U544^ V v ^^^^ F A L K N E R L Y L E VOL. I. FALKNER LYLE, OR THE STORY OF TWO WIYES. BY MARK LEMON. IN THEEE TOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1866. TAe right of Translation is reserved. LOlTDOir EATTIL AJTD EDWABDS PBTXTEES, CUXKDOB STBSZI, COVEjrr GAEDEir. ^:^ "Y TO Mrs. HERBERT INGRAM KU ^olnmt^ mt ^mtxihtb, WITH SINCERE ESTEEM, BY THE AUTHOR o I Vine Cottage, Crawley. ^ CONTENTS THE FIEST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. PAGB SCHOOL DATS — A TIEST LOYE AI^D ITS DIFFI- CULTIES 1 CHAPTEE II. "LOYE WILL FIND OUT THE WAT" — FALKNEE HAS ANOTHER WOUND THAN FEOM CUPID's aeeow 26 CHAPTER III. FALKNEE FINDS HIMSELF BAD COMPANY — HE HEAES AND MAKES CONFESSION .... 55 CHAPTEE IV. FALKNEE WOEKS HAED AND TAKES A HOLIDAY — HE FOEGETS HIS FIEST LOYE, AND MAKES BUT LITTLE PEOGEESS WITH HIS SECOND . 7S Viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. PAGI PALKNEB TUENS DIPLOMATIST AND IS INTEO- DTJCED AT THE COUET OF QUEEN BEETHA — THE PICNIC AND WHAT IT LED TO ... 103 CHAPTER VI. ME. HOPKIN HAS EEASON EOE EEJOICING, AND COMES OUT YEET STEONG EALKNEE OB- TAINS HIS DESIEE, AND EEPENTS .... 132 CHAPTER VII. DOMESTIC STEIFE, WHICH HAS THE USUAL ENDING ME. BUMPS IS TAKEN TO GEEENWICH, AND THEN INTO COUNCIL 163 CHAPTER VIII. FALKNEe's HOME IS BEOK"EN UP, AND MANY CHANGES FOLLOW 189 CHAPTER IX. ME. BUMPSTEAD EENDEES HIMSELF AMENABLE TO THE LAWS, AND TAKES A NIGHT EIDE WITH HIS OLD PUPIL 218 CHAPTER X. BEETHA ATTENDS TO HEE OWN AFFAIES, AND WITH NO GEEAT SUCCESS — FALKNEE GOES TO INDIA, AND MEETS WITH MAESTON . . 249 CHAPTER XI. EOSA EECEIVES A SCOLDING FEOM HEE BEOTHEE, WHO IS SUEPEISED IN HIS TUEIS .... 277 CHAPTER I. SCHOOL DAYS— A FIEST LOVE AND ITS DIFFICULTIES. A BRIGHT sun, on a spring morning, strug- gling through the smoky coating of the \\dndows of our chambers in New Inn, makes desk-work impossible, and the roar and hum of the street become more audible and intolerable as pleasant recollections haunt us, of trees and hedgerows bursting into leaf and blossom, whilst the noiselessness, which is not silence, is ever and anon broken by the twittering of happy birds, flitting round and about, and darting onward, as though to lure the wayfarer to where " The green field sleeps in the sun," as poet Wordsworth sings. Why remain pent up in our prison-house, when a Hansom cab, for the small charge of VOL. I. B 2 FALKXER LYLE ; OR, eighteen-pence, will carry us to the London Bridge Railway Stations,, where we can pick and choose the place to make holiday ? We have " sported^^ the gloomy outer door of our cham- bersj on which is inscribed, in fair white letters, our name, and have now attached thereto a small label, on which is written, " Return to-morrow/^ There is a vagueness about the announcement which prevents any disquieting limitations to our engagement whilst we are absent, and leaves us at liberty to come or go as the hour invites us. We are at the station, and the time-bills of the railways court our inspection. Here is a familiar place, barely twenty miles from town, and yet nearly twice twenty years have passed since we last visited it. We will go thither, as some recent experiences have renewed our interest in the large old house, with great old cedars in front of it — trees which were, in years past, the chief notabilities of the place. We must except the long and stately chestnut avenue, at one time the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 3 noble approach to a royal hunting-lodge, of which no vestige remains but the great trees and the neglected road between them. Our way lies down this avenue, and the resin- coated cones of the old trees glisten in the sun, which chequers with patches of light and shadow the road on which we walk. When last we took that walk we had three schoolfellows for companions : one, the mild divine who preaches so languidly at high-born sinners in Belgravia, and says grace at more bridal breakfasts than any other priest in the diocese. He was the best boxer at The Cedars in our day. Another, who had soft blue eyes and cheeks that a gii'l might have coveted, and whose light and mirtliful laugh seems still to haunt the avenue, died a brave man^s death when the Sepoys mutinied. The other lives, to experience, we will hope, in the winter of his life, some of the good which its spring-time promised, and when nipping frosts and scorching blights were unlookcd B 2 4 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, for by all who knew Falkner Lyle when a school- boy at well^ we will call the place Bright- brookj and the old great house The Cedars^ as OUR STORY will have to do with the loves and sorrows of many who first met beneath the roof of Dr. Meriton, the honoured head-master of the school. We passed up the lane which skirts the green play-groundj and seated on a gate at the end, obtained through the open door in the wall which divides '^ the green^'' fi'om " the dry '''' a glimpse of the little gardens and their herceaux, hurdled off and cultivated by embryo Evelyns, perhaps. There was the old cricket-ground, less worn than it used to be, we fancied ; but it was early in the season. Yonder we saw the terrace of turf beneath the dear old elms, where we were wont to lie to watch the play when interested in the game, or else to con the not unwel- come task, or to read some well-used volume THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 5 from the school library. Sometimes, outstretched,, and overpowered by the heat, to fall into a perilous sleep, and be rudely awakened by a cricket-ball when " out of play/^ or by a burn- ing-glass brought into focus on our shoe-string, which smouldered until the heat it engendered startled the sleeper into wakefulness. The play-grounds were empty as the old school clock chimed half-past eleven; but as we pon- dered on the past, there came a troop of boys into the field, quaintly dressed in round jackets and broad shirt-collars spread upon the shoulders, or with small crimpled frills about the necks of the wearers, and all unlike the lilliputian men we meet now-a-days " in society." We knew them all, and could call them by their names, and yet many had come from their graves in distant lands, and from the deep sea some, and others from their resting-places in their native land. Some had left the busy haunts of men where they were toiling and striving, many with honour 6 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, and success — a few with all the world against them. The school clock struck twelve, and the joyous voices of a hundred boys released from their tasks scared away the phantoms we had raised. We strove to accept the new-comers for our playmates, but felt we had no part in their young lives, — that our youth was ended, and that we must remain with the past, its shadows, and its memories. Cedar House had been for many years a school before we knew it and its kindjy master. Dr. Meriton. The house was very large, having a great entrance hall, from which a wide oak stair- case ascended to the dormitories and the private rooms of the tutors. In one wing were the library, drawing, and dining-rooms, and bed- chambers of Dr. Meriton and his familv ; in the other, the dining-hall of the boys, who usually numbered over a hundred. The school- rooms, of which there were two, and called the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 7 Old and New School, were external to the house, and abutted on one of the play-grounds. One side of this space was hurdled off and divided into small gardens, each ha^dng a small enclosed summer-house, or a berceau, as it was called. It was rather a distinction to obtain one of those allotments, and Falkner Lyle had been fortunate enough to procure one. The possession of a berceau enabled a studious boy to fag in quiet^ and it also admitted, if the owner was so inclined, of the exercise of small hospitalities in the form of coffee and chocolate parties, and of quiet gos- sips with selected friends. Falkner Lyle was a fa- vourite with most of his schoolfellows, being a good cricketer, a dashing player at foot-ball and hockey, while few excelled him at fives or rackets. He was a favourite also with Dr. Mcriton, being a sharp, clever lad, and studious withal. He had other recommendations to the kindly- hearted doctor, being an orphan, with only one blood relation, a crusty old bachelor, who had 8 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, lived in clubs all his life, and never cared to disturb bis own routine of enjoyment by having the care of his nephew duiing the vacations. Falkner, therefore, passed most of his holidays at The Cedars, except when some schoolfellow in- vited him for a week or two to his home. Falkner felt his isolation very keenly at times, but having a high spirit and a cheerful disj)o- sition, he rarely complained, and then only to his chum and bosom friend, Tom Lazenby, who was, by-the-bye, the greatest dunce and best- natured fellow in the school. One good effect produced upon Falkner — and partly at the doctor^s suggestion — by his nucleus coldness, was the conviction that he should have in after life only himself to depend upon; for though possessing three or four thousand pounds from his father, he knew that some active em- ployment would be necessary if he would attain a better position in society than his inherited means could command for him. He therefore THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. \) studied harder than he might otherwise have done — mnch to the surprise of Tom Lazenby, who, as the only son of a foolish and indulgent mother, had made up his mind, he said, " to take things easy, and if he could not learn in that way, why he shouldn^t distress himself, as the £300 a-year w^hich he should have some day would be enough for him/^ With such a tem- perament and such content edness, it was no wonder that Tom Lazenby never rose beyond the fifth form, where he certainly cut a distin- guished figure, being a good head and shoulders taller than all the small boys who were associated with him. Tom cared nothing for the tutor's well- meant sarcasms and jests, little for Dr. Meriton^s wiggings, and not much for his friend Falkncr's brotherly exhortations. He would sometimes make an effort for a day or two to master his work, but there was a want of continuity in his character, and he never succeeded — as he never tried — in overcoming it. 10 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Out of school Tom Lazenby was nearly as great a favourite as Falkner Lyle, for Tom ex- celled in all athletic games when he could be induced to play ; and if he had been able to learn the rules of his Latin grammar as well as he had acquired those of cricket^ hockey, foot- ball, and rackets, he would have taken a distinguished place in the