CHAPTER VII.

_BEATRICE AT HOME._

Desmond decided that they ought to accept the invitation.

"The fact is, darling, we are in danger of growing selfish in our happiness," he said. "But it won't do to shut ourselves up altogether at home; and I particularly want to be useful to Beatrice if I can. Poor Algy is a rattling good fellow, in his way; but he is going the pace altogether too fast. I want to put a spoke in his wheel if I can, for her sake and the boy's. I think she looks to me to do it. You see she has no father, and her brother is naturally the person she would depend on."

Desmond spoke with perfect sincerity and good feeling. In the plenitude of his own happiness and prosperity, he would fain have stretched out a friendly hand to all the world within reach. He felt so very staid and sober himself, going into business with a commendable regularity, and really showing an aptitude for such matters which he had hardly expected at the outset. He began to feel that he could look with a certain friendly compassion and solicitude upon a man like Algernon Vanborough, who was getting more and more deeply "dipped," and whose affairs were becoming unpleasantly involved. He promised himself that he would speak plainly with his brother-in-law when they were alone together, and he explained to Odeyne that he hoped great things from their joint influence with their relatives.

"For Beatrice wants a word of caution too," he said. "She is a bit extravagant herself, you know; must have everything in tip-top style, and all that sort of thing, and goes the pace in her way almost as fast as Algy in his. It would be no end of a good thing for her to make a friend of you, and unless she fills the house too full for the hunting, you ought to have a good many opportunities of getting intimate. She has taken a great liking for my little wife!"

Alice the maid was very pleased to hear of the proposed visit.

"You will be able to wear all your new dresses there, ma'am, and here we are so very quiet," she remarked, rather to Odeyne's amusement, seeing that until a few months ago Alice had known nothing but the still, peaceful life of the Rectory. "The master brings you home such lovely things; and some of them you've hardly so much as put on yet."

This was true enough, for Desmond was constantly bringing home from town boxes full of finery for his wife. Anything that took his eye as he walked the streets he must have for Odeyne, and Alice had quite a gift for adapting these purchases to suit her mistress's figure. Nor was the girl herself forgotten. Desmond took a good-natured interest in her and her affairs, and would often bring some little thing back for her as well, and laughingly remark that it would "do for the trousseau."

Odeyne sometimes remonstrated a little at the rather over-lavish way in which her husband spent his money, but he would only laugh and call her a little miser, and declared that if she persisted in sending him to "money-grub" in the City day by day, she must not grudge him the satisfaction of spending a small portion of these earnings on people who showed them off to such advantage. Then Odeyne had to smile and be kissed into compliance. She was too happy and too fond and proud of her husband to entertain any serious misgivings where he was concerned.

And now Desmond promised himself some relaxation.

"What is the good of having this new man if you do not let him save you a little more?" Beatrice asked, soon after they had been established in her luxurious house. "I'm going to have him over, and put him up at the Vanborough Arms whilst you are here. I want you to take a holiday and have a good time. We shall be having some friends down soon, and you mustn't always be rushing off to town, Desmond. You are wanted much more here."

Beatrice spoke gaily, but Odeyne thought there was a slight undertone of anxiety in her voice, and the next time they were alone together she said to her, almost entreatingly--

"Don't grudge Desmond to us whilst you are here. He is much more wanted by Algy than by the office. He is fond of Desmond, and that keeps him away from other places and people. Sometimes I am awfully wretched about him, Odeyne; and I don't seem able to hold him back one bit. He is fond of me, but I have no power over him. It is not with us as it is with you and Desmond. You could bring him back to your side with a single glance. He would forego anything sooner than grieve you."

Odeyne smiled a little happy smile, for she felt that these words were true. She was more drawn towards Beatrice this time than she had been before, for she felt that she stood in need of help and sisterly comforting. On the surface she was bright and sparkling, but when alone with her "sister," as she always called Odeyne, she often permitted some of the fears and anxieties which preyed upon her to come to the surface.

"It is such a relief to speak of these things sometimes," she said; "I believe I might get morbid about them if I had no outlet. And mamma is such a Job's comforter. She did not much want me to marry Algy; she thought him fast then, and now she thinks in her heart that I am only reaping what I have sown; and Maud thinks of nothing but Desmond, and that Algy will hurt him and draw him into his set. Sometimes I feel quite alone in the world amongst them all. But you understand better than anybody, though you are a stranger, and Desmond's wife too. He is a dear boy, and shows his good sense and good taste in choosing you out of all the world!"

Alice was very delighted by the arrangement which brought her lover so near to her during these days of enjoyment at Rotherham Park.

