittart has no love for Grey Friars." " It is a pity the village hasn't something better to do than to discuss its superiors." " But isn't that the way with all of us? Mankind is naturally interested in mankind, especially when it happens to be of a higher rank." ' You are quite a philosopher. May I ask if you have always spent your life in this pottering, aimless way? It must be rather an unsatisfactory kind of existence, I should think, for anybody but a born loafer." The secretary spoke with some interest and curiosity. " I have always been interested in nature human, animal, or vegetable, and I have read and studied a good deal in my humble way. You laugh, no doubt, at my roaming about looking for plants and herbs, but apart from my liking for the work it is really quite a good business. There are plenty of people even nowadays who go to a herbalist in preference to a regular doctor. I send most of my stuff to London and get well paid for it." ' You are fond of money? " THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 119 " Certainly, most people are. It procures me the two things I value most; books and choice old cognac." " You are a drinker ? I shouldn't have thought it." " Neither am I. But there are times when I want to get out of myself when if I couldn't forget I might do something desperate. Then I like to have a bottle of fine old French brandy to fall back upon. It is a more potent spirit than any other. It dulls the throbbing pain of memory, it takes you into a world of its own, where all things that trouble are forgotten. It warms and comforts and soothes you better than any woman's arms could ever do." : ' You're a curious mixture. I thought you must be keeping something dark that you couldn't always have lived this simple, idyllic existence." "No, I lived in the world once, but that was long ago, and I don't wish to speak of it. You are different from these fools," with a disdainful jerk of his head in the direction of the village, ' I knew you couldn't be so easily deceived, that you suspected it hadn't always been like this with me. That is why I spoke. That and another reason." "What other?" ' That it hasn't been always like this with you either. I can guess as well as you. This ' idyllic ' existence, as you called it, isn't a natural one to you or to me. We both belong to a larger sphere." 120 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Well, I won't contradict you. Sometimes," with a bitter laugh, " I feel that I could fling myself like a wolf upon all these innocent, browsing sheep that the dirtiest slum in Lon- don, where people lived, would be infinitely preferable to this tame drifting from sunrise to sunset. . . . God! when you think of all that can be done in the world, of how little time there is to do it in, and yet men and women waste the precious hours as though they were endless ! " " Money is the first great necessity for good work or enjoyment. You can't go far without that." ' Don't I know it? And you look round wondering how you can get it you are quite ready to sacrifice a little more than your scruples, and yet it is so slow in coming! Even when hope dawns at last, you must scheme and watch and wait, for too much haste may spoil every- thing, and all the time the days are slipping away the precious days ! " : ' With a place like that," indicating Grey Friars, " and a brain at the back of it, a man might do almost anything," Kirke said softly. " Rise high, win fame, honour, all the good things of life. And what a beautiful retreat to come to when the world wearied ! That is what it ought to be a resting, not an abiding place ; a man should fight in his youth. But there should always be the home the wife the children to come back to; the soft beautiful things that gain all the more by contrast. This woman matches well with the house, no man THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 121 could ask for more, she could supply all his needs. She has grace and beauty and under- standing, gifts that have been scarcely touched, which only need the right handling to blossom into perfection. He will be a lucky man who wins them both, the house and the woman. I suppose in a little while there will be suitors in plenty." The secretary swung round sharply with something like an oath on his lips. He had been listening eagerly, his eyes soft, his muscles relaxed, his breath coming quickly ; listening as one listens to something that stirs the heart and fires the blood. But his face changed with the last words and though he only lost his self- control for a moment, it was long enough for Kirke to see. Paul Herschel knew only too well that the chatelaine of Grey Friars would have wooers enough and to spare as soon as she was a little more seen and known. She possessed so many attractions that it was impossible they could be overlooked when the days of mourning were over. Even if she passed most of her life at Grey Friars, she could not shut herself up entirely. When time had softened the past, she would stretch out her hands to the future. She was so young that it must be so. ' But the future shall be mine," he was thinking. ' I have earned it I have a right to it. It must be for me." But because he loved her so well, he wanted her to come to him of her own free wil) he did 122 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS not want to force her in any way. He wanted love with all its gracious abandonment, its lavish generosity that recks nothing of the giving, except that it is joy to give ; love with its whole- hearted, beautiful surrender. For Paul Herschel had loved Audrey almost from the beginning. At first unconsciously, or only with " the desire of the moth for the star " ; she was too far out of his reach for anything but worship. She gave him the only happy moments he had. It was an almost unbearable delight just to look at her, to hear her voice, to feel her presence. She was kind to him as far as she could be, pitying his solitary position, and he gathered up every simple friendly word, every careless smile, and treasured them in his heart. He would take them out when he was alone ; making the most of each one there were so few and dream over them. He had had mean little fancies, horrible, sordid passions, but of love, pure and beautiful, this was his first experience in all his forty odd years and he adored abjectly like a boy, but with the enduring strength of a man. It was terrible and pitiful at the same time. With Godfrey Vansittart's death a great change had come. His star had dropped in the firmament almost within his reach ; it no longer shone in lonely splendour. He had been able to help Audrey, to shield and protect her ; she had become more accessible, more human. She was no longer a goddess, but a woman. And know- ing what he did he dared to hope that one day THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 123 the woman might be for him. So he made his advances slowly and cautiously until he saw that Audrey had come to rely on him, to treat him as a friend. The rest would follow; it was early days as yet. " I am glad we have had this talk," Herschel said before he and Kirke parted, "we ought to be able to help each other." He took out a sovereign. " There is a little contribution towards your books and your brandy. In return, if anything goes on in the village that you think would interest me, I shall be glad to hear it. You go to the Red Lion, don't you? so you must hear all the local gossip." ' You would like to know what they are saying about Grey Friars at other big houses? If they talk about the murder still " ' They must surely have done talking of that by this time ? " Mr Herschel interrupted sharply. : ' But, yes, tell me everything, I like to know what people are saying. Get hold of the servants, they always talk about what goes on upstairs, and more than half of them belong to the village." ' That is how I know that Mr Vansittart's former friends and neighbours have not done talking about the murder yet." ' What do they say? I should have thought they would have lost interest in it by this time. There has been no fresh information to keep them going." ' They still wonder and speculate. You see a murder is more of an event here than in 124 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS London and Mr Vansittart was. a notable figure in the county. They wonder that if the deed was done by some chance tramp or burglar, as was thought at the time, that nothing has ever been seen or heard of him since, especially considering that there is a reward of ,500 on his head. It certainly does seem a little strange." " Perhaps it does," thoughtfully, " though men do disappear utterly. Besides, he may be dead. In any case, as he is wanted for murder, he would naturally do his best to keep out of the way. It is my belief," Herschel went on after a moment, " that the man only meant to steal and was dragged into the bigger crime, which, of course, would frighten him all the more." " I came across a curious theory about murder the other day," Kirke said. " Quite an original idea, as far as I know, and never likely to be- come general, as only a man peculiarly endowed could put it into practice. The theory was that if the room in which a murder had been com- mitted could be closed immediately after and everything left exactly as it was, a person gifted with second sight and of an exceptionally sensitive, receptive temperament might, by shutting himself up alone in that room, be able to follow the deed from beginning to end. The presence of the dead body would not be neces- sary, but nothing else in the room must be removed or disturbed." " It's a weird idea," Herschel said with a shudder, " but very far-fetched, I should say." THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 125 " I am not sure of that. In parts of the Scottish Highlands you could hardly help believing that some persons have the gift of second sight which is a different thing from telepathy or clairvoyance. It has been proved over and over again. ' Corpse candles ' have been seen, which cannot be explained away as marsh fires, or they would have been visible to more than one person. Future events have been written down and sealed up and when the disaster was over it has been found correctly described. All this is common knowledge not only in the Highlands, but in many Scandinavian countries. The faculty is not of any value as a preventive of misfortune, for if the seer tells what he has seen before the event and gives warning he loses his gift." "He would have been burnt as a wizard years ago, and I don't know that I should have been inclined to save him. I don't like these extra senses, these abnormal faculties. They are not fair to the rest of us. One has quite sufficient to contend with as it is. It is more than enough for most people to fight the visible world without trenching on the invisible." Kirke laughed lightly. " That is true enough," he said. " Still, the theory is interesting. Imagine the man shut up in that room, still hot and heavy with evil passions. His finely strung nature, trained for this purpose, would be as ready to receive impressions as a pool of clear water. PI is mind would be empty and waiting ; his body dormant. 126 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS He would have fasted for hours, days perhaps, so that nothing should interfere with his spiritual gift. In this highly sensitive, exalted condition the room would take hold of him like a living thing, he would feel the passions that had rioted there but a short time ago. . . . Don't think I am exaggerating here. I have been the first to enter a room in w r hich a ghastly murder had been done and I remember to this day how I started back when I opened the door as though an invisible presence had come to meet me." " I know," Herschel said, and his face looked white and drawn against the black trunk of the tree, " I know yes, that is true enough." He spoke under his breath, as though speaking to himself. " Well, the man sits there all alone hour after hour, surrounded by the things that had sur- rounded the murderer and his victim. He sits immovable, staring straight before him with fixed empty eyes, and presently the hidden shadows troop out, his mind begins to receive impressions. The seer, without using any method of inducing hallucinations, as by crystal- gazing or other automatisms, is hallucinated, and becomes the percipient of persons who are not present. He feels the tide of passion rising rising till it culminates in the shedding of blood. He sees, as in a glass darkly, the murderer's face bent over his victim. He would know the face again in real life." " No ! no ! " Herschel cried excitedly. " It is horrible! impossible! Stop, for God's THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 127 sake ! " He leant against the tree, shaking from head to foot " I'm sorry, I had no idea you were a nervous person," Kirke said. " I'm afraid I startled you, but it's a fascinating subject and I got a bit carried away." " I should think you did. You must have a very morbid imagination, you have the most ghastly fancies," Herschel said angrily, as he passed his handkerchief over his wet forehead. ; ' I suppose my nerves have got a bit rocky lately living, face to face, as you might say, with a murder," he added half-apologetically the next minute. " As a rule they are sound enough, I don't think they have ever played me such a trick before." " I should have given you credit for stronger nerves than most men. That is why I was sur- prised to see you knocked over by my little story. However, it's not a pleasant topic, as you say, and it's time I was going on, so good-day to you and many thanks. I'll call when I have anything to communicate. I suppose they'll let me in?" " Oh, yes, I'll give orders. Pretend I am interested in your weeds," with a not very successful laugh. Silas Kirke was out of sight before the secretary made any attempt to move. He had had a nasty shock and his knees still trembled under him. He had been carried out of himself, he had lost his self-control, and he bitterly resented the fact. He, above all men, required 128 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS to keep every nerve under command, to be ready to face any emergency without flinching. He had always prided himself on his will-power, was it going to fail him now when he needed it most? The thin lips closed like a vice. " It shan't happen again," he promised him- self, " it's a good thing there was nobody else to see. Old Kirke doesn't matter much, he's so peculiar himself that he wouldn't notice any peculiarity in other people. He's clever enough in his way, but I should think there's a screw loose somewhere. He's a queer mixture." Mr Herschel began to walk slowly home, but his thoughts were still busy with what had passed. " It's a ghastly notion," he reflected, " and yet put as he put it it seemed quite feasible. It's a good thing for many people that, as a nation, we are not fond of new ideas, particularly of anything that is not based on what we call common sense." He laughed grimly. ' It's strange that we should be so ready to distrust any knowledge or warning that comes to us through our finer perceptibilities, we must have the gross evidence of touch and sight." The secretary regretted that he had not asked Kirke where he had found his theory, he thought he would like to study it for himself. He could not get away from the idea. His imagination had been stirred and he could see the dark, closed room, he could feel the charged, electric atmosphere, and he told himself that that passive, waiting figure must presently absorb THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 129 the knowledge shut up there. The passion and strain expended within those four walls could not be without influence ; so much vital force could not be lost. " D n him ! " he muttered fiercely. " D n his secret prying and meddling! What business is it of his ? " But though Mr Herschel was apparently his usual quiet composed self by the time he got back to the house, directly he went in he made straight for the library, shutting the door behind him. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked round. It had been re-arranged since the murder so as to do away as much as possible with the terrible memory that haunted it. Nevertheless, it was rarely used now and it had the look of a room that is left to itself. Paul Herschel saw it always as it had been on that memorable night. It was printed indelibly on his mind and no mere alteration of furniture made much difference. He saw the big, burly figure stretched on the floor, with the wind ruffling the hair. ... It was there now. He drew in his breath with a little hissing sound. It was as well, perhaps, that Kirke's theory had not been put to the test here. It was as well that the room had been swept and garnished, so that it was out of the power of any man now to bring together what had been. CHAPTER X "The desire of the moth for the star." IT was the end of February when Audrey went up to town with her brother to see him comfort- ably settled, as Mrs Lennard was not strong enough for such an undertaking. They were going to have a little holiday together first, staying at a quiet hotel off Piccadilly, and making a round of the picture-galleries, theatres, and other sights of London, which neither of them had had much opportunity of seeing up to now. They had had a very quiet winter, and Audrey, who was now in better health and spirits, was pleasantly excited at the prospect of a little gaiety. It would be nice to get away from Grey Friars in this dreary February weather, when the lawns were as soft as a sponge and the wind sobbed round the house like a lost spirit. But Paul Herschel watched them go with very different feelings. He did not like the idea of this visit ; it took Audrey out of his reach for too long in the present unsettled state of affairs. The winter had brought little, if any, change in their relationship. They were 130 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 131 perhaps on more easy, familiar terms, but that was all. However anxious he might be to do so, Herschel could not persuade himself that Audrey showed him any particular preference ; neither his coming nor going seemed to make any real difference to her. He had watched in vain for some sign of emotion, something that should be for him and no other man, and nobody knew how his heart had ached when he failed to find it. " She doesn't care a straw for me, I am no more to her than a useful upper servant," he said sometimes to himself bitterly. But she had only to smile a little more kindly than usual for him to take fresh hope. When every thought and feeling is turned towards one object, when success means joy unspeakable and failure a misery too great to be borne, then we are inclined to snatch at everything that makes for hope. " Was I wise to let her go was I wise ? " he was asking himself now, as the carriage dis- appeared down the drive. Then he laughed harshly. How could he have stopped her? He had been afraid to put his fate to the test, to speak to her of love. True, it was nearly nine months since her husband's death. And women have been wooed and won in less time, especially after an unhappy marriage. But Audrey was different from most women, and the circumstances were different. If he tried to hint of his passion the words died on his lips before her clear, innocent gaze. Better delay, 132 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS better draw her to him ever so gently, than risk a refusal. "Hurrah!" Jack exclaimed as the lodge- gates opened for them to pass through. " Now we're off! I hope you don't mind, old girl," he added the next moment, " but, though it's a fine old place and I admire it immensely, it is a little chilly and awe-inspiring, isn't it? I feel sometimes as though it were despising me for being so young and foolish. When you think of all that it has seen and heard, why we must seem but the creatures of yesterday ; busy, tormenting creatures, who trouble its repose for a little while and then are no more heard of. But there it is, the same as it was a hundred years ago." ' You are quite serious, Jack." " It is enough to make anybody serious. Sometimes I love it so that I could kiss its beautiful grey walls, with the green moss in the crevices, and another time I feel that if I stayed here long enough it would make me old before my time, that I should forget how to laugh, that I should fall in with its mood and grow grave and austere and self-absorbed. It is curious that an inanimate thing should have so much influence." Audrey turned and looked back at the house. She understood. Had she not felt all and more than Jack could feel? It had impressed him through his sensitive, artistic temperament, boy though he was, but for her it had a deeper meaning. It seemed to her sometimes that all THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 133 the dead and gone Vansittarts were watching what she did questioning her actions, whether she bore herself worthily she, the alien, upon whom so much honour had been thrust. She felt as though she were living and moving before unseen eyes. What did they, any of them, care about her, or how her life was sacrificed? It was of the honour and dignity of their house that they thought, as Godfrey had thought; good and bad alike, they had never neglected that. Grey Friars must keep its proud position, preserve its splendid traditions. All its men must be brave, all its women virtuous. " Perhaps," she said softly, " though it doesn't live itself, it can keep alive the thoughts and feelings of the men and women who have belonged to it. I have fancied it might be so sometimes. But we won't talk of it any more now, Jack, we'll forget all about it for a time. I want to be happy, to live in the present; I have had so much of the past." It was not only Herschel who disapproved of Audrey's visit to town ; Verona Maxwell secretlv disliked it quite as much, if not more. She knew of course that Beresford had offered to look after Jack and put him in the right way. Consequently he would be seeing something of Audrey too, possibly a good deal, as he was evidently interested in her. He would naturally show them some courtesy and attention, visits would be exchanged, he would introduce them to interesting people. There would be many opportunities of meeting, and Audrey was so 134 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS young and fresh and fair that Leigh could hardly fail to feel her attraction. Verona set her teeth when she thought of it. She tried to comfort herself by thinking that in spite of her widowhood he would look on Audrey as a young girl ; after all she was little more. There was fifteen years' difference between them, and Leigh Beresford liked to talk to a woman of the world, who could enter into his thoughts and feelings. Audrey had had hardly any experience, she had seen practically nothing of life, what could she know? Verona did not choose to remember that the cleverest men have bowed the knee to a girl's ignorance and innocence. That much as a man may like a sensible companion who can under- stand him, it is not for her that he commits his greatest follies or does his greatest deeds. " I don't mind their being friendly," she told herself, " but she must not take my place. I knew him first, she has no right to come between us. We have always been such friends, he has told me everything, consulted me over and over again, and I have gone to him for help in any difficulty. I am not going to be put on one side. He belongs to me." Verona and Audrey had been on fairly inti- mate terms during the winter. That is, they had seen a good deal of one another, but they had never really become friends. They had too little in common, too little real liking for each other. Audrey was grateful for the interest THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 135 her handsome neighbour took in her, but she could not feel that the interest was very spon- taneous or friendly. Indeed, she was conscious sometimes of a hostile under-current; she had more than once caught a hard, critical look m Verona's eyes as though she were being appraised. She could not guess that at such times Verona was asking herself: What has she that I have not? Is she more beautiful, more clever, more interesting? And she could truthfully answer " No " to all these questions. Even her rival's youth was not a thing over which she need be discouraged. She possessed still all the gifts of youth to the full, she was a regally handsome woman, and in place of those lost years she had gained a wide knowledge of men. Surely the balance was on her side ? Audrey and jack were quite excited over their first visit to Leigh Beresford's studio. It was almost a spring day when they went; the air soft and mild, with a flood of pale sunshine lighting up the grey river. They were both in the best of spirits. The promise of better days was in the air and in Audrey's heart. She had made up her mind to leave Grey Friars and its troubles behind her, and so far she had suc- ceeded. Jack and she were boy and girl together, enjoying everything as it came with a whole-hearted, innocent gaiety. Beresford almost started when she came in. She was dressed in grey, with a bunch of violets at her breast whose colour matched her eyes. 136 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS And there was no fear in the starry eyes to-day ; it was the face of a girl, happy and smiling. " London isn't such a bad place, is it? " he said, as he opened a portfolio of sketches to show her. " At all events it has put on its best manners for you. We don't often get such weather at this time of year." " It is a delightful place," she said warmly. " I have not felt so well and happy for a long time." " I think the country at certain seasons of the year is apt to be depressing, and one has too much time to brood over one's misdeeds- seldom a profitable occupation. London rouses you in spite of yourself. To a certain extent you are cheered by the greater misfortunes of other men. After all, you think, I might be worse off. It is not a very noble way of look- ing at things," with a laugh, " but it is very human." " I suppose a big city does take you out of yourself," she said, " and yet I can imagine being more lonely here than I could ever be in the country. To be alone in a crowd must be terrible. I have seen some faces here," and she shuddered, " which tell me something of what it must mean. They look like ghosts, so pale and shadowy and sad." ' You have a vivid imagination," he said gently. :i It is not always a happy gift for its possessor. Don't encourage it too much. If any one of us could fully realise the pain of the world we could not bear it and live. So, THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 137 perforce, we must often shut our eyes and close our ears." ' What a horrible face ! " Audrey exclaimed, stopping at one of the drawings. " Is it a fancy sketch, or a real person ? " " A very real person," he replied. " I first saw that man when he filled a good social position and was apparently an eminently respectable, moral character. The last time I saw him he stood in the dock on a charge of murder, a revolting case of secret poisoning." Audrey threw down the sketch with a startled exclamation. " His face interested me from the first in spite of its commonplace features. I have painted a good many portraits, and I have often noticed that the better I get to know my sitter the more I learn from his face. Sometimes it has been quite different from what I first imagined. As I work, the mask seems to disappear the mask we most of us wear to a greater or less extent and I get to the real nature underneath. Once or twice it has been quite a revelation. It was so in this case," pointing to the man's head. " But surely you did not make his portrait like that?" " Scarcely," with a laugh. " Such a revela- tion would have been a little too startling for the home circle. I painted him as I knew he wished to be painted bland and smiling, and it was an excellent surface likeness, with which he was greatly pleased. This sketch I made from what I had seen and imagined under the 138 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS mask. The features, of course, are the same, but entirely altered in character by the different expression. That set, cruel mouth smiled pleasantly in the portrait, the hard eyes were almost benevolent; here, as you see, it is an evil face, a face to fear and distrust. He looked a little like that when he turned on the crowd the first day in court. You felt that he would willingly have torn the hostile, watching people to pieces." Audrey shuddered and grew pale. " Of course," he continued, " that was a unique experience. But I knew somehow that the man was bad, and I was not very much sur- prised when I heard what he had done. It was a criminal face, even though, unless the need had arisen, he might never have broken the law." " It is rather a terrifying idea," she said, " that one's face should betray one unconsciously like that. If people knew how much you can find out they might hesitate to sit to you." " Oh, as a rule, it doesn't matter. There is nothing much for them to conceal or for me to learn. It is only here and there that a face stands out from a thousand others. By the way, your secretary, Mr Herschel, would make an interesting study. He has a strong individuality." " Do you think so ? I haven't noticed any- thing particular about him : he is very quiet, and never interferes with anybody." " I dare say not, unless he has good reason to do so. But given a cause and the power, THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 139 and i should be sorry for the person who stood in his way." ' You are rather hard on him. When when I was very much in need of a friend, he was all that was kind and considerate. I shall never forget that. I don't know what I should have done without him at that terrible time ; he bore the brunt of it all for me." ' Then it seems ungenerous of me to say don't trust him overmuch ; and yet I do say it. You remember you said I might be your friend, and I honestly believe I am giving you good advice now. I don't like the man, I wouldn't trust him. He has a closed, secretive face, there is nothing natural or spontaneous about him. I suspect anything that is damped down." ' You are worse than Jack; he does not like him either. But I think you are both rather unfair to poor Mr Herschel. His is, of neces- sity, a cramped, lonely life ; it would not show anybody to advantage." ' That is true enough, and I won't say any more. Only don't let him get too strong a footing in your house ; don't depend on him too much. Keep the reins in your own hands." Before Audrey left Leigh Beresford made a hesitating request. Though most people would have considered it a great compliment coming from so distinguished an artist, he was as diffi- dent in putting it as any beginner could have been. " I wonder," he said, " I wonder if you would do me a great favour ? " 140 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS She looked at him inquiringly. " I should very much like to make a sketch of you, not anything that need tax your patience or take up much of your time. Just an outline a fleeting impression, as it were. I should not want more than two or three sittings." Her colour came and went ; she played ner- vously with the violets at her breast. " After what you said just now I am a little frightened of you," she murmured. " I should be wondering if you were reading all my thoughts if you were finding out all my secrets." He laughed gently, caressingly. " Would it matter very much if I did ? Such innocent thoughts! such innocent secrets! Being what you are, how could there be any- thing that the "whole world might not know, and be the better for knowing? But I'll promise, if you like, that I will never try to learn a thought more than you would tell me. Is that all right?" ' I think"," she said, her breath coming quickly, " I am afraid that perhaps you have too high an opinion of me you think me better than I am. I ought to undeceive you, it isn't fair to take credit for what I don't deserve. I have many things to regret to repent. My girl's life ended a year and more ago, and since then . . ." She put her hand to her throat. " I have been a woman," she went on, "with more than a woman's share of suffering." " I was a brute to remind you," he said THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 141 remorsefully, hating himself that he had driven the brightness from her face. " But I didn't mean it you know that. Forgive me! I spoke without thinking, or, rather, I forgot the past. I have done so more than once the last few days. You are only a girl in years, and, in spite of what you have gone through, you are so young at times." " I wish I could forget, too." ' You will. Are you not already beginning? You have been storm-tossed, but isn't the harbour in sight ? " His voice was low and almost tender. The slight, grey-clad figure with the fair head bowed in bitter remembrance roused all his chivalry. She was not fit to stand alone to be burdened with heavy responsibilities. She needed care and tenderness. It was absurd that she should not be happy. Beresford grew hot and angry when he thought of it. " Spring is coming, I feel it ; I am sure you do, too. Don't be afraid to welcome it. Let the past go, with its trouble and bitterness. Are there not the present and the future? At least make the most of these spring days. While you are here, shall we pretend, like children pretend that it is the best of all possible worlds, and that we are the happiest people in it? " He laughed, but the laugh fell softly, like a caress. She lifted her eyes to his. How kind he was, how strong, how wise ! She had not known there were such men. " Well! Is it a bargain? " he asked, holding 142 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS out his hand. " Shall we shut our eyes and pretend? I should not find it very difficult. I could imagine it all and more." As she put her hand in his she threw up her head with a dainty gesture of defiance, and there was laughter on her lips and in her eyes. Youth had answered to the call, youth which loves to be reckless. " Very well," she said ; " whatever Fate may have up her sleeve, she shall give me these few days for my very own. I will make the most of them. You shall help me to cram them full of good things, so that if they never come again " " Stop ! " he cried gaily. '' That is forbidden. There must be no looking backward or forward. That is the only way you can defy Fate. The jade cannot rob us of the present." And neither the man nor the woman guessed that they were not defying Fate, but only follow- ing where she led the way. That, like a cat, she may play with her victims a little while, but thev are never out of her reach. CHAPTER XI " The rose of youth." " THERE ! It is finished," Beresford exclaimed, as he threw down his brush. " At least, it is not ' finished ' in any sense of the word, but I shan't touch it again. Come and look at it and tell me what you think of yourself." Audrey stepped down and went up to the easel. She had given Beresford one or two sittings, but he would not let her see the sketch before. " Is that me ? " she asked after a minute. " Do I look like that ? " There was wonder and fear and pity in her tone. ' Yes, it is you as you were when I first saw you not you as you have looked the last week. Do you remember my singing ' Melisande ' one night at Grey Friars? Well, it struck me at once how much you resembled her. I could not get the idea out of my head. You were both so young and lovely. Don't you like it? " looking at the sketch. " I feel inclined to say, * Poor girl ! ' " she said in a whispering voice. " I am sorry, I tried to make it happier, but 143 144 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS somehow it wouldn't come. I suppose that ' Melisande ' idea of you was too firmly fixed in my mind. But don't be troubled about it. After all, it is only my fancy, just a trick of the imagina- tion. To tell the truth, I liked it so much when it was done that I hadn't the heart to alter it." It was certainly charming. A slender girl in a straight white gown that fell in folds about her feet stood by the side of a shady pool in a wood. It was an impression, not a finished picture, exquisitely light and graceful. But the face caught and held the attention ; it had been drawn by a master-hand. " What were the particular words you were thinking of when you did it ? " she asked. He hesitated a moment before he replied. ' With your eyes for fear and your youth for pity's grace.' I feel sorry for Melisande ; I am afraid she was not going to have a good time," he added more lightly. ; ' I wonder whether it was Halloween and she had wandered into the wood to divine the future in the ' shadowed pool'?" " Do you think it was a good omen to make me like her ? " she asked, looking at the white- robed girl, with the sweet, curved red lips and the deep, wistful eyes eyes that were not in harmony with the mouth. " It seems like a pre- diction, as if it might bring bad luck." " What a superstitious person it is ! " he cried. " Who believes in signs and omens in this enlightened age ? But we won't talk any more about it, you and Melisande shall go away THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 145 out of sight," and he covered up the sketch. " Next time I paint you, you shall be as gay and smiling and artificial as a Dresden shepherdess. There! that is a promise or a threat." Audrey was already smiling again. She had been too happy the last week to be easily depressed. She had been walking in the garden of youth, where all joys seemed to be had for the plucking, and she had gathered a good many of them. That the best still remained, though she had not yet acknowledged even to her own heart that it was there though its perfume already enfolded her made the garden a wonder and a dream. Her eyes were dazzled, and she walked with outstretched hands. * You and Jack must come and dine with me to-morrow night," Beresford was saying. " 1 want you to see the river by moonlight. 