examinations at The Cedars. But Tom couldn^t, or he wouldnH; and so, after a time, as Mrs. Lazenby begged, in a letter to the doctor, that her son might " not be over- worked or overworried,-'^ young hopeless was al- lowed to take the bit in his mouth, and run his own course. Falkner Lyle was about fifteen when an event occurred at The Cedars which produced a remark- able excitement amongst most of the boys in the school whose ages ranged from fifteen to eighteen — and there were several who had at- tained to that maturity. Even Tom Lazenby THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 11 was affected tlie whole of one Sunday afternoon, but recovered himself at bed-time. Falkner Lyle was one of eleven who had all fallen in love during the first month that Ethel Meriton came to The Cedars to reside with her father the doctor. Hitherto she had lived en- tirely with Miss Agatha Meriton, her aunt — the doctor being a widower. As her father never remained during the vacation at the Cedars, Ethel had only been there very occasionally with her aunt during term-time, and then for very short visits. But now that Mrs. Grabble, the doctor's housekeeper, and Mr. Ferulam "(Tom Lazenby's tutor) had married, and projected a school of their own, Miss Ethel and her aunt were invited home to afford the doctor companionship, and to share in part the responsibilities of the house- keeping. Ethel was just seventeen, and strikingly pretty, if she were not as beautiful as the Eleven all declared her to be. A blonde complexion, large 12 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, lustrous ejeSj and chestnut hair which fell in wavy clusters — as was the fashion then — over her well-rounded shoulders, and a faultless B^ure, combined to make a vision (yes, more than one of her admirers called her a \-ision,) very likely to turn older and mser heads than the unsophisti- cated Arcadians at The Cedars. She first burst upon the astonished gaze of her father^s pupils in the church, and had she not been judiciously placed by her aunt with her back to the gallery, the doctor^s admirable sermon would have been preached to ears as deaf as the adder, and probably brought down upon the elders of the first form the anger of Mr. Bumpstead, whose duty it was to keep an eye on the devotional conduct of the occupants of the front seats in the school gallery. To do this more effectually, Mr, Bumpstead was in the habit of affecting sleep (so he said), but keeping a sort of dog-watch by opening at intervals first one eye and then the other, which operation at times was not productive of the most serious demeanour THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 13 on the part of his youthful charge. And as Mr. Bumpstead had,, in pursuit of the diflPerential cal- culus and other abstruse mathematical problems, rubbed off all the hair from the top of his head, and as he could not keep a wig in its place five minutes together, he had cultivated two fragments of hair into little horns, one on each side of the shining hemisphere, and obtained for himself the sobriquet of " the horned owl,^^ in addition to that of " Old Bumps^^ — distinctions of which he was one day apprised by the sneak of the school, Henry Brownlow. From the prudential disposition of Miss Ethel by her aunt, however, Mr. Bumpstead blinked through the service much as usual, but was rather scandalized at the somewhat indecent eagerness shown by the elder boys to get out of the church, and more so at the haste with which Brown Major and the Wilkinsons (twins) made their way by a side path to the lych gate, which one of them opened for Miss Mcriton and her niece. 14 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, having previously closed it to render the opera- tion necessary. During the ensuing month the effect which EtheFs heauty had caused among her father^s elder pupils was unmistakably evident. At firsts jfriends were noticed in earnest talk together, then rumours were abroad that Brown Major and Wilkinson Castor had quarrelled and were cronies no longer. Shirt collars were turned down by some, and poetry, like an epidemic, spread amongst others. Fellows would hardly play at cricket, and the terrace of which we have spoken was strewed from one end to the other with contemplative youths affecting to read Shakspeare and the poets, but really seeking to crib ideas to work into their own original sonnets to "the Beauty of The Cedars." Falkner Lyle was always inviting Tom Lazenby to coffee or chocolate, and though it was mid- summer, they usually sat with the berceau closed, as they might have done had they caught a Cupid, and were afraid he might fly out of the window. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 15 Yes ! it was then tliat Tom Lazenby proved how true a friend he could be on a trying emer- gency — how capable he was of self-sacrifice when it was demanded of him by a friend ! Hour by hour he sat listening to Falkner^s insane rhapsodies about Ethel the beautiful ! or vainly trying to comprehend whole quires of metrical balderdash, spun out of the brain of his friend — his Pylades ! With what gracious virtues had the poet filled the beautiful casket the world called Ethel ! With what wreaths of amaranth had he crowned his ideal of an angel ! With what impunity from all earthly failings had he endowed his perfect chrysolite — and so on — whilst Tom Lazenby drank cojBfee until he had indigestion, and then substi- tuted chocolate, which made him bilious. And we laugh at this poor boy^s love-dream — we who fancy we have awakened from such baby sleep and are wiser men and women ? No ! no ! from our heart of hearts. We remember what 16 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, dreams we have mistaken for realities^ and when past away have left the heart-ache from our trust in the delusions. Yet if we can remember our first pure love — love without passion,, interest, or selfish desire, has it not still a presence which seems like a spirit that had walked in Paradise ? And was Ethel deserving this devotion and admiration ? Yes, indeed — as, apart from her beauty, which she wore like an every-day garment, neither seeking to secui'e admiration nor con- scious of provoking it, she possessed such a sweet nature that even the old could not resist its influ- ence, but loved her as the aged delight to love the young. Although there was no indication that Ethel would become a strong-minded woman — a soul misplaced — she was endowed with firmness of cha- racter and a quick perception of right and wrong ; so that her good opinion became of value, and there was good promise that, should occasion try her, she would prove faithful to any hopes she had inspired in those whom she had won to love and trust her. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 17 The early deatli of her mother, the one ir- reparable loss a girl can know, had placed Ethel under the guidance of her father^s sister, an ex- cellent and sensible woman. Aunt Meriton had had her own duties which had kept her away from the superintendence of The Cedars. Now, however, that Dr. Meriton hungered for the com- panionship of liis child, his kind-hearted sister waived all her own objections and came to reside with her brother. Pretty Ethel was perfectly unconscious of the havoc she had made among the pupils at The Cedars, and therefore she continued to look her prettiest — she was woman enough to do that at all times — to the terrible discomfitm-e of others besides Falkner Lyle. " The great entrance-hall,^^ Falkner said to his confidential friend, Tom Lazenby, " was a gulf between them, effectually preventing the least chance of an interview. Yes, as effectually as though a mountain torrent foaming through a VOL. I. c 18 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ravine divided tliem from eacli other/^ Falkner^s metapliors_, we are bold enough to say, were quite as good and original as metapliors of lovers generally are. Eros, thougli blind, occasionally blunders upon strange devices to gratify his votaries, and Falkner was to commence an intimacy with Ethel in a manner as original as it was unpre- meditated by either. "We have incidentally referred to Henry Brownlow, and by a not very complimentary designation — the sneak of the school. He was nearly the same age as Falkner Lisle, but rather delicate and dwarfed in stature. He was a great toady to the bigger boys, frequently acting as volunteer fag, and seemingly well rewarded by the condescension of his elders. He had been particularly subservient to Falkner until the advent of Ethel, when, having been present at one of the berceau confidences, he became acquainted with the secret of the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 19 love-sick boy. From that time lie evidently avoided the society of Lyle_, with whom^ by-the- bye^ he was no particular favourite^ and who, therefore, experienced but little concern at Brownlow^s secession, and the circumstance we are about to relate justified this indifference. Tom Lazenby had remained late one evening in Falkner^s berceau trying — really trying — to master a page of Cornelius Nepos, but the effort had proved too much for him and he had fallen asleep. When his nap had ended twilight had changed to evening, and he sat for a few moments look- ing through the open window of the berceau to- wards a similar building in an adjoining garden. Presently he fancied that a figure was stealing stealthily towards the door, and the correctness of his surmise was speedily proved to be correct by a flash of light produced from a phosphorus- box (then a new invention), and Brownlow was known to be the only boy in the school possessed of such a contrivance. Tom Lazenby thought c 3 20 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, nothing more of this incident when he had locked the door of the little snmmer-honse and ran off to the glad summons of the snpper-bell. The next day there was a considerable com- motion in the Old School^ as Wilkinson Pollux had had some money stolen from a desk in his berceau. The knowledge of the loss was con- fined to the elder hoys^ as it was the custom at The Cedars to tell no tales out of school^ but to refer all matters of dispute or misdemeanour to a tribunal called the Triumviri. Tom Lazenby^ therefore^ knew nothing of the robbery^ but meeting Brownlow in the play- ground^ said — " Old fellow^ didn^t I see you last night with that phosphorus-box of yours in Wilkinson^s berceau 7" Brownlow coloured very red as he replied — '^ How dare you ask such a question ? And where could you have been after dark to have seen any one there ?