CHAPTER XVI.

THE CODICIL.

"I WISH to have a codicil added to my will," said Lady Halcot.

She spoke very decidedly, after her wont, and sat upright in her chair, facing the lawyer, while the muscles round her mouth worked nervously.

"I have decided not to make Gwendoline Halcombe my heiress to the full extent that I purposed some months ago. Circumstances have occurred to alter my determination."

"Indeed!" Mr. Selwyn said, not without a touch of surprise.

Lady Halcot took umbrage at it immediately.

"I suppose I am at liberty to dispose of my property as I see fit," she said sharply. "I am not under obligations to explain my reasons to all the world."

"Certainly not; certainly not," Mr. Selwyn answered, with all politeness.

"I intend to leave the sum of thirty thousand pounds for the building and endowing of a small hospital in Riversmouth; and also the sum of ten thousand pounds for the building of some almshouses. I did not realize till lately the need for these two institutions. Miss Withers has been drawing me some neat plans for the almshouses. She has quite a gift that way."

"Ha! That is it," thought the lawyer. "So 'she' is at the bottom of the matter."

"Also, I intend to leave the sum of four thousand pounds to Miss Withers."

"Miss Withers ought to be grateful," said Mr. Selwyn.

"Miss Withers is always grateful for kindnesses. I find her increasingly useful,—a most devoted attendant. I am not so young as I was, and I do not know what I should do without her. It is my wish to mark my appreciation of her services. If I could depend upon others as entirely as I can depend upon her—"

The old lady's tone was combative, and the unfinished sentence plainly pointed to Gwendoline.

The lawyer again said, "Certainly," in a soothing tone. Secretly he thought Lady Halcot nervous and irrational, as if something had thrown her off her balance.

A pause followed, and he observed cautiously, "It is, of course, no concern of mine, but perhaps I should recall to your memory, Lady Halcot, that in a letter to Miss Halcombe you undertook to provide handsomely for her future. There would not be much remaining to her, after what you propose to do. Thirty thousand to the hospital, ten thousand to the almshouses, four thousand to Miss Withers, twenty thousand, roughly, in various bequests and legacies,—out of some seventy thousand pounds."

"Seventy thousand is a low estimate, if I am not mistaken. I promised to provide handsomely for Gwendoline Halcombe, if she gave me satisfaction," Lady Halcot said, rather too much as if speaking of a housemaid. "But I have had reason of late to be disappointed in Miss Halcombe. She has shown a want of ingenuousness, a want of entire straightforwardness, with which it is impossible to be satisfied. And within only the last week she has displayed a want of propriety in her manner of speaking about me—not, of course, to my face, but behind my back—which I could never have expected in her."

"I am surprised, I confess," said Mr. Selwyn, while "Miss Withers again" flashed through his mind. "I should not have imagined the thing possible, knowing Miss Halcombe as I do. Is your ladyship sure that the information is completely reliable?"

"Completely," Lady Halcot said, with her most decided air. "However, I am not in the habit of forgetting my promises, or of swerving without sufficient cause from my intentions. I intend to leave Miss Halcombe sufficiently provided for. Your suggestion was therefore superfluous."

Mr. Selwyn felt that he had given offence, and he bowed slightly, with an air of apology.

"The five hundred a year, settled upon her parents for their lifetime, will revert to Miss Halcombe after their death. This is already so arranged; and the arrangement shall remain undisturbed. Also there will be at my death a few thousands to become hers immediately,—some seven or eight thousand, if I am not mistaken. This is, at least, as much as I have ever pledged myself to do; although for a time I intended to go much farther."

Mr. Selwyn found the old lady as usual keenly interested in business details. It struck him, however, that she was not so clear as she had once been. She forgot herself repeatedly, asked the same questions over again, and seemed not fully to grasp the sense of his answers. Still, her resolution was plainly taken.

The interview was a long one, leaving Mr. Selwyn barely time to catch his train. He would have liked a few words alone with Gwendoline; but to defer his return until a later hour was not possible; and he learnt that Gwendoline had gone out for a drive. Was it by her own wish? Mr. Selwyn shrewdly suspected that Gwendoline would have been at least as pleased as himself to exchange a few remarks.

"The upshot of the matter is that Miss Halcombe is unhappy at the Leys."

Mr. Selwyn had said little about his visit to Riversmouth that same evening in the drawing-room,—much less than he was wont to say. Isobel's questioning had proved almost fruitless; for her husband was, of course, an adept at fencing. Mortimer Selwyn had listened silently, drawing his own conclusions; and these conclusions took shape suddenly in the above remark.

"I have not said so," Mr. Selwyn cautiously answered.

"Not in words, precisely," said Mortimer, "Is she well, father?"

"I should say not thoroughly. She has lost her colour."

"And her spirits?"

"I thought her looking rather depressed. But, as I tell you, I had no opportunity of speaking with her."

"Is the old lady as fond of her as she was six months ago?" inquired Isobel.

Mr. Selwyn could have laughed. "Fondness" was not a word to apply to Lady Halcot under any circumstances, and he said so.

"Call it anything you like, Stuart. You know what I mean. Does Lady Halcot care for Gwendoline Halcombe as much as ever? Or has she begun to throw her overboard? You need not be afraid to speak. Mortimer and I are perfectly safe."

Thus pressed, Mr. Selwyn yielded in some measure. He said nothing about the proposed change in the will; but he spoke with regret of Gwendoline's altered look, and of the old lady's seeming coldness.

"I'll tell you what it is," Isobel cried indignantly. "It is all that little wretch of a Miss Withers, and her stupid nephew!"

"My dear! You are not acquainted with Miss Withers."

"Yes, I am, through you, quite as much as I am acquainted with Lady Halcot. Do you think I don't understand the expression of your face when you mention Miss Withers' name? I have no doubt she is a most estimable person, in people's opinion generally; but she isn't in your opinion, Stuart. And I haven't the least grain of doubt that she is at the bottom of the mischief, and you haven't either."

Mr. Selwyn would not confirm or deny the assertion. He said merely, "You are too observant, Isobel, and you have a quick imagination. But, remember, this must not go farther. Not a word must reach Gwendoline's parents."

"What! You would leave that poor girl to pine away for want of a kind word!"

"I hope matters are not quite so bad. We have no business to interfere; and it would be positive cruelty to tell her parents, when nothing can be done. Gwendoline is bound to remain at the Leys so long as Lady Halcot desires to keep her."

Isobel fumed, but could not explain away the truth of the assertion.

Later in the evening, when she had retired, Mortimer took the opportunity to say quietly, "You consider seriously that no steps can be taken?"

"About Gwendoline? Certainly not. She is entirely in Lady Halcot's hands. You and I have nothing to do with the matter."

"I am not so sure that I have not."

"Eh!" Mr. Selwyn said doubtfully; and Mortimer's pleasant eyes met his.

"I do not know whether I shall ever marry, father. But this I know, that if I do, Gwendoline will be my wife."

Mr. Selwyn made a sound of regret and disapproval.

"I should wish you to understand so much. I have had as yet no opportunity of endeavouring to win her."

"And you will not have," said Mr. Selwyn.

"I should not wait long but for your position with Lady Halcot. As it is, I could take no step without your approval."

"The last step which I could approve would be your going to Riversmouth with such an aim. She is a good girl and a sweet girl, Mortimer; but she is utterly out of your reach at present. Lady Halcot has her own plans. I am sorry for you. Perhaps I should be right to mention to you in confidence that Gwendoline will not be so rich as many suppose."

"So much the better," Mortimer said quietly.