1 thought we might take a stroll after dinner, the weather is so fine and mild." " We shall be delighted. But I wonder what all your other friends are thinking? I'm afraid we take up most of your time." ; ' Don't you know that the more you take of it the better I like it? I only wish the days were twice as long, they go so quickly. It reminds me sometimes," he went on softly, " of the Prince in the fairy tale, who was lost for weeks in an enchanted garden, but it seemed to him no more than a few hours. And he would gladly have given up his kingdom and all that he had to get back. But the gates had closed behind him," 146 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS "He might have known that he would come out some day. Who can live for ever in an enchanted garden? He was lucky to get in at all." " Then I am lucky, too. I have lost count of time. I am content to let the world wag as it will outside my garden of delight. Who was it that said, ' Les heures heureuses ne se comptent pas ' ? It is a beautiful idea." " But I am afraid they are counted all the same by other people. I was reminded by a letter from home this morning that I have already been away nearly three weeks. It has been a delightful holiday, but I must be going back soon. Jack has to start work, and I," with a little sigh, " must go into harness again. I have been running wild quite a long time." " In harness you ! " He looked down on her as he leant against the mantelpiece. " How monstrous it seems how unnatural. Like shut- ting up a singing-bird in a cage, or chaining a butterfly." " Am I as frivolous as that ? " she asked with a laugh, but she did not look at him. " I assure you I am getting quite a useful person. I know what goes on indoors and out. I don't think Grey Friars has suffered in my keeping." They had just finished tea and Audrey was sitting in a low chair by the fire, waiting for Jack to fetch her. The atmosphere of the beautiful room, with its picturesque disorder, was soothing and homelike ; there was the scent of violets, the THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 147 warm firelight everything to charm the senses and make confidence easy. " And that satisfies you ? " he asked softly. " You don't want anything closer and more human ? You are content to fill your life with duties and obligations to waste your heart and mind on dull, mechanical things, which other people could do as well or better ? " Twilight was deepening in the room, and he had to stoop to see her face. What he saw there made his pulses bound. The lovely arched mouth was tremulous, the eyes could not meet his. She had borne herself bravely all these months, she had taken up one uncongenial duty after another, and performed it to the best of her ability ; her own wishes and happiness had scarcely been considered. But it was easy to see how the struggle wearied her, that she was not strong enough for the task she had under- taken. His heart went out to her in a great tenderness and longing. " It is not the life for you," he said ; " you know it is not. You are wearing yourself out for nothing. You have done all and more than could be expected ; you must think of yourself now or let others think for you. I wonder " The words died on his lips as the door opened and a woman stood for a moment on the threshold looking in. The room was half in darkness, but there was light enough for her to see the man's tender, protecting attitude, to guess that she had interrupted an interview of some importance. 148 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Verona ! " Leigh Beresford exclaimed, going to meet her. " Is it really you ? This is an unexpected pleasure." " Yes, it is I," with rather a forced laugh. " You looked so cosy I hesitated to disturb you. I called at your hotel," her keen eyes searching Audrey's face, noting its increased beauty, its softness, the flushed cheeks and dewy eyes, " and as you were out I thought I would come on here for a cup of tea. I didn't expect to be lucky enough to find you both." " Come and warm yourself while they are making some fresh tea," Beresford said, pulling up a chair and switching on the lights. ' We have been gossiping over the fire and waiting for Jack, who seems to have forgotten the time." " I had to come up yesterday on business, but I am going back to-night," Verona said, as she threw off her furs. She was wearing a tight- fitting gown of green cloth which showed her magnificent figure to advantage and suited her rich colouring. She looked brilliantly hand- some, but Audrey shrank a little from the searching, over-bright eyes. Why did Miss Maxwell look at her so curiously? she wondered. She had a sensation of danger and discomfort ; she felt the scarcely veiled antagonism. Though they kept up a desultory conversation it was really a relief to all concerned when Jack came in and caused a diversion. Beresford's pulses were still throb- bing with excitement, his voice tender and eager still filled Audrey's ears. She was glad THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 149 to get away, and in a few minutes Verona and Beresford were left alone. She glanced sharply at him as he came back from saying good-bye and her heart sank with a sudden sick feeling of despair a presage of defeat before the battle was well begun. When had she ever seen him look like that before? But the next moment she had rallied her forces. She was ready to fight to the last, ready to take advantage of anything and everything to hold him. She could not contemplate the possibility of his leaving her for another woman ; that way madness lay. In a flash she knew all that he meant to her, as she could never have known it without the possibility of loss. But she had great self-control, and she could be wise even while a passion of misery and impotent rage shook her soul. She would need all her skill and care, she could see that. It would have been a relief to have cried her wrongs aloud, to have thrown herself at his feet and entreated, like a beggar, for his love. She had thought it was hers, that soon, very soon, he' would speak, and she had been content to let the days slip by without the decisive word. It would come. She knew that she was his closest friend, she had caught a glance, a tone, sometimes that hinted at more than he had ever said ; she was so sure of him that for a little while she was content to play with her happiness. Had she played too long? This woman had come into his life so suddenly. Before she had realised the danger it was there. 150 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Mrs Vansittart is looking much better for the change," Verona said quietly as Beresford sat down. " Yes, I think it has done her good. Grey Friars must be rather a depressing place at this time of year. There are too many trees." " You have never seen it at its best. It was bright enough in Godfrey's time. Now the old house seems to lie under a cloud, there is a suggestion of something hanging over it, some mystery, some secret. You feel as if it were hiding something away." " I know what you mean, though it has not impressed me so strongly, possibly because I don't know it as well as you do. I suppose it is difficult to get rid of the taint of murder ; there must always be a different feeling about a house something gloomy and unnatural in which human life has been taken." " It is curious," she said after a moment, " that there has never been the slightest clue to the murderer. He seemed to disappear utterly ; to come out of the night and be lost again in the night. One wonders sometimes," hesitating, " whether he could have had an accomplice in the house, one of the servants, perhaps." " It is certainly a mysterious affair. Of course being in such a quiet place the man had a good deal in his favour. He could have come and gone without anybody seeing him, and by the time they got the London police down he might have been out of the country." " I wonder what Mrs Vansittart thinks of it THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 151 all ? I have never heard her express an opinion on the matter. Of course, at first it was natural she should avoid such a painful topic, but you would think, considering how much we have seen of each other lately, and how intimate I was with Godfrey, that she would talk to me. But if I ever even mention his name, she turns the conversa- tion almost at once." " It must have needed a good deal of courage for a sensitive woman to go on living in that house without any break or change. There are not many men who would have cared to do it. She went through every phase of the tragedy the death, the inquest, the funeral, all the wonder and curiosity of the county, and when it was over, she took up her old life again with its added responsibilities. Perhaps it was a merci- ful thing she had so much to do, there was less time to think." " I suppose she must have more strength of character than one would have imagined." ' Those finely wrought natures can often bear the most. I think it is wonderful what she has gone through with so little help and encourage- ment." ' You admire her very much ? " He flushed and hesitated, but only for a moment. :{ I admire and esteem her more than any other woman in the world," he said, and there was no mistaking his tone. Every word rang true, every word vibrated with feeling, though his voice was scarcely raised. 152 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS For a minute Verona felt as though the world were slipping away, as though she were losing her hold on everything she valued. She could not have spoken to save her life ; she could only sit dumb and motionless, with clenched hands and set teeth, forcing back the pain that threatened to overwhelm her like a flood. If she once gave way she would be lost. The effort sent her white to the lips, but the man who stood beside her noticed nothing. His eyes were full of another face. " We have been such close friends that I should like to tell you," he said ; " but perhaps you have guessed already ? " She shook her head. He should make it all plain. She would drink the bitter cup to the dregs. " Women are so quick in such matters, i thought you might have seen where I was drift- ing before I knew it myself. Indeed, I have only just found it out. I suppose I am not very wise in these things," and he laughed happily. " I have reached the mature age of seven-and- thirty without even realising what love really meant till now till now." The last words came very softly. " In my ignorance I pre- sumed to weigh and analyse it. I thought I could take it or leave it as I pleased. ... I know better now now when I lie fathoms deep." Verona pressed her clasped hands to her breast. What more would he say? what other words that stabbed like a knife? He seemed to be tearing her heart to pieces. How should she bear it and live? He was going to tell her THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 153 of his love for another woman tell her who had loved him from the first hour they met, who looked to him for everything that made life worth having! She felt as though she were going mad, and yet she must sit there and show a proper interest and say something. What was it she ought to say? " Merciful God, help me ! " she cried in a voiceless agony. " Help me ! Don't let him find me out, don't let him come to despise me. Have pity, or I am lost." The mists cleared away a little, her pride, which was only less than her love, came to her aid. She managed to say something, what she hardly knew, but it seemed to answer the pur- pose, for Beresford went on with his confidences. " Do you think I have a chance ? " he asked. " She is so far above me. I am half afraid. How can I tempt her down? What gifts have I to offer that are worth her acceptance? She is so fair, so sweet. She has so much." It seemed to Verona that the words which had haunted her since he first spoke them were ring- ing in the air now. " She cometh veiled and sleeping, and she knoweth not her power." The vision had taken shape and likeness, and what chance had any other woman against it? With a man like Leigh Beresford, who had not frittered away his heart on passing fancies, love when it came so late would go far, it would sweep everything before it. His deep, poetic nature, proud, refined, which had preferred to go without rather than not have the best, would intensify the feeling. Having, as he imagined, found all that he wanted, he would throw himself down and worship with all his heart and soul. His care and tenderness would encompass the beloved like a cloud, he would verily be her " shield and buckler." Verona knew so well what his love would be. Had she not pictured it over and over again? Leant against it when things went wrong and she was weary, caressed it, made it her own. And now! and now! . . . There were so few men like this man, so kind, so chivalrous, with an instinctive courtesy for every woman from the lowest to the highest. He hated coarseness, he had a high standard of morality, his tastes were perhaps almost too fastidious, and yet no one could have accused him of a lack of manliness. What was there worth having that he had not? her heart asked bitterly. " You have not told me her name yet," she said, knowing how it would hurt her to hear it from his lips, and yet unable to forbear. : ' But you know, of course," in surprise. It is Audrey Mrs Vansittart. Who else could it be ? " Who else indeed ? Not the woman who had worshipped him in secret for months, who had treasured his every word, who had striven to form herself on his ideal, to make her life fair and pure in his eyes. But the girl who had done nothing for him, who could not understand him, who knew nothing of his work. " Do you think I have a chance ? " he asked THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 155 again. " She is so young I may seem to her almost middle-aged. Is it possible that she can care for me ? Tell me what you think. I have not the patience to wait." " If I had not come in just now and inter- rupted, you would have known her answer by this time. You were about to speak when I made my ill-timed entrance." ' Yes, but you could not tell, of course. I did not know it myself a minute before, but I suppose the last week has been leading up to it. If I had had more experience I dare say I should have known from the first, but I thought I was only sorry for her youth and loveliness, interested, anxious to help anything but the right thing." " I don't think you need have much fear," she said ; " you are too humble-minded. I dare say she has guessed your secret and is quite ready to accept you. You are a distinguished man and can give her various advantages, which she lacks now, in spite of her wealth and position." He frowned. The answer did not please him. " But does she like me, do you think? She wouldn't marry a man without caring for him, and I should want all my wife's love." As soon as he had spoken he remembered that Audrey had married her first husband for other things than love, and the remembrance came like a shock. He saw that Verona remembered it, too, and he went on hastily " We are very good friends, and perhaps shv. dreams of nothing else. It is so difficult to 156 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS tell. Do you think it is too soon to speak.-' You know her well. Have you ever heard her talk of marrying again ? " He was as eager and anxious as a boy. It meant so much to him that he was almost afraid to hope. He wanted a woman's sympathy and help, and Verona had always understood and given him what he wanted, so with a man's unthinking cruelty he turned to her now. They had been the best of friends, and it was possible though it had never ertered his mind that, under her deft manipulation, he might one day have asked her to be his wife, valuing her com- panionship and thinking that life had nothing better to give him. That could never be now, Verona realised, unless Audrey could be torn down from her high place. At the present time she reigned supreme. But she was too wise to show what she felt or thought. Leigh must not guess how bitterly she hated the woman he loved, or she would lose her influence over him. He would be disappointed in her if she showed any petty spite or jealousy. So she spoke the words he wished to hear in the way he would have chosen, and nobody could have guessed what it cost her. She had her reward in his appreciation of her companion- ship, and the high value he evidently put on her opinion. But such things were cold comfort after all. It was not in human nature to go away without trying for something better. ' This won't make any difference to you and THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 157 me, will it ? " she asked, as he took her hand in parting. ;< We have been such close friends, I couldn't bear that anything should come between us." " Nothing shall," he said, and his hand gripped hers. "Why should it? I can't spare you, you are the dearest friend I have. You are second only to Audrey in my thoughts." She lifted her heavy eyes to his all the light had gone out of them now and gave him a long, strange look. She was tired and cold. She wished that she had some fond, foolish mother at home, who would have put her to bed like a child and held her close and warm. She had never known a mother's love, she had grown up strong, and proud, and sufficient to herself. Now all at once she felt unutterably forlorn. " What is it ? " Leigh asked anxiously. " You look very white and tired. You have been doing too much." ' Yes, perhaps, but I have only just time to catch my train. Will you call a taxicab ? " Her strength was ebbing fast. In another minute she might throw her arms round his neck and sob her heart out on his breast. But after that everything would be at an end between them. She leaned out of the cab as it was moving off. " Good night, and good luck," she cried. "Good luck!" And then, though she was not an hysterical woman, she forced her handkerchief between her teeth to stifle the mad laughter that rose to her lips. CHAPTER XII "A little season of love and laughter." AUDREY VANSITTART was sitting before the fire with flushed cheeks and shining eyes, wonder- ing whether it was all a dream. If so, it would be better to die than awake. She had flung herself down when she came in, and had sat there ever since, going over and over again what had happened that night. She had lost count of time ; she was as still and absorbed as one under a spell. What magician, indeed, could have woven a spell to equal it? She and Jack had dined with Leigh Beresford at Chelsea as arranged, and afterwards they had strolled out to look at the river by moonlight. There Jack, not finding them very amusing, had dropped into the background and they were left alone. Alone with the grey, whispering water and the white moon. They walked in her soft light as in a new and empty world. What did 11 the millions of other men and women matter at such a time? The throbbing silence, so pregnant with meaning, was broken at last. Leigh was speaking; she had known it must 158 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 159 come, but now that the decisive moment had arrived, she would fain have held it off. All pretence was swept away. She could no longer feign ignorance, persuade herself that it was only friendship, listen to any plausible fancy that let her dream on undisturbed. She was face to face with a great reality. Leigh Beresford had asked her to be his wife and was waiting for her answer. She was torn by conflicting emotions. She loved him with all her heart, but she felt the shadow of the past falling between them, chill and threatening. Could she step over it? " Have you nothing to say to me ? " he asked, as she still remained silent. " Can't you care for me a little ? " He had told Verona that he would want all his wife's love, but now he could have begged for the veriest crumb wherewith to stay his hunger. It hurt her to hear the pain in his voice, and instinctively she tried to comfort him. " I care," she said softly, " but I have not thought of marrying again. It would be best not. I have so many duties, I scarcely feel that I have the right to start a new life. I seem to belong to the old." " But that is nonsense," he answered tenderly. * You cannot belong to the past at your age, you who have still nearly all your life to live. Do you think I shall let you go now now when I know that you love me ? " A little longer she had fought and struggled, but all her objections were gently but firmly over- 160 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS ruled. After all, they were only half-hearted, and she was too much a woman not to be glad to let the man she loved decide for her. She had had to think for herself for so long that it was a relief to let somebody else do it. But now that she was out of reach of his voice, she began to be troubled again. As long as he was there to reassure and comfort her every- thing had seemed possible. She thought that, after all, she might be happy, that she had exaggerated the past and its claims on her. But as she sat alone the first intoxicating wave of happiness that had swept her off her feet began to subside ; her doubts and fears came back. Was it possible that such bliss could be for her ? That after her year of mourning she might begin a new life with a man she loved and honoured with all her heart? That the past might be put on one side and forgotten? . . . Forgotten? Living in Godfrey's house, in the shadow of the room w r here he had died, within sight of the churchyard where he lay buried? She shivered with sudden cold. Oh! it was impossible, she had been mad to think of it! Godfrey would not let her go so easily. Of how many years had she robbed him? Twenty? thirty ? Was it likely that he would be content with her one year of atonement ? He, who had been such a hard task-master. " He would give me no rest," she murmured. " I should feel him everywhere, it would be horrible." THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 161 There might have been a chance of peace and forgetfulness if she could have left Grey Friars and changed her life completely. But that was practically impossible. It would seem to everyone such a senseless proceeding to give up her inheritance now that she had somebody to help her manage it. Besides, what would Jack do then? She could not let her brother suffer for her happiness, neither could she make him dependent on Leigh's help. She had done that with Godfrey ; she would never do it again. She had no right to make such a claim on Leigh, and just because she loved him she could not. Nothing must sully the bond between them. She had given Leigh her promise, she had listened to his words of love ; he had told her of his hopes and dreams, and she had left him supremely happy and content, without a doubt of her or the future. How could she do away with all that, even if she wished? He would not believe her now if she denied her love. " I must let it go on," she said, as she got up at last and prepared to undress. " I must trust to chance. I couldn't give him up now. It is only my own risk and, in any case, I shall be happy for a little while; I shall have the best that life can give. Nothing can rob me of that memory whatever may come afterwards." She could not get rid of the idea that her happiness was unsafe. All the trouble she had had made her afraid of the future ; she could L 162 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS not trust it. It seemed impossible that God- frey's terrible death could be put away and forgotten; that it should have no permanent consequences. He was unavenged ; how could he rest in peace ? " Be sure your sin will find you out." Was not that one of God's laws? How could she hope to escape it? Had not her sin already found her out in various ways ? But if it came between her and the man she loved her punishment would indeed be greater than she could bear. Audrey returned to Grey Friars the next day. Beresford and Jack saw her off from the station, and she left them with gay words and laughter. She had made up her mind to be happy while she could ; she would not anticipate misfortune. After all, perhaps Fate would be kind and forgive the sins of her youth ; sins of ignorance rather than of intent. It was a fresh, brilliant morning, who could be unhappy when the sun was shining everywhere? Leigh whispered tenderly that he could not bear to let her go. He grudged all other eyes the sight of her, she looked so fair and sweet. He would be down in a day or two, and then all the world might know their secret; they would be plighted lovers. Meanwhile he prayed her to keep him in her thoughts by day and by night till he came again. Audrey lay back in the corner of the carriage and gave herself up to dreams, the delicious dreams that are based on reality. Was there ever such a man was there ever such a lover THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 163 before ? She was only a girl, in spite of all her experience, and she had never been in love till now. Small wonder that Beresford seemed to her a king among men. Paul Herschel met her in the hall as she came in and started. He looked at her hard, with a vague fear and wonder. How young she was how happy how gay! What had wrought such a change? He had never seen her look like that before. The mistress of Grey Friars had always been grave, and sad, and subdued this was a laughing girl, who might never have had a care in the world. " I am glad to see you looking so well," he said, as they shook hands. " I need not ask if you have enjoyed yourself." " We have had a delightful time," she replied. ' There has been so much to see and to do. I had no idea what a beautiful place London is." " Beautiful ? " he repeated, with a twisted smile. " I think that is the first time I have heard that word applied to it. Men call it gay or terrible, wonderful or infamous, according to their experience, but rarely beautiful, I think." ' Then I," she said, still smiling, " must have been more fortunate than most, for to me it has seemed the most beautiful place in the world." And he wondered what she meant. When Audrey reached her own room she threw open the window and looked out. She wanted more air; already she was conscious of the old sense of gloom and oppression; the 1 64 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS atmosphere of the house was not in harmony with her feelings. Her glance swept the smooth, undulating lawns, the noble park land, and for the first time since she had owned Grey Friars her heart swelled with pride. She would not go empty-handed to her lover. How he, with his artist nature, would love this place! It gladdened her to think that she had some- thing to give him, for true love is ever generous. She went down to dinner in a white gown with violets at her breast and among the coils of her fair hair. He had said that violets were her flower, they matched her eyes, and though he was not there she dressed for him. Herschel watched and wondered all the time, but she scarcely saw him; she was too occupied with her own glad thoughts. Her eyes were shining like purple stars, her lips smiled unconsciously. " What is it ? " he asked himself again and again. " What has happened ? She is brim- ming over with happiness." He was too clever a man not to see and recognise that Audrey had come back changed. But he was afraid to think what the change might mean he could not contemplate such a possibility. So he sat and brooded over his wine when Audrey and her mother had gone and tried to persuade himself that she was only naturally pleased and excited by her visit to London. The mood would wear off in a few days. But he drank more wine than usual, and when at last he went to the drawing-room he found it empty. Unable to settle to anything he wandered in and out of the hall, wondering whether Audrey would not come down again that night. As he passed the large dining-room, which was only used when there were guests, he thought he heard a slight noise and glanced in. He saw Audrey standing in front of her husband's portrait, looking up at him with pleading eyes. " Forgive me," he heard her murmur, " for- give me and let me go at last. Have I not done penance long enough? I want to be happy oh, I want to be happy ! " He stepped back quickly as she turned round, but he thought he caught the glint of tears in her eyes. He strode away in a tumult of emotion, his thin lips drawn like a slit across his set, white face ; something had happened something terrible had happened, he knew now. CHAPTER XIII " There was a door to which I found no key." SINCE their acquaintanceship had ripened into a certain intimacy, Herschel had obtained Audrey's permission for Kirke to wander about the grounds at Grey Friars without being inter- fered with. The reason given for this exception in his favour was that Kirke was a harmless eccentric who had a fancy that some of the valuable herbs planted by the old monks might still be found. Kirke had a little bunch of herbs in his hand now tied up with the fine green ribbon which he always kept for the purpose. He had been roaming about nearly all day, looking for a particular plant which he had not found, and he sat down to rest for a little while before proceed- ing home, tired and disheartened. He was sitting on a rustic seat outside the disused lodge at Grey Friars, which had been out of repair and empty when Godfrey died, and had remained shut up ever since. His eyes rested absently on the big house. He could see the long casement windows of the library the room of the murder from where he sat, and his thoughts turned instinctively to 1 66 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 167 that midnight deed of violence, which seemed to have left no trace. He was as firmly convinced as ever that the guilt lay at Herschel's door, but he did not see how he was going to prove it. He had done all he could, he had tried every outside chance and drawn blank after blank. His own convictions were valueless for any prac- tical purpose without some proof, and of that he had little or none. The most damaging piece of evidence he could have produced was Herschel's unexpected possession of 200 at the time of his employer's death, when that sum meant every- thing in the world to him. And possibly the secretary might be able to explain that away. : ' I suppose I shall have to give it up," he muttered, " and yet I don't like being beaten. I've thought about it quite enough too much perhaps it might be best to let it go. It's getting on for a year now since it happened, and precious little good I've got out of all my plotting and planning. It's my belief it'll remain a mys- tery for ever unless a clue turns up by chance." The permission he had obtained from Herschel to roam in and out of Grey Friars had helped him very little. He had discovered nothing new through loitering about the house and grounds, and in all their talks the secretary had been too astute to give him any real information. Kirke was so lost in thought that he did not notice until he got up that the precious little bundle of herbs had dropped from his hand to the ground. He stooped to pick it up, and stopped suddenly in that position, staring 168 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS intently. He saw a small plant growing close to the door of the lodge, part of it had pushed its way underneath. He knelt down and examined it minutely. His face lit up, his unlucky day was going to end in success a big success after all ! This was a rare plant he had always thought he ought to find in the neighbourhood which, indeed, he had a dim recollection of seeing somewhere but for which he had now been vainly searching for months. It was the strangest chance that he should find it here, growing unknown and untended, when he was not even looking for it. How could it have come there ? he asked him- self in amazement. It grew from a seed. Who could have planted it? The wind, carrying it from Heaven knew where ? He must open that door and remove his precious discovery to his own garden as soon as possible, where it would receive every attention. He shuddered to think that it might have been heedlessly trodden under foot if anyone had chanced to open the door. What a lucky thing that the lodge was in an out of the way part of the grounds, and that so few people came near it ! Kirke put his shoulder to the door and forced the rusty lock. A cloud of dust met him as he stepped cautiously over the threshold, and for a moment he stood still almost overcome by the fetid atmosphere. There could have been no fresh air in the place for months ; probably no- body had gone in or out since the last occupant had left. There were signs of decay everywhere. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 169 He stood looking round the room, which was half in darkness, for the windows were thickly caked with dust and dirt. It was bare and empty except for a broken chair and one or two similar odds and ends. His feet pressed into the thick dust as into a carpet, leaving a distinct impression. He peered about him a little uneasily. What was there in the place that seemed familiar that reminded him uncom- fortably of something or someone? It was as though some memory were hovering round which he could not recall. As he stood there something on the floor caught his attention. It was a little bit of faded green ribbon twisted round a tiny bunch of twigs with dry brown leaves, leaves which would turn into dust at a touch. Kirke stared as though he could not believe his eyes, and his breath came quickly. " How did that come here ? " he muttered. With that curious wondering look, in which there was almost a touch of fear, still on his face, he knelt down and touched the little dead bundle. Then he examined it through a mag- nifying glass which he always carried in his pocket. It was the same thing as the precious herb growing green and lusty by the door; no doubt those dead sprigs had once been plucked from this living plant. That was comparatively easy of explanation. What puzzled Kirke so profoundly was how the little bunch of dead herbs came to be lying on the floor tied up with the particular kind of 170 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS ribbon he used, and he only, of anyone at Grey Friars. It came from London, and was pecu- liarly fine and soft, so as not to injure a leaf or bud. He had recognised it at once, faded and rotten though it was. Restless and vaguely uneasy he moved to and fro, wondering what gave him that peculiar feeling of familiarity when he had never to his knowledge been in the room before, when he saw a stick standing in a corner. It was an ordinary country walking stick, with a heavy knob at one end ; but Kirke stared at it with the same puzzled expression he had given the bunch of dried herbs. He took it with evident reluctance, and brushing off the dust looked mechanically at the knob. . . . The stick dropped from his nerveless fingers with a clatter to the .ground. His initials, " S. K.," were cut in the top. He had cut them himself when he bought the stick about a year ago. He walked to the door and stood leaning against the post, white and shaken. He was glad of the fresh, sweet air, his brain seemed in a whirl. The room was full of ghosts ; horrible thoughts and suggestions came crowding round him ; he was overwhelmed by a monstrous idea. He tried to laugh at it, to push it away ; but it would not go, it grew stronger every minute. The idea was that he had been here before. There were the mute witnesses of his presence, and greater even than these more terrible and impressive was his own inward conviction. That accounted for the feeling of familiarity which had seized him directly he entered the room. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 171 " When did I come ? " he whispered hoarsely, with an ever-growing fear and horror. " When did I come ? " The room and its contents had started a train of thought which he had not known was there. He knew that he had lost the stick not very long after he had had it, but he could never remember how or where. Of late years his memory had occasionally played him tricks. He had once or twice done something and completely for- gotten that he had done it until an accident brought it to mind. The deed might have remained a dead memory for ever but for the revivifying influence. Was it possible that he had been the last to enter this room ? It seemed like it. He remem- bered the theory he had expounded to Herschel that thoughts and passions can be shut up and kept, that they can impregnate a place with their invisible presence and make themselves felt. If there were anything in the theory, would not he the last man to come here be the most susceptible of anybody to any impression left in the room? And had he not been aware of something directly he stepped inside? Only some exceptional thing could have left such an impression ; there must have been the stress and strain of a great emotion. What was it? the persistent inner voice demanded what was the nidden secret? He looked down at the precious plant grow- ing at his feet. It might explain the mystery if it were gifted with speech. It might tell when THE PARADISE OF FOOLS he had plucked those dead twigs from its stem the day and the hour. It might tell how it had happened that he came to leave so precious a treasure behind to rot and die uncared for. A sudden change came over his face as he pondered these things ; he caught his breath sharply. Tradition said that this herb should be plucked by moonlight in the mystic hour when night turns into day, and he whose vivid imagina- tion was tinged with superstition would have obeyed such instructions to the letter, he knew. So tFe hour was found ; now for the day. It must have been months ago. Those withered leaves had been picked when they were green and at their best; that was evident from their size and condition. So it had been in the summer; probably in June or July. : ' June or July ? " Kirke repeated half aloud in a strange voice, quite a different voice from his usual cold, metallic tone. It was almost like a frightened child's ; a child terrified of some ghastly fancy, shrinking from something it does not understand. Even as he repeated the names of the two months over to himself it flashed across his mind that it was between twelve and one o'- clock at night that Godfrey Vansittart had been murdered, and that it was in the month of June. He stood for a moment stiff and motionless as a statue, with a face of stony horror. Then he threw out Eis hands with a shrill cry, cower- ing back as though from some unseen presence. " Not that not that! " he cried. " Anything but that. Oh, God of Mercy, have pity upon me ! " CHAPTER XIV " The heart of things is pain." THE morning after her return Audrey sat down to write to her lover. It was the first letter she had written him since their engagement, and she found it both delightful and difficult to write. There was much to say, and she hardly knew how to say it. Her feelings of late had been so kept under that she hesitated even now to give them free play. She felt so deeply that she was half afraid of saying too much. She could have served up her heart, red-hot, on a sheet of notepaper. She could have filled pages with her love and her hopes and her happiness. It was all so new, so beautiful. Life seemed only just to have begun for her. More than once, as she wrote, she stopped to dream; to hug her happiness tight, to assure herself that it was all real'. But at last the letter was done, and with a sigh she shut it up. Her talk with her lover was over. It was almost as bad as saying good-bye. Well, he would be with her soon in person, and that would be best of all. Only another day to wait before she saw him 173 174 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS again. His voice would fill her ears, his face shut out every other face, his touch thrill her with a delight that was almost pain. : Tell him to come soon tell him how much I want him ! " she whispered, touching the letter with caressing fingers. " I envy you, because you will be with him first." She was only a girl, and she was bubbling over with happiness. She was ready to indulge in any pretty folly, ready to go out into the woods and tell the birds and the flowers how happy she was rather than be silent. She would not stop in the house any longer; it was too quiet and gloomy and cold. Her hand was still on the letter, her face still tender and radiant with joy, when the door opened and Paul Herschel came in. He looked at her a moment in a dumb questioning wonder. Had he ever seen this lovely, radiant girl before ? Was she not new created, as fresh and fair as the morning? Even more than last night he was struck by the change. He had tossed on his bed for hours wondering what had happened, too troubled to sleep, trying to persuade himself that he had been need- lessly alarmed, that she was only excited by her visit, that she would be different on the morrow. And now to-morrow had come and his worst fears were confirmed. There was no longer any loophole to doubt that a great change had come over the woman he loved. But even yet he lacked the strength to ask himself who or what THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 175 had brought about this change? For nine months he had been dreaming of a future which should compensate him for the past. He had thought of it by day and by night until it had grown to be part of himself, a reality, not a vision. There might be delays, but it must be his one day. He had nothing else to live for, every hope and aim was bound up in it. The possibility of failure was too terrible to contem- plate ; he would risk everything to secure his heart's desire. In the moment while he waited, speechless, Audrey's hand dropped from the letter, and in a flash he saw the name that was written there Leigh Beresford. He put his hand on a chair to steady himself. He understood. It had been made plain to him without a word. He knew now what had happened what had changed the grave, sorrowing woman into a laughing girl. And for a moment he hated her only less than he hated the man who had brought about the change. He had been robbed, and it was she who had robbed him, who had done him the cruellest injury. It should have been his part to bring the light back to her eyes, the smiles to her lips, and she had given this right this joy to another man. He ground his teeth in impotent rage. He was half mad with jealous hate. Audrey saw he had read the inscription on the envelope, and for a moment she was angry and annoyed. He had no right to look. His face twitched as it did in moments of great 176 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS emotion, but otherwise he was much as usual, and she had no idea of the intolerable agony he was going through. His thick, white skin never changed, and the curious eyes were hidden under the heavy lids, or she might have been warned by their expression. The silence lasted less than a minute. Audrey's resentment was soon over. She was struck by Herschel's attitude ; he stood silent and waiting, almost humbly, like a servant, with bowed head. Perhaps he had seen that she was annoyed. She remembered what a good friend he had been to her; how considerate and devoted. After all, he had a claim to know of the change that was coming ; she would tell him herself. :< Won't you sit down ? " she said kindly. " Did you want to speak to me ? " He sat down heavily. He was slowly re- gaining his self-possession, but he was sick and furious with pain ; he was like a wild bull caught in a net. He could have trampled madly on anything and anyone to gain relief. He was wounded, not only in his pride and ambition, but in his tenderest feelings. There was the sting. He had been so patient, because he loved her, and while he waited humbly in the background she had given herself to another man. " It was nothing of any importance," he said. He had forgotten on what trivial errand he had come, and he did not trouble to invent an excuse. He had been too restless and uneasy to keep THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 177 away from Audrey any longer ; that was the real reason. : Then it does not matter," she said gaily. " But if you have nothing of importance to tell me, I have an important piece of news to tell you at least it is important to me, and you are too kind a friend not to feel interested for my sake, I know." The quiet, insignificant figure in the chair, so correct, so proper, with the smoothly brushed head and spotless attire, gave no sign. " I," Audrey blushed and hesitated; it was not easy to tell her precious secret, she felt a little shy and uncomfortable " I am going to be married," she stammered. ' You know him ; it is Mr Beresford." Still the bowed figure did not look up. " Won't you congratulate me ? " she said after a moment, half offended. " I thought you would like to know; I thought, as my friend, you would be glad to hear of my happiness ; you know as well, or better, than anybody else what trouble I have had." Paul Herschel looked up at last, and the girl shrank back as she saw his face and met his eyes. "/ congratulate you?" he said, and laughed. It was the laugh of a man on the scaffold, at an open grave, in face of any despair, where laughter is a more terrible thing than tears. " Oh, my God ! " and he laughed again, " that I could wish you happiness with another man. I! I! . . ." The grating voice stopped, but Herschel M i;8 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS rocked himself to and fro, hardly knowing what he did, his long fingers twisted together. His eyes were fixed on Audrey, cruel, insistent, devouring; they never left her face. There was truth in them at last, they were no longer veiled ; the man's nature was revealed for any- one to read who understood. But Audrey was more puzzled than frightened. It was as though some creature she had always thought harmless had suddenly turned and threatened her. " I don't understand," she said. " What is it? You look so strange. Are you ill? Shall I send for somebody? You frighten me." " Sit down," he commanded, as she half rose from her chair. " You and I have to talk this out together. There is much to be said, and something that will surprise you, I think. Sit down," he repeated more authoritatively, as she still hesitated. She yielded to the tone even while she resented it. " Do you know what you are saying ? " she asked indignantly. " If it were not that I have never seen you like this before I would not remain another minute. I cannot understand what has happened, but I suppose there must be some explanation of your extraordinary behaviour, though nothing can excuse it." " You are right. There is an explanation a remarkable one. When you have heard it, I think you will acknowledge that it would not only explain but excuse more objectionable behaviour than mine," THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 179 ' Then you had better give it without any further delay, for I have not much time to spare." ' You will give me all the time I want. I venture to say that before the end you will have forgotten any other object you had in view. You will be even more interested than I am in my story, because it will be new to you, whereas I have known it for nine months. For nine months," he repeated significantly. She watched him with growing wonder, in which there was a vague fear. His appearance was so sinister, his manner so hard and cruel. What did it mean ? What had changed him so suddenly? She did not connect the change with the announcement of her engagement. It had never entered her mind that he might love her. She was a proud woman in her way, and the idea would have offended her. Though Audrey treated Paul Herschel as an equal, his position in the house, and still more something in himself, would have prevented her from thinking of him as a man she might marry. Perhaps he suspected something of this, and the knowledge galled his irritable pride. " Must I remind you of what took place nine months ago? " he asked, as she did not speak. " It was on the 24th of June that Mr Vansittart was murdered, and the story I have to tell you has been hidden in my breast ever since. No- body will hear it but you unless " He broke off abruptly. " I don't want to threaten," he said more 180 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS gently. " It is consideration for you that has kept me quiet so long. I hoped never to have to speak of this. I wanted another ending, but you have shown me now that this cannot be. So, if necessary, T must use force where I had hoped to use nothing harsher than love." She started to her feet, flashing at him a look of haughty indignation. " Are you mad ? " she exclaimed. " What do you mean by talking to me like this? If you do it again I shall leave you at once. You make me regret that I ever trusted you." " Restrain your anger until I have finished my story," he said quietly, " then I think you will see that the humble secretary the man whom your husband treated as an upper servant has had some ground for presuming to hope that he might marry the mistress of Grey Friars." She laughed contemptuously, but her fear and uneasiness grew and she let him go on. There was something in his manner that compelled her to listen ; he spoke with authority, as one who had a right to be heard. " You will remember," he said, " that when Mr Vansittart was found dead that morning, I went down and made all inquiries for you, as you were too much upset to face the ordeal yourself. Well," he paused, " it was rather a farce, was it not? because you knew already, better than anybody else, what had taken place in the library the night before." " I ? " she cried, looking at him wildly " I knew? It is false. , . , How could I? " THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 181 " It is true, as I will prove to you in another moment. You, and you alone, knew how Godfrey Vansittart met his death ; because you, and you alone, were with him when he died." If the earth had opened at her feet Audrey could not have shrunk back in greater horror. "No! No!" she cried, throwing out her hands as though to keep off some overwhelming danger, " it is false false and cruel. How dare you say such things? Merciful Heaven, what have you in your mind ? what wickedness have you imagined ? " But even as she fought and struggled, hardly knowing what wild words she used in the first horror of the shock, she had a terrible feeling that it was all useless ; that nothing she could say would be of any avail. Herschel spoke so quietly and convincingly, and he was not a man to make vague assertions which he could not prove. Besides, this was too serious a matter to be trifled with. " But if you were playing a part, so was I. For I, too, had known since the night before what lay, stiff and stark, on the library floor. I, too, had lain awake watching for the morning, listening for the first cry that would proclaim that the murder had been discovered." She stared at him with wide eyes of fear and horror. She hardly understood what he said. It seemed like some ghastly nightmare ; she was struggling in a suffocating blackness, in the grip of an almost insane terror, struggling to find a way of escape and there was none. 182 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS ' You ? " she whispered through stiff white lips in a curiously dead voice " You knew? " ' Yes, I knew. ... I had an appointment with Mr Vansittart that night and waited in my room till after midnight, expecting every minute to be summoned to the library. At last, thinking he had forgotten, I went into the hall, and as everything was quiet I tapped on the library door to see if he were still up. There was no answer, and I gently opened the door and looked in. There is no need to harrow your feelings with a description of what I saw." Audrey shuddered and clasped her hands tighter. ' The window was wide open, and my first thought was the same as most people's, namely, that it was the work of some chance thief. But when I looked closer I discovered something that turned my thoughts in quite a different direction." She looked at him in an agony of suspense, but she did not speak. " I discovered this," he continued, putting his hand to his throat and slowly drawing up some- thing that was concealed under his clothes. She watched him with fascinated eyes, as a bird watches a snake. She caught the glint of gold through his fingers, and the next moment she gave a little desperate cry as he lifted the thing over his head. She had recognised the gold neck-chain a gift from her mother which she had given up for lost long ago, though she could THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 183 never remember how or where it had disap- peared. " I see you remember it," he said, letting the chain dangle from his ringers. " You wore it on the night of your husband's death for the last time ; I have worn it ever since ; I found it twisted round the links in his shirt-sleeve. It was broken, and one end had fallen out on the floor, and so attracted my attention. It must have required some force to break. It looks as though it had been caught and snapped in a struggle, particularly as it was attached to the right wrist." Still Audrey did not speak, but her breath came_thick and fast. Her thoughts had flown back to that fatal night, and she knew the chain must have been broken when her husband seized hold of her as she tried to escape from the room. In her passion and excitement the trivial incident would, of course, have passed unnoticed at the time, though now it had suddenly assumed such immense proportions, darkening the whole horizon. " In a flash I seemed to understand how it had all happened. You had had a dispute with your husband, your patience had given way at last, he insulted you beyond endurance, and you turned on him and struck at him in a mad rage. How exactly he had died, whether it was the blow or the shock to a weak heart, is a matter of no importance beside the great fact that he was dead." He paused a moment before he went on. " All my sympathies were with you ; I 1 84 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS knew he was a brute and a bully, that he had tormented you in every petty, galling way, until your life was a misery. I knew well the slights, the contempt, the torture he could inflict, because I had felt them, too. I had cringed to him, flattered him, taken insults quietly, that no decent man should take, and all because he fed and clothed me and gave me a roof over my head. " But I hated him none the less that I owed him these things but the more, the more ! My God, how I hated him ! " His eyes glared, his breath came with a hiss- ing sound through his clenched teeth as he thought of his dead master. Even now, so long afterwards, he could not contemplate those past days of humiliation and bondage without a mad hate surging up in his breast against the man who had ignored his existence except when he wanted him. Godfrey Vansittart had made more than one enemy by his insolent contempt, but neither the love nor the hatred of his kind troubled him very much. He went his own way, strong and hard and sufficient unto himself. " I suppose you despise me for putting up with everything just to live for a bare exist- ence, but you haven't been thrown on the London streets, starving and homeless. You don't know what it is to walk in the midst of plenty which you cannot touch, to see wealth and luxury everywhere while you grovel in the gutter for a crust! It makes you feel like a starved wolf." THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 185 Audrey shuddered at his look and tone. It made her realise what the outcasts were who roamed the great city by night desperate, hungry animals, nothing more. " I made up my mind to help you to save you, if possible," he continued more quietly. " I had been your slave from the first, though you neither knew nor would have cared to know what you were to me. It was your nature to be kind and gentle to all, and you gave me pleasant words with the rest. You could not tell how I treasured up each one, how a smile from you cast a glory over the rest of the day. You would laugh if I told you how I dreamed, for," bitterly, " I have learnt to know that the dreams of such a man as I plain, insignificant, with no gift or art to please a woman are generally matter for laughter. In those days I looked up to you and worshipped, as one might worship a beautiful star with no hope or thought to reach it." : ' I never knew," she said. " I didn't guess." " Of course not. I was outside the pale, a useful machine, not a man with passions like Bother men. Like, did I' say?" with a laugh. " Why, they were far greater more intense, than the mild wishes which are all that trouble many men. But they had to be damped down, and except at rare intervals they smouldered unseen and unsuspected. But I am wandering from the matter in hand. I saw how easily the affair could be made to appear the work of a 186 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS thief by upsetting the room and abstracting some of the ornaments. I arranged it all as quickly as I could, and then " he waited a moment " then I went upstairs and listened outside your door." " Listened outside my door? " she repeated after him. ' Yes, I wanted to be convinced beyond any possibility of doubt and I was. I heard you sobbing and crying to yourself, moaning like some creature in fear and pain." " Spy! " she cried with sudden passion. ' Traitor and spy! How dared you watch and follow me ? " She checked herself the next moment and struggled for calmness. She must be wary, she had a dangerous enemy to fight, she would need all her skill, every weapon. Her good name, her honour, perhaps even her personal safety were at stake. She did not yet realise that the thing she valued most of all her happiness also hung in the balance. That her love was threatened before the ink of her first love-letter was scarcely dry. " It is a waste of time to bandy words," Herschel said calmly. ' There is no use m reproaches and recriminations. What I did I should do again. I was ready to venture any- thing to save you, but I freely acknowledge I was not working without the hope of reward. I was not quixotic enough to give all and expect nothing in return. No, my chance had come at last, and I meant to take it." THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 187 Audrey looked at him silently with fear at her heart. ' You had put yourself in my power by causing the death of your husband. Nobody else knew what had happened, so I could use your secret as I wished. It was evident that you meant to conceal what you had done, or you would have summoned assistance, instead of shutting the dead man up in the library and hiding yourself away in your own room. But as I have said I loved you. I was romantic, too, in a way yes " with a twisted smile " I am afraid it sounds absurd, but, unfortunately, Nature does not always make our ideas and appearance to correspond and I wanted you to come to me of your own accord. I hoped that, by serving you with all my heart and soul, by making myself necessary to you in every possible way, you might come to care." He drew a deep breath, and his eyes were heavy with pain. It was as though he watched the last of his dream as it vanished. " Dear, my dear," he cried, throwing up his head, " how I would have loved and cherished you! I would have stood between you and the faintest breath of sorrow ; I would have served you as no queen was ever served, with a passion, a wholehearted devotion, that asked nothing in return but your love. . . ." He flung out his hand with a fierce gesture. ' You think that the men of your world well-fed, well-housed, cared for and pampered from their childhood know how to love ? " He laughed. " How can i88 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS they realise half that it may mean? It is the lonely man who has never known a home or a woman's care and tenderness who will be ready to commit any folly, any madness, when love comes. To him it is so new and beautiful a thing that he will throw himself at its feet in an ecstasy of joy, grateful if he may but kiss the hem of its garment." For once the slow tongue was eloquent, Paul Herschel spoke with fire and passion, and even while Audrey shrank back from the picture of that dark, silent nature, with its sullen, volcanic passions, she could not but be touched by compassion for his evident suffering. It was so real, so terrible. " I am sorry," she murmured. " I had no idea that you felt your position so acutely that you had had such an unhappy life." " How should you know? Had you ever cared to inquire? But I must get on. You understand a little better now what the hope of making you my wife has meant to me, so you will not be surprised that I am reluctant to relinquish it. In plain words, I will not allow vou to fulfil your engagement to marry Leigh Beresford." " And how will you prevent it ? " she asked with a disdainful laugh, all her pity gone. " Quite simply and easily. If you refuse, I shall tell him that it was your hand that sent Godfrey Vansittart to his death ; that you killed your husband, and have acted a lie ever since. Do you think he will want to marry you then THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 189 he, the preux chevalier, who is so quixotic in his ideas of women, who has put you in a niche like a saint ? " She gave a cry of pain. But she turned to defend her love, as a mother will defend her child against all odds, in the face of impos- sibilities. ' You have brought this monstrous charge against me," she said, " but that does not make me guilty. I deny everything I defy you. It is only your word against mine." " Is it? How can you explain this away?" holding up the chain. " How can you account for my knowing what has become of the gold ornaments and other costly trifles that dis- appeared from the room. I can produce them if necessary. Remember, no trace of the supposed thief has ever been discovered, though so large a reward was offered, and it is well known in the county that you and your husband were not on good terms. Besides, do you think," and he looked at her cruelly, " that you would be able to stand up before the man who loves and trusts you and deliberately lie to him ? Do you think you have the courage and strength for that?" She shivered at the thought. Could she meet the gaze of those honest eyes with a lie on her lips. Would it not die half spoken, and she stand before her lover, guilty and ashamed? Would it not be worse than death to see the wondering pain grow in his face? to see him turn away at last from her in disdain ? She told 190 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS herself that such a man as Leigh Beresford would never forgive deceit; that even though he might still love the woman who had lied to him for his love was not a light thing to come and go he would not marry her when he knew the truth. " Of course I can easily explain," the relent- less voice went on, " that I have been shielding you all this time out of pity, but that I could not allow Mr Beresford to marry you in ignorance. I could make my story so complete and circum- stantial that it would be impossible to doubt it. Truth, as you know, has a way of making itself felt." Audrey looked round despairingly. She was caught in a trap ; there was no way of escape. She knew she could not lie well and boldly enough to carry conviction ; she had had too little practice in deception to be able to hold her own against such a capable antagonist as Paul Herschel. Over and over again he had come to her aid when she had been confused and frightened by any reference to Godfrey's death. She knew how cleverly he had often covered her silence, and turned attention from her. She made a desperate appeal to his forbearance. " Have pity! " she cried. " I am alone and helpless. Show me a little kindness ; don't take everything from me! I don't deny what you have said, it is true ; I throw myself on your mercy. I did not mean to hurt Godfrey before God, I did not! We had had a terrible scene, and I was trying to escape from the room THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 191 when he caught hold of me. Hardly knowing what I did I pushed him away, and he slipped and went down, striking his head heavily as he fell. It was all over in a moment, before I had time to realise what was going to happen. I touched him, spoke to him, but there was no answer. He lay still and silent as the dead. It was horrible horrible ! " her face ghastly with remembrance. " In a paroxysm of terror I rushed from the room and shut myself up. " I saw him all night," in a low tone, " lying there alone, growing stiff and cold. I went through an agony of fear and remorse. His blood was on my head, dragging me down to the depths. I felt the brand of Cain on my fore- head. It was too late now to turn back, to wish that I had been brave enough to confess what I had done and take the consequences. I must go on as I had begun. I did not realise at the time what that meant the constant fear and watching and torment. Oh, believe me, I have been well punished; I have done penance for nine months. Can you have the heart to send me back to the old misery ? No ! " passionately, " not the old, to one far greater, for I know now what happiness means how love can transform the world." Her face might have won pity and help for her, it was so terribly changed and suffering. An hour ago it was radiant with joy, now all the brightness had been blotted out by an over- whelming fear. It was the face of a woman who waits to hear her sentence, who clings desper- 192 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS ately to a last hope. But it did not stir Paul HerschePs compassion; it only inflamed his jealous anger. He saw how her heart was bound up in the man she loved ; what misery it would be to lose him. It told him more plainly than words that though he might keep her love from another, he would never win it for himself. And, in his pain, he was ready to make her suffer, too. It was almost a relief to know that he could punish these two, whom he chose to think had robbed him of his happiness. " I abide by what I have said," he answered sullenly. ' You must give up all thought of marrying Leigh Beresford. That is the price of my silence." She saw that he was immovable. As well fling herself against a stone wall. " But how can I ? " she cried wildly. " I have promised. It is all settled." " Promises have been broken before now." " But not so soon. What excuse could I make? It would seem monstrous incredible! It only happened the other day." " There will be less difficulty then. It is not yet announced, nobody has heard about it, so there will be no gossip. You can easily tell Mr Beresford that you have changed your mind, that he took you by surprise, that now you have had time to think it over you see that it will not do anything you like. A woman is never backward in finding plausible excuses when she wishes." "Oh, I can't I can't! I would rather die. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 193 And he would not believe, he knows that I love him." ' Then," drawing a deep breath, " he should account himself a fortunate man whatever happens. That is happiness enough. Do you think " fiercely-^" I have any pity to spare for him? I need it all myself." " But how will our separation help you ? What benefit will you get out of our misery? Even you can scarcely find pleasure in contemplating it for long. Besides, at least in the future, I will be secure from your surveillance." ' The separation is only the beginning. It will clear the way for other things." : ' What do you mean ? " with quickened breath. : ' What more can follow? Is it not enough? " " I have still the same end in view as I had on the night of your husband's death. I planned to marry you then; I expect still to do so, though it may take a little longer than I hoped." For an instant she was silent, then she sprang to her feet, the words pouring from her lips in a torrent of passion. She did not often lose her self-control, but she lost it now. ' You dare even to think of such a thing? you have the audacity! Don't you know that you are the most hated creature to me on God's earth ? Don't you know that I would rather die than take the lightest caress from you? That now and until the end of my life, when I think of all that is vile, and mean, and treacherous, I shall think of you ? " N 194 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS She swept from the room, and he sat there, white and shivering from the lash of her scorn. It stung like a whip. He cowered before it like a beaten animal, moaning a little to himself. How she hated him ! merciful Heaven, how she hated him! And he was sick with longing for her; he loved her more madly now, when she was so nearly lost, than he had ever done before. He threw up his hand with a fierce gesture, as though calling on some unseen power to witness his vow. " She hasn't done with me yet," he muttered. " I swear that I will keep one end, one aim, in view to make Audrey Vansittart my wife. All other things shall but serve this purpose. I swear that while I live she shall marry no other man." CHAPTER XV " Thy bells prolonged unto knells." IN place of her love-letter, Audrey wrote to Leigh Beresford, cancelling her engagement. She made no excuses, she simply said that she found it impossible to keep her promise, and she begged him to forgive and forget her. It seemed almost a cruel letter ; it was so brief and cold cold because she could not trust herself to use any but conventional phrases. She begged him not to try to see her, as it would be useless ; her decision was irrevocable. She must decline to discuss the matter at all, so she hoped he would spare her and himself the pain of coming down to no purpose. She was sure it would be best for them to be strangers for the future. She had not shed a tear since her interview with Herschel; her sorrow was too great for tears. But a dry sob rose in her throat as she wrote that word " strangers." Strangers, he and she, who were to have been nearest and dearest? How cruel and impossible it seemed! She could not realise it yet. From light to darkness in a few hours; from the heights to 195 196 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS the depths. Surely no one had ever had such a brief spell of happiness no one had been so relentlessly pursued by Fate. " Everything has gone wrong since I married," she thought. " It was a terrible mis- take, but I was young and ignorant; I didn't know what I was doing. It is cruel cruel and unfair that my whole life should be made to suffer." In reply to her letter a telegram came the next day from Leigh Beresford, saying that he would be with her that afternoon. There was no time for Audrey to wire back telling him not to come, but she held firm to her intention not to see him. She was scarcely surprised at his message, she knew he would not give her up without a struggle. It was hardly likely that he would accept such a dismissal without seek- ing for an explanation from her own lips. " But I can't see him I can't! " she said desperately. " I haven't the strength. I couldn't resist the touch of his hands, the love in his eyes. I should show him how much I cared, and then he would never give me up. Better have done with it all as soon as possible. Once irrevocable, I may learn to endure. Anything would be better than that he should come to know that Godfrey's death lies at my door and the life of deception I have led. That would kill his love more surely than anything else. Now, perhaps, even in silence and separation, I may still not lose him utterly." It would be difficult to describe what THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 197 Beresford thought and felt when he received Audrey's letter. He had opened it so eagerly, his love's first message to him how dear it would be, how sweet! What would she say? Her face rose up before him as for a moment he played with his happiness. He saw the starry eyes, shy and tender, the proud mouth that yet seemed made for kisses, and he thrilled with a delight that was almost pain. All this was his to love and to cherish. The woman of his dreams, fair and pure as the morning, had come down to him. He tore open the envelope and his happi- ness was shattered like a glass. He read the letter the first time scarcely comprehending it it was too great a shock. What did it mean ? Was she playing with him? It seemed a cruel joke, scarcely like her. He read it again, and a cold fear touched his heart. It was so firm and plain and hard, there seemed no room to doubt. And yet it was impossible oh, quite impossible! It was absurd on the face of it, and he tried to laugh. She had confessed her love, she had promised to be his wife; did she think he would so lightly let her go? That it could all be put on one side in a moment, with- out reason or explanation ? A light suddenly dawned on him. She was so sensitive, so terribly conscientious, his poor little sweetheart, who had been thrust into a position for which she had not the strength. She was a martyr to her duties and obligations, she never gave herself any rest. She had had 198 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS some sudden qualm of conscience that tender, puritan conscience! she had fancied (he knew her way) that she had no right to be free and happy, to turn her back on the past, and in such a mood she had written him that letter. He understood it now. He remembered how she had spoken of her duties, that she said she belonged to the past. His eyes grew deep and tender. To the past with her youth and beauty ! Oh ! it would have been absurd if it had not been also a little pitiful. Well ! he would have a serious talk with her, he would scold her a little, tell her she must not be morbid and fanciful, that he would take her away from Grey Friars altogether if it had such an effect on her. Certainly it was a depressing atmosphere ; a place in which a sensitive woman might imagine anything. He turned away to write the telegram, and his glance fell on the sketch he had made of Audrey as " Melisande." The words he had had in his mind when he painted it came back to him " With your eyes for fear. . . . And your youth for pity's grace." Why ? Why ? What had she to do with fear ? Why should any presume to pity her? Leigh was unreasonably angered at the thought, it fretted and annoyed him. She was going to be his wife, and could he not take care of his own? Please God, he would make her one of the happiest women in the world. Still the eyes gazed back at him Audrey's eyes -and there was neither love nor happiness -THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 199 in their depths, but fear fear. What was it she had said when she saw herself? "Poor girl! " His heart contracted with sudden pain. It was folly madness to encourage such fancies. Was he growing morbid too ? " All the way down in the train he persistently tuned his thoughts to a cheerful key ; he would not allow himself to believe that there could be any great difficulty in adjusting matters. But when he walked up the gloomy avenue to the house his thoughts took a more sombre turn. Was there possibly some real trouble? Could she be ill? His steps quickened. Surely, if so, his place was at her side. Did she not know it feel it ? Did she not want him ? He rang the the bell and waited. His suspense and anxiety would be over in a few minutes, but, meanwhile, he grew cold and ner- vous. There was something forbidding about the place ; something sinister and threatening. An imaginative person might easily fancy that the shadow of murder rested on it. " Mrs Vansittart said I was to give you this, sir, if you called," the butler said as he handed him a note. Leigh took it and turned to the window. What did it mean ? This was worse than he had expected. For the first time he was really afraid. Was it possible she would refuse to see him? He read the enclosure, and his worst fears were surpassed. Audrey wrote saying how grieved she was that he should come, as she 200 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS could not alter her decision. It would only mean unnecessary pain to them both to meet, as it could do no good. She had nothing to add to what she had already written, except that she begged him again to forget and forgive her. Their ways were divided beyond the power of either to bring them together. Leigh stood staring at the letter. It was as inflexible as Fate ; there was nothing to be got out of it no hope, no comfort. For the first time his anger rose. He had been very badly treated, there was no doubt of that. His love had been thrown back to him with no explana- tion, with scarcely a regret. He had deserved a little more consideration. At the least he might have expected that he would have been accorded a personal interview, that he would hear his sentence from Audrey's own mouth. Well, she did not want to see him ; she had thrown him off and he must go. He had no right even to be here, in her house, against her will. His face burned at the thought, and he turned hastily to the door. He went out into the chill March twilight, realising for the first time in his pleasant, suc- cessful life what pain really meant. God! how it racked and tortured. It took possession of every fibre of his being. The whole head was sick and the whole heart faint. How should he fight it? how endure it? What good would his life be to him ? He stopped and looked back at the house, the house that held the one woman he loved. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 201 She was watching him go, perhaps? Was she feeling one half as unhappy as he? Oh, no, it was impossible, or she could never have let him go. And yet she had loved him for a little while, he was convinced. Strange and inex- plicable as it all was, he could not believe that he was deceived in this. As he stood lost in gloomy brooding a blind was cautiously pulled aside from one of the windows. He looked up quickly, thinking it might be Audrey. Instead it was Paul Herschel who peered out eagerly as though searching for someone. Leigh was in the shadow and could not be seen, but Herschel's face was distinctly visible, and the hate and mocking triumph on it could not be mistaken. Leigh sprang forward, furiously indignant, as though the watcher had known he was there and meant to insult him. Then he stopped, sick with sudden fear. " This is his work," something whispered " his work." The silent voice carried conviction with it like the handwriting on the wall. He turned away, wondering blindly what it all meant. CHAPTER XVI " Old sins have long shadows." VERONA was too restless to remain indoors. She had tried all day to keep away from Grey Friars, but late in the afternoon she found herself, she scarcely knew how, close to the old house. She was wandering aimlessly up and down half impelled to torture herself afresh with the sight of Audrey's happiness, when, to her astonish- ment, she saw Leigh Beresford come out. Of course it was not surprising that he should be there, but that he should be going away at such a time, alone, and in such haste was a little strange. She had started forward to speak to him when she caught sight of his face. With an effort she stifled the wondering cry that rose to her lips. What was the matter? Why did he look like that? Something terrible must have happened. He strode on without seeing her, and she watched him, too startled and shocked to move. His appearance was so unexpected; there was something in his face which made her afraid. It was strangely unfamiliar with that new look of suffering. She had rarely seen him deeply 202 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 203 moved ; he had scarcely touched the tragedy of life. Now the whole man seemed caught in the grip of an almost intolerable pain. Suddenly he stopped a few paces off and turned to look back at the house. She saw his eyes wander over it, and then remain fixed in an intent gaze. She thought he had caught sight of Audrey. The next moment his face changed as though he had seen something strange and hateful, and wondering what it could be, Verona cautiously leaned forward to look too. She saw the secretary's face at the window; an evil, triumphant face, and for a moment it increased her perplexity. Then she heard Leigh's stifled cry, and a light broke on her. Something must have gone wrong, and the secretary was mixed up in it. There seemed no other possible explanation. Paul Herschel did not know how dearly he would be made to pay for that passing grati- fication. He had been unable to resist the temptation to watch his rival's departure, un- honoured, almost ignominious, as it was. He had thrilled with triumph as he saw him go, and he did not know that he, in his turn, had been seen. He rejoiced that Audrey had refused to meet her lover ; the worst danger was over. It was not likely that Beresford would come down again. But even as he triumphed, while the flush was still on his cheek, the light in his eyes, word was brought him that Miss Maxwell had called 204 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS and wished to speak to him. Wondering a little he went down. As he came in Verona looked at him more closely than she had ever done before. He appeared to her in a new light ; he was not the man she had imagined. As she had told Leigh when he had expressed his dislike and distrust of the secretary, she had never considered him of sufficient importance to trouble about. She had scarcely given him a thought except on one occasion, and then she had felt sorry for him. So that when the veil was lifted for a moment, and she saw behind that quiet, demure exterior, she was taken completely by surprise. When Leigh had gone she had walked up and down for some minutes to steady her nerves before going in to the house. The outlook had changed completely; there was trouble ahead, or she was very much mistaken. Life had seemed a pretty, dainty comedy for the lovers but yesterday. Could it already have turned to tragedy? Her heart beat high with hope. Any change must be for the better as far as she was concerned. Last night she had been out for hours in the wind and the rain, and had dropped exhausted from her horse, wet to the skin, but thankful that she had worn herself out in mind and body. This morning she had been half mad with jealous pain, but now she was conscious of an exquisite feeling of relief. All was not going well. Perhaps her opportunity had come. " You wished to see me ? " Mr Herschel said deferentially, as she looked at him without THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 205 speaking. She did not offer her hand; she scarcely acknowledged his presence. She might find him a useful tool ; she thought she would, but it hurt her pride a little to use it. She resented, too, that he should presume to triumph over Leigh Beresford, even though this worked for her own ends. " If you please. Are we likely to be inter- rupted ? " " I think not " filled with wonder as to what she could have to say to him of such importance. " Mrs Vansittart is in her own room and Mrs Lennard seldom comes down except to meals/' She gravely inclined her head. " I wonder," she said, after a moment's pause, " whether it would help you to understand the situation if I told you that I saw Mr Beresford leave the house this afternoon, and " she looked him straight in the eyes " that I saw you watch him go." For a minute he could not speak. He was taken off his guard. He stared at her in be- wildered amazement. " But how what do you mean ? " he stam- mered. " I don't understand." :< Mr Beresford evidently went away in great trouble," she said, " and you as evidently rejoiced to see him go. Is that plain enough ? " " I ? Why should I ? " he replied, scenting danger and pulling himself together. " What concern could it possibly be of mine? " " That is what I am going to find out. It is useless to contest the point. I saw your face 206 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS distinctly, there was no mistaking the expres- sion. . . . You hate him. Why? " " Mr Beresford and I have never been friends," he said; " but it is absurd to suppose that we are enemies. He would scarcely con- sider me of sufficient importance," with a faint sneer. " I know, of course " thinking that he was strong enough to be insolent " what a great interest you take in everything that con- cerns him, but I am afraid you have allowed your solicitude to mislead you a little here." She flushed at the taunt. Her muscles twitched ; it would have been a relief to strike the sneering mouth. He should be made to pay dearly for that insult. He had been unwise, as he would see presently. Herschel felt vaguely uncomfortable as he saw the handsome face harden. But he reassured himself the next moment. What could she do? " You can scarcely suppose," she said, quietly, " that I should talk to you in this way unless I were quite sure of my position unless I could compel you, if necessary, to tell me what I wish." " Compel me ? " he repeated uneasily. " Yes. I will explain in a few words. . . . After Mr Vansittart's death I was here a good deal, as you know, doing what I could to help his widow. I was one of his oldest friends, and of course she trusted me absolutely. Amongst other duties in which I assisted her was the painful one of looking over his private papers."' Paul Herschel had been listening with real THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 207 or assumed indifference, but here his face suddenly seemed to grip. " I was examining the contents of his dispatch- box when I came upon an envelope marked, ' Copy of Letter to Mr Herschel, with Cheque.' ' There was a strangled cry, a cry edged with fear and horror, but Verona gave no heed. She went on. " I glanced over the letter before destroying it, not supposing it would be of any particular importance, but the first few lines showed me my mistake. The letter was of the utmost importance to at least one person to you. Mr Vansittart accused you of having forged his name to a cheque for ^200. He told you to come to the library that night, when he would let you know his intentions, and he warned you not to attempt to leave the house. The letter was unnecessarily cruel in its wording, and when I had read it I felt a little sorry for you." Herschel sat motionless as a statue, with com- pressed lips and staring eyes. He saw his life going to pieces, and he could do nothing to save it. This had fallen like a bolt from the blue; he was utterly overwhelmed. " I did not say anything to Mrs Vansittart ; I decided to think it over first. I knew you had had a hard master, and I was inclined to pity you. So I slipped the letter and cheque in my pocket. I have them both at home now." He remembered how he had searched for the cheque on the night of Mr Vansittart's death, 208 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS wishing to make himself quite safe by destroy- ing it. He had thought to find it on his person, or, in any case, somewhere in the library, but he had hunted in vain ; it was nowhere to be found. That his employer had kept a copy of the letter he had written him, he had never guessed, or he would have been much more alarmed. The cheque was scarcely a danger now that the man was dead, for it was so cleverly done that he did not think the bank had had any suspicion that Mr Vansittart's signature had been forged. But the letter was fatal. There was no getting away from it. Herschel remembered the contents only too well. " Do you wish to say anything? Have you any explanation to give ? " Verona asked as the secretary was still silent. " None that would be of any use. You would hardly understand if I told you that I was half mad at the time with fear that ruin and disgrace stared me in the face, and that I snatched at the only way of securing a few days' respite. I thought," he laughed, " I thought that perhaps a miracle might happen, that some- body might think it worth while to save me. Needless to say, they did not. My character was my only asset; that gone, I could have no hope of ever getting decent work again ; I should sink lower and lower. And " fiercely " I hated poverty and roughness as much as any fine gentleman ; I sickened at the thought of what lay in store for me if I were turned adrift. " Two hundred pounds would save me, only THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 209 ^"200. It must seem absurd to you. It is such a small sum to pay for a man's life. But the days went on and I could not beg or borrow it anywhere. I saw the inevitable end approach- ing nearer and nearer in spite of my frantic struggles. Then, one day, I found the drawer in which Mr Vansittart kept his cheque-book by chance unlocked, and I yielded to the sudden temptation. If I had given myself time to think I should have seen how useless it was, that I was only making matters worse ; but I snatched at the chance of a little grace. He was not a busi- ness man, and I hoped he might not trouble to examine his pass-book for some time to come, even that he might forget that he had not drawn the cheque himself. He dissipated large sums, it did not seem impossible. " But Fate was against me. In a week the cheque was in his hands, and he knew that it was forged. It was inevitable that he should suspect me. I was the only person who knew where he kept his cheque-book, the only person in the house capable of forging his signature; besides, I had asked for an advance on my salary and been refused, so that he knew I was in want of money. He liked to manage things his own way, and for some reason he said nothing to anybody not with any thought of mercy towards me, I am sure. All through that terrible day I was kept in an agony of suspense, wondering what my punishment was to be. It would please him " with a look of hate " to think that I was shut up in my room, caught like o 210 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS a rat in a trap. That when he chose he could put out his hand and take me." " How had you got into such difficulties ? " Verona asked. " Why was the situation so desperate ? " " I was in a moneylender's hands, a man as hard as a flint, and I had been fool enough to offend him. He threatened to expose me to Mr Vansittart unless I paid him what I owed by a certain date, and I knew he would do what he said. I was between Scylla and Charybdis. If I had not robbed Mr Vansittart the other man would have seen to it that I was disgraced and ruined." " I understand. You were certainly in a tight place. Perhaps it is natural that Ishmael's hand should be against everybody. The world does not love its Ishmaels ; as a rule it is not much wonder." He winced, but made no answer. His arro- gance was gone. " I have no particular liking for you," she went on, " but I think we can be of use to each other, and mutual interest is as binding as most things. I will explain. When I let you go unpunished, I was upset by the terrible event that had just taken place, and not inclined to make further trouble at the time. But I did not feel justified in destroying the letter and cheque. I am glad I did not. They will come in useful now." " You knew they gave you a hold over me," he said bitterly. " You thought that even such THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 211 a one as I might be turned to account some day." " It is possible," she answered coldly. " Who can tell what hidden motives lie at the back of one's thoughts and actions? In any case, it is not worth arguing about. As it happens, my kind action is going to bring its own reward. You can help me out of a difficulty, and I am sure you will." He looked at her, wondering what was coming. He did not trust her ; he was afraid. " I want to know what you know," she said meaningly. " Tell me what you have in your mind your hopes and schemes. You are not the insignificant person I fancied; you have some big plot on hand; you are working for some important end. Don't deny it, it would be useless. Trust me, and I will deal fairly by you. Otherwise . . ." she shrugged her shoulders. " I could put you in prison in less than an hour," she concluded. ' There might be some unpleasantness for yourself attached to it. How would you explain having kept the cheque concealed so long? I don't know much about the law, but it seems to me it is something like compounding a felony." " I should say I had only recently come across it. Who could prove the contrary? It would be wise if you recognised my power at once. . . Now, why did Mr Beresford go away in such distress? And why were you pleased that he went? . . Answer! " 212 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS A moment longer he struggled before he gave way. " He was distressed because Mrs Vansittart had broken off the engagement," he said sullenly. " And " She interrupted him with a sharp cry. " Broken her engagement ? " she repeated. " It is impossible ! What do you mean ? " " It is quite true. Mr Beresford has been dismissed." " But why ? why ? She was so happy about it, what reason does she give ? It is inconceiv- able absurd! I tell you it only happened a day or two ago." " I know. I heard about it after her return. It took me terribly by surprise. I had not expected such a disaster. I told Mrs Vansittart that it must be broken off." 'You said that?" ' Yes, even I. I had the whip-hand there, as you have here. It did not suit my plans that she should marry Mr Beresford, or any other man except myself." She gazed at him in amazement, her mind was in a whirl. So all this had been going on behind the scenes, and she had guessed noth- ing. Was her own perspicacity at fault, or did this man possess exceptional powers of decep- tion? She had thought him harmless and powerless ! She could have mocked at her own blindness. ' You want to marry Audrey Vansittart ? " she said at last. ' You aspire to reign here in THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 213 Godfrey's place? to be master of Grey Friars?" " I suppose you find it somewhat astonishing. I have thought of it so much and so long that it seems quite natural to me. I cannot contem- plate anything else being possible. I am not thinking so much of the place as of the woman. Love, they say, makes all things equal, and she is the one woman in the world as far as I am concerned." "It is a strange story ; I can hardly realise it yet," Verona said presently. "If Godfrey had only known ! Had it begun then ? " She turned on , him with sudden sharpness. " His death was a very lucky thing for you," she said slowly, " it happened just in the nick of time. It was a most fortunate coincidence really extraordinary." " I suppose it was," he replied. " It certainly saved me." " A quite remarkable piece of good fortune," she continued, watching him curiously. " I am sure anybody would agree with me. The man who held you at his mercy died suddenly and mysteriously before he could pronounce your sentence. Really, Mr Herschel, you must be a special favourite of the gods." " Because they have done me one good turn? As a rule they have beaten me with many stripes. I owe them nothing so far. I will be grateful when they crown me victor in the race I am now running. That shall more than atone for all." ' You think it likely you will win? That THE PARADISE OF FOOLS any woman, who has had Leigh Beresford for her lover, will take you in his place? Is that very brutal ? Well ! your vanity must be equally great. It is monstrous impossible. Think of what he is and of what he has to offer, and then " " Thank you, I understand. You need not finish." He shrank back as though from a blow. " I know my disadvantages only too well. But I know my powers also. I am quite aware that my love great though it is would not win the day alone. But I have other gifts to offer, precious gifts peace and safety." He spoke with marked emphasis, and Verona looked at him a moment in silence. " I begin to understand,'' she said. ' You have some hold over Mrs Vansittart. She is in your power. I remember you spoke of having the whip-hand." " You have guessed correctly." " What is it ? It must be something very important that would make her give up so much at your command. How do you manage it? " ' You asked me two questions, and I an- swered them. You have no right to ask any more. You said you would deal fairly by me. I have given you your quid pro quo." " The matter cannot rest here. You must see it is impossible. I had no idea when I began how serious it was how much there was of which I knew nothing. ... I will make you an offer. Tell me what gives you your influence over Mrs Vansittart and you shall have THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 215 back the forged cheque and letter. Nay, more, I will do what I can to forward your wishes in regard to her. Perhaps it does not suit my purpose any better than yours that she should marry Leigh Beresford. Work for my interests and I will work for yours." " Well, is it a bargain ? " she asked a little impatiently, as he did not answer. " I can be a good friend, as well as a dangerous enemy. I should advise you to accept my offer." " I seem to have very little choice," he said bitterly. ' You hold a pistol to my head. If I don't speak you can ruin me." He was eager to destroy the incriminating letter and cheque, then he would be free. They were the only witnesses against him. He shuddered to think what a risk he had been running all this time. And he had fancied himself so safe ! After all it might be as well that Verona should be told. She had spoken rather strangely to him, and he could not but acknowledge that anybody might regard the circumstances as suspicious. Who had as much to gain by Mr Vansittart's death as he ? " " I accept your terms," he said. " I owe my influence over Mrs Vansittart to the fact that I know her secret. Nobody, I suppose, has ever even suspected it but I, and it was a mere chance that gave it into my hands." He moistened his dry lips. He felt that he was the traitor and coward Audrey had called him, but what could he do ? " Of course you will never use your knowl- 216 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS edge to do her harm," he said. " Besides, you have no proof." She shook her head impatiently. He leant forward and almost whispered the condemning words into her ear. " She was in the library that night the night of the murder," he said. " She has confessed that she is responsible for her husband's death." For a minute after Herschel had betrayed Audrey's secret to her enemy there was not a word or sound in the room. Then a harsh laugh broke the silence, shrill, hysterical, the laugh of a woman whose nerves are running riot. Herschel looked up in surprise. He would not have expected such an outbreak from Verona Maxwell, the self-reliant, self-possessed woman of the world. " Hush ! " he said nervously, " somebody will hear you. It will sound strange." " Strange ? " she echoed. " Isn't it the strangest thing in the world ? Are we all going mad? You tell me tell me seriously that Audrey Vansittart confesses she killed her husband? She, a timid, delicate girl! and that she has been keeping such a secret all this time ? Oh, I can't believe it! Why, she has had no practice, no experience ; she is too simple and transparent to deceive anyone." " Everybody will fight for their life," he said. " Even the simplest and most timid creatures grow wise and cunning when the need is desperate. Besides, she did not mean to kill him, and she had every excuse. He had tried her beyond endurance." THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 217 Then he briefly narrated what Audrey had told him. " So that, if one accepts her version, it was not really murder at all, but, at the most, manslaughter," Verona said. " If she hadn't lost her head, but had called assistance at once and told what had happened, she would probably have escaped any punishment." " It is possible." " But that view doesn't suit you or me. We prefer to assume her guilty. We prefer to be shocked and horrified and to turn our righteous indignation to the best account for ourselves." She laughed again. " Great Heaven, what a world it is! How we live and learn! Do you know, I should never have imagined such a climax as this even in my wildest dreams? I have thought she seemed strangely silent about Godfrey ; I have wondered why she was so unhappy and depressed; but I put it down to shock. I remember," her voice dropping, " see- ing her in the library the night before the funeral," she shuddered faintly. " I shall never forget it. I understand that scene better now than I did then." " She has suffered horribly," he said. " With a sensitive nature like hers she has endured torments that many a more guilty person would have escaped. She has tried to atone in every way ; she has sacrificed her life and her youth." " And yet we hound her down to serve our own interests. Which seems to show that repentance and atonement are of very little avail. 