^^ THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 21 Lazenby told Brownlow how lie had been em- ployed^ and,, having done so^ passed on^ tliinking no more of the matter. In a few days,, however^ Falkner was invited to a private conference in the Old School^ and there learned to his surprise that his dear friend^ Tom Lazenby, had been accused by some* unknown in- formant of the theft of Wilkinson^s money. " Lazenby is incapable of such an act/^ said Falkner, warmly, ^' and I demand to know his accuser. ^^ " I can^t tell you at present/^ replied Wilkin- son, " as I have given my promise not to do so, but if you will talk the matter over with Lazenby, and he denies it, I will make my informant declare himself.^^ '' I will not insult Lazenby by asking him such a question,^' said Falkner, firmly. " Then I will," continued Wilkinson ; " as I am determined to find out who has done such a dirty, dishonourable act." Leaving the room, he 22 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, crossed the playground to the New School^ and where a large number of the boys were then assembled. Wilkinson mounted a form_, and assuming the attitude of a school orator, by thrusting his hands into his trousers pockets, he began : " I say, you chaps ! A very unpleasant circumstance has occurred, and I should not have spoken of it for my own part, but it^s such a shabby transac- tion that the whole school is compromised. Some money has been taken out of my desk, and by one of you New School boys.^^ " By whom V cried twenty voices at once. ^' Well, I am told — and by one of yourselves," answered Wilkinson, ^' that Tom Lazenby was seen in my garden. ^^ " Me I" said Tom, springing up. " ^\lio says that ?" Chorus repeated, " Who ? who ?" Wilkinson again refused to give the name of his informant. So great, however, was the popu- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 23 larity of Lazenby, that when lie had indignantly denied the accnsation Willdnson Pollux received such unmistakable marks of public disapprobation that he hastily retreated^ fortunately avoiding a Gradus ad Parnassum which followed him_, whirling through the air. When Wilkinson^ in after years,, contested the seaport borough of Dubuppington^ he was reminded of this incident of his school days when he received more fiat- fish than plumpers. Of course Pylades sought Orestes^ and Falk- ner^s berceau was that afternoon dedicated to Ate — to schemes of vengeance and not to tales of love. As the two friends talked over this distressing circumstance^ Lazenby suddenly recalled the in- cident we have noted in connexion with Brown- low, and he had just finished telling it to Falk- ner, when little Pugsby, a class-mate of Tom^s, was heard calling, " Lyle, may I come into your garden T' it not being etiquette to enter without permission had and obtained. 24 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " Come in — what do you want T' said Falkner, a little sharply. " I want to tell you and Lazenby something I saw on Thursday nighty when Wilkinson Pollux lost his money. — I^m Bouncer^s fag^ you know, and he^d left his Virgil on the terrace, so I had to over the wall and get it. As I was coming back — it was nearly dark — I saw a fellow digging with his knife, or something of that sort, against one of the brick pillars. He didn^t see me, as I was behind the sycamores, but when he had done and run down the playground, I saw it was Brownlow. I heard what Wilkinson Pollux said to-day, so I went just now to see if Brownlow had put anything by the pillar, and there is something in a piece of paper, but I was afraid to touch it." The information of little Pugsby was felt to be most important, and it was decided to send for Wilkinson Pollux and test the value of the discovery. A bulPs-eye lantern having been lighted, the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 25 party of young detectives accompanied Pugsby to the spot lie had mentioned,, and there sure enough was the stolen money, wrapped in a piece of paper, part of the cover of a letter, on which was written — "Master H. Brownlow, "The Ced '' The discovery did for Tom Lazenby what Dr. Meriton's wiggings and canings had failed to effect — it made him cry. 26 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, CHAPTER II. 'love will find out the way" — FALKKER HAS ANOTHER WOUND THAN FROM CUPID's ARROW. TT was, as we liave said,, the custom at The Cedars to confine all disputes and misde- meanours of the boys to arbitration among them- selves; and the discovery of Brownlow^s delin- quency was therefore concealed from Dr. Meriton, and adjudicated upon by a certain tribunal of popular election, called the Triumviii — after its classical prototype. Brownlow^s conduct was considered to be so disgraceful, that he was condemned to be sent to Coventry : a sentence of terrible import, imply- ing as it did exclusion from the society of his schoolfellows, and which was likely to be rigidly enforced against Brownlow, as he was far from popular. During the four or six weeks which THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 27 preceded the midsummer vacation, therefore, no one spoke a friendly word to Brownlow ; but Tom Lazenby could not bear to witness the offender's punishment any longer, and by an ear- nest appeal to Falkner Lyle and other influen- tial boys a mitigation of sentence was obtained, and the ban taken off Brownlow, who returned no more to The Cedars after the holidays, al- though we shall meet mth him again in the course of our story. Lyle was more kindly dis- posed towards the offender than he might other- wise have been — for he resented greatly the treacherous attempt to connect Tom Lazenby with the robbery — by an occurrence, painful in itself, but which had helped to procure for Falkner an introduction to the idol of his soul, Ethel Meriton. So unexpected and unusual was the form of introduction, that we *^^did never read by talc or history the course of true love " ever took the same direction. The dormitories at The Cedars had, of course. 28 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, their distinctive designations, and tlie " High Middle^^ was the name of the largest chamber, containing about twelve or fourteen beds. In a smaller room adjoining, Lyle, Lazenby, and Brown Major slept, and were permitted, for the assumed purposes of study, to burn the tradi- tionary oil (a candle) until ten o^clock, when, on their parole d'honneur, the light was expected to be extinguished. Pugsby, who had so cleverly distinguished him- self by detecting the criminality of Brownlow, was still in a state of fagdom, and it was, there- fore, determined to hold a " bed of justice,^^ to consider the propriety of gi^ang him his freedom as a reward for his tact and boldness. A " bed of justice '' at The Cedars was distinguished from appeals to the ^' Trium^dri,^^ by being confined to such matters as bore a civil character, and when- ever the services of the public ^' lictors " were not likely to be required. This popular court held its sittings in one of those chambers to Avhich THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 29 the privilege of a lantern had been extended. The office of judge was electoral^ and the choice of the constituency of the High Middle had fallen upon Falkner Lyle on the present occasion. The judgment-seat was a small stool placed on the top of a piece of furnitm-ej much out of vogue now-a-days^ but then common enough^ and known as a turn-up bedstead. The official robes of the judge consisted of a night-gown worn over the clothes, and an improvised wig — a bolster having the feathers shaken to either end and then thrown on the head of the representative of Themis. " The bed^' had been duly opened, and Mr. Ser- geant Brown had described in glowing language the claims of Pugsby to be released from the drudgery of fagdom. Witnesses had borne testi- mony to the jolly good-fellowship, and the learned judge was engaged in summing up the evidence generally, adding, on his own account, '^ that Pugsby had discharged in a most exemplary manner his duties as a fag, having, to his lordship's 30 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, own knowledge^ warmed three beds on one niglit in the depth of the past winter/-* This latter observation was not only received with louder demonstrations of applause than was usually thought advisable, for prudential reasons (Dr. Meriton being known to have quick ears), but such a guffaw followed his lordship^s address, that the learned speaker was at a loss to discover in his rather neat observations a cause for this ex- treme risibility, until he looked towards the door of the court and there beheld the doctor. To disrobe and descend from his "bad emi- nence''^ was the thought of a moment; but Dr. Meriton, in a voice that admitted of no question, desired him to retain his judicial vest- ments, to quit the seat of justice, and to follow him downstairs. "I thought, gentlemen,^^ said Dr. Meriton, " that these later hours of the evening were devoted to study, and not to such mummery as I have witnessed. However, we ^dll speak of THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 31 this again in tlie morning. As you_, Lyle^ are e"vddently the principal offender^ come with me/^ Falkner was surprised at the severity of the doctor's tone and manner, and as corporal punishment still obtained at The Cedars,, he dreaded much that he should at last be subjected to that indignity, consoling himself, however, as he followed the doctor downstairs, that if he had to be " swiped" (as a flogging was elegantly called), by a judicious management 6f his bolster he might escape some of the physical pain of the operation. The little room where the offenders at The Cedars were usually carpeted was at the further end of the great entrance hall ; but, to Falkner's surprise, the doctor, seizing him firmly by the nape of the neck, proceeded to the family dramng- room. Lyle made a momentary resistance, but the doctor was a"" powerful man. Before his captive could reply to his own mental question, '^Is SHE in there?'' the door had been opened 32 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, and the two stood in the centre of the drawing- room^ now lighted for a fete. Round the walls were seated the youth,, the beauty^ the fashion, and old age of the doctor^s congregation^ cele- brating in a mild way the birthday of Miss Meriton. The best-mannered person in the room, the most considerate^ could not refrain from laughing at this extraordinary introduction^ and even poor Falkner, abashed and humiliated, grinned hideously. "Ladies and gentlemen/^ said the doctor, " allow me to introduce to you my Lord Lyle, Chief Justice of the High Middle^ and not a very bad fellow to boot.^^ The doctor then explained the circumstances under which he had made his capture, and having expressed his disapproval of the abuse of the privilege accorded to the High Middle, ordered the footman to hand Master Lyle a glass of wine. Falkner begged very earnestly to be excused the proffered hospitality, being THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 33 only desirous of escaping from tlie room ; but when the doctor took his hand^ and led him — oh, confusion ! oh, rapture ! oh, delirium ! — to Miss Meriton, and said — " Falkner, this is my daughter Ethel, and to- day is her birthday. You will not refuse to drink her health ?^^ If the doctor had been really the giant Blunder- bore he seemed to be to his captive, Falkner would have braved death rather than have wOrn that ridi- culous head-gear another moment in her presence. So tearing the bolster from his head with a flourish which nearly prostrated the attendant footman, Lyle rushed from the room, almost blinded by confusion. He sat down on one of the wide window-seats on the stairs and opened a latch window that admitted air — he was so faint, so bewildered. He had been introduced to his first, his only love — ^but how ? — ^but how ? As a great fool ! a guy ! — a laughing-stock to all the village swells (they were called gentry in those days). VOL. I. D 34 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, The doctor had been cruel to him^ very cruel, and Ethel would only remember him for the future as that great stupid Lyle, who made such capital fun on her birthday ! Misery ! despair ! He must leave the school. A^Tiat other resolutions he might have formed as he remained sitting on the window-seat, we know not, had he not been discovered by Mr. Bumpstead, who had been spending the evening with the young assistant to the village doctor, and who now came upstairs blinking from the effects of some extraordinary composition made in the sur- gery from spirits of vdne and essence of juniper. Falkner stole silently to his bed without un- dressing himself. He continued to think upon the unlucky chance which had nipped his love in the bud and left his heart " a withered, joyless thing,^^ until sleep weighed his eyelids down and steeped his senses in forgetfulness. '^ Blessed be the man who invented sleep,^^ says Sancho Panza. Amen, say we. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 35 And did Ethel so regard poor Falkncr, al- thougli she knew not that he was her love-sick admirer ? No, her gentle nature made her sym- pathize with the poor lad, whose confusion was so painfully apparent, and she proclaimed the doctor to be a naughty papa for subjecting the poor fellow to such an ordeal ; but the jest was considered a good one by all else, and so Ethel was silenced. But she thought the more that night and the next day of the fine handsome boy and of his evident humiliation, and resolved, on the next meeting, say, coming from the church, to make him some amends by a respectful recog- nition. Falkner^s adventure was soon known throughout the school, and he received numerous congratula- tions upon his new dignity, all of which he received in good part, communicating to none but Tom Lazenby the extent of his mortification and his disagreeable anticipations of the coming Sunday, when he was convinced the congregation would D 2 36 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, be in a titter, and he the exciting cause. This opinion was not particularly his own, and many of the rival admirers of Ethel were malicious enough to anticipate a triumph in his confusion. It was accordingly arranged that some four or five who usually left the church together should keep with Falkner, and report the efPect of his presence upon Ethel — ^lovers are so ungenerous to each other. Poor Falkner marched bravely to encounter his fate, fancying that every group he met had been present at the doctor^'s party and recog- nised him as the great butt of the evening. His face grew crimson as he walked along, but none seemed to notice the deposed judge " di'essed in his Sunday clothes,^^ and he only disquieted him- self in vain. Mr. Bumpstead had to blink harder than ever during the latter part of the service, as he was conscious of more than ordi- nary restlessness pervading his youthful charge, until at last it took the form of a problem which THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 37 lie endeavoured to solve with both his eyes open. When the congregation was dismissed, the rival conspirators so attached themselves to Falkner that he was compelled to meet Miss Meriton at the old lych-gate in their company, and to receive in their presence one of the sweetest smiles of recognition which it was possible for her pretty face and eyes to convey. It was but the work of a moment, and then she passed on, leaving poor Falkner almost breathless with surprise and delight, whilst his rivals were utterly confounded and mad with envy. From that hour Ethel Meriton lost her in- fluence over the hearts of ten of the first form of The Cedars, but would have been amply compen- sated by the entire devotion of the one faithful heart which remained to her, had she cared about such conquests — which she did not. It was as much as Tom Lazenby could do that Sunday evening in Falkner Lyle's berceau^ to find sufficient interjections and notes of admiration 35 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, to ornament and punctuate the burning eloquence of his happy friend ; and it is no disparagement of Tom^s truthful devotion when we acknowledge that he heard the school-bell ring for evening prayer with feelings of relief and satisfaction. From that day Falkner was himself again. Dr. Meriton had no more occasion, as he had had of latCj to complain of tasks slovenly performed, as Falkner had vowed on his old lexicon to prove some way worthy of Ethel Meriton by coming out strong at the approaching examination. And as though fate had resolved to take him completely into favour, he received a letter from his un- worthy uncle to say, that having been recom- mended a tour in Switzerland he was about to leave England forthwith, and had written to the doctor to make the usual arrangements for the forthcoming vacation. What was that but to leave Falkner in Paradise ? — the comj)anion of Ethel ! — the daily guest at the doctor^s table — the friend of the family, in fact ! THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 39 Tom Lazenby rather declined to share in this jubilation, as Falkner had promised to spend part of the holidays at least with him ; but then Tom was too good-natured not to rejoice when his friend rejoiced, and of too indolent a nature to argue long enough to dissuade him from his breach of contract. Falkner did distinguish himself at the exami- nation, and stood first in each educational division. Tom Lazenby also was conspicuous bn the exami- nation lists, and occupied the last place in each list except that of wiiting, for which he said he had a natural genius. It was a great night for Falkner, and an ample atonement for his former degradation in the eyes of the youth and beauty, the fashion and old age, of Brightbrook, again assembled in the large room of The Cedars, when he was called forth to receive the rewards of his success, and the cheers of his schoolfellows were to him not the least acceptable recognition of his deserving. 40 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Tbe next day tlie boys went to their homes. How often had tears risen to Falkner^s throat and eyes^ when, at former breakings-up, he had striven to say " good-by, old fellow, a pleasant holiday/^ to some school-chum, when he himself was to be left behind to the solitude of the old school-rooms and the deserted play-grounds ! He sat in his bed-room at night — then terrible almost from its stillness — and thought of the mothers, sisters, fathers, and kindred that had been made happier that day for the schoolboys restored to them. And so he thought and felt for many holiday nights and days to come, until his brave young heart almost failed him, and he wondered why he had been left when those who had loved him had been taken from him. But he had a brave heart, tender also to a fault, and he had read what bold deeds men had done, and what vantage-ground they had gained, until he gathered courage from the retrospection and shook ojff his early sorrows. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 41 O that selfish old uncle ! He has done Falkner much wrong in cheating him of more than gold or silver could buy then or repay in after years. Should that selfish man ever lie sick and lonely, shut away from little dinners and his club gossip, he might feel, perhaps, in a just retribution, how bitter a thing it is to know you are alone in the great world, unclaimed by any human sympathy, and that all which is beautiful and good in nature make for you only a wilderness. But now Falkner shook hands with all, with cheery words and cheerful smiles, and would not have changed his holiday prospects with any ; and when the well-laden coaches drove away from The Cedars he joined in the chorus of dulce domum ; for here he had found a home at last, though it contained neither mother, father, sister, nor kindred. A strange feeling, a fledgling love had come into his heart, and had given him hope of an undefined happiness, new 42 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, coui'age to achieve a place in life^ and shaped for him a tangible reward, which he called by the name of Ethel ! A boy's fancy. Perhaps so ; but it was then to him a sweet reality, and filled up a vacancy in his young heart, supplying for a time, at least, what death had taken from him. The doctor and his sister were very kind to their young guest, and so was Ethel, for that matter; but Aunt Meriton was a veiy proper guardian for her pretty niece, and so arranged the proprieties of their daily intercourse that Falkner derived less enjoyment from the new order of things than he had anticipated. He was never alone with Ethel. If he had been, what would he have said to her ? Not a word that he could not utter in her aunt's presence. No ! for his life he durst not have told Ethel how beautiful she was, how gentle and sweet- voiced, and yet he had told Tom Lazenby so THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 43 again and again — a hundred hundred times — to that faithful friend^s weariness of the itera- tion. Ethel had no suspicion of Falkner^s admiration for her^ or she would have been more chary of the small courtesies she showed him. She en- deavoured to teach him to sketch,, but he proved such a bungler that she gave him up. With music he was a little more successful ; but^ when practising alone^ it was evident he "v^earied very often, and made very long pauses. He was a frequent companion in her walks, but as Aunt Meriton was afraid of cows and detested stiles, and therefore avoided the fields, Falkner had no