Walter Garth had to come daily to the Park to report to the youthful head of the firm, and to take orders and messages for the morrow. After that business was completed he generally spent an hour with Alice, whilst Desmond read the letters brought, after which he was summoned again, and took notes and instructions for answering these on the morrow. His quickness of comprehension and ready skill with his pen commended him much to Desmond, who was not himself fond of letter-writing, and he soon began to put more and more of his own work upon Garth, and to use him for increasingly confidential correspondence.

This was exactly what the young man wanted, and his face used to be very bright and well-satisfied as he talked with pretty Alice in some secluded corner of the grounds, or in the privacy of the housekeeper's room.

"I mean to get on in the world," he would say; "I feel it in me to succeed. Some fellows just plod along the same beaten way all their lives; but that won't do for me. I'm going to get on. I mean to die a rich man. There's plenty to be made, even in bad times, by fellows who have their eyes open. I'll make a lady of you, my pretty one, all in good time. There's many a fine lady would give her ears for your face and figure. And when your husband has made his pile you'll be able to queen it with the best of them! You are learning every day what fine ladies say and do. You'd like to ride about in your own carriage, and wear silks and satins, and have servants to wait on you, eh?"

Alice blushed and laughed at these questions, and sometimes told Walter he was trying to fly too high; yet when he told her of men now rolling in money, who had begun life as quite poor boys, she could not but listen with sparkling eyes, for she was learning a great many things in Mrs. Vanborough's house, and the thirst for pleasure and luxury which had made her desire to follow Odeyne to her new home was working more and more strongly in her, so that the idea of some day being mistress of a fine house of her own was like an intoxicating draught of wine to her lips.

"Oh, but, Walter, it takes such a while to get rich!"

"Sometimes it does, but not always. One can have more than one iron in the fire, you know. Why, you know, there are some men who can make a fortune by a stroke of the pen--on the Stock Exchange--and even fellows like myself can do a little in a quiet way by watching the markets. I've trebled my little savings this year, for instance, just by getting a hint, and buying and selling at the right moment."

Alice did not understand a word of this; but it was quite enough that Walter did, and that he was making money in more ways than one. Alice had come to the conclusion that there was nothing so nice in the world as to be rich, to have fine clothes and jewels to wear, and nothing to do but amuse one's self from morning till night.

"I wish you could see Mrs. Vanborough's jewels," she remarked one day. "They are beauties, and no mistake! They must have cost a mint of money. Her maid says she used to have more than she has now. But the master sometimes gets horribly close for a bit, and then Mrs. Vanborough has to sell some of her things to pay her bills. Sometimes she buys them back, and sometimes she doesn't. But she's got a lot of beauties still. I wish you could see them. They do shine when she puts them on!"

"They'd shine just as much if somebody else put them on, would they not?" suggested Walter laughingly. "Suppose you dress up in them some day, when they have all gone out to dinner, and come and show yourself to me in them. I should like to see how my little sweetheart would look, dressed up as I mean to dress her up some of these days!"

Alice laughed and blushed and disclaimed. A short time since she would have been horrified at the notion of taking advantage of the good nature or carelessness of a lady, and obtaining surreptitious access to her jewel case in her absence; but of late she had been breathing in a different atmosphere, and it did not require any very great pressure on the part of Walter Garth to induce her to make the experiment.

He hardly knew himself why he felt a curiosity about the family jewels; but he was one of those men who desire to leave no stone unturned for his advancement. He had an instinct that it might be an advantage to him to know as intimately as possible the affairs of all these fine folks. He was hearing a great deal about them at the inn where he lodged, and he made a mental note of the information thus gained. His position as Desmond's confidential clerk gave him great advantages for obtaining information, and he was very much of the opinion that knowledge and power went hand in hand.

Choosing a night when the Vanboroughs and their guests were out, he got pretty little vain Alice to dress herself up in sparkling jewels, and whilst she was delighting in her own reflection in the glass, he was taking a mental inventory (afterwards to be placed on paper) of the gems; for he was something of a connoisseur already as to their value, having one of those retentive and inquiring minds which never lose an opportunity of gaining information, no matter what the subject may be.

When Mrs. Vanborough's had been duly shown off and catalogued, he asked about Mrs. St. Claire's. Alice hesitated a little. She was still deeply attached to Odeyne, and she had a vague shrinking from anything that could be thought disloyal towards her. She knew that were her mistress at home, she would never dare display the contents of her jewel case even to Walter, her lover. Of course it was natural that Walter should like to see pretty things, and Alice felt a secret pride in all the beautiful trinkets her mistress now possessed. She would like him to be duly impressed by them; yet she disliked doing anything that would make her feel ashamed before Odeyne on her return.

But the Rubicon had been crossed when she had clasped Mrs. Vanborough's jewels upon her neck and arms, and had heard her lover praising them and her alike. A little judicious coaxing, and the girl tripped away to find her mistress's jewel case. She would not put on the sparkling ornaments, but she unlocked the case, and displayed with pride and delight the glittering contents.

Odeyne had come in for the St. Claire family jewels, some of which were very fine ones. Her husband and his friends had made considerable additions to this collection upon her marriage, and, as Walter Garth was quick to note, the young wife possessed a remarkably fine collection of gems, many of which were family heirlooms.

His remarks and appreciation of the stones pleased Alice, although her conscience smote her a little, and she was glad to get the jewel box safely locked up again in its accustomed drawer. When she went back to Walter, she found him drumming thoughtfully upon the table with his fingers, looking out straight before him.

He rose when she came in and carefully shut the door behind them.

"I want to give you a word of caution, Alice," he said. "In a house like this, or indeed in any other place, you must be uncommonly careful of such a costly case of jewels as that one. I had no idea Mrs. St. Claire had such fine things. They ought to be kept always in a regular safe."

"So they are at home," answered Alice. "There is a safe in the master's dressing-room, and they always lie there, and he has the key. But of course when they are on a visit things are different. But the case is kept locked up in a drawer, and I have the key in my pocket generally."

"Well, just you be careful, dear, that's all, and don't get gossiping with other maids about those jewels. One hears of ugly things happening in houses where there is a haul of that sort to be had; and it's our business to protect our employers' property all we can. That's why I wanted to see what sort of things you had under your care. You are such an innocent, unsuspecting child, you would never think any harm of talking about them."

Alice blushed a little nervously. She was rather fond of chattering about the glories of her place, which were so much greater than anything she had known before. But this caution from Walter was quite enough. Already she began to think of burglars and murderers.

"Oh, I wish we were safe at home again! Then I should not have the care of the things!"

"Now, don't be a foolish child. I did not say all this to frighten you, but just that you might be cautious. Burglars aren't so numerous as some people think. You needn't be the least afraid just because I've given you a caution. I'm glad I know, myself; and I'll keep my eyes and ears open whilst I'm about here. But don't you go and get into any sort of fright. And now tell me about our own little home, and how soon it is going to be ready for us. For I am wanting very badly to settle down, with my own little wife all to myself."

Alice had a great deal to say about the pretty lodge at one of the gates, and the additions and improvements that were being made to it. In the pleasure of talking of their future home she forgot all her other anxieties, and parted from Walter in the best of spirits. She had already begun to think that so long as she might still be permitted to perform a few offices for her beloved mistress, she would like the independence of a little home of her own, and the freedom to wear a gayer style of dress while still in Odeyne's service. She had blossomed out into a very dainty little waiting-maid of late, but she was meditating a higher flight when she should be Mrs. Walter Garth; and there were a few garments on which she had spent a good deal of time and thought, which she had not cared to show to her mistress when completed.

The house was very gay now. Algernon Vanborough had asked some of his friends and associates, and sport and amusement were the order of the day.

Desmond was a keen sportsman, and whether it were shooting or hunting that was the day's programme, he was always ready, and always held his own with his companions. His bag was always one of the heaviest after a day in the stubble; and he generally managed to be in at the death when the fox had been run to bay.

He would come in healthily tired from his day's sport, and after dinner would sit dozing in an easy-chair beside the fire, and retire early to bed, whilst the other men adjourned to the billiard-room, and were often hours in dispersing.

Odeyne often felt keenly for Beatrice, as she noted the half-wistful way in which she sometimes looked at her husband, as though entreating him to leave his guests for once and follow the earlier members of the household. But of course, as host, he had easy excuse to make, and she would sometimes take Odeyne's arm and say, with a laugh which was sadder than tears, "If only I had my husband in such good order as you have yours, things would be very different with us. How do you manage him, my dear?"

Once Odeyne, after a visit to the nursery, made a great effort over her natural reserve, and answered--

"Desmond and I always read and say our prayers together, Beatrice. It began from the very first, directly after we were married. He told me that he had got into careless ways, that he had almost forgotten how to pray; and he said I must teach him again. It has been such a link, for we have never missed yet. He knows I wait for him, if he does not come up with me. It is only just a few minutes morning and night; but I think it hallows the whole day."

Beatrice turned her face a little away, and there was a certain huskiness in her voice as she answered--

"I wonder what you would say if I were to tell you that I don't know how long it is since I said any prayers!"

And after a short pause Odeyne answered--

"I think it would make me understand a great many things!"

Desmond was immensely in love with his young wife still, and never more so than when he saw her amongst Beatrice's friends. She seemed to him like a pure stately lily amongst them all, so fair and calm and innately feminine and refined. There might be more beautiful women there--Beatrice herself was far more brilliant; but there was a charm to him about Odeyne's gentle presence and feminine sweetness of which he was keenly conscious, day by day and hour by hour. And in the evenings when she would sit at the piano and sing to them, when her clear, sweet, pathetic voice roused the admiration and delight of the whole company, he would place his chair where he obtained the best view of her face, and would tell himself a hundred times over what a happy man he was to have won such a treasure for himself.

But Desmond was not the man to be satisfied with mere inward admiration of his wife, nor even with those endearments which he lavished upon her in private. He wanted her to have the best of everything that the world possessed, to see her surrounded by all that heart could desire, and in spite of her loving remonstrances, he was always heaping upon her presents of every description, although since he was now taking a holiday from his labours in town, he had not the same opportunity for bringing home gifts with him from day to day.

Nevertheless, neither mind nor thoughts were idle. He had observed on several occasions of late, that when the ladies drove out to meet the sportsmen, or to see the hounds throw off, Odeyne was not amongst the number. He discovered by side winds that there was not quite enough carriage accommodation to contain all the house party, and that Odeyne was always eager to give up her place to someone else, if any sort of difficulty arose at the start.

He said nothing about this, even to Odeyne herself, who always told him she was glad of a quiet time to write home, or see to other little things, or to play with Beatrice's boy, who was beginning to look upon her as his best friend. But he had in his head a plan of his own, and worked quietly to bring about its fulfilment.

It had been a wet and stormy day, so that the house party had not done anything more adventurous than a little shooting over the home covers. All had returned to lunch, and were lounging about afterwards discussing the prospect of any further attempt at facing the long, wet grass, when Desmond came in with a smile upon his face and went straight up to his wife.

"Odeyne," he said, "do you mind coming round to the stable-yard? I want to show you something."

At that word the company all looked interested. Beatrice's face beamed with arch fun, the men (so to speak) pricked up their ears, and Algernon cried out--

"What is that, eh? The stable-yard? Well, I hope you don't confine the invitation to your wife alone. Mayn't the rest of us come too?"

"To be sure, to be sure; the more the merrier!" cried Desmond, with a laughing look round him. He was in excellent spirits, and as pleased as a boy about something. The ladies got their hats and wraps, the men took their caps, and all moved in a body towards the great paved stable-yard, upon which, it was commonly rumoured, Algernon Vanborough had spent a fabulous sum of money.

Desmond led the way, leading his wife by the hand. The little lover-like ways of the young husband were rather amusing to the other visitors, most of whom, though not old in years, had lived through a number of illusions, and counted true love as one of these.

In the centre of the great square yard stood a dainty little pony-phaeton upholstered in dark green morocco, with every fitting of the most costly and luxurious kind. The little carriage was drawn by two small and very handsome black cobs, who stood with arched necks and pawing feet, wonderfully well-matched and showy. The harness was all new and the best of its kind, the silver plating shining in the gleam of sunlight that lit up the scene as the party approached.

Odeyne uttered a little cry of pleasure and admiration. She had never seen such a pretty turn-out in her life; yet she did not realise for a moment what was the meaning of her husband's action, as he led her up to it and placed her in the carriage.

"What do you think of it, darling?" he asked. "You will not be afraid to drive yourself sometimes, when I have taken you about a little to show you how gentle and tractable the cobs can be?"

Then she looked up and understood, and the blood rushed to her face.

"Oh, Desmond!--how could you? Oh, you are too kind. But we have so many horses as it is!"

"My wife must have her special carriage--I have always intended that," he answered, giving the reins into her hands and taking his seat beside her. "Come, dear, and let us just see how they obey their new mistress. Let them go, James, we will take a turn through the park."

The little carriage vanished amid admiring comments from the knot of visitors; all had some approving remark to make upon the beauty of the carriage or the horses.

No adverse criticism was passed by any of these, but one of the grooms, belonging to a guest, looked after the carriage as it vanished round a bend in the park, and remarked as he took a straw from his lips and turned to one of his companions--

"Nice turn-out enough, but them two black cobs look to me uncommonly like the pair that nearly killed Lady Mashingham in the spring!"