218 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS After all, suffering, I suppose, is largely a matter of temperament. Some are racked by remorse for what would scarcely trouble another. You and I, for instance " with a hard laugh " are fairly tough. We are of those who rule their conscience and nerves, not who are ruled by them. We may be thankful that it is so. It makes all the difference." It was almost dark when Verona left the house, but she was too excited and restless to go straight home. She must walk off some of her excitement before she could face a long, quiet evening with only her old governess for distrac- tion. Her pulse was racing, her heart and mind in a whirl. Everything was changed since the morning, she and the whole world with her. The intolerable pain and the furious jealousy which gave her no rest were gone. She could breathe again. There was a respite in which many things might happen. She walked on unconsciously, neither know- ing nor caring whither she went, until, with a start of surprise, she found herself outside the little churchyard. After a moment's hesitation she opened the gate and went in. The moon was rising and showed the little moss-grown paths between the rows of dead, so that she could see where she was going. Verona could not have explained why she had come here. It was a sudden fancy, the curious impulse that often makes us turn to something serious in moments of great emotion. The silence and solemn stillness fell like a cold hand THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 219 on her passionate heart; she shivered a little. She had been foolish to come, she thought. It was damp and depressing. She was about to retrace her steps when she saw that she was standing by the tomb of the Vansittarts where Godfrey lay buried. It was curious that her wandering should have brought her there. She looked at the delicate flowers from his own conservatories, at the branches of fir and pine from his own woods that strewed the grave. He was not forgotten then. Homage and duty were rendered him still, as they had been in life. If love were lacking, perhaps he would not be greatly concerned. " I wonder what you think of it all," she murmured. "... I wonder! " It was strange to think of him lying there, powerless for good or evil. He, so strong, so dominant, whose will had been law that he should die and be done with. Ah ! but was he ? Did he not reach them even from the grave? Was not his influence still felt ? She shuddered. Perhaps, after all, the dead were as strong as the living, only they worked in a different way through the past, through the memory. " You are tired," kind Miss Maud said when she and Verona were sitting together after dinner that night. " Indeed, you have not been looking well for some time past." She ventured this criticism timidly. She had always stood somewhat in awe of her handsome, high-spirited pupil, even when she was quite a girl, though she admired and liked her at the 220 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS same time. Verona returned her affection to a limited extent, and was always kind and considerate. ' You are quite right, Maudie " (the name was absurdly incongruous for the prim little lady), " as you always are. I am tired dead tired. I have had an exhausting day. I should like to go to bed and sleep sleep ; tumble down fathoms deep where all things are forgotten. Have you heard that sleep is worth everything else in the world, even love? That is how I feel to-night." " Sleep is very refreshing and restoring, 1 ' Miss Maud said sensibly. She had long ago given up trying to understand her pupil's vagaries, consequently Verona would, in mo- ments of depression or exuberance, let off steam without fear of being understood. " And if you have not been sleeping well, I should recommend a hot-water bottle at your back and a little peppermint cordial when you go to bed. The hot Dottle draws the blood from the brain and the peppermint soothes the " " Don't mention it! " Verona cried with a mocking laugh. " It is a word I detest. Or call it at least the ' chest/ ' " I was going to say ' inside,' " Miss Maud explained, a little offended. ' The other word I also consider most objectionable." " I wonder whether you think there is any- thing that a hot-water bottle and peppermint won't cure ? " Verona said. " When you were young, Maudie, did you find them good for THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 221 heartache? When you discovered, as we all do, that men are not fairy princes in disguise, did you find that they dried your tears and consoled you for your lost illusions? If so if so, I wonder I didn't take to them long ago." Suddenly her voice broke, and she threw her arms out on the table and hid her face. She had gone through so much that even her strength failed now that the strain was over. " My dear ! my dear ! " Miss Maud ex- claimed, greatly concerned, "what is the matter ? " It was so seldom that Verona betrayed any emotion that she was quite alarmed. " I am sure you must be ill." " No, only tired of life, Maudie. It seems such a poor thing ; so mean, so hard, so horrible ! And yet I remember the time when it was a dream of delight. I wonder why we grow up? why we pity those who die in their youth? We should envy them. " Stop, don't tell me that life is what we fashion it ; that it is ours to make or to mar. It is so trite and untrue. Do hereditary instincts count for nothing? Is ignorance nothing? Surroundings of no importance? How much real freedom of thought and action is there, after all? Very little, I fancy, yet we are made to pay to the full for each mistake as though it were all our own fault. There! have I been worrying you ? " patting the gentle hand that rested on her shoulder. " Never mind, I shall be all right to-morrow." With a brief good night Verona went away, 222 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS and Miss Maud was left to her knitting and reflections. She shook her head once or twice, but by the time she had knitted to the end of the row her face was as calm and serene as usual. Verona was over-tired, and consequently a little hysterical. A good night's rest was all she required. From the day she gave up hope of becoming Leigh Beresford's wife Audrey was a changed woman. She grew older and harder, less con- siderate of others, more silent and self-centred. She was warped and embittered. Nothing was neglected inside or outside the house ; she would give no one occasion to wonder or criticise, but there was no heart, no life in what she did. She went through the days mechanically, filling every moment so that, perchance, she might win the blessing of sleep and forgetfulness at night. Paul Herschel would not accept his dismissal. He quietly refused to go, and Audrey had no power to make him. He was determined to remain on the spot, so that he might watch every move in the game. But he wisely kept out of Audrey's way for the present, and left her in peace. He did not dare to push her too far. He knew she was unhappy enough not to care very much what happened. So, for a little while, Fate rested and sur- veyed her pieces on the board. The great struggle was still to come. CHAPTER XVII " Was there ever a loser content with the loss of the game? " " MAY I say how sorry I am ? " Verona said softly. " Or would you rather I did not speak of it?" " No, it will be a relief to talk to you. I can talk to nobody else." They were in Leigh Beresford's studio, and this was the first time they had met since he had told her of his love for Audrey, now nearly a month ago. Verona remembered how she had called out good luck to him as she drove away. On her lips the words had been a curse rather than a blessing. And so they had proved. It hurt her to see how he had suffered, to know that Audrey had power to move him to such an extent. He was a different man ; his youth and buoyance were gone. She longed to console him to make him forget. It was a joy to know that he turned to her for sympathy and comfort, and to her alone. That she came first in his thoughts; that she more than held her old place of chief friend and confidante. For him she could exercise the 223 224 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS greatest patience, use the most delicate tact and discrimination. She had many gifts, much in her favour. It was not much wonder that her heart beat high with hope. " Many a heart is caught in the rebound," she told herself. ' When a man is sore, and hurt, and angry he cannot but feel grateful to the woman who allays his pain." " Can you tell me anything ? " he asked. " It is all so vague and mysterious. If I could only understand ! " She shook her head gently. He began pacing up and down the room in his restless misery. He could not settle to anything. Since he had lost Audrey, he was completely unhinged ; he did not know what to do with his life. Everything had lost its savour. "If I knew what had caused it what it meant, I might get a little peace," he went on. " If there were any reason, any real ground for this misery, I might bear it better. But when it seems useless, utterly futile when we might be so happy, how can I be patient? I suppose she has never said anything to you ? " he asked. " Nothing. I heard the bare fact, that was all. It seems utterly incomprehensible. One can only suppose. . . . But I am afraid I shall hurt you." " Go on. It can't make much difference. I ought to be pain-proof." " I was going to say that one can only suppose that she found out she was mistaken THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 225 in her feelings, or or that somebody has influenced her against you." " Somebody who's influence was stronger than mine, you mean ? " " I am afraid it must be so. I have thought about it so often, I have shared your trouble, believe me. I have wished, over and over again, that I could help you. It is a little hard on friends to know how they stand outside in such a matter as this, to realise how little they can do when when " her voice dropped " they would gladly do so much." ' You are a good friend, Verona. Don't think I am ungrateful. You have helped me already ; it does me good to have you here. I have kept it all pent up for so long that it is a relief to speak. Sometimes I have thought I must lose my senses, wondering and wondering. I go round and round the same circle, with the same result nothing. I was simply turned adrift without a word of explanation," bitterly. It was late afternoon and the light was grow- ing dim. The beautiful room was soft and scented and warm. It was not difficult to be confidential, even a little daring, at such a time, in such a place. One could not be seen too distinctly ; there was no fear of interruptions. " Perhaps," Verona said slowly, " it is as well you don't know the truth. It might hurt you more than ignorance. There is too much mystery for all to be well." He turned on her sharply. " What do you mean ? ,You know some- 226 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS thing? You spoke of some other influence just now. Tell me plainly what is in your mind. I ask it of your friendship." " It is not easy to speak. I have fears and conjectures, not much more. It is difficult to put them into words and perhaps I have hardly the right." " I must know. . Anything is better than un- certainty, that keeps one's heart and nerves on the rack. You can trust me, I shall not mis- understand you. I have known, of course, that there must be something behind. If you have any idea what it is, for God's sake tell me! " " Do you remember," she said after a moment, " that once when we were dining at Grey Friars you were unfavourably impressed by Mr Herschel's manner to Audrey? You said he behaved as though he had a right to her atten- tion, you thought he took too much upon him- self altogether." He nodded his head. : ' Well, lately I have noticed this, too, and I have wondered whether there could be any reason for it." " You don't mean it is impossible you can't think that he had anything to do with breaking it off," flushing hotly. " I remember the fellow, I didn't like him. He looked underhanded, not to be trusted altogether an unprepossessing person. What influence could he possibly have over Audrey? The idea is preposterous." His love was outraged by the idea, his pride up in arms. If he must have a rival, he would have preferred a man of his own class with gifts THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 227 and advantages which he would understand. But this fellow, this presuming, under-bred secretary that he should have ousted him from his place ! The thought was very bitter. " I am afraid he has some power," Verona said gravely. " It is impossible to be much at Grey Friars and not see what authority he has how much is left to him. Of course I cannot say positively that he has turned Audrey against you, but who else could it be? She certainly seemed very happy in her engagement when I saw her directly after her return. It is a strange affair." " I suppose I am very stupid, but I don't understand yet. Assuming that it is that man's fault, how has he managed it? What kind of influence do you think he has? How could he possibly have gained it ? " " It must be since Godfrey's death. He was a person of no importance then. He is very clever, very cunning, I see that now, and I can only suppose that Audrey has been foolish enough to let him get some hold over her. She is young and inexperienced, and she may have trusted him more than she should." " And he would take advantage of it the cur ! But surely that would not be sufficient to break her engagement with me if she really cared ? " " I don't profess to understand it myself. I can only give you my impressions. He may possess some strange attraction for her ; such things have been. You can never tell what fancies women will take. He has a very strong 228 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS personality, and he has been long enough in the house to make her feel it. I think you will find that he is the power to be reckoned with that you owe your unhappiness to him. He would naturally not approve of Audrey getting married, it would spoil his pleasant position, and prob- ably he has found out that you don't like him." " I believe he has. I haven't told you that i caught sight of him when I went to Grey Friars the other day and Audrey refused to see me. He was looking out of the window watching me go. He didn't know I could see him, and his face was lit up with triumph and satisfaction. It was impossible to mistake the expression. He rejoiced at my humiliation, he was delighted that I had been turned away like a trouble- some beggar without a word." Leigh Beresford clenched his teeth when he thought of it. " Yes, you are right you must be right," he said. " My God ! how horrible it is. What can be done ? " " Nothing, I fear, at present. We must wait for further developments. Don't make your- self too unhappy about it yet. There may be some other explanation after all." He shook his head. " I don't think so. I feel that this is the right one. What I should like to know is whether Audrey willingly submits to his influence, or whether he is using force he is capable of it, the coward! Does she seem unhappy? " THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 229 " Not particularly. You know she has never been very gay or merry. She goes about as usual ; she has really grown very capable. Grey Friars is well managed within and without." "Never gay or merry?" Beresford's lips quivered. Had he not seen her both? He thought of her pretty ways, how she and Jack had been like children out for a holiday, her keen delight in anything and everything. Oh, she had been happy then, he could not doubt it, whatever had happened since. Happy and gay and innocent. " Besides," Verona added slowly, " what could make her submit to force? That would mean that that she was afraid of him ; that she had reason to be." He flung round sharply. " Of course that is impossible. He may have taken advantage of some trifle and frightened her into obeying him, she is so young and innocent ; it could not be more than that. If I thought this was the case, I would not rest until I had exposed the scoundrel. Or or there is the other alternative: that she has yielded willingly to his influence. In this event, of course, I am helpless." " You would be happier if you knew what to believe ? " " I should be more at rest. I should know whether my case was hopeless or not." " I will try and find out for you. I can see as much of Audrey as I wish, it should not be difficult." 230 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " I shall be very grateful. I am debarred from doing anything myself. I am not allowed inside Grey Friars. It was her wish that we should be strangers in future." Verona held out her hand in farewell. She was looking her best. The handsome, rather hard face was tender with sympathy, the eyes soft and caressing, the whole expression a little appealing. Leigh answered it unconsciously. ' Thank you again and again," he said; " let me hear from you soon. I don't know what I should have done without you." And she went away well content. She began to see her way more clearly. There might be dangers and difficulties ahead, but what matter if success crowned her efforts in the end ? " He shall see for himself," she thought. " His eyes shall be opened. Audrey herself shall disenchant him. Nothing else would be of any real use." CHAPTER XVIII " The shadow of a crime." " I HAVE not seen you about lately. I thought you might be ill," Herschel said when he called at Kirke's cottage one afternoon. " What has become of you ? " " I have been here." " But, why have you deserted Grey Friars ? Have you got all the herbs you want? I have been looking out for you." " I am not going there again, I prefer my old rambles. Then I have not been well, and the weather has kept me a good deal in- doors." ' You are a queer fish. You were so anxious to explore the old gardens, and now you are tired of them already. I called to have a chat with you. I want you to do something for me." ' Yes, I supposed you wanted something." " What a pleasant manner you have some- times. What makes you so surly to-day ? You and I used to be quite good friends." " Were we? I didn't think I had any friends. But what do you want?" He looked at 231 232 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Herschel distrustfully. The secretary had lately assumed a manner he did not like. ' vVhat I want as you so abruptly put it is for you to come down and have a gossip with some of your old pals at the Red Lion. I believe you have not been seen there lately." ' What am I to say ? " The answer did not come at once. :< Talk about Grey Friars, insinuate that changes are coming. Say that Mrs Vansittart is thinking of getting married again, and hint that I am the lucky man." ' You ? " Kirke started out of his chair. ' Yes ; your astonishment is not very flatter- ing," a dull red discolouring the sallow skin. " I don't want you to be definite, nothing is settled yet ; you must deal in hints and innuen- does. I want you to set people talking, that is all. The news will creep up to the big houses from the kitchens and stables." There was no reply. Kirke's thoughts had flown back to the early days of the murder, when he had made his chart. At first he had passed the secretary by as being most unlikely to raise his hand against his master ; then he had begun to think that he knew something, and gradually his suspicions had been strengthened until he was almost persuaded that he was the guilty man. He had discovered two great motive powers for the crime : Fear and Love. The first he had been unable to follow up beyond a. certain point. The second confronted him now in its full force for the first time. He had known in what direction the secretary's wishes lay, but he had scarcely expected they would ever be fulfilled. " Well," Herschel said impatiently, as he did not speak, " what are you thinking about ? Can't you get over your astonishment ? Are you going to do this little commission for me ? I will make it worth your while." " I would rather not. I should prefer to keep out of the affair altogether. I don't want to be bothered. I have given up going to the Red Lion, I'm better at home." " I should doubt that. You're looking decidedly queer. It would do you good to see some of your old friends. You've been moping too much. You want rousing." "Do I?" with a strange laugh. "As it happens, I've been thinking lately that ' Let sleeping dogs lie,' is an excellent pro- verb." " I don't understand you to-day. What do you mean? Are you going to help me or are you not? As master of Grey Friars I shall be a person of importance. I could do a good deal for you." ;c I want little or nothing only to be left alone. . . . You seem pretty sure of marrying Mrs Vansittart?" " Sooner or later, yes. Everything comes to the man who can wait." " I can understand the attraction for you, she has everything to give. But for her it is another THE PARADISE OF FOOLS matter. It seems extraordinary. Everybody will wonder why she does it." " Let them. It won't trouble me. Well ! so you won't do anything? Is that final? " Kirke nodded his head. " But why? " impatiently. " Give me at least some reason," " Grey Friars is not a lucky place for me. I don't want to have anything more to do with it." "Not lucky?" looking at him curiously. " Do you mean because of your quarrel with Mr Vansittart?" " Perhaps. In any case I am not going to talk about it any more. I'm sick of the .subject." And Kirke got up as though to close the interview. " You want me to go ? " with a short laugh. " All right. I must confess that I don't under- stand you, my friend. But I'll give you a little bit of advice. If you shut yourself up much longer like this you'll be going queer in the head. That'll be the end of you. You've been eccentric as long as I've known you, but you're getting worse, there's no doubt of that. Better pull yourself up while you can." And with a half-contemptuous nod Herschel turned on his heel. "So that's what you think, is it?" Kirke muttered as he watched him down the road. He gave a low laugh. " If you only knew! If you only knew, I wonder what you'd say then? Perhaps you wouldn't have felt quite so com- fortable here ; perhaps you wouldn't have been THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 235 so superior and contemptuous." He stealthily shook his fist at the disappearing figure. " I don't like you, I distrust you. You're too clever by half. I wonder how you got round that poor girl? It looks as if you're going to win all along the line. You've got the best of me. I .should like to put a spoke in your wheel. Perhaps I shall some day. Who knows? " Meanwhile Mr Herschel's thoughts were also busy with the man he had just left. "I wonder what's wrong?" he debated. " There's something. It may be only that he's been drinking, but I am inclined to think it's something more. He has a half-scared, watch- ful look, as though he'd got something on his mind. Queer the dislike he's taken to Grey Friars, and the senseless hatred he had of Vansittart, a hatred quite out of proportion to the cause. If I didn't know better, I might even think he " His thoughts took a sudden turn. " Not but what," with a scowl, " I can understand well enough how easily one might come to hate him ! " The next day Kirke, who had passed a sleepless night, went up to London to see a celebrated specialist in nervous disorders. He may himself have felt the need of advice, and his visitor's remarks may have helped him to a decision. In any case he made the effort, and an effort it distinctly was. He had scarcely been out of the house since his discovery in the disused lodge at Grey Friars. He had sat at home, drinking and brooding, until it was 236 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS scarcely much wonder that Herschel had been struck by the change in his appearance and spoke as he did. Kirke drove to a house in Harley Street so rightly named the Valley of the Shadow where death and disaster wait on the steps of those who seek admittance at its doors. He shivered a little as he waited, looking up and down the gloomy thoroughfare, which seemed in harmony with sorrow and tragedy. He mentioned his name when his turn came and the great man remembered him. " Let me see, you were in the detective force," he said, as he looked Kirke up in his books ; " you were making quite a name for yourself when the trouble came how long ago was it? Two years? Yes yes. And I told you to go right away and bury yourself some- where, where nothing ever happened of a more exciting nature than playing pitch-and-toss on the village green. Well, did you follow my advice ? " He looked up sharply. " No, I can see you didn't," he said, answering his own question the next moment. " Yes, I did," Kirke said harshly. " I went to the dullest and stupidest village I could find, and I did nothing for a year except gather herbs and doctor the rustics." " Then what happened? " 4 Then. . . . Murder." " Ah! How was that? Was it of a particu- larly exciting or sensational character? " THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 237 " Most interesting and exciting. The mystery has never been solved to this day." " You mean the murderer has not been taken?" " Not only that. Nobody even has any real idea who did it. It was suggested locally that it must be the work of some tramp, but this theory was only advanced for lack of any other. There was very little to support it." " Of course you were very much interested in the case? You began to think and wonder about it. It caught hold of you and absorbed you more and more." " Yes " half apologetically. " I didn't mean to let it at first, but I got drawn in. It was so curious ; there was no clue. One could not help speculating as to how it could have happened. Besides, I had had a year's rest and I was feeling much stronger." ' You know I warned you that, though you might practically recover, a relapse was always possible and must be guarded against. I told you to avoid all excitement, particularly the excitement attached to your old work. You had been a specialist in your profession as I am in mine. Your speciality was murder. You developed a quite remarkable gift for discover- ing the guilty person, but, unfortunately, you let your work take too much hold on you. It became a mania. You thought of it by day and by night until The doctor shrugged his shoulders. " We need not go into that. Your case was 238 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS a very interesting one, distinctly uncommon, and I remember it very well. . . . Now, tell me what has happened ? " in a tone of authority. ' You have evidently been very unwise. I hope it has had no serious consequences? Serious, I mean, to other people as well as to yourself. You know what occurred before. That was a very lucky escape for you." Kirke shuddered at the doctor's significant tone. " No no ! " he said hastily. " It's not as bad as that. But I know I've been playing the fool, and I thought I'd better come and see you. The affair quite possessed me at last, like it always used to. I couldn't get away from it. But I'll give it up entirely I have, as a matter of fact. I don't believe it'll ever be found out." Then he briefly narrated the incidents of the Grey Friars murder, of which the doctor had read in the newspapers at the time, but for- gotten. He told everything connected with it that was of any consequence, except the most important thing of all which concerned himself, viz. : his discovery in the lodge and his conse- quent fears and suspicions. On this matter he said not a word. ' Well, fortunately no harm seems to have been done," the doctor said in conclusion. " But follow my advice in future, or I won't answer for the consequences. No excitement, mind, of any kind. Keep the brain as quiet as possible, and be out in the air as much as THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 239 you can. Your herb business is an excellent idea." " The life of a stick or a .stone," Kirke muttered fiercely to himself as he went away, " not of a thinking, living man with a brain that you couldn't have beaten once upon a time. It's enough to make one sick of the whole business ; what's the good of being alive ? " But though he kept clear of Grey Friars, he could not shut the murder out of his thoughts ; it concerned him too nearly. And partly to drown that memory, and partly because he had lost interest in life and did not care very much what happened, he took to drinking far more than he had any business to do. Brandy was the only thing that gave him warmth and comfort and self-respect; that made him feel a man again. He could think complacently then of his old successes ; he could sneer at his successors. Best of all, he could forget the little bundle of dead herbs and the walking stick which he had burnt in the same fireplace at which he sat and stared now half the day. Kirke was out late one evening, when on crossing a field he saw two figures standing by a stile, which he recognised with considerable surprise. They were Verona Maxwell and Paul Herschel. He wondered at seeing them out so late together. He would have thought that the haughty mistress of the Tower House would have had little to say to the humble secretary at any time : But she was evidently saying some~ 240 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS thing of importance, to which he listened with the greatest attention. Kirke instinctively stopped to watch. He would have liked to creep closer, so as to hear what was being said, but it was not dark enough ; he might be seen. But that they should be alone together in such a quiet spot at all was curious and interesting. What could they have to say to each other? The next minute Verona nodded her head in farewell and went away. A minute later the secretary lifted his arms from the stile and turned off in a different direction. Kirke noticed that he held himself quite differently from former days. The superficial humility was fast disappearing, and he walked as though he were on good terms with himself and the world. "What's going on now?" he muttered. " He's got all the luck, curse him ! Why should he be free to come and go, to marry and grow rich, while I am condemned to such a mockery of existence? He isn't any better than I am no cleverer, no more honest or scrupulous. Why should he be rewarded and I punished ? " And his dislike of Herschel grew. He was in that morbid, irritable state of mind which demands a grievance. He wanted somebody on whom he could vent his spite against Fate, and Herschel the only man with whom he felt more or less on a social equality, and whose fortunes were waxing as his waned was coming to take the place that had been filled by Godfrev Vansittart. If Kirke could have heard THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 241 what passed between Verona and the secretary he would have been more eager and astonished than he was. After her conversation with Beresford, Verona had made up her mind that he must be made to see Audrey's unworthiness for himself. That alone would convince him ; that alone might estrange or kill his love for her. As long as he could believe, he would not cease to love her. Verona was wise enough to recognise that ; to see where her charms and influence would be of no avail. Only if he could be convinced that the woman he loved neither deserved nor desired his love would he turn from her and fight against it. He was too proud a man his ideas were too high for him to knowingly bow the knee at an unworthy shrine. So she had arranged a meeting with Herschel at a time and place which she thought would secure them from observation. She did not want anybody to guess that they were on more than the most distant terms. ' You must manage to place Audrey in a compromising position," she said. " I will per- suade Mr Beresford to come down and stay a few days with me, and while he is here he must see you and Audrey together on affectionate terms. He must be led to think that she is going to marry you." ;< But how can that possibly be done? Mrs Vansittart scarcely speaks to me now. She would certainly refuse to grant me an interview that could be made to appear significant." Q 242 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Then you must take it. You have been patient long enough, it is time you began to assert yourself. You have the whip-hand. You must make use of your power." He shrank from the idea. He not only loved Audrey ; he stood a little in awe of her, too. He could hardly imagine forcing his attentions on her, or snatching a caress which she refused to give. And how else could the scheme be worked ? " It will advance your interests as well as mine," Verona said. " Mr Beresford will not lose his faith in Audrey or the hope of winning her back unless he is made to understand clearly that she prefers another man. You are not likely to be under observation for more than a few moments. It shouldn't be difficult to arrange a suitable tableau for that space of time." " Very well," Herschel said uncomfortably. Already he seemed to feel the sting of Audrey's anger and contempt ; he could see the repulsion in her face. But perhaps it was time he made a move ; things could not go on like this for ever. He must remind her of his hopes and intentions ; also of his power, if need be. So it happened that in the course of the next few weeks Leigh Beresford came down to spend a few days at the Tower House. He had been unwilling, and yet eager, to come. He knew how painful it would be to be so close to Audrey without seeing her, to feel her presence in the familiar scenes where they had met and talked THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 243 together, and know that everything was at an end between them. At the same time every nerve ached to be near her ; perchance he might see her as she passed by and know a moment's happiness. He would probably in the end have had the strength of mind to decline the invitation had not Verona made such a point of his coming. She had been so good to him that he could not refuse her. ' You shall do just as you like," she said when he arrived. " Nobody shall worry you not even I. When you want me you know where to find me." And she left him to roam the country round as he would. Sometimes he would ask her for her companionship, but more often he would go off for a long, lonely tramp. One thing she discovered. He would go into the garden after dinner on the excuse of smoking a cigar and sit as near Grey Friars as he could. There was a point in the grounds from which the old house could be distinctly seen, and here she guessed that he watched in the hope of catching a glimpse of Audrey. It hurt her to look at him when he came in afterwards. She would have given all she had in the world to have brought that look to his face. " But I never shall," she said, turning on herself remorselessly. " I may be his wife, and he may come to care for me, but not in that way. It doesn't happen twice. As I feel for him so he feels for her; nobody else could be. 244 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS the same. But," bitterly, " when one is starv- ing, half a loaf is better than no bread." When Leigh went out as usual on the night before he was returning to town Verona waited very anxiously for him to come back. She was too restless to keep still ; her heart was beating fast, her face white and strained with suspense. At last she went out on the terrace. She could see