opportunity of displaying his courage or his gal- lantry. What would he not have given for some opportunity of making his devoirs in her service, like a knight-errant of old ! But Ethel was not afraid of cows, nor gipsies, nor rain (carrying her own umbrella), and only laughed at the anger of two parental geese when Falkner interposed for 44 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, her security. No; Ethel was a dear,, lovable little maiden, but sadly unaffected. It is pro- bable that she was the happier for being so. This condition of things, however, would have become rather provoking — or, perhaps, depressing is the better word — to the ardent lover, had not a circumstance occurred which supplied in part an opportunity of gaining some claim on the grati- tude of Ethel. Immediately after the dispersion of the boys from The Cedars, Dr. Meriton devoted himself to the transaction of business in London, and the general impression in the callage was, that he went to collect his school bills ; whereas, he was mostly employed in settling his own indebtedness with his London tradespeople before taking his vacation holiday. As the railway to Brightbrook was not made at this time. Dr. Meriton travelled to and fro by a coach, which ran on the main road, passing the end of the avenue leading to The Cedars, and distant some two miles from the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 45 village. The doctor had gone to town one day when it threatened rain, and the prognostication was ftdfilled about the time that the coach would have set down the doctor; and as he was un- provided with either coat or umbrella, Falkner proposed to go and meet him. It was nearly nine o^clock, and the road under the trees was scarcely distinguishable. Falkner had proceeded about half the distance when he fancied he heard two voices speaking in a whisper. He was a brave lad, but a vague fear came over him, and his heart beat quicldy. He had not even a walking-stick — and again the voices were audible. He stooped down and groped about for a stone. He had just found one, when he heard the noise of a scuffle, and again the voices, louder, and speaking in anger, another voice, which he recognised as Dr. Meriton^s. " You shall not rob me easily, you rascals,^^ said the doctor ; but his words appeared to be 46 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, stifled, as though some one grasped his throat. Falkner hesitated no longer, bnt_, armed with his stone, like another Da\id, he rushed on a Goliath of a fellow, and striking him fall in the face, laid him prostrate. Dr. Meriton was not slow to avail himself of his unexpected succour, and being, as we have said, a powerful man, he soon freed himself from his assailant. The fellow whom Falkner had felled was soon on his feet again, and guided by the sound of Falkner^s voice, struck at him a blow with a stick, which would have proved serious had it taken full effect. Fortunately for the youth, it fell upon his shoul- der, and made him stagger for some paces. But the contest was now at an end, as the cowardly thieves took to the adjoining underwood, and were heard crashing their way to the open fields beyond. Dr. Meriton was naturally delighted at his escape, and very pleased to owe his probable de- liverance to his young friend and pupil. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 47 " Just in time^ Lyle, I fancy^ to have saved me a broken head and my old watch/'' said Dr. Meriton^ placing his hand on Falkner's brnised shoulder, and who bore the pain of the pressure like a Spartan. " Yes, doctor/^ replied Falkner ; " I shall be proud of my discretion as long as I live. If I had not stopped to pick up that stone we might have got the worst of it.^^ He then told the doctor what had occurred, omitting, however, any particular allusion to the blow he had re- ceived. " It is an unpleasant business, and as I have got off so well, we will say nothing about it at home, Falkner,^^ said the doctor. " It wiU only frighten my sister and Ethel. As I shall have another journey or two to London, it would, perhaps, make them fidgetty.'^ '^ Quite right, sir,'' replied Falkner. " I have no doubt, if we keep silent^ the other two of the party will do the same.'^ 48 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, The doctor laughed at tHs conjecture^, and Falkner tried to do so, but an ugly twinge of pain checked his risibility, provoked as it had been by his own smartness. The doctor, having been welcomed in the hall by his sister and Ethel, went at once to his room to prepare for the little supper awaiting him. Falkner, having no share in the embracing, had gone also to his chamber. It was with difficulty he could make the shght toilet necessary to remove the effects of the walk and the rude encounter he had had, as his upper arm and shoulder were becoming stiff and painful ; but he knew that any reference to his own discomfort would defeat the doctor^s desire for secrecy and create alarm to Miss Meriton — and to Ethel. He, therefore, took his place at the supper-table ; and as the doctor's business had been of the character we have described, no restraint was put upon the conversation by Falkner's presence. " You were much later this evening than THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 49 "iisual^ were you not^ doctor ?'^ said Miss Meriton, " or my watch lias gained since last night/^ ^^ Yes — I was rather later/^ replied the doctor, looking slyly at Falkner. " I was detained on the road/^ Ethel^s quick eye had caught the direction of her father's, and there was something so pecu- liarly strange in the grimace which poor Falkner intended for a smile, that she remarked — " T\Tiat secret have you two gentlemen be- tween you that we ladies are not to know?^' ^^ O, nothing which you ought to know, and I have been a gaby to allow you to suspect one,'^ replied the doctor. " I was detained unexpect- edly, I tell you^' — he paused. In looking again towards Falkner he saw that the poor boy's face wore a deathly pallor, and that he was sinking with the pain he strove to conceal. " Falkner, what is the matter, my boy ?'' asked the doctor; but receiving no reply, he took the wounded arm and shook it. The VOL. I. E 50 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, agony produced by this act made Falkner utter a cry. (( Why^ you are hurt^ Falkner ! One of those fellows must have struck you. Is it so?^^ asked Meriton^ earnestly. " T\'Tiat fellows V said his sister. " It is useless to conceal the truth. I was stopped by two fellows,, and should have been robbed^ no doubt^ but for the timely arrival of Lyle. He has been hui-t^ but rather than alarm you^ has kept it to himself — the boy^s fainting ! Bing the bell^ Ethel^ and send someone for the doctor.^^ Before the surgeon could arrive^ Falkner had recovered sufficiently to assure his friends that he was not very much injured. " I am really ashamed not to have borne such a trifle with more plucky but the blow was rather a sharp one, and '' "'^Ij brave boy, make no excuses/^ said the doctor. ^' I was a shabby fellow not to have THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 51 thanked you_, and made tliese women thank you too, and then there would have been no occasion for concealment of this painful blow ; but here is the doctor, and I hope he will be able to give you ease and comforting assurance/^ ^*^ There were no bones broken/^ the surgeon said ; " but the blow was a nasty one, and might have fractured the humerus. As it was, it had bruised the biceps, and would be troublesome for some days, no doubt. Cold-water poultices and an embrocation would do for the night; a little weak brandy-and-water and a slice of toast. Yes, that would do,^' he thought; and as he had a little card-party at home, he did not show much curiosity as to the manner of ac- quiring the wound, and Dr. Mcriton did not volunteer an explanation. When Falkner had been carefully tended by Dr. Meriton and his sister, they left him to sleep ; and the brave boy, in order to lessen the anxiety of the family, affected to have found E 2 a Of ^^ ^'''* 52 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, greater relief than lie had really clone from the treatment prescribed for him by the surgeon. The best sedative, however, which he found for his pain was the reflection that he had done good service to EtheFs father ; and that whenever the adventure of that night was referred to he should be remembered. Wine and oil were in that thought; and after a time Falkner slept, but not to dream of Ethel. Dr. Meriton, ha\dng narrated at length the attack which had been made upon him, and the timely assistance of Ealkner, Miss Meriton dried the tears which her brother^s danger had pro- voked in the first instance, and which Falkner's bravery had continued to evoke, and said — " My dear brother, my dear Ethel, we all owe a great debt of gratitude to young Lyle, and I shall love him as long as I live.^^ Had Aimt Agatha any other reason for this avowal, we wonder ? Ethel did not quite echo her aunt^s words; THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 53 she stopped at the word gratitude, and then added, '^ He is a very kind, noble young man, and I shall always have a great regard for him/^ " And so shall 1,'' said the doctor. " He is an orphan, poor fellow ! and may some day need fatherly advice and comfort, and if so, I shall make him promise to come to me/' " I can't bear the idea of leaving him here when we go for our holiday,'' said Aunt Meriton. " I would gladly bear the expense of his going, doctor " " My dear Agatha, what are you saying ?" interposed her brother. " If the cost of his ac- companying us were the only consideration, I should ask him at once ; but not having done so before — indeed, ha^dng spoken of our arrange- ments as completed mthout him, any invitation of ours would appear like a payment for the ser- vice rendered to me, and that would be repug- nant to his feelings as a gentleman." " I am sure it would !" said Ethel, rather 54 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, quickly,, ^^ and must not be thought of^ if you please, dear aunt/^ There was a rosy tinge upon Ethel^s cheek as she spoke, and it was not gone when she had kissed her aunt, who had bowed her head approvingly. ^'^ No ; the poor fellow must remain at The Cedars, unless " '' Unless what T' asked Miss Meriton. " Unless I can make up my mind to write to his fi'iend Lazenby to invite him for a week or two. But Lazenby is such a tiresome dunce that I hesitate to make a friend of him,^"* replied the doctor, adding, after a pause, " I must think of it.^^ And so Miss Meriton, the doctor, and Ethel retired to rest, each and all thinking of Falkner Lyle; and when he did need such comfort and ad\ice, as the doctor had hinted he might one day require ^but we must not anticipate the due course of events, although it pleases us to call up shadows of things to come. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 55 CHAPTER III. FALKNER FINDS HIMSELF BAD COMPANY— HE HEAES AND MAKES CONFESSION. rrHE Meritons had left The Cedars for their vacation holiday^ and Falkner Lyle was the sole occupant (except the servants) of the great empty school-house. Tom Lazenby knew of their departure^ of course^ and had written a pressing invitation from his mother and himself to Falk- ner to stay with them during the remainder of the vacation ; and the kind-hearted dunce was sadly mortified when he received a letter from his friend declaring his intention of not quitting The Cedars. '^ You know not^ my dear Tom^ the indescribable pleasure I derive in retracing the walks we have taken with each other and Miss Meriton — in re- visiting the scenes we looked on for the first time 56 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, together — with Miss Meriton. The deserted rooms are not desolate to me ! No — her dear presence hannts them stilly and when seated at my solitary meals,, Fancy, benevolent Fancy, conjures up the form of my adored Ethel, and without Miss Meriton. I look at Ethel's piano. It is closed — ^it is locked ! but I can hear the heavenly music her fairy fingers conjured from the ivory keys, and feel I am with the angels ! I see the flowers she tended with such care and almost affection — stealing a blossom, I press it furtively to my lips, and, breathing her name, believe the kiss is hallowed. Do not ask me to leave this ' Paradise Regained,' " &c., &c., &c. Tom Lazenby received and read half-a-dozen nearly similar epistles from his love-stricken friend, but he could not help observing that numbers five and six were not half so impassioned as number one. Tom was no fool, although he was a dunce, and being sincerely attached to Falkner and most desirous of his companionship. THE STORY 0¥ TWO WIVES. 57 he repeated the invitation^ and was gratified at receiving the following reply : — " My dear ToMj — Yon are right. I am not justified in secluding myself from the society of my friends at my time of life [he was about seven- teen], and the world has claims upon me. I confess, also, that walkin-g the same ground by oneself, gazing continually on the same prospect by oneself, becomes, after a time, somewhat monotonous and less interesting, and one^s fancy is not always so much under command as to pro- duce at will the one divine form we love the most, or awaken from the silent strings of even a Broadwood the mellifluous tones her soft white hands elicited. I will, therefore, dear Tom, listen, as you urge, to the voice of friendship, and come to you the day after to-morrow. It will be a relief to me to talk instead of writing to you about my darling Ethel [Tom certainly sighed], to discuss with you the bright future " 58 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Tom ran his eyes hastily down the rest of the page and found it was all Ethel, until he came to " Yours faithfully and affectionately, '^'^Falkner Lyle/^ Mrs. Lazenby and her son Tom looked at each other and laughed gently when Falkner's letter was read ; for it was quite e\4dent that the lover, however much he tried to keep the conviction from himself, had become completely bored by his own society and the silent companionship of shadows. Mrs. Lazenby was a most unromantic person, devoting her life to two objects only : one being the cultivation of the perfect art of good li^ang, and the other the simple process of spoiling her only son, Tom, whom she indulged mentally and physically, being quite contented to pay Dr. Meriton^s somewhat formidable accounts, provided her boy was happy enough to return to school without much remonstrance, caring no- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 59 thing for the progress he made when he was there. Falkner, therefore, was not encouraged in his sentimentalism, whilst Tom gave him as few opportunities as possible for private audiences ; and Falkner was rather surprised,, if not displeased, to find at the end of the vacation how thoroughly he had enjoyed his visit to the Lazenbys. We must linger yet a little longer at The Cedars, as this boyish passion will bear its fruit by-and-by — a very little longer. For Falkner^s guardian has decided that it is time he quitted school and entered upon the profession which had been selected for him, and with his own entire approval. He was to become a M.E.C.S. — a nobler selection of a profession he could not have made, and the coming Christmas examination was the last he was to pass at The Cedars. Again he distinguished himself, and would have left the dear old school with affectionate regret certainly, but without pain, had his departure not separated him from Ethel — darling Ethel. He grew veiy desperate 60 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, as he thouglit of this partings and at last_, despite the feeble remonstrance of Tom Lazenby^ Falkner resolved to wiite to Ethel and confess the love which was consuming him. The composition of this love letter was a more difficult task than any he had ever surmounted, and the number of spoilt sheets of paper made quite a small bonfire when committed to the flames in the little garden,, almost threatening the berceau with conflagration. The letter was written, and by the agency of the suborned footman secretly conveyed to Ethel. Oh the interval of terrible suspense between that desperate act and bed-time ! For the answer — the words that were to make him happy or miserable for ever, were to be placed — it was implored — beneath Falkner^s pillow. Bed-time is no exception to other appointed hours, and it came at last. Dr. Meriton^s kindly " good night^^ had been spoken, and Falkner Lyle, on the legs of love, had bounded three steps at THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 61 a time to his bed in tlie High Middle. He felt beneath his pillow ! A letter was there ! It bore no superscription^ but there was that within — only two lines in Ethel^s handwriting; four closely- written sheets in his own ! ^^ Please^ Falkner Lyle^ do not do this any more.— E. M.'' When Tom Lazenby came into the room he found Falkner had gone to bed with his clothes on, and guessing that his friend had his own particular reason for this unusual mode of retiring to rest J he joined the other boys in projecting and discussing plans of enjoyment for the Christmas holidays. When he went to Falkner's bed-side to bid him good night, he had the satisfaction of hearing that tired nature had come to the rescue, and a deep sleep had fallen upon the rejected one. In the morning Falkner complained of head- ache — ^heart-ache would have been the truer word — and Tom obtained permission for his 62 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, friend to keep Ms room from Mr. Bumps,, -who was on early duty tliat morning. " Wliat is the matter witli liim ?'' asked Mr. Bumps ; " nothing serious I hope ?'' " O dear no^ sir/^ replied Tom ; '' I fancy he has been fagging too much for this examination.^^ '^ Ah \" said Mr. Bumps with a sigh j " no one will ever suspect you of injuring your health from such a cause, Thomas Lazenby.^^ " I^m afraid not, sir/^ replied Tom, " but I do you credit, as my writing is the best in the school.'''' " True, Thomas, true, but at seventeen you ought to be out of vulgar fractions,^^ said Bumps^ with a sigh. " Whilst the boys are at prayers ril go to Lyle— there's the bell.'' Mr. Bumps having called over his muster-roll of the boys, went forthwith to the sick pupil, and seating himself by the bedside took poor Falkner's feverish hand and pressed it kindly. Falkner started, and there was in his look the assurance of some greater disturbance than mere THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 63 mental fatigue. Mr. Bumps blinked at Mm very rapidly. " ^Vhat ails you^ Lyle ? You are not well, my dear boy ?" asked Bumps, softly. " Notliing, sir; really nothing/^ replied Falkner, shading his eyes with liis band ; '^ Vyq been work- ing rather hard of late, and " " And you are going to leave us this Christmas, I hear,^^ said Mr. Bumps, kindly. '^ You are dis- turbed at that, I fancy T^ ^^Who has told you so?^^ asked Falkner, quickly, his face becoming very red ; ^'^not Lazenby T' " Lazenby \" repeated Mr. Bumps, contemp- tuously ; " he is the last one to suspect that a studious boy can feel regret at leaving his school. No ; it was a guess of mine, and it does you credit, Lyle.^^ " A guess of yours V said Falkner, looking Mr. Bumps earnestly in the face. " I remember being just such a boy as you 64 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, are, Lyle/^ continued Mr. Bumps^ blinking slowly ; '^ your spirits, your determination to win, and finding in my class victories a pleasure that repaid me for all the work I had done to gain them. Lyle, you are right in thinking that you will never be so happy as you have been at school. ^^ '^ Never ! never V said Falkner, mournfully. ^' I have heard you are an orphan. ^-^ " Yes.^' " And intended for the medical profession T' '' Yes.^' '^ Like me, again.^^ " Indeed !" said Falkner, feeling more kindly to the old owl than he had ever done before. " Yes — I can just remember my mother — a cold, hard woman, and who occasioned me no regret when she died ; I was not a callous- hearted lad, either — I should have been a happier man had I been so.'^ " Indeed, Mr. Bumps," said Falkner. *" May I ask why, sir ?^' THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 65 '^ Yes — though it would be thought odd/^ re- plied Mr. Bumps, " that an old_, rusty usher — I^m forty next week — should sit by a bright boy^s bed-side_, and talk to him of love and heart- aches/^ '^ Pray do, sir — pray do, sir \" Falkner said this so imploringly that Mr. Bumps looked at him with both eyes at once. He then proceeded : ^^ I told you I was intended for the medical pro- fession, and should have, perhaps, made myself a reputation, had I not met a young girl — and loved her. " Lyle, be warned by me ; don^t fall in love, as it is called, until you have mixed a little with the world, and found employment for your am- bition and learned the value of success. Don't allow yourself to fall in love when love would be all in all to you, as I did.'' Mr. Bumps paused, and Falkner was im- pelled * almost to confess that the warning came too late — that he loved, hopelessly, and that VOL. I. p Q6 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, the world was a blank ! But lie had not the courage. " I was a prosperous wooer for a time/^ con- tinued Mr. Bumps^ ^*' until the young lady's parents discovered my pretensions_, and then I was shown the door — I was ejected.''^ ^^ Again like me^ if he only knew it^^-* thought Falkner. " I hoped on_, however/'' continued Mr. Bumps. " Mj affection increased^ feeding upon my fancy ; and I believed that a day would come when I should marry the love of my youth.^'' '^'^ And did you not ?" asked Falkner, anxiously. " No — I never should have done so whilst her parents lived : — ^but why should I tell my ghastly story to you ?'' said Mr. Bumps, rising. " No — should we meet when you are older I may return to this conversation.''^ " Pray tell me now^ sir — I have a strong rea- son for asking you/^ said Falkner. " Remember^ I am nearly eighteen ^^ THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 67 " And I was but one year older/'' replied Mr. Bumpsj resuming his seat. " Well^ you shall hear what followed. I was articled to a surgeon, and had been sufficiently diligent to be allowed to attend the anatomical lectures at St. Thomases. It was before Parliament had legalised the ob- taining of subjects, and such as were procured came surreptitiously from violated graves. One evening I went into the dissecting-room — chatting carelessly with a fellow-student — ^just as the face of a new subject had been uncovered. I saw it ! — knew it ! I had not heard that she had been ill — her unrelenting father had kept us apartj even when the grave had opened to receive her — I caught her in my arms — I rushed from the dissecting-room to become for many days a patient in the hospital. From the hour of my recovery I abandoned my profession — I lost all care for the future — all care for myself, and am what you know me.^^ Falkner had taken firmly hold of the usher's r 2 68 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, arm as Ms story drew to a conclusion. The terrible incident affected him very greatly, but lie bad other canse for the action. "Mr. Bnmps, this is very strange; it was my aunt — my mother^s sister — whom you loved/' exclaimed Falkner. ^' I have heard my uncle Paterson tell your story many times.'' " Paterson — yes — that was her name !" said the usher. " How strangely have we been brought together,, Falkner Lyle ! I trust our meeting bodes no harm to you. I am not a lucky man to know." And he smiled and blinked as though to disavow his own disparage- ment. " I am glad there is no school to-day/' he said, after a pause. " You and I will have a walk together, Lyle ; it will do both of us more good than idling about the school-rooms." And Falkner, agreeing to this proposal, the master and pupil went forth together. As they THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 69 walked, Falkner could not keep his love secret from one who had had such sad experience him- self, and Mr. Bumps received the confidence with becoming gravity, and offered such consolation as he could command at the moment. " Miss Ethel is young — very young/' he said, " and may change her mind ; and you also are very young, and may '■' '^ Change my mind, also ? Never V' interrupted Falkner. " I did not say that -" Mr. Bumps thought it, though ; but added, ^^ and may make a place in the world, and seek her again with better pretensions than those of a schoolboy. '^ There was something not very agreeable to Falkner in that word ^^ schoolboy ,'' and so he replied rather sharply — " Schoolboy ! You could not have been much my senior, Mr. Bumps, and yet youi' first love has lasted your life.'' " True, but there was something exceptional 70 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, in my case,, and I trust that yonr lot may be happier than mine has been. I often regret my own weakness^ and think I should have done my duty better had I acted a braver part ; but regrets are useless now, except when the con- fession of them may be a warning to others. We had better return now, or we shall be late for dinner/^ Falkner shook his head, as though deprecating any notion of that necessary meal. " Oh ! — I understand/^ said Mr. Bumps, laugh- ing ; ^^ I have gone through all the phases of the disorder, but have long outlived the loss of my appetite, and so will you, my boy, depend upon it.^^ Falkner was rather vexed at these concluding remarks of his master ; but the revelations which had been made that morning united the two together for the rest of their lives. Falkner tried to take part in the general hilariousness which precedes a breaking-up, and for a while THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 71 succeeded ; but as tlie early eveuing came on lie invited Tom Lazenby for a farewell cbat in the old berceau. Neither the evening nor the probable subject of conversation was particularly imdting; but Tom had not the heart to say nay to his dearest fi'iend. "Wlien they had sat a few moments in silence^ looking at the dim light in the lantern, Falluier laid his hand upon Tom^s arm, and said — ^^ This is the last time, old Tom, that you and 1 shall sit in this place together, and perhaps we shall not meet often elsewhere ; but I shall always remember your kindness and friendship as long as I live/' " And I yours,'' replied Tom. '' I am leaving school for the last time, and am about to make my start in life — perhaps to make new friends and prosper, perhaps to fail and be more lonely and deserted than I should have been here ; but for you, Tom " 72 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " Now I can^t stand tliis_, Falkner/'' said Tom, rather huskily. " YouVe been the friend — my true friend, and I sometimes am savage with my- self for not having tried to make better use of my time here. But I can^t persevere, I can^t ! What I want to say is this, that you won^t cut me when you go away, that you'^ll write and come and see me ; and if — well, if that old uncle of yours neglects you as he has done, you^U remember that my home is your home, and come to it.-*^ The two friends shook hands, and Falkner promised that they should be as Saul and Jonathan. " I have asked Dr. Meriton to let you have the herceau, Tom; and I now endow you Tvdth all it contains — chairs, table, mousetrap, and lantern ; all my crockery ; and I woidd give you some of my books, if I thought you would use them. You^U write now and then, and if you — if you should hear anything about her ^^ " I shall not hear about her — I shan^t try to THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 73 hear about her/'' replied Tom ; ^^ and if you are fool enough to care for her after the cut direct which she has given you^ you ought to be ashamed of yourself V " Tom Lazenby V " There^ don't be angry with me on our last nighty Falkner/-' said Tom ; ^' but youVe wor- ried yourself enough about Ethel^ and you'll be better for forgetting her. Come^ it's precious cold herC; and we shall do no good talldng senti- ment^ or whatever you call it ;" and suiting the action to the word_, Tom went out into the little garden, leaving Falkner to put out the candle. " Dear Ethel/' thought the poor lover, " all can condemn you but the one you have re- jected !" The sigh which escaped his lips blew out the candle. Falkner was sadly depressed in the morning when the coaches were loading, and it was with great difficulty that he could say " good-bye" to Dr. Meriton. Neither Miss Meriton nor Ethel 74 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, were present^ as a matter of course^ but Falkner tormented himself by tbinking tbat tbeir absence was due to tbeir desire to avoid bim. Dr. Meriton was ratber gratified at tbe evident emo- tion displayed by bis old pupil^ and attributed it solely to Falkner-'s regret at leaving Tbe Cedars ; and for a long time afterwards be was accus- tomed to refer to tbe occasion as an exbibition of remarkable gratitude on tbe part of tbe scbolar^ and wbicb conveyed no inconsiderable commendation of tbe master. Tbere was one of tbe doctor^s bousebold^ bowever^ wbo put a dif- ferent interpretation upon poor Falkner^s leave- taking, and regarded bim none tbe less for tbe sensibility it betrayed. Wben tbe coacb-load of bappy boys dispersed, and eacb took bis |i^ej)arate way, Falkner drove to bis uncle''s lodgings in Jeriaayn Street, St. Jameses, and found, as be bad anticipated, no one to welcome bim, it being tbe bour wben bis only relative bad business at bis club. Tbe mis- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 75 tress of the house,, however, received him very respectfully and kindly, and prepared dinner, as his uncle had entirely forgotten that his nephew might require some refreshment after his journey. So Falkner Lyle^s school-days were over, and he must take his place among men, joining the melee where all are fighting for their lives — some against daily wants and mighty cares — some con- tending with the tediousness of time and pleasures that soon cease to satisfy ; others, with noble aspirations, encountering wrongs, calumnies, and miserable jealousies, until they grow sick at heart, and would gladly shun the contest — all struggling to the end, although some brave hearts may win the right to be at peace. Where Falkner^s place was to be he learned the next morning at breakfast jft-om his apathetic uncle. '^ Glad to see you, Falkner,^^ said Mr. Pater- son. " Thanks — I think I am looking well — I try to do so. YouVe grown since I saw you.^^ 76 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ^^YeSj uncle. It is eighteen montlis nearly since we met,'''' replied Falkner^ a little spite- My. " Yesj it must be ; well^ we shall meet oftener now that you have left school. My lawyers, Bright and Light, wTote me that, according to your father^s Tvill, you were to be articled at eighteen to the medical profession. They have found some gentleman, I understand, who will receive you, as I don^t know anything how these matters are managed — Bright and Light do. They will attend to the business, and pay you the allowance your father mshed you to have, and all that.'' " I am much obliged to Bright and Light,'' said Falkner ; " are they my guardians ?" " No, not exactly," rei)lied Mr. Paterson ; " I am your guardian, and I am the surviving executor of your father's will ; but I know nothing about business, and Bright and Light do. They see to all matters, and charge the estate with their costs." THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 77 But why linger over sucli details? Fortu- nately for Fallmer,, Messrs. Bright and Light were conscientious men and more than supplied the place of Mr. Paterson^ the head of the firm hav- ing a lively recollection of some service done him by Falkner^s father. Mr. Paterson should have had a grateful recollection also of Mr. Lyle^s generous interference, as, but for him, Mr. Pater- son would have been disinherited by his father, and the property now so selfishly einployed have been settled upon his other children. Mr. Paterson elected to show his gratitude second-hand, believing it to be a tribute which the selfish pay to no one, but which they exact rigorously for themselves. 78 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, CHAPTER IV. FALKNEE WORKS HAED AITD TAKES A HOLIDAY — HE FORGETS HIS FIRST LOVE, AND MAKES BUT LITTLE PROGRESS WITH HIS SECOND. TT^ALKNER LYLE had pursued Ms new studies with sucIl success that a distinguished career was in all human probability before him. During his professional novitiate the remembrance of Mr. Bumps^s singular experience would not infre- quently occur to him_, and helped in a great degree to continue his interest in his old tutor, with whom he maintained a regular correspondence. Mr. Bumps invariably passed a day or two of each vacation with his former pupil, and the in- timacy thus continued proved of great value to Ealkner when a trustworthy friend was required by him. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 79 They rarely spoke of Ethel ; not that she was ever forgotten by Falkner, but the intensity of his passion lessened as he grew older^ until at last he came to think of his boyish love as a dream of pleasant pain. " The hallowed form was ne'er forgot, That Love first traced," however, and at times it exercised all the idealistic influence which Moore has so prettily described in his popular copy of verses. Falkner had determined to purchase with part of his patrimony a share in some established practice in London, but before doing so he de- cided to take a short holiday on the Continent. When this resolution was taken, it occurred to Falkner that Mr. Bumps's vacation-time was close at hand, and he therefore resolved to ask his old tutor to be his companion. An odd selection, perhaps, for a young man to make, but there had grown up between him and Mr. Bumps a strange attachment, and Falkner was desirous to contri- 80 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, bute if possible to the few enjoyments allotted to the nsber of a scbool. Mr. Bumps was witb difficulty induced to accept Falkner^s proposal,, as be was very independent in bis notions and resolute in refusing to place bim- self under obligations to any one j but Falkner pressed bis request so earnestly^ assm'ing Mr. Bumps tbat bis companionsbip would add so largely to tbe pleasure of tbe trip, tbat at last be yielded consent, and tbe requisite preparations for tbe journey were soon completed. It was long since Mr. Bumps bad been out of England, as, during tbe monomaniacal period of bis existence, as be called it, be bad wasted tbe means be once possessed, and tbe proposed trip bad almost as mucb excitement of novelty for bim as for bis young companion. It was arranged tbat tbe travellers sbould pro- ceed to Dover, and tbence by Calais to Paris — tben a new city to Englisb tourists. There was a fresb breeze blowing wben tbe Vivid mail steamer THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 81 left Dover harbour^ and for the first half hour the pleasurable sensation of '^ breasting the foam- ing billows^^ was undisturbed by any physical weakness^ and groups gathered about the deck, laughing and chatting as though all were on their native element and rejoiced accordingly. After a time, however, conversation appeared to lag, and ultimately to become impossible to most of the passengers. By degrees, pale-faced women were led unresistingly by sallow-viSaged men to the cabin stairs, down which they descended, and were seen no more until Calais harbour was made by the good ship Vivid. Stalwart men, obese men, and noble youths clung to shrouds and ropes, contemplating the rolling sea and sym- pathizing with the upheaving waves ; others lay extended on the deck or gratings, apparently indifferent to all around them, excepting certain crockery paterae, to which they clung as though they were their only worldly possession. Anon groans were heard mingling with the soughing VOL. 1. G 82 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, of the wind as it rusliecl tkrough the scanty rigging — and then a strange silence pervaded the ship from stem to stern. There were some few exceptions to this general prostration. A few passengers defied the roll and pitchj the jerk and rumble of the good ship, as though they had been mermen and to the manner born. Falkner was fortunately of the number (a sea-sick hero is not a presentable object), and it w^as fortunate that he and the sea were upon terms of amity, as Mr. Bumps was a very bad sailor. Falkner had gone to the bow of the boat, more thoroughly to enjoy the fi^eshness of the breeze and the course of the vessel, leaving his companion apparently in the full enjoyment of his usual health and spirits, attributable to certain preventives which Mr. Bumps had taken in the form of creosote and lemon-juice, confined to the gastric region by a tight belt of leather. Falkner^s absence had not exceeded half an houi-, but when he returned he discovered his old tutor embedded THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 83 in the luggage, helpless yet demonstrative,, and giving a deal of trouble to an able-bodied seaman, who was trying '^ to right him/^ and remove his bodily pressure from a limp hat-box. Falkner claimed his friend, and had stowed him away under the lea of the water-cask, when his attention was directed to an elderly lady, who had just gained the deck, and was evidently struggling with the prevailing epidemic. Perhaps Falkner^s duty to his friend would have kept him by his side, and have allowed the prospective invalid, who had now made her appearance, to find the relief she needed with other assistance than his, had she not been accompanied by a young girl of striking beauty, despite a paleness oc- casioned no doubt by surrounding circumstances. The elder lady would probably have fallen before she could have reached a seat at the ship^s side, had not Falkner rushed to her assistance, and secured in acknowledgment for his timely aid a smile of acknowledgment from her companion. o 2 84 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, To have remained in attendance would have been intrusive, and Falkner returned to the prostrated Mr. Bumps, who, acting under advice gratis, from the seaman, was trying to exhibit a glass of brandy and water; without effect, however, and the sedative became the fee of the disinterested leech who had prescribed it. The horrors of the middle passage between London and Paris have been too frequently and graphically described to detain our pen, and Calais is in sight ! The announcement had a magical effect upon many of the sufferers, and various bodies strewn about the deck resimied a show of animation, until most of the passengers were smiling hideously and talking spasmodically, as the Vivid' s hawser was made fast to a huge ringbolt on Calais pier. As Mr. Bumps was positively cheerful, Falkner thought he would take a turn among the crowd for another look at the beautiful girl who had thanked him so sweetly. He soon found her. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 85 and in the company of tlie elder lady, now leaning on tlie arm of a portly gentleman who had evidently been one of the ineapables. A quick glance of the luscious eyes of the young girl convinced Falkner that he was recog- nised, and though he waited for some moments in expectation of receiving another look, he was disappointed. The beauty drew over her face a thick veil, shutting, as Falkner thought, the door in his face, and bidding him adieu for ever. Paris was soon gained, and Falkner and his companion vigorously commenced seeing its lions. Mr. Murray^s excellent handbook to that remarkable city is so easily procurable, that we are spared the task of particularizing the various scenes of wonder visited by our tourists ; but as they did them all, it was not surprising that more than once they encountered the party who had attracted Falkner^s attention on the boat ; and, on one occasion, it really seemed as though the recognition were mutual, as the old lady and 86 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, gentleman put np their glasses and fairly stared Falkner in the face. It was difficult to reconcile a close connexion between the group. The stately beauty^ with her dark eyes^ calm featiu'es^ and commanding bearings seemed to claim kin- dred with pur sang rather than '^^the plebeian puddle^^ which circulated through her rather vulgar companions^ and it was evident that she was conscious of their inferiority. The last time that Falkner and Mr. Bumps met the unknoTvus was at a table-d^hote at Versailles. There are few occasions which so readily betray under-breeding as the simple ceremony of eating a dinner^ and where (we have read somewhere) you may at once discover whether the diner has been accustomed to a table or a manger. There could be no doubt that Beauty and the Beast had received different nurture^ and the dis- covery afforded a pleasant satisfaction to Falkner — ^he knew not wherefore. Mr. Bumps twitted Falkner on theii' way back THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 87 to Paris on his admiration of the lovely stranger^ and — we blush to record snch fickleness — they had a qniet langh when Mr. Bumps recalled a walk through certain lanes, and the talk which they had had together. Yet Ethel Meriton would always '' haunt the greenest spof*^ in the heart of Falkner Lyle. As the six weeks' vacation of Mr. Bumps was nearly at an end, he must return to England and the drudgery of the school, but he would return with a lighter heart and a more contented mind, having many pleasant memories to recal, which would people his lonely room at The Cedars, where he still superintended writing and the mathematics. "He cultivated the latter science for its cheerfulness,'^ he said, " as a good stiff problem kept all his faculties in play, and to run down a solution was better than fox-hunting, which he had heard described as ^the noble science, and worthy the pursuit of kings.' " 88 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Falkner remained in Paris until tlie last few days of his tutor^s holiday^, having some undefined expectation — desire^ perhaps — of once more meet- ing the unknown, but for the last three weeks they had vanished into thin air or left Paris. We are to gain knowledge of the lovely incog- nita and her friends before Falkner Lyle returns to England. Dearport had recently come into vogue and the season was at its height. Even the extreme attics of the great hotel were tenanted by ladies^- maids in the first families,, and the lodging-house letters were growing savage with the applicants for apartments, almost devouring them with ex- orbitancy. Bathing machines were frequently nearly the cause of battles royