Читать книгу The Lord of the Manor - Fred M. White - Страница 4

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'I HOLD in my hand,' Mr. Castlerayne said oracularly, 'a most extraordinary letter. It is from a firm of solicitors in Hardborough, and refers to the offer of the hotel company as to that preposterous suggestion relating to the opening of a licensed house here. These solicitors are instructed by their client, Mr. Samuel Craggs, to oppose any such action, and state that the rights of the common are vested in the hospitallers under the deed of 17th December 1699. This deed I am prepared to admit; and here comes the strange part of the letter. The hospitallers will resist any attempt to infringe their rights, and they claim the free lease of the common under the said deed; and, further, they claim that in them is vested the sole authority to admit or prevent any building on the common or the use of the said common for any other purpose save the right of sheep-grazing. In other words, they claim that the common belongs to them. Really, my dear Gertrude, your protégé Sam Craggs is going too far. For a Radical cobbler to oppose me like this!'

Miss Gertrude flushed faintly. If the expression might be permitted about so impeccable a lady, there was the suggestion of guilt about her.

'Samuel is eccentric,' she admitted; 'and he has dreadful revolutionary ideas. He is fond of reading Carlyle and Adam Smith, and all kinds of formidable books. Still, he would never have gone into the hospital had it not been for the rheumatism that crippled his hands. And, like most people, he had no desire to starve. I don't know who told him about the proposal from Hardborough, but he had heard of it some time ago. It was he who gave me the first intimation of it.'

'And, of course, he was heartily in favour of it,' Mr Castlerayne said bitterly. 'It is just the kind of Radical progress idea to please Samuel.'

'Those people are living on my bounty, and they know it,' Miss Gertrude reiterated. A retort with her was so rare that she blushed at her own temerity. 'Fifteen years ago I wanted to close the hospital and send the poor creatures to the workhouse. But you would not hear of it, Rayne; the family dignity prevented you. Craggs may be all that you say; but the bread of charity is bitter to him; he does not like the flavour of it. He would like to see the offer accepted; he would like to feel that his weekly dole comes from people who paid honestly for a remunerative privilege. And he was equally certain that you would refuse to entertain the offer. He had a rod in pickle for you, he said.'

'A rod in pickle!' Mr Castlerayne groaned. 'For me? He actually said that?'

'He did. I am afraid that Samuel is no respecter of persons. This he told me. He has been looking up the family archives; he has been to Lancaster, and examined the deeds relating to the Crown lands and the manors of East Yorkshire. He says he is quite sure of his ground, and that the commoners here have a vested right in the income to arrive from that part of the common whence the plumbago originally came. On his own initiative he has placed the matter in the hands of those lawyers in Hardborough, and they advise him that he has a good case.'

'Ah!' Mr Castlerayne went on, with one of his rare flashes of illumination upon him. 'As I know to my cost, the lawyers are expensive friends. And Craggs has no money. Who has been providing him with funds for this disgraceful litigation, I should like to know?'

No reply came to the question. Miss Gertrude's head was bent, a little red spot on either of her pallid cheeks. It was perhaps fortunate that the head of the House did not repeat his question. He muttered something to the effect that he would have to consult his own lawyers. He had not the slightest intention of accepting that hotel company's offer, nor was he disposed for a moment to admit the claim of the preposterous and revolutionary Craggs. The bare idea that an old tenant on his own estate should take this step filled him with pain.

Angela had listened languidly to the discussion. On the contrary, May was deeply interested. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement. It was evident that her dignity was not touched. Sooth to say, the Radical cobbler was by way of being a favourite of hers. Dreadful as it sounds, those two had much in common. May placed her arm affectionately through that of her aunt and drew her out into the sunshine.

'Come as far as the trout-pool,' she said. 'I have something serious to say to you. Aunt Gertrude, you are a wicked old woman who is deliberately conspiring to upset the peace and dignity of a once happy family. It is a good thing that dad is so dazzled with his dignity that he can't see as far as I can. To save you from prosecution, I am going to make a double charge against you. It was you who found the money for Craggs's action!'

'He didn't tell you?' Aunt Gertrude exclaimed. 'He never so far forgot his promise——'

'Not a single word did he tell me. But you are such a transparent old darling! When you blushed just now I guessed it like a flash. Not that I blame you, dear. Ah no! It would be nothing less than downright dishonesty for my father to refuse this offer. And yet he is so blind, so eaten up with his family pride, that he would not hesitate. I only hope that Craggs is right. He is an obstinate old thing, but he is as honest as the day. The idea is to force dad into some compromise. And if he fails——'

'He will not fail,' Aunt Gertrude whispered. 'Everything is absolutely correct. And I found him the money. I have promised to let him have five hundred pounds. Only, you must not tell this to anybody. I dare say you will think that I am a poor, timid creature, and that I should have told your father everything. But he can be very hard when he is roused, and—and I am very fond of Angela and yourself, dear. I hate the idea of having strangers here as much as anybody; but, as you say, it would be criminal to refuse this offer. I have urged your father to sell the place; but nobody would buy it at anything beyond the land-value of the house, for the land around is so poor. I had thought it over day and night, and I have prayed to do right. I think I have done what is right. At any rate, I have done what is best for the happiness of the people here. And not one word——'

'Not one,' May said solemnly. 'And now, go back to your jams and preserves, and let me take a hand in the business. I hope you won't be shocked, Aunt Gertrude; but I am going up to the common to meet a young man. You have heard me speak of Clifford Warrener?'

'The gentleman you met in London?' Aunt Gertrude asked. She spoke in a studied prim and cold voice. 'I should say that it is hardly the proper——'

'Oh yes, it is. Mr. Warrener is a business man. We were great friends in London in the spring. We are all the greater friends because he does not admire me a bit, and because he is very much in love with Angela. She refuses to look at him because he is in trade. Just as if that makes any difference so long as the man is a gentleman! Well, I gave Mr. Warrener a good deal of our family history. You see, he told me all about Angela, and that established a bond of sympathy between us. And he said that some day he would like to come down and discuss a proposal with dad when he had time. He seems to know all this part of the country very well. And he seemed quite familiar with the name.'

'That is quite possible,' Aunt Gertrude said quietly. 'You see, I was engaged to his father at one time. They were dreadfully poor at that period, and Mr. Warrener incurred great odium by going into trade. I believe he made a mess of it, poor fellow! but I never saw him again. Still, as a girl I was very fond of him. How foolish I am!'

May bent and kissed the cheek of the faded little figure by her side. She knew the sweet nature of Aunt Gertrude. She knew the life of noble self-sacrifice her aunt had always led. And here in these few simple words was her life's romance, the turned-down page she had hidden from everybody. And May knew at last why Aunt Gertrude had never married.

'You are a darling!' she said; 'and I love you better than ever. Good-bye, dear.'

May went up the slope past the hollow where the ruins of the Dower-House lay, with its magnificent range of scenery inland and to the sea; past the trout-stream and on to the common, where the wind was blowing fresh and sweet, and her feet were deep in the purple heather. Away at the back, behind a stretch of great pines, lay the hospital.

It was not all gorse and bracken and heather here; there were wide gaps and tracks made ages ago by the workers in plumbago, and turf eaten short and thick by generations of sheep. The grass was wonderfully thick and level, broken here and there by banks of undergrowth, little ravines full of sand, and heathy rainpits where the plumbago had been mined. To the left was the glorious sea, to the right a panorama of the kind that only the British Isles can afford. It was an ideal spot, and May sighed as she looked at it. On the whole, despite the mutual advantages, the hotel idea was not pleasing.

A tall figure in Harris tweed came towards May and raised his cap. The sinister hand of trade had left no stain on Clifford Warrener. It occurred to May that her sister was an exceedingly fortunate young woman, if she had only the sense to see it. Then, without further preamble, May plunged into the subject that was nearest her heart.

'I am deeply interested,' Warrener said—'far more interested than you are even aware of. Let us walk as far as the Dower-House and back to that turf yonder. And you can tell me everything. After that I may have a proposal to make.'

May talked vivaciously and well. The dark eyes of her companion watched her with admiration. He smiled from time to time. Before the recital was finished the empty shell of what had been the Dower-House was reached. Below it was a level plain like a platform formed of heather and gorse, and there lay an even patch of grass, the bents growing compact and thick like the foliage of the carnation. There were acres of it there.

'So the Radical is abroad.' Warrener smiled. 'I fancy I shall be able to find the way to bring Craggs to reason. When I was quite a boy he instructed me in the art of poaching—fish-poaching, for he was too honest to touch game. If I were to make Craggs listen to me, I could make the fortune of your family at the same time. All this poor land——'

'That is the trouble,' May said dryly. 'If it were rich land we could let it. As it is, the whole four thousand acres is worth nothing. In my imagination I try to think what would happen if we were to find gold here.'

'I also have an imagination.' Warrener smiled. 'It is a mistake to think that the business man is devoid of imagination. On the contrary, some of the richest men I know have made their money by the exercise of imagination. Some people call it foresight Well, I have had a fine flash of foresight so far as this place is concerned. Look at that lovely turf, those rolling hills, the little brook with its feathery ferns; look at those sand-dunes over there. Take in the lovely prospect from the Dower-House. My dear Miss May, I can see the gold fairly bubbling out of the ground. I can see all that fine fringe of gorse and heath and heather over there by the sea selling for its weight in silver. The whole thing came to me when I was waiting for you. There is the fortune crying aloud to be picked up and dropped in your pockets.'

'Coal!' May cried. 'Dirty gray coal! The hideous blotting of the landscape——'

'Nothing of the kind.' Warrener laughed. 'Nothing shall disturb the peaceful serenity of the scene; nothing shall move the firmness of the prospect. Let us go to the top of the common, and there, under the seal of secrecy, I will tell you of my discovery.'