him sooner there, and meanwhile it was a relief to walk up and down in the soft night air. It cooled her fevered spirit. She seemed to have waited a long time when she heard foot- steps approaching, and before she looked she knew whose they were. For a moment she hardly dared to turn round. She was afraid to see how her scheme had worked. He came slowly up the steps to the terrace before he saw her. She wore a black gown, and was standing quite still, her hands clenched at her side. It was a light night, but not light enough to catch the look on his face until he was close upon her. Then she started forward with a little cry. ;< What is it ? " she stammered ; " what has happened ? Why do you look like that ? " He lifted his head, and for answer he laughed. Laughed! Could such a thing be called laughter which was as far as the poles apart from mirth which was so much more terrible than tears ? "What is it?" Verona said again, timidly touching his arm. ' You frighten me. , , , Speak say something." THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 245 " What is there to say ? Shall I tell you that the dream is over, shattered all to pieces? Shall I describe what I saw just now ? " He laughed again, and she shuddered as she heard ; it was the laugh of a man half-mad with misery and pain. " I went, as I have gone each night since I came, to look for her, to watch the house if by chance I might see her face for a moment. But I have waited and watched in vain until to-night to-night I saw her." He drew his breath hard. " She came out on the verandah. Her white dress stood out against the shadows, and I saw her at once. She was all in white, with a bunch of violets at her breast violets, which I had told her were her flowers, they matched her eyes, they were as sweet and fresh and lovely as she herself." He flung out his hand, as though his thoughts were too much for him. " I crept as close as I could, I feasted my eyes on her, my heart went out to her in a great longing. I stretched out my arms, though she could not see ; I called her tender words which she could not hear." His voice came in great throbs, as though he could hardly get his breath. Verona did not speak or move. She saw that he was hardly conscious of her presence that he spoke out of the fullness of his heart, and recked little what he said. His self-control was gone, he had thrown it to the winds. For the time his own pain shut out everything else. Presently she sat down, resting her arms 246 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS on the balustrade, and turning her face from me. I wondered what she was thinking of, she was so still and silent. I " his voice grated " I was mad enough to hope she might be thinking of me that she might feel I was near. It seemed impossible that such love and longing as mine should not make itself felt. . . . The door opened behind her, and a man came out. It was Herschel. In a moment everything was changed. I was filled with hate and fury. I watched intently, afraid of what I might see. I felt that I was going to understand at last. " He came up softly, and put his arms round her he! I wonder how I held back. My fingers itched to be at his throat. But I was determined to see it out. He put his arms round her and drew her head to his breast, bending down to her face to her lips. That maddened me. I could not bear to see any- more, to see him kiss the lips that had been mine, to witness that close embrace. I knew enough. She was in his arms, what more could I want to convince me that I was forgotten that she was his of her own free will? I got up and rushed away. I had no right, no place there." " She has treated you shamefully," Verona said indignantly. " She is not worth another thought, surely you see that now? " ' Yes," he said heavily, " I see. But to know her unworthy is the worst of all. By and by it may help, but it only adds to the bitterness tow." " You won't let her spoil your life your THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 247 career? You have so much, you won't let it all go to pieces because of her? You have fame, fortune, friends; aren't they worth something? I couldn't bear for you to drop behind." She stretched out her hands to him entreat- ingly, the words rushed from her lips. " Keep it down," she pleaded ; " don't let it conquer you. You are too good for that, you are made for better things. Don't let this girl shadow your whole life. After all, you have only known her for a little while. Put her behind you, Leigh. Don't look back. Then in time you will forget." " Shall I ? I pray that I may ! It is torture to remember, but at present there seems noth- ing else that is worth a thought. My life is so cold and empty, there is nothing I can take hold of." :t I know I understand," she said with sudden passion, " I have had trouble too. But it passes it must pass, or how could we bear our lives? Do you think no one else has suffered, no one else looked out after the ship- wreck and shuddered back at the dreary waste, wondering how they would find the strength to go on ? " She clasped her hands to her heaving breast. " Oh, trouble is common enough, believe me, most women know that. And, as a rule, they have to fight it without any help, with no alleviations." He had rarely seen her so moved. She had always seemed a very fortunate person to him, lifted above all sordid cares, with a beautiful 248 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS home and a life of which she could make what she pleased. He was roused from his own trouble by her passionate reproof and appeal. " I did not know," he said gently. " Have I stirred some old pain by selfishly indulging my feelings ? I am ashamed of myself ; forgive me, you know I did not mean it. Trouble is so new to me, or I might bear it better. I must learn." " I like you to confide in me, I like to know your thoughts and feelings," she said. " I want to be your friend, however much it may hurt. I did not mean to speak to complain. Only only it seemed as though you thought I could hardly understand. And, my God ! " it was a terrible cry of pain " I understand but too well." She covered her face with her hands. ' Verona," he said very gently, " dear friend, what is it? What have I done? Why have I never heard of this before? You have always seemed to me such a lucky woman. I have never thought of sorrow and you." " Oh, blind blind! " she murmured. " Be- cause I would not let the world see and pity." Her hands fell apart, and he wondered at the whiteness of her face, the misery in her eyes. ' Why have I not spoken ? Because there was nothing that I could say ; because it is a woman's place to be silent. . . . And so you thought me lucky?" she laughed wildly, "lucky!" " But what is it? " he asked anxiously. " Can't you tell me? You know I am to be trusted. JHE PARADISE OF FOOLS 249 You have helped me so much, won't you let me help you in return ? " ' You can help me best by forgetting all this," she said, controlling herself with an effort. " I am not often so foolish, am I ? I was tired and hysterical, that must be my excuse. No," as he was about to speak, " don't say any more about it, please. It is an old trouble, and can't be remedied. Promise me that you won't let your life be spoilt by what has happened ; that will do me more good than anything else. I want you to climb high, to win all the prizes." " I promise," he said, " so far as in me lies, that I won't let my work suffer. I should be a coward more, an object for scorn, if I sat down with folded hands because I had been betrayed by a woman, a woman whose love was so poor and light a thing that it came and went like a breath. It won't be easy; but, please Heaven, I am going to fight and conquer." He held out his hand, looking her full in the face, and she saw that he meant it. She drew a deep breath. " I am glad," she said softly. ' That is like you. I knew you would be brave." " Am I half as brave as you ? But I will do my best to be worthy of your friendship. I won't be a craven. You have shown me the way, and I'll follow it. Only you won't desert me ? You are the only person I can trust who can cheer me on if I fall by the way. I should like to have you somewhere at hand." " I ask nothing better. Your friendship is 250 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS the dearest thing in the world to me. I'm not all that I might be, but my best is always for you." Verona had been more successful than she could have expected. Her plan had worked to perfection. Audrey had been very unhappy and disturbed at hearing that Leigh Beresford was staying at the Tower House. She knew on what intimate terms he and Verona were, and she could not but think that he had turned to her for sympathy in his trouble. She could guess how wisely Verona would minister to him. She knew him so well. Might she not even teach him to forget ? She had gone out on the verandah, wishing to be alone with her thoughts, turning to the night for comfort. As she sat there, she had been caught in a close embrace for one mad moment she dreamed that it might be Leigh so that she could neither speak nor move. Then she had wrenched herself free and seen Paul Herschel's hateful face bending over her, white, triumphant, afraid. But by that time the mischief was done. Leigh Beresford had gone. CHAPTER XIX " The earth will not keep thy secret." THERE had been a week of intensely hot weather at Grey Friars heavy, still, and tropical which was suddenly broken up one afternoon by a violent thunderstorm. It raged to and fro for over an hour, like a demon let loose, working havoc and destruction everywhere. The sky was torn by ribbons of flame, the thunder roared like the rattle of artillery, and presently the rain came down in torrents. When it was all over, and the gardeners went round to see what mischief had been done, they found that young trees had been torn up by the roots, leaves and branches strewed the ground, and the flower-beds were in ruins. It was Mr Fraser, the head-gardener, who was the first to come upon the most curious sight of all. A large oak-tree, known as The Abbot from some old story, had been split almost in half by the lightning. It was like a great gaping wound tearing open the trunk, but leaving both halves erect and otherwise uninjured. Mr Fraser went closer to look. There had always been a deep crevice like a pocket in the 251 252 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS trunk, as he remembered, such as is often found in old trees, and it was this which had been ripped open. The fissure was full of queer odds and ends ; leaves, acorns, sticks, and birds' eggs. He carelessly put in his hand and turned over the motley collection, which had been gathering for years. Suddenly he touched something large and hard, at least it was large in com- parison with the other little things which the birds and the tree had dropped in. His fingers closed round it and he pulled it out carefully, wondering what it could be. He saw a leather-case, worn and spotted with the damp, and something rattled inside when he shook it. He drew off the top and found a glass bottle, half-full of a colourless liquid. He took out the stopper and smelt the contents. The smell was not unpleasant, but he did not know what it was. He shut it all up again and stood considering a moment. It could not be of much value should he throw it away ? Then an idea occurred to him. Perhaps they would like to see it up at the Friars ? It was a curious thing to find in such a place, after all. It could not have got there by chance ; it must have been dropped in. Gentlefolks were often interested in queer little things that busier people had no time to bother about. Yes, he would take it up. When Mr Fraser reached the house tea had just been taken into the hall, and hearing that her head-gardener wished to see her, Mrs Vansittart gave orders that he should be brought in. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 253 " You won't mind ? " she said, turning to Verona, who had come in before the storm. " I expect it is only to tell me if any mischief has been done out of doors. I shan't keep him a minute." Mr Fraser made his appearance, eminently respectable, brusque, and self-possessed. He was not in the least put out at rinding himself in such company or at all the luxury and daintiness by which he was surrounded. He was Scotch, and knew that " a man's the gowd for a' that." " You want to speak to me ? " Audrey said pleasantly. " Is it about the storm? It was terrible. I hope it hasn't done very much damage ? " ' Not more than can be put right in a few days, with the exception of the old oak-tree yonder," nodding his head backwards. " That'll never be what it was again, though we can't tell yet how much mischief the lightning has done." " Has some tree been struck, then ? Which one do you mean? " " The Abbot. The big oak you see from the library window. It's split nearly in two, clean down, as though it had been cut by a knife." " The Abbot ? Oh ! I am sorry. It was such a fine old tree. Do you think it will recover? " ' I haven't had time to properly form an opinion yet. I didn't stop long, because I found something I thought you might like to see. I've brought it up. It was a queer find in such a place, hidden away in the heart of the tree, as you might say," 254 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS And Mr Fraser put the leather case down on the table in front of Audrey. " But what is it ? " she asked, without touching it, while Verona and Paul Herschel leaned forward to look. " Well, it's got a bottle inside and there's some stuff in it, but what it is is more than I can say," was the cautious reply. " And where did you find it ? " " In a big hole in the trunk of the tree. It went a long way down and was a splendid hiding-place for any little thing. If it hadn't been torn open by the lightning, nobody would ever have known what was hidden inside. You couldn't reach the bottom with your hand and you couldn't see in." " How curious! I don't think I ever noticed the hole." Audrey took up the case and examined it. " I can't make anything of it," she said, putting it down again. " I don't know what is inside. I suppose it must be of some value or importance, or why should it have been con- cealed there? It could scarcely have got in by accident, I should think." " Scarcely," Herschel agreed, as he took up the bottle and smelt the contents. " It's chloro- form," he exclaimed the next moment ; " at least I'm very much mistaken if it's not." He put his finger to the liquid and tasted it. ' Yes, I'm right. You can't mistake that hot, sweetish flavour. Chloroform! Well, that's queer!" The little party gathered round the tea-table THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 255 stared for a minute silently at the bottle with the white, harmless-looking liquid. " Surely you must be mistaken," Verona said. " Who would have chloroform here ? And if anyone had, why should they hide it away in the trunk of a tree ? It seems too absurd." " It is certainly very mysterious, but I don't think I am wrong," Herschel said. " In any case it's easy, as it happens, to make sure. I saw Dr Locke drive in a little while ago ; one of the servants is ill. Why not ask him," and he looked at Audrey, " to come and speak to you before he goes ? " ' Very well," she said, " though really the matter doesn't seem of such consequence." " We want you to settle a question for us," Audrey said, when the old doctor had shaken hands all round and .sat down to enjoy his tea. " What is in this bottle ? " He took out the stopper, sniffed at the contents, and answered immediately " Chloroform." Herschel looked round triumphantly, as much as to say, " I told you so." ' Is that the case belonging to the bottle ? " Dr Locke asked the next moment, taking it up sharply. " It looks strangely familiar. By Jove! it is," he exclaimed as he peered inside. :< Is what? " was the general question. " My case my bottle." They looked at him in amazement. " I can prove it in a moment. I scratched my initials inside one day ; they are Still there, though so faint that you wouldn't 256 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS notice them unless you looked closely. There ! Do you see? " and he showed Audrey a " J. L." on the lining of the case. " Yes, I see," she replied. " But how did you come to drop your bottle in The Abbot oak- tree ? What were you doing there ? " He looked at her in bewilderment, and she explained where the bottle had been hidden and how it came to be found ; revealed, as it were, by a miracle. For a moment he did not speak. " I can't understand it at all," he said. " It is most singular. I missed that case about a year ago, and I could never imagine where it had gone. It was rather a serious thing to lose, and I remember it distinctly. I hunted everywhere, but all to no purpose, and at last I gave it up in despair. I knew I had had no occasion to take it out of the house for some time, so that it was all the more strange. It simply disap- peared from the surgery." " About a year ago ? " Verona said. " Are you sure of the date ? " " I can find out almost exactly when I missed it by referring to my books. It happened to be all I had, and I ordered some more immediately. I can't say how long it had been gone before I missed it, but it couldn't be more than a week or two." " It would be interesting to know the date when you ordered a fresh supply," Herschel said. ' The whole thing is so curious. One cannot help wondering what it means." " I will let you know. But after all the THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 257 explanation may be a very simple one. One of my poor patients may have snatched the case up when my back was turned, not knowing what it contained, and finding only a bottle inside threw it away. That would point to the culprit being one of your work-people," he said with a laugh to Audrey. : ' But surely you would keep chloroform locked up with other poisons ? " Herschel said. "It should be," reluctantly, " but I am afraid I am rather careless. Supposing I had it out to use I might not have put it back just at once." : ' Your yokel probably wouldn't have taken such pains to hide it. Not everybody would remember that hole in the tree, only someone who was on the look-out for a safe hiding-place, I think." ' Yes, that sounds more likely. Well, I'm afraid I can't help you to solve the mystery. I'm glad, at all events, that the stuff doesn't seem to have done anybody any harm. If it had I should have heard of it." And with a genial laugh the old doctor went away. The soiled leather-case was the chief object of interest on the table. It attracted the eye and attention. One could not help speculating about it. It stood there, a mute witness to some mystery. Why had it been abstracted? Whose hand had dropped it into the tree-trunk? Had it done that for which it was taken? These were questions that suggested themselves instinctively. " Shall I take charge of it?" Herschel said, R 258 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS as he got up. " Chloroform is not a nice thing to leave lying about." " Yes, if you like," Audrey answered listlessly. "You seem to take more interest in the affair than anybody else." " Mysteries always interest me. I think I should have made an excellent detective." "No doubt you are right," with scarcely concealed scorn. " I am sure you have many of the necessary qualifications. It is a pity you have missed your vocation." Herschel was alone in the hall when a note was brought him from Dr Locke. " I find that I ordered a fresh supply of chloroform on the 4th of last July," the message ran. ' Therefore nearly a year ago." Herschel stared at the little note, reading it absently again and again. At last he looked up. " What does it mean," he said ; " anything or nothing? Does more go on in this house than I know of? I confess to feeling disturbed and uncomfortable. I don't like to be surprised. I don't like a mystery so close at hand. It must be somebody who knows Grey Friars who dropped that bottle in the tree. If it had been anything else but chloroform. It suggests unpleasant things." But though Mr Herschel devoted a good deal of time and attention to the mystery, he did not solve it. What had been concealed for nearly a year remained concealed still, CHAPTER XX " A gift from the gods." A SUBSCRIPTION dance was to be held for the benefit of the county hospital, and all the large houses for miles round were bringing parties of guests. It was a yearly affair, and was always well supported, the county considering it a duty to keep its hospital free of debt. Audrey had taken tickets as a matter of course, but had not thought of using them until Jack came down. He was so dismayed at the idea of not going that, to please him, she altered her mind. After all, it would be a little change, a diversion ; she was tired of solitude. Perhaps she might be carried away by the gaiety around her and be able to forget her troubles for one night. But both she and Jack were surprised and dismayed to hear that Mr Herschel also intended to be present at the ball. " It's like his cheek," the boy said indignantly, " pushing himself in where he isn't wanted. I don't like the fellow, I never have. He can't look you in the face ; he isn't straight, I'm sure. Can't you say you haven't a spare ticket ? " " He knows I can get as many as I please." " Well, then, tell him straight out we'd rather 259 260 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS go alone. A little snubbing will do him good, he's getting too presuming. After all, some of the swells might think it wasn't his place to be there." " That is not likely. You see, it isn't a private affair, almost anybody can go." " You don't want to put him off ? " " I would much rather go alone with you, but I can't be rude to Mr Herschel. He has too many claims on my kindness and consideration," in a grating voice. The boy looked at her curiously. " You know," he said, after a moment, " I thought I hoped that when we had that jolly time in town together you and Mr Beresforii were going to," he blushed and stammered, " going to make a match of it. I'm jolly sorry you didn't. He'd have been a ripping brother- in-law. I'm sure he was awfully fond of you." ' You think he was ? " she said softly. " I'm dead certain. I don't pretend to know much about such things," blushing again the tender passion was such an awkward topic of conversation " but, really, anvbody could have seen that he thought the world of you." Thought the world of her! And how had she repaid him? What had she given him in exchange for his devotion ? A lump rose in her throat. Ah! but for every pang he had suffered had she not endured a far crueller one herself? His trouble was not embittered by fear and shame. The ball was held at the Stafford Arms, an old-fashioned hostelry in the county town, and THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 261 when the little party from Grey Friars arrived dancing had already begun. Audrey walked slowly up the crowded room, greeting her friends and acquaintances, the men being eager for dances. Suddenly as she looked round her eyes nickered and stopped. Herschel, who was watching her, looked in the same direction and saw Leigh Beresford dancing with Verona Maxwell. A minute later they were seen in return, and Verona stopped waltzing as soon as she was near them and came up, with Leigh by her side. Audrey quivered and blanched as she saw them coming, but the next moment she had herself well in hand, and when they reached her she was to all appearances perfectly self-possessed. Verona should not triumph over her, she thought; she should not see her suffer. She must have done this on purpose. Did she want to vaunt her happiness and success? Did she want to show her (Audrey) that her lover was not inconsolable ; that he was already turning to other things? The thought fired her blood. Her eyes lit up. A moment ago she seemed to Leigh to have aged and hardened, to have lost the girl in the woman. But suddenly she changed. She would let herself go, she would show her rival what she could do, that she was not so easily put on one side and forgotten. She turned to Leigh with some laughing remark, as though they were the best of friends and had never been anything more. 262 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Verona looked at her in astonishment. She was showing herself in a new light, she had more strength and character than she had supposed. Audrey's weakness had never been that of a cowardly nature, but of a sensitive, highly strung temperament, which is easily affected by environ- ment; Verona's deliberate cruelty, as she imagined it, braced her nerves by rousing her anger and indignation, and she determined that to-night, at all events, she would not be the only one to suffer. She would drown her pain in laughter. She would snatch a few hours of some- thing like happiness from all the empty years. Verona saw the change in her face, and the unconscious, proud uplifting of the head. What did it mean? Did Audrey recognise her for her enemy at last? She did not wish that, so she tried to smooth things over and fell in, pleasantly and naturally, with the other's mood. As a matter of fact, it had been a malicious im- pulse, which she could not resist, that made her confront Audrey so suddenly with her old lover. Leigh himself had been powerless to do anything but acquiesce. He was face to face with Audrey before he had hardly realised that she was there. ' You are only just in time," Audrey said gaily. " My programme is more than half-full already," and she held it out to Leigh as a matter of course. He thanked her constrainedly and wrote his name down once or twice. He did not know what to make of it. Was she quite heartless? Had she forgotten her own words? She had THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 263 changed a good deal since they had last met, but if she had lost her shy sweetness, it seemed to him that she was more beautiful. This was not the wistful girl Melisande, looking out on the world with wondering eyes, but a woman who knew what life meant. " I don't know whether I ought to express my regret for being here," he said, as they strolled into a cool recess after their first dance. " I hope you were not annoyed at seeing me, but, as a matter of fact, I didn't know you were to be present." " Or you would not have come ? " bitterly. " I should certainly have hesitated, thinking you would rather we did not meet. What else could I think? You would not even see me when I came down. You said you wished us to be strangers in future." " Did I? Let us forget that just for one night, will you? Let us pretend to be friends. I, too, did not know that you were to be here, so we are neither of us responsible for this meet- ing. It is a gift from the gods " with a mocking laugh " let us make the most of it. Let us show them what they sent out of malice was a blessing in disguise." "Audrey! Audrey! I don't understand you." " Hush ! Who wants to understand ? Are we not pretending? Let us shut our eyes and go with the tide. I am tired of fighting. It is only for one night. To-morrow we must wake up, and the struggle will begin again. ' Well ! " bending a little towards him, " have you nothing to say? Won't you play my game? " He looked at her and all his soul leapt to his eyes. The dainty, half-mocking smile on her lips, the perfume of her hair, the gracious abandonment of her manner, the vague caress in her words all fired his senses and thrilled him from head to foot. What wouldn't he do to please her, this beloved woman? What matter what he suffered to-morrow? He would have bought this hour with years of torment. " It shall be as you wish," he said huskily " anything anything." " Do I look nice ? " she asked presently, longing for his praise. " Is this a pretty gown ? I have not been to a dance for so long that I hardly knew what to wear." : ' Well, I think you may be satisfied. You are like a princess in a fairy story, all white, and silver, and pink roses. What a contrast to the little grey girl with the violets I used to know! I should like to paint you as you are now as a companion picture to Melisande." He laughed harshly. " Perhaps ' companion ' is scarcely the right word. There is so little in common between you." " How do you know? Do you judge by the outside like everybody else ? " " Are there not other things the things you have said and done? . . . Audrey! Audrey! why did you break my heart? " " I broke my own, too," she said, with a catch THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 265 in her voice. ' Don't think you are the only one to suffer don't think I go unpunished ! " "But why? why?" ' That I cannot tell you. Stop, we have said more than enough, we are getting tragic and that isn't safe. You and I mustn't go below the surface. Let us be the gayest of the gay to- night, the most frivolous and superficial. There is nothing for us between that and tragedy, and and " with a little dry sob, " I am so tired of pain." He stretched out his hand to her with a passionate gesture of love and protection. :< You! you! " he said brokenly. "And I wanted to shield you from even a harsh word! " For a minute there was silence between them ; there was nothing to say that would be of any use. The past rushed up and confronted them with its promises and dreams. In face of it any words died on their lips unspoken. What would they avail? ' I know," she said with tender gravity. ' Thank God for that memory at least! It will be something to treasure all my life long. . . . But the night is going, and it is all that we have. Talk to me, make me forget. Let us pretend like the children. Be brave, dear heart," and she looked long in his eyes. " Who said we were unhappy? In the land of make-believe all the giants can be conquered and all the dragons slain." The music rose and fell, sobbing and entreat- ing, while the men and women swung round to 266 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS the voluptuous melody. Some scarcely heard its passion and pain, there was nothing in their hearts to respond to it; others heard and tried not to hear, while their breath came quicker and their eyes deepened. Leigh Beresford was dancing with Audrey, and these two both heard and understood. The waltz was adapted from a song, and the band made a little innovation by singing the last verse. "Ask nothing more of me, sweet; All I can give you I give. Heart of my heart, were it more, More would be laid at your feet." " Will you remember that ? " Leigh whispered softly. " Heart of my heart, will you always remember that there is nothing I would not do for you? I don't understand, and you say I must not ask, but I want you to know that I am at your service now and always, without any hope of reward. Some day perhaps you may want a friend." ' I want one now, but that, too, is denied me. None the less, I thank you. It is good to know that somewhere in the world there is somebody who cares. One does not feel quite so desolate." " I can't help thinking that if you would have trusted me I could have done something to help you. But I won't press you any more," as she moved restlessly. " I can see it is no use. Thank God, I know, at least, that you have not willingly done this thing that you love me still. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 267 "Ah, don't deny it," as she would have spoken, " leave me that fragment of comfort. What else shall I have in all the years to come ? " " In time you will forget. You will marry somebody else." " Shall I ? You think if I cannot have what I want I shall take what I can get? But there are some men who would rather live with a memory than with the brightest reality." " But why should I spoil your life ? I have done you enough harm already, and you have never even reproached me. You might have scorned and despised me ; I deserve it." " Do you? But you see our deserts have often very little to do with what we get, and somehow I can't help feeling that you are more sinned against than sinning. I can only pray that the future may unravel the 'past before it is too late." " I have very little hope. But, in any case, this night will stand out in my memory. It is more than I expected. It will be something to look back upon. But it is over now, we shall be going soon. Let us say good-bye here ; I would rather not see you again." They clasped hands in silence. The roses were fading on Audrey's breast, the light died in her face and left it white and worn. Her dream was over, the real world was about her again. How cold and bare and unlovely it seemed after that glimpse of forbidden things! .They looked despairingly into each other's 268 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS eyes, where love, down-trodden, denied, neg- lected, rose up even mightier than despair, and would not be gainsaid. Then Audrey wrenched herself free and went away without a word. She had not gone far before she met Paul Herschel coming to look for her. The sight of him at such a moment revolted her, and she would have passed him with the briefest recognition. But her uncon- cealed dislike and disdain roused his worst nature ; he was not going to be put down. " I wondered what had become of you," he said familiarly. " Had you forgotten that this is our dance ? " " I had not thought of it. I must ask you to excuse me. I am tired ; I am going home now. Do you know where Jack is? " " But I have had only one dance with you all night," frowning. " Is it likely that I shall give this up? If you won't dance, I am afraid I must ask you to sit it out with me. I know a place where we can be quiet." ' I would rather go home," and she made as though to pass on, but he stepped in her way. ' I am afraid I must insist. I have been wanting to speak to you all the evening, but I haven't had a chance. Mr Beresford has claimed all your attention." ' He is an old friend. And there were others who had a right to be remembered." [t Which I had not? Thank you. Well, it is my turn now, and I mean to make the most of it. Better late than never. Let me show you THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 269 the comfortable corner I spoke of where we can have a chat." " Really, Mr Herschel, this is almost perse- cution. I have just told you that I am tired and wish to go. Please let me pass." " No," he said deliberately. " I am deter- mined to have my way. You would do well not to thwart me any longer. I have put up with a good deal to-night." She was dominated by his iron will, his implacable purpose. His hand seemed to close over her like a vice ; she could no longer oppose him. In silence she walked on by his side. " We shall be quite undisturbed here," he said, as they sat down, " which is just as well, as I have something important to say to you. I have been on the point of saying it more than once lately, and to-night has decided me." He waited a moment, while her heart grew cold with fear. She had not expected to be roused from her dreams so soon ; she had thought that, at least, she might have clasped them close till morning. But her enemy had laid his rough hand on her, and they were scattered at his touch. What did he want now ? She suspected everything that he said or did. She looked at the secretive white face, saw all that he lacked, and contrasted him with the gallant lover she had just left. Herschel noted the little shudder of aversion that came over her, and his heart hardened. " I am not going to waste time in soft words that would be useless," he said harshly. " I 270 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS am not going to beg for your love and pity you would not give them to me, however great my need. Instead, I will tell you my decision. I will say what must be done. I have waited long enough, there shall be no more delay. What love cannot win, fear shall." ' You are quite melodramatic," she said disdainfully. He should not see how frightened she was. She waved her white feather fan slowly to and fro while she waited in an agony of suspense for what was to come. But the man only saw the disdainful movement, the slender, haughty figure and lovely face, which made him feel his own commonplaceness so keenly. For a moment his love was turned to something like hate, the hate that is mean and cruel. 1 You will remember I told you that I had made up my mind to marry you ; that I con- cealed your crime and saved you for that purpose. You have had time enough now to get accustomed to the idea, Mr Beresford has been mourned long enough ; it is my turn now " ' he paused, and the hand that had waved the fan grew still " I intend to announce our engagement at once." ;< You must be mad," she cried, and tried to laugh. " I tell you now as I told you then, that I would rather die." " Death is often easier than life, but we have to live, all the same. I am sure if you will give the matter your serious consideration, instead of talking exaggerated sentiment, you will see that you have no choice. I hold a secret that would THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 271, ruin you if it were known, and I intend to disclose that secret unless you agree to my terms." * You would proclaim yourself the coward and scoundrel you are! Everybody would know how you had threatened a woman, that you had concealed her wrongdoing to serve your own purpose." " I am willing to take the risk. I am not a person of much importance, I have little to lose in the eyes of the world." " I refuse even to think of such a thing. It is horrible! impossible! If you speak of it again, some change must be made. I have given way too much already. My life is a misery ; I have no peace. It is impossible that we can go on living like this." " I agree with you. Therefore, why not submit quietly to the inevitable? You only hurt yourself by struggling. . . . After all, what is there so dreadful about it? Women as fair and desirable as you have married men as unattractive as I. Once my wife, I don't despair of making you happy." " Will you never understand ? " she said passionately. " Can't you feel how I loathe and despise you ? " " That is scarcely the point," he said, flushing angrily. " The question is : Can you afford to defy me? Are you willing to risk all that the world may say and do when it knows all that your lover may think? He will understand then why you gave him up ; he will see how he has been deceived, how " " Stop ! " she cried sharply. Not Leigh's sorrow and scorn anything but that! She could not be degraded in his eyes. " Take the plunge. You won't find it as bad as you expect. Let me just announce our engagement, and I will be content. I promise to be patient and considerate. You shall be left in peace. It won't make any real difference. Your life shall go on as before." She looked round distractedly, she did not know what to do. On every side there was trouble and danger. The insinuating voice went on, soothing, controlling, deceiving. " Come," he said presently. : ' You are tired ; you shall go home." He offered his arm, and she laid her hand on it, scarcely knowing what she did, half stupid with pain. He stooped and kissed it. " It is settled then," he whispered. And she did not contradict him. He had seen Beresford and Verona go past, and a daring idea occurred to him. He caught them up in the hall, where they were waiting for their carriage. They both started a little when they saw Audrey coming on Herschel's arm. There was an air of suppressed excitement about him which contrasted strangely with her dull, apathetic look. He went up to Verona. " May I tell you my good news ? " he said. " I am sure Audrey will not mind, you are such old friends. I am so happy that I cannot keep it to myself. She has just promised to be my wife." CHAPTER XXI " Beware the man who's crossed in love.'' ' You have managed very well," Verona said when she met Herschel out walking a few days later. " But," maliciously, " the county is amazed and shocked ; indignant too." ' That will pass. It is merely King Cophetua and the beggar-maid reversed." ' Your announcement was most dramatic. A little too public and sensational perhaps for quite good taste, but distinctly effective." " I wished it to be. A breach of good taste would be condoned in me, you would not expect to find perfect manners in a humble secretary. Of course I have much to learn, but I hope in time to play the part of the master of Grey Friars not quite unworthily." :c You scarcely suggest the squire at present and I am afraid we are too fond of sport in these parts to be properly impressed by learn- ing. We think more of the hands than the head." " And yet you have both," he answered familiarly. She had been satirical at his expense and he was glad of a chance to retaliate. He 273 s 274 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS could not take a jest; it wounded his sensitive vanity. " But that is quite a different thing. You see, I belong here. I am one of them. Then you are taking the place of a man we most of us liked, masterful and overbearing though he was. He was a good sportsman and that, as I said, goes a long way here." Verona was not in the most amiable mood. Though Herschel's success assisted her plans it annoyed her in a way. She was very proud and she resented as keenly as anyone in the county that an outsider should come in their midst, that a historic mansion like Grey Friars should fall into the hands of such a man. She did not like Herschel any more than most people did, though she made use of him. Then, too, she had heard nothing of Beresford since he left her on the night of the ball and she was very uneasy about him. He had insisted on going away at once, walking some miles to a distant station to catch an early train back to town and leaving his luggage to be sent after him. He could not bear a word of sympathy or comfort even from her and she had had to let him go with an aching heart, conscious of how little she could do. " If Godfrey could only have guessed ! " she exclaimed. " But such a thing would never have entered his mind. It would have seemed to him monstrous absurd. I have always wondered he did not take into consideration the fact that Audrey might marry again, but I don't THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 275 suppose he ever really contemplated his own death. He might have reckoned on another thirty years in the ordinary course of events." ' You are scarcely very flattering to me," Herschel said with a sneer, " and yet it would be a mistake for us to quarrel. We know too much about each other and we are such near neighbours." ' You can scarcely expect me to be very pleased at finding my old friend's place filled by a man of whom we know nothing." " Most marriages seem to surprise or annoy the onlookers," he said with a sneer. " Probably when Mr Vansittart married, his friends you included did not approve of his choice. Audrey Lennard would scarcely have been a better match for him than I am for her. So, after all, she is only following his example in shocking the county." " Why shouldn't I have approved of his choice ? " she asked haughtily. She saw that he meant to be insolent, and she intended to make him understand at once that that would not do. She was sore and angry and not ill- pleased to vent her irritation on her accom- plice. ' Why ? " he repeated with a taunting smile, " well, because it would very likely occur to you that you could have filled her place more worthily. You and Mr Vansittart had so many tastes in common, you had seen so much of him, that you may naturally have been surprised and disappointed at the turn of affairs," 276 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Verona's face had grown very white, and Herschel began to repent of his temerity before he had finished speaking. " I suppose," she said after a minute, " that, be- ing what you are, you don't know any better. But you must be taught. I take no insolence from anybody, least of all from a man not of my own class, who has reached his present position by lying, cheating, and other underhand practices. I suppose you think that, as you have destroyed the forged cheque, I have no other hold over you ? Perhaps not. And yet," slowly, " if I told all that I know I fancy you would find your- self in rather an unpleasant position. That Godfrey Vansittart should have died when he did was a singularly fortunate circumstance for you, singular enough to be decidedly suspicious. That you should now be about to marry his widow only gives greater ground for suspicion. There was every reason why you should wish the death of the master of Grey Friars and," impressively, " you had every opportunity to bring it to pass." ' You are mad," he gasped with quivering lips. :c What do you mean ? How dare you insinuate " " I have not insinuated anything, I have simply stated facts. If I told the story to any- body else who knows you I have not the slightest doubt what their opinion would be. You must feel yourself that appearances are against you. Who had so much reason to desire the Squire's death as the man whom he would have im- THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 277 prisoned and ruined had he lived a few hours longer?" ' You wouldn't dare to speak of it? I could cap your story with another, another that might not be as pleasing to you. How would you like your world to know that you have used me as your tool and accomplice to separate Beresford and Audrey?" :l They would not pay much attention down here to anything you said against me. If I treated it with contempt they would do the same. Besides, your tongue is tied. The first question anybody would ask would be, Why you should have obeyed my orders? And you would hardly care to tell what pressure I had brought to bear." He bit his lip in impotent rage. " But this idea of yours is absolutely absurd," he said, struggling for calmness. " I will ac- knowledge, if you like, that, in other circum- stances if there were no one else who came under suspicion I might possibly be suspected ; there was at least good cause for me to hate and fear him. But after what I have told you after what Audrey confessed to me herself it is absurd even to discuss such a thing. We know beyond any doubt who was responsible for the Squire's death." " Do we ? I have only heard your version and I confess that scarcely satisfies me. Audrey, even from your own account, was half mad with fear when she rushed out of the room. You also from your own account were the first 278 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS person to go in after she left. You would have been calm and collected, better able to judge of what had really taken place. You may have seen more than she did." ' What, in God's name, do you mean ? " ' Your own conduct has suggested these ideas. Judging from what I know, there was far more reason for you to kill Godfrey than for his wife to do so, though no doubt she thinks herself guilty, or she would not be at your orders. It is obvious how much liking she has for you. I should suggest your asking her to disguise her feelings a little for your sake, or her behaviour may excite comment." He looked at her, his face contorted by rage and fear. He did not know what to say. " I don't want to quarrel with you, only you must understand that I am not a person with whom you can take any liberties. I can do you far more harm than you can do me, but as long as you don't come in my way, I shall say nothing. The dead past may bury its dead. We have worked together for our mutual interests and, now the object is accomplished, we shall go back to our old relations." '' Which means that you will practically ignore my existence." " You will find that the whole countv will do so." " I will make them acknowledge me in time. I have power and intellect, with Audrey's money to help me, I shall rise rise high. Why should I care what these thick-skulled country bumpkins THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 279 think? In what are they better than I ? It was only a matter of luck that they found a place waiting for them in the world while I have had to fight for mine. I will show them what I can do. I will make them understand that I am a person to be reckoned with." Verona shrugged her shoulders. ' You despise me because I am not of your class, because I have had to work for my liv- ing, because I think the minds of great men may be better worth studying than the ways of animals." " I don't think it is only that." " If my acts and motives have not always been of the highest and purest, have yours? I don't pretend to be a saint. I have gone through too much, as much as would have killed or broken some men. It has hardened me instead. There is some excuse for me, but what excuse is there for you ? And yet you take upon your- self to despise me ! " She looked at him in some surprise. " Oh yes, I know, I am forgetting my place again," he went on passionately, " but for once I will speak out. In what are you better than I in the vile work we have done together? " She started and flushed at the word. " You don't like the expression, but it is the right one. My motives were your motives. Love and jealousy drove and maddened us both. But the temptation came to me after long bitter years that had killed any good I might have had. You had had your fill of pleasure and joy, the world had always gone well with you, but because it denied you one thing, you fell as easily as I." " Who are you to judge ? " she asked. " What do you know? So the world has always gone well with me, has it?" She laughed a little curiously. ;< There is a Russian proverb, my friend, which says, ' The soul of thy brother is a dark forest.' You might remember that in future when you think you can sum up a fellow creature in a few words. . . A dark forest, in which all kinds of wild things may lurk, unsus- pected by one's nearest and dearest. Fortun- ately, we most of us never let them come to the light of day and, so, the world does not trouble." She left him with a curt nod before he could answer. CHAPTER XXII " The ghosts of the past." THE ill-feeling that had been growing between Kirke and Herschel had found vent in a stormy interview about a week ago. Kirke, whose nerves had been getting more and more un- steady through drink and worry, had unwisely taunted Herschel about his past life. Irritated by the secretary's coolness and contempt, he had let out more than he intended. He not only told him that he knew of his dealings with Sam Fisher, but he went so far as to insinuate that his obtaining the money at the last moment, nobody knew how, and Godfrey Van- sittart's death following so soon after, were decidedly suspicious circumstances. Herschel had been cowed for the time, overwhelmed by the other's knowledge, and Kirke had gone away triumphing over his enemy. Since then they had not met until this afternoon, when on hearing a knock at his door Kirke opened it and found the secretary waiting outside. " What do you want ? " he asked sharply. 281 282 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " I thought you and I had done with each other." " I dare say you did. You carried off all the honours last time. You had it all your own way. You would, no doubt, be well content to let matters rest. But, you see, I was not equally pleased." ' You needn't tell me that. But, for once, you met more than your match, and it wasn't a question of what you wanted. Anyhow, I don't see why I should be troubled with you here. This is my house, and I prefer to keep my own company." He made as if he would shut the door, but Herschel put his foot inside. He was in an evil mood. Audrey held him at arm's length, and would say nothing definite about their marriage. His nerves were almost as much on edge as Kirke's own. Moreover, he hated the detective for having watched and trapped him. He was eager for revenge on somebody. " Not so fast," he sneered. " You had better let me come in. You would scarcely care to discuss the news I bring in the ears of any passer-by, I fancy." But Kirke had been drinking, and he was not easily intimidated. " So you've plucked up a little spirit at last, have you ? " he said contemptuously. ' You were meek enough when we parted a week ago, regularly bowled over. You hadn't a word to say for yourself." " I've been interviewing a former acquaint- ance of yours, one Mathew Prowse," Herschel said with a curious smile, looking at him intently. ; ' Wouldn't you like to hear something about him ? " The name acted like a blow. Kirke fell back from the door, white and gasping, and Herschel stepped inside. " I thought that would meet the case," he said. ; ' You see the tables are turned. I was off my guard the last time we met, but when I had recovered a little I began to see that it had not been much more than a clever bit of bluff on your part. You had got hold of some truth, but you eked it out with a good deal of guess- work. You aimed cleverly, and your shots went home more than once. I'll own that here between you and me. But I would give you the lie anywhere else, and you're too cute a man to make any accusation in public which you couldn't substantiate. So where are you ? " " Sam Fisher could bear me out about the money," Kirke said feebly. He had had a terrible shock, and he could not pull himself together. He was unnerved and trembling, dreading to hear the next words. He had been drinking heavily of late, and was not in a fit state either of mind or body to fight a losing game. He had neither the necessary patience nor clear-headedness. Suspense was the one thing in his present condition which he could not endure. It frayed his nerves to waste. Why had he let himself be carried away by his feelings? He had baited this man to gratify his hate and malice when he ought to have known that it was like teasing a dangerous animal within reach of its cage. The claws had shot out and caught him. ' Yes, Sam Fisher could give evidence about the money, I know, but would he ? I think you'd have a difficulty in dragging him into the light of day. His deeds are deeds of darkness. It wouldn't suit him for people to know his ways and methods. The flies would not walk so readily into his parlour. As to your other charges, they are none of them serious enough to be worth controverting. You let your imagination run away with you, my friend." " If you are so innocent," Kirke sneered, recovering himself a little, " I don't understand why you should have been so much upset the last time." " Stop sneering and listen to me. I didn't come here to talk about myself, but about you. As I said, when I had had time to think over matters, I saw that I had allowed myself to be frightened without sufficient reason. You had given me a very bad quarter of an hour, but I generally get my own back, and I wondered if I couldn't with you. I am not of a forgiving spirit, and a thing festers and rankles with me until I have paid it off. More than one person," his lips turning back and showing his teeth, " has had cause to know this." Kirke thought again how rash he had been to make an enemy of this man. He would have THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 285 been wiser in former days. Then his motto was not to despise the lowest or meanest to be conciliatory to all men. You never knew when you might not want them, when it might not be in their power to do you a good turn. He had often put his theory to the test in his old work and found it answer. He had turned strange tools to account. But since he left the force he had discarded most of his wise rules and pre- cautions, or perhaps they had dropped from him, until he had grown as indifferent to consequences as the most careless or innocent. He exercised little or no self-control, it had been too great an effort of late to do so, and recklessly indulged his bitterness against the world in general and his hate against any individual in particular. Now, something told him, he was going to be made to pay for it. ' You yourself," Herschel continued, " gave me the clue I wanted. You showed me how to go to work. I went carefully over the whole interview when I was thinking matters out after- wards, and when I came to that point I stopped. You gave yourself away, my friend. Do you remember? You were indignant at being suspected of being an amateur in the profession of which you had been a brilliant and a shining light." Kirke moistened his dry lips, but the thrust was not unexpected. The mention of Mathew Prowse had warned him of what was coming. " To make matters worse for yourself you 286 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS showed pretty plainly that you had made a slip, that you had let out a secret of some importance. Considering your training that was really inexcusable of you. It naturally made me suspicious. You had lived here some years, and nobody had the least idea that you had ever been connected with the police, which showed that you must have some weighty reason for keeping the matter so close. Natur- ally I wondered what that reason could be." His listener quivered, as when something touches a raw wound, but he gave no answer. ' You had not changed your name, so my task was rendered more easy. I went up to London and I caused inquiries to be made into your antecedents, why a man like you, in the prime of life, had thrown up all work and come to rusticate in a place like this. You had no real love for the country or country-folk, you despised them with all your heart. Their dull brains and simple animal lives irritated and wearied you. You liked the life and rush and variety of the great world, where brain is pitted against brain and none may sleep at his post. You loved its secret wickedness, its hidden crime, because you had the instinct of the tracker of the hunter of men. It was meat and drink to you. " And then you suddenly threw it all up and came to live in an isolated village, where you passed your days picking innocent plants and herbs, instead of hunting clever rogues. It THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 287 was rather a curious change, was it not? and naturally makes one wonder." It was Herschel's turn now to use the rack, and he used it without mercy. He had suffered a good deal of late at other people's hands, and it was balm to his hurts to torment somebody else. * You were a dangerous foe, and it was necessary to disarm you. I could not have you at my elbow, waiting and watching and spread- ing reports. I had no mind to be under your thumb. I had to get even with you for my own comfort and safety. So I followed your example. I pried into your past as you had pried into mine. " And," with a triumphant, mocking laugh, " I was even more successful than you had been. I discovered the secret that was great enough to change your whole life, to send you into hiding, to set you apart from your fellow- creatures for the rest of your days. Worst of all, to make you a fear and torment to yourself when you were forced to remember. That was what made you take to brandy, man to drown memory." Herschel waited a moment and looked at his victim, but Kirke neither moved nor spoke. He sat huddled up in his chair, his head sunk on his breast, his eyes staring straight before him. Was he lost in the past to which he had been dragged back? ' The agent I employed put me into com- munication with your late fellow-worker, 288 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Mathew Prowse, and it was from him I learnt the truth. I am now in a position to dictate terms, instead of receiving them. You have far more to fear from me than I have from you. When you half murdered Prowse in an attack of maniacal fury, brought on by professional jealousy, you ran the risk of the hangman's rope or a lunatic asylum. If somebody hadn't luckily come in and got Prowse away from you just in time he would have been strangled, and you would have had to pay the penalty with the loss of your own life or liberty. As it was, the matter could be hushed up, and for the honour of the force this was done. Prowse was not vindictive, and agreed to take no proceedings in consideration of your apology and the sub- stantial solatium you offered to console him for his fright and wounded feelings. ' You will correct me if I am wrong in any detail," Herschel said with exaggerated polite- ness, but the crouching figure took no notice. " Of course the matter could not be allowed to end there. You were a particularly good man in your own particular department crimes of violence and they were sorry to lose you at Scotland Yard, but you had to go all the same. You were very queer for a while after that attack on your brother detective, who happened to succeed in a case where you had failed, and the police surgeon reported that you were not wholly responsible for what had happened. You had taken your work too greatly to heart. You had had so much to do with murder cases THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 289 that you had developed something like homi- cidal mania yourself. On the same principle, I suppose, that a doctor in a madhouse often gets a bit queer in the head. ' You were awfully cut up about leaving, and you did everything you could to reverse the fiat that had gone forth. But all in vain. The big man you consulted in Harley Street was more emphatic than the police surgeon. Complete rest and quiet were absolutely necessary, he said, unless you wanted to end your days in a lunatic asylum. There must be no return then or at any future time to your old work. Your brain would not stand the excitement and strain. You had overtaxed it terribly already, with the result that had been seen. ' The authorities had felt sorry for you and done all they could, been unusually kind and considerate indeed, but of course they could not go against such a verdict. It would not have been safe. ... So you went." For a few minutes there was not a word spoken. Only the laboured breathing of the crouching figure broke the silence. Herschel stood looking down on him with a smile of triumph. Presently, as Kirke still took no notice, he tapped him impatiently on the shoulder. " Well ! " he said, and he did not attempt to disguise his mocking satisfaction, " well, what have you got to say ? " Then slowly the answer came: 11 Nothing."' 290 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " But that's nonsense ! I should like to hear what you think of my story. Is there anything you can deny? Don't you think I have managed rather well that I have got back more than my own ? " " I deny nothing. I give you credit for a clever move. The game is yours." " You throw up your hand ? Ah ! perhaps it is as well. It will save trouble. And now for my terms. You don't expect me to keep your secret for nothing, do you ? " " I should not expect you to do anything for nothing." " I am glad you understand me so well. I will put you out of your suspense. The price you have to pay for my silence is that you go. You must leave here, I am tired of seeing you about, sick of your gloomy face and prying ways, and the sooner you clear out the better. Besides, you're not safe. With a man like you one never knows what may happen, and I don't care to run any risks." " It is out of the question. Your price is too high. I don't intend to go." Herschel gave a short laugh. " You had better not oppose me. It will be only a waste of time. Why, in the name of common sense, do you make such a point of stopping here? You have no friends or in- terests in the place worth mentioning." " It suits me, I'm used to it, and I don't fancy turning out at any man's order. Tell my history in the village, if you like. It won't THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 291 make very much difference. I rarely see any- body or go anywhere now. If the yokels avoid me a little more in future so much the better. They'll be more frightened of me than I shall of them." " But I intend that you shall go. With your antecedents you're not a pleasant person to have about. You chose to turn on me to play the traitor and now you must take the con- sequences. It is useless to argue, my mind is made up." " And so is mine. You're not the first person who has tried to turn me out and failed." " Ah ! " slowly and significantly, " you're right there, I remember now. The Squire found you a nuisance and wanted to get rid of you, but you defied him. Well, you can't afford to defy me, I shouldn't advise you to try. I have more than one weapon at my command." Kirke looked up sharply. His face was curiously set and strained, so set as to be almost expressionless. He might have been staring mentally at one thought or idea. " It was a bold move on your part to suggest that I might have had something to do with Godfrey Vansittart's death, a very bold move for a man in your position. You carried the war into the enemy's camp. But if I had good cause to wish him out of the way what about you?" Herschel asked suddenly. " Who hated him with the fierce, unreasoning hatred of a man whose brain is diseased, who has lost his mental balance and cannot judge of things on '292 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS their merits, who is swayed this way and that by his passions? Why, you told me yourself that you hated the sight of him so intensely that you kept out of his way as much as you could. "Why was that?" in a searching, deadly tone. " Couldn't you trust yourself? Were you afraid of what you might do? Did you re- member the madness that had seized you once before, and did you feel it firing your blood again at sight of this man ? The poison was in your veins, only waiting a chance. You had been told to avoid all worry and excitement as you would the plague, but you allowed Vansittart to get on your nerves. You couldn't put him out of your mind, everything he did irritated you. The letters you were writing to him just before his death show this." Kirke's face had gradually changed while Herschel was speaking. The enforced calm was breaking up. He trembled like a man suddenly seized with ague. ; 'What? Have you nothing to say? Are you going to oppose me still, or do I know too much? There might be trouble for you, my friend, if other people knew what I could tell them. There is what I believe the lawyers call a strong prima facie case against you, and as you reminded me the Squire's mur- derer has yet to be brought to justice. Take the taint in your blood, the ungovernable hate, the ungovernable fury of passion, remember that this man has rankled in your mind, as a sore festers in the body, put the man in your power. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 293 and what may happen? Anything anything. The spark may fall on the tinder without a moment's notice." Even Herschel might have been touched by the pitiable spectacle before him : the crouching, cowering figure with the trembling hands and staring eyes. But he went on relentlessly. " Aren't you broken yet ? Do you want matters put still more plainly? Who knew Grey Friars better than you? You could have found your way anywhere about the grounds in the dark. It was partly what made the Squire so bitter against you that he couldn't keep you out you would trespass. You were often there at night wandering about and picking your weeds. I think you went on purpose to annoy him sometimes, just to show how you could defy him. . . . Well, we'll suppose you were there that night, the night of the 24th of June, when Godfrey Vansittart met his death. You were feeling specially bitter against him at that time, and presently in your wanderings you found yourself close to the house. The light streaming out of the open windows of the library may have attracted your attention. You stopped and looked in." Paul Herschel paused impressively. He was watching the effect of his words with the keen of the vivisector who applies the knife. 4 You saw the man you hated the man who ruled where you served, who fretted your raw nerves with his pride and insolence alone, at your mercy. A wave of passion rushed over 294 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS you, took you off your feet, made you see red. You trembled all over with desire, the maddest desire of all the longing for blood for vengeance. The fumes from that inward fire grew stronger, deadening every other feeling; you had no fear, no capacity to think or reason. YOU were torn by desire. The cloud closed round you, shutting you in with that one man. There was nothing else in the world that mattered only you and he." The laboured breathing of the silent, tortured man filled the place, coming in heavy, stertorous gasps. ' Then, with a sudden spring, like a wild animal, you were in the room. You could bear the strain no longer. It was unutterable relief to throw yourself upon him to quench your lust of hate at last." " Stop, you fiend! you devil! " Kirke cried, springing up and throwing his chair away. " Stop ! or you may go the way he has gone." His tormentor stepped back quickly, alarmed by the ghastly, twitching face. Had he gone too far? He had been so interested in his psychological experiment that he had forgotten the possible danger to himself. Herschel had a natural love of cruelty. He put his hand quickly in his pocket and drew out a revolver. " Stop there ! " he shouted, " don't come a step nearer, or it will be the worse for you. I was wise enough to bring this with me. I remembered that you are more than a match for THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 295 me in brute force. Steady now! You don't want to get into trouble, do you ? " Kirke was swaying unsteadily to and fro like a drunken man, staring at Herschel with his wild, bloodshot eyes. ' You drove me into saying all this because you were so obstinate," Herschel said sooth- ingly, trying to undo the mischief he had done. ' You wouldn't give way, so I had to show you my power. You understand now the story I could tell against you, the suspicions that would be raised. I should say that I had always thought your conduct strange which, as a matter of fact, I have but that, until I had heard what occurred in the past, it didn't strike me that you might be dangerous. But when I knew the truth, of course I could not help seeing that what had happened once, with so little provocation, might happen again." Kirke had dropped into a chair, and was half sobbing to himself. His fury had died out as quickly as it had come ; he felt as weak and helpless as a child. He had been on the rack for what seemed an eternity of torture, and when at last he was released he was spent and broken. ' You need fear nothing from me if you promise to go quietly," Herschel continued. ' When you are out of my sight I shan't trouble about you any more. You may ^o where you like and do what you like. It will be no concern of mine. All I want is to get you away from here." 296 TJ1E PARADISE OF FOOLS " I'll go," was the low reply. "That's all right. I thought you would. And the sooner the better, you know. It will be pleasanter for you and for me. There's no sense in delay." " I'll go to-morrow." " I'm glad to see you're so reasonable. Well! I don't think there's anything more, and it's time I was off. It's all settled up, isn't it? If there's anything you want to say, you'd better say it now, for we shan't be seeing each other again." : ' I have nothing to say." " Then good-bye." There was no answer, and Herschel went out. He was well satisfied. His enemy was van- quished, he would have no further trouble with him. A phrase he had read somewhere once floated through his mind, as things that have been scarcely noticed at the time have a way of coming up later. " So perish all the enemies of my lord, the king!" It was absurd and childish, but it pleased him. For some time after Herschel had gone Kirke sat like a statue of stone. He was ex- hausted by emotion ; he had hardly the strength to think or suffer. He felt unutterably miserable and forlorn. What was there left for him in the world. Nothing! nothing! He was filled with self-pity, the tears rose to his eyes. His misery grew until it became unbearable ; he THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 297 must have relief. He looked round wildly, and seeing an empty glass remembered where he had sought solace so often of late. What a fool he had been not to think of it before ! He got up, fetched a bottle of brandy from the cupboard, and mixed himself a stiff glass. Ah! that lifted the intolerable burden a little- there was warmth and comfort in that! He emptied glass after glass, drinking mechanically to relieve his sufferings, to give himself what help he could. Gradually the potent spirit did its work. At first it soothed and comforted ; then it roused and inflamed. Kirke was too accustomed to drink now to be easily over- powered by it, and to-night after the first glass or two it acted on his excited nerves more as a stimulant than a sedative. It pulled him together, made him feel a man again, made him strong, and fierce, and dangerous. He grew restless, as memory arose and tormented him, calling up every insult, reminding him of every humiliation that Herschel had put upon him. He moved about the room with feet that scarcely stumbled, but he walked like a man in a dream, hardly conscious of what he was doing. The brandy had affected his mind far more than his body. From a casual glance little or nothing might appear to be the matter, but his face, and more especially his eyes, betrayed the truth. He might not have been intoxicated in the ordinary sense of the word, but he was more than half mad. He began to fling out his THE PARADISE OF FOOLS hands and mutter to himself in a disconnected way. " If I could only get even with him ! but I can't. . . . The fiend! the cruel, sneering brute ! " His face worked convulsively. " And I'm at his orders his ! He is turning me out. I defied his master, but I can't defy him. He's got the whip-hand of me. God! to think of it! " He gnashed his teeth in impotent fury. " I am to go on the tramp again among strangers where shall I go? I've got to go through it all again the wonder, the curiosity, the hints, and suspicions. ... I can't; I haven't the strength. I'm sick to death of it all!" Herschel's face rose up before him, and he flung out his hand with a vicious, strangled cry. "I wish I had you here. I should like to plunge my fist in your sneering face and shut it out for ever. God! What a relief it would be ! " The thought was almost too much for him. He turned sick and faint. " To see you go down like a felled ox with a blow between your eyes to know you would never get up again, never sneer and threaten and be insolent any more that your mocking voice would be silent for ever. Ah h! " He drew a long breath. " Best of all, that you could call up no more evil memories, which make me shiver and whimper like a whipped dog. How horrible it was! I seemed to see it all the waiting, the watching, the craving, the satisfied desire ! " He shivered and grew white. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 299 " He's brought the ghosts up again," he muttered. " I shall dream to-night. Merciful Heaven, what dreams they are ! What a night- mare of horrors a long agony that only breaks when nature can endure no more, and I wake in a cold sweat, shaking from head to foot. How do I bear it all ? why do I live ? " But though for a moment the thought of death was welcome as promising release from his sufferings, when he remembered that his enemy would be left behind to enjoy all the good things of life, he flung the thought from him. He could not die, knowing that the man he hated would be glad he had died and was done with ; he would not give him that satis- faction. He could not crawl away and leave the victor crowned and triumphant. Suddenly a whisper came, from whence he knew not, but it was like a voice in his ear clear, arresting asking why should they not go together ? Why should not victor and vanquished leave by the same road at the same time? There would be no bitterness in death then, only a blessed relief. It was the only way out; the only way in which he could be avenged on his enemy and win peace for himself. How his head burned and throbbed! It would be good to lie down and sleep soundly at last, to think and feel no more. Good to have done with the lonely, empty days and the terrible nights, and if it was to be it must be done quickly. It was getting dark, it would soon be time. 3oo THE PARADISE OF FOOLS He would creep into the woods, and so up to the old grey house. It was a warm summer night, and the windows would be open ; he could look in and find what he wanted. His nostrils dilated as he thought of it, his eyes gleamed. Herschei would probably come out on the verandah after dinner to smoke there would be his opportunity. In any case, he would be alone, so it would be quite simple. He saw himself crouching in the shadows, his revolver ready. He would have liked to kill his enemy with his own hands, his fingers about his throat, to hear his wild cry for mercy, to see the fear in the face he hated, but there was too much risk in that. Herschei might be armed and kill him first. No, he would shoot him ; it was too easy a death, but after all it was death, and Herschei wanted to live ; he would rob him of all he had struggled to win. He would drag him down into the darkness, away from beauty and pleasure, from the love of women, from honour and riches, and all the joy of life. Retribution would come just when he thought himself most secure. The prize that was almost within his reach his lifeless hand would never grasp. Kirke stretched out his arm and nodded his head with satisfaction. It was steady enough. He need not be afraid of missing his aim. The brandy had made every nerve taut for a time. He found his revolver, which had belonged to his London life, and slipped it into his coat pocket. It was time to go. He looked round THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 301 the room. He had lived here nearly three years what years they had been! The dull monotony, the haunting memories, the trying to fill the life that had been so full and exciting with little trivial things and common tasks. What a failure it had been! how hopeless from the beginning ! He went out, closing the door softly behind him, as though somebody might be listening. He looked up to the sky and laughed. The stars were shining brightly, there would be light enough ; they were better than a moon for his purpose. He laughed again a low, cack- ling laugh of horrible enjoyment as he went swiftly down the road with his long, loping stride, his face thrust eagerly forward. He had the look of some wild animal going in search of prey. CHAPTER XXIII " Greater love hath no man than this." " IT is a lovely night," Leigh Beresford said. " Come out for a stroll." He was staying a day or two at the Tower House, and they had just got up from dinner. He had come down feeling that he owed Verona an apology for his abrupt departure, but he was ill at ease. It was something to be near Audrey, and yet he knew he would be better away. They had not met since the night of the ball, and, with the announcement of her engage- ment to Herschel, what hope was left for him ? He had been very quiet during dinner, and Verona had left him alone. She was feeling depressed and unhappy herself. It had been such a long, weary struggle, and even if at last she should succeed, it could scarcely be called a victory; it would be something only a little less bitter than defeat. Leigh Beresford would never be hers, as she had longed and hoped that he might be. Even if he married her, she would know that the best of his life and love had been for Audrey ; that she could never touch the depths. 302 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 303 She got up now and threw a white wrap round her shoulders. Miss Maud was sitting knitting by the window, and smiled at them benevolently as they went out. " They'd make a handsome couple. I wonder why it isn't settled yet ; but I shouldn't dare to ask. I am sure they like each other, and there's nothing to wait for. Besides, Verona is getting on." Miss Maud belonged to the days when at thirty you were considered on the shelf, and when an intimate friendship between a man and woman, which had not marriage for its end and aim, was almost unheard of. :< Perhaps, after all, it's not a bad thing to have arrived at that" Verona said with a short laugh, as she and Leigh went down the steps to the garden. 1 To have arrived at what ? " " At the time of life when you have done with passion and emotion, when you are content to sit and knit and watch the world go by, when your part whatever it is has been played, and you can drift quietly on to the end." " I should not have thought that you had any leaning towards stagnation." " I don't know. If it shuts out joy it shuts out pain, too. A dead heart is better than an aching one. When you are young it seems so hard so unfair not to be happy, you can't understand it. The older you get the less you ask for and expect, and so at last you are satisfied if such a con- dition can be called satisfaction ! " 304 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS ' You are not in a happy mood to-night. Since we had that talk some time ago I have seen that you have your bad hours like the rest of us, that you are not as happy and contented as I once thought you. Is it the old trouble?" ' Yes the old trouble." " I wish I could help you, as you have so often helped me. I can't bear to think that you are unhappy and keeping it to yourself as I am afraid you do. I know how proud and re- served you are, and I think I hope that if you could have told anybody you would tell me." " Tell you ? " she repeated in a curious tone. She laughed a little wildly. ' Tell my trouble to you? " She spoke very slow and distinctly. '' You are the last person the very last person in all the world who ought to know it." They were standing by the lily-pond in the Italian garden, which was a little pleasaunce to itself, surrounded by trees that made it shady and cool even in the height of summer. It was too dark for Leigh to see Verona's face, but something in her voice even more than the words arrested his attention and made him wonder. He felt vaguely uneasy almost startled. There was something here he did not understand. Verona stood still, looking down into the water, and said nothing. She did not attempt to explain her words away, to cover them up. What did it matter? He would not under- stand, or, if he did, again what matter? She was too reckless and unhappy to be greatly THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 305 concerned at anything that chanced to-night. She felt as if it would be too much trouble to put out a hand to save herself from any fate. There was a slight rustle behind them, but they were both too absorbed in their own reflections to heed it. Even if they had heard they would only have thought that a breeze was stirring the leaves of the trees. Silas Kirke had been waiting and watching at the Grey House, but he had seen nothing of Herschel. The windows were shut and the blinds drawn, so that he could not see into the rooms. He had crouched down by the verandah, expecting that Herschel would come out there presently to smoke, as he knew he often did, but all remained silent. Nobody came. " He's afraid of me, the coward ! " he muttered to himself. " He thinks it safer to keep shut up till I've gone." He laughed under his breath. " As if that would save him ! As if I shouldn't find him if he hid in the depths of the earth! as if I couldn't get him anywhere! " He waited a little longer, then he decided to look elsewhere. Herschel might have gone for a stroll. He would go round the gardens and look for him before he made any attempt to get into the house. He knew Herschel would not see him willingly, and there would be con- siderable risk in forcing his way in. Kirke spent some time searching any likely spot in the grounds, but met with no success. He could not find his quarry. u 306 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Wondering what he should do next, he was leaning against the fence that divided Grey Friars from the Tower House when he caught the gleam of something white between the trees on the other side. He looked closer, and could just distinguish two figures, a w r oman and a man. It was the woman's white wrap that had attracted his attention. He swung himself quickly over the fence and crept cautiously in and out, so as to come up behind those two waiting figures. He wanted to see who they were, though he had not much doubt. He knew how friendly Miss Maxwell and Herschel had been of late. He had seen them talking together in an intimate way more than once. What more natural than that Herschel should have seen her strolling in the garden and gone over to speak to her? The belt of trees made an excellent screen, and Kirke stopped there instinctively to steady himself a moment. His heart was beating furiously, there was a mist before his eyes, a terrible throbbing in his head, a sound like rushing water in his ears. He could not see or think clearly. He was consumed by a mad desire that overwhelmed him like a flood, sweeping away everything else. He wanted to kill to destroy ; to see the life of the man he hated run out in a red tide. He was no longer in a condition to reason, or to hold back. He had recognised Verona, and he took it for granted that the man with her must be the man he wanted. He could not see THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 307 his face, but he had sufficient resemblance to pass for Herschel in the half darkness in Kirke's present state of mind. It never occurred to him that it could be anybody else. " I've got you," he thought fiercely. " You're mine. There's no escape. At last at last! " He drew a long, intoxicating breath of triumph and relief. He crept closer, his footsteps making no sound on the soft, thick turf, his head thrust forward, his revolver ready in his hand. He must get as near .as he could, so as to get a good aim ; he did not want to run any risk. His hand was raised, the weapon covering Leigh Beresford ; he was on the point of firing, when Verona suddenly looked round. In a flash she had seen and understood. As Kirke pulled the trigger she flung herself on Leigh with a wild cry, throwing her arms round him, pressing his head to her breast, putting her own body between him and danger. It was the work of a moment ; the instinct of a love so strong that it recked nothing of self when harm threatened the beloved. The end was gained. Verona had saved the life of the man she worshipped, but at the sacrifice of her own. As Leigh swung round sharply, wondering what was the matter who had fired what it all meant, Verona's arms fell from their protecting clasp, she swayed heavily against him. " What is it ? what has happened ? Are you hurt? " he asked anxiously, holding her up. 308 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " I'm afraid so. It struck me in the back, I can't stand. Put me down," she gasped, growing very white. He laid her gently on the soft turf, kneeling beside her in a passion of fear and pity. He took her listless hands in both his own ; he was half beside himself with the sudden shock and horror. He had known nothing, had no idea there was anything wrong, until he heard the shot fired. Then he had seen a man running away, but Verona was clinging to him, and he could not leave her. " But I must go for help, you can't stop here," he said, struggling to recover his senses. " I'll run to the house, and send for a doctor and get somebody to help me carry you in. I won't be a moment, you'll be brave till I come back." Her hand closed on his, and she slightly shook her head. ;< It's no use," she whispered. " Don't go." " But that's nonsense," hastily, a terrible fear knocking at his heart ; " you must have care and attention at once. You shan't be left alone a moment longer than I can help. . . . Dear, let me go," as her hand still clung to his. "No no! Let me have my own way, it won't be for long. Let me die out here in the soft summer night, with only the stars and you to see. It'll be easier. I don't want a lot of people. Nobody can do any good. . . . I'm going quickly, Leigh ; I shan't keep you long. I can't move, I'm half dead already," THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 309 ' You're wrong, you must be wrong," he said wildly. " You can't be dying you ! It's absurd I won't listen you can't understand! How do you know? " " How do the dying know death? Who can say ? But they do know. There's no mistake, dear." He hid his face on her arm, and she felt his breast heave with great sobs. " But it's sweet that you care it's worth everything that you should care at last." ;< Verona ! Verona ! what does it mean ? Why did you throw yourself on me ? Did you see more than I did? Was that bullet meant for me? Are you lying there in my place? Speak to me, tell me the truth. . . . My God! I can't bear it ! " " Ah, don't grudge me my dearest comfort. It takes all the bitterness from death to think that it comes to me through you. To give my life for yours that is a small thing beside the other things I have given you, of which you have taken no account." " But why ? why ? " he queried wildly. " I am all in the dark, I don't understand. Why should you give your life for mine? It is terrible it overwhelms me. I would to God I could die in your stead ! What right have I to such a sacrifice ? Verona, what does it mean ? " " It means that I love you, that is all," she said, softly. His face was on her hand, which was wet with his tears. The moments passed, and not a word was spoken. Then at last he looked up. 310 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " And I was so blind, I did not understand," he said. " My God! can you ever forgive me? I told you J told you of other hopes. I poured out my troubles, and you listened and sympathised, and did everything you could to help me! It is horrible! How could you let me do it? " " I liked you to confide in me, I wanted to be your friend, it was the best thing I had. You know one is glad of any scraps sometimes." " Don't! " he said sharply. " I can't bear it. ... That you should have cared in that way, and I never knew! " He kissed her hand with reverent tenderness. " What is there I can do or say now, when everything is too late? How can I ever repay you? It is a small thing to say that I will be faithful ; that as you have given your life for mine, it shall be yours till the end." ' You would be faithful to me till death ? you would take no other woman to wife? " she questioned eagerly, gaining fresh strength from his words. " Leigh, do you mean it?" " Need you ask? I have given you little or nothing in life, shall I not give you what I can now ? God knows it is little enough ! " She made a pitiful effort to reach him, and his arms closed round her, his lips met hers in a long embrace. At last she was satisfied. In that moment she knew that she reigned supreme. With the touch of his lips her burden fell away, the ache at her heart was stilled. All the anger and bitterness, the agony of suspense, the THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 311 unsatisfied longing, the hoping against hope, were over and done with. They could never come again. Love and Death were both too near. As she looked in Leigh's eyes and read there his sorrow and tenderness Verona was conscious of a stir at her heart she had never known before. The hardness melted, the chord of self which had been so loud and prominent grew suddenly quiet. She had wanted love and happiness for herself, now she wanted them for him. " Dear heart," she whispered, " you have made me so happy. You have opened my eyes, I begin to understand, I see more clearly than I have ever done before. It isn't good for anybody to stand alone, least of all a woman. If it doesn't wither or break you, it hardens. Don't I know?" She waited a moment, her mind was clear, but her strength was ebbing fast. " It is sweet to know that you are willing to give up every other hope for me. It will make death easy easier and sweeter than life has been. But I must not be less generous than you. I have always fought for my own hand. I want to think of you now of your happiness. Don't quite forget me I know you won't but marry the woman you love, marry Audrey. I -I wish it." " That is like your noble, generous self," he said, warmly ; " but have you forgotten ? Don't you know that she has promised to marry Herschel? Even if my life didn't belong to you, it could not be." 312 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS " Promised under compulsion," she said slowly, growing cold with a great fear. Some- thing was driving her to confess to own the truth at last. She struggled and fought against it how could she tell this man, above all others, how vile and sinful she was? but she struggled in vain. It might be a tardy remorse, the longing to confess and ease her mind, the feeling that comes to the most callous at the Gate of Death that it is time at last to have done with all pretences ; to be true if we have never been true before ; to meet the great Destroyer with as clear a conscience as we can. The world is lost to us for good or ill ; let us put our accounts as straight as possible ! "Noble! generous!" Verona said, driven on by that compelling power " how little you know! Oh, Leigh, how shall I find courage to tell you?" " Hush ! " he said tenderly, " you are making yourself worse. You are all that matters now, don't worry about anything else. You could not make me think badly of you however much you tried." He could not bear to see her distress ; he would have said anything to soothe her. " But I must speak. I can't die in peace unless I do. I couldn't rest in my grave. . . . But it is hard hard! You haven't the least idea ; nobody, as far as I know, has ever had the slightest suspicion. I have hidden it all this time deep down in my heart, piled every- thing on it I could pleasure and youth, hard THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 313 work, things good and bad but sometimes sometimes," drawing her breath hard, " it has forced itself up through them all. Then I have remembered, then God knows! I have been made to pay." Leigh said nothing, only he held her hands more closely. This was not delirium. Verona had always had great self-control and a well- balanced mind ; she had them still. There was some real trouble here, it would be better to let her speak. " Hold my hand, it gives me courage. Don't let go whatever I may say for the love of Christ, for the pity and mercy He showed to the greatest sinner! I am going to make you hate me I who love you so much. Isn't that punishment enough? You won't leave me to die alone? Promise me. . . . Leigh! Leigh!" :t Hush, dear, hush! you are breaking my heart. How can you think such things? Whatever wrong you may have done me and I only remember your faithful friendship, your unfailing kindness have you not just given your life for mine? Doesn't that outweigh everything else ? " " I don't know how to say it," her breath com- ing in heavy gasps, great drops of agony on her forehead. "God help me! ... Leigh, listen, come closer. I I killed Godfrey Vansittart, and all this time I have let Audrey bear the blame." He gazed at her without comprehending. 3i 4 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS She did not know what she was saying. It was the raving of delirium. " I'm not mad, it's true, every word of it. Oh, believe me, there is so little time to explain. But you must understand you must forgive me before I go. You can forgive the dead what you would never forgive the living. " He Godfrey had been very cruel and base. I don't want to say more than I can help, he is not here to defend himself, but he had dealt very hardly with me. When I was little more than a child he made me love him, he was so strong, and handsome and daring, just the kind of man to fascinate a young girl. I worshipped him blindly, I was completely under his influence, I wrote him mad, pass- ionate letters. . . . Don't despise me, I had no mother, nobody had ever troubled very much about me, I didn't know any better." Her fingers clung round his and held them tight. " As time went on and I grew older I grew wiser too. I knew him for what he was, I no longer worshipped blindly. But as my passion waned and died, his increased. I was hand- some and sought after. He had been reluctant to sacrifice his liberty before, now he wanted to marry me. I refused him, but I could not break with him, as I should have liked to do, he was too strong for me. Old associations, the fact that we had always been neighbours and close friends, made an open breach impossible, it would have caused too much gossip. So, THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 315 apparently, things went on as before. . . . Then then you came into my life. " As long as I had not put anybody else before him, he had more or less acquiesced in the existing state of affairs. But as soon as he discovered that I was beginning to think of you and he knew me well enough to see a change very quickly he grew jealous and watchful. You influenced me almost from the first. You unconsciously showed me another and a better side of life. You were a new experience to me, Leigh, and my heart went out to you. I loved you with all that was best in me ; I saw in you my salvation." She paused to recover her strength, but the man said not a word, though their hands still clasped. He was listening with bent head, his lips set in a straight line. : ' You and I were great friends at that time ; you didn't know Audrey then. Everybody thought we were lovers," the voice was very low and soft, " I thought so too. I was so happy, it was the happiest time in my life. It seemed that any day it might come that word which would be binding. I did not mind if it was a little delayed, I felt so sure of you. I thought poor fool! that 1 had read all that you would say already in your eyes, in your voice, in your touch. ' Then, suddenly, the crash came. Godfrey said our friendship must come to an end. I was overwhelmed. I had thought I was so safe, that the past was done with, though I had 3i6 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS been careful to keep you and he apart. He had got married only a few months before, and I thought that meant a fresh start for him and for me. But the marriage was a failure, and in a little while he turned to me more eagerly than ever for amusement and interest. He was determined not to let me go. Some gossip had reached him, and he had been making inquiries about you. He said if I didn't break with you at once and entirely he would send you the packet of letters I had written him when I was a reckless, infatuated girl. They, he said with a sneer, would show you that I was not quite the immaculate person you imagined ; you with your fastidious notions would not think of ask- ing me to be your wife when you had read them. " I think I went half mad. I thought the letters had been destroyed long ago. I begged and implored, raged and reviled him ; it was all to no purpose. I was caught in a trap. I seemed bound to lose you either way. I knew far better than he did what you would think of those love-letters. But I fought hard. I pre- tended to yield, but all the time I was struggling to find a way out to keep you. I discovered that the letters were kept locked up in his desk in the library, and a sudden hope came to me. Why shouldn't I steal them ? They were mine. I waited my opportunity, and at last one moon- light night I found the library windows open and Godfrey alone. He was sitting in a low chair with his back to the window. It was just what I wanted. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 317 " I had brought a bottle of chloroform with me, which I had taken from Dr Locke's surgery. I saturated a handkerchief, and, stealing up behind him, I pressed it over his face. I know now that he had only just re- covered consciousness from the fall which Audrey thought had killed him, and he was still faint and dazed. But I wondered at the time that he went off so easily without a struggle or a word. I had found the letters and was going away when he slipped from the chair to the floor, and lay there without moving. He was dead, as I soon saw. The chloroform, coming on top of the shock he had had, and with his weak heart, had killed him. God knows I never meant that! There was no thought of murder in my heart. ... Over- whelmed with horror, I rushed away." She stopped, panting for breath, her eyes fixed and empty, as though she were living that scene over again. ' You spoke of Audrey," Leigh said pres- ently. " What had she to do with this ? " " She had had a terrible quarrel with Godfrey that night. She pushed him away when he tried to hold her, and he had fallen down, striking his head against a statue. She thought she had killed him and ran up to her room, frantic with fear. Paul Herschel went into the library soon after I had left, and found his employer stretched dead on the floor, with a chain of Audrey's broken and caught in his sleeve-links. He had heard them quarrelling, 318 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS and he drew the natural conclusions. I knew nothing of all this until nearly a year later. Nobody had been arrested for the murder, and there seemed no need for me to confess." " What did you do when you found that Audrey was suspected of your crime ? " " I still kept silence," she said, almost inaudibly. " More I let Herschel use his knowledge to separate you and Audrey to force her to promise to be his wife. . . . No! No!" as Leigh drew back sharply "don't go have pity! I loved you so dearly, I had sinned and suffered so terribly because of you was it all to go for nothing? Was this girl to take in a moment what I had imperilled body and soul to win? It was too much. I could not bear it." Her eyes closed, she was exhausted by emotion. The tide was running out rapidly. But something still remained to be told, and her indomitable will conquered once more. " I left a written confession for you in case I died suddenly," she said, and each word cost her a breath. " I was not bad enough to keep silence beyond the grave. It will put every- thing straight you will be all right now .... Youth, and love, and happiness they will be all yours. Ah! Can't you forgive me? I'm going out into the dark alone alone ! " Leigh ! " the trailing voice grew suddenly sharp with fear and wonder "what is it? Where are you ? T can't see. ... I want : THE PARADISE OF FOOLS 319 the voice broke and dropped to a whisper. " God, have mercy on me, a sinner! " The twitching fingers were plucking at his coat, which he had thrown over her; she was looking straight ahead as though she saw something invisible to other eyes. He forgot everything except that she loved him with a great love, and that she was dying and in need of help. ;< Dear," he said tenderly, " don't be afraid. You have sinned, but you have repented. It shall be well with you it must be well. You have His promise until the last moment the door stands open, He is ready to welcome and forgive. He is not watching for the ninety and nine who are safe, but for the lost sheep. Dear heart, be comforted. . . . You are not alone underneath are the everlasting arms. Think of it rest in them, trust Him, Verona. Be at peace at last." Her head was on his breast, his warm lips were pressed to the clay-cold cheek. The pain and fear died out of her face, she closed her eyes like a tired child, and in a little while the end came. Kirke drowned himself in the lake at Grey Friars after firing the fatal shot. The sight of the cool, peaceful water must have appealed irresistibly to his fevered brain, and he had ended his miseries that way. To save scandal and to have done with the sad and terrible past as soon as possible, 320 THE PARADISE OF FOOLS Herschel was allowed to go abroad unpunished, though this was greatly against Leigh's wishes. But Audrey was too happy to be wroth even with the man who had caused her so much misery. He had shielded her in the beginning, thought it was to gain his own ends, he had loved her in his terrible way, he had had a lonely, miserable life, and because of these things she let him go. No one ever knew that it was only chance that had saved him from adding murder to his other misdeeds. If Godfrey Vansittart had not been dead when he knelt down beside him that night in the library Herschel knew that he would have killed him before he got up. And so, at last, for the two whose love had fared so badly joy and happiness had come. They had crossed the dividing grave, and stood together hand in hand at the gates of Paradise. " The Paradise of Fools," the over-wise call it who have never entered, but the men and women who have gone in, even for a little while, know that its beautiful folly is worth all the wisdom of the world. THE END KVRRKTT AND CO. LTD., 4 1->';FX STREET. STRAND, LONDON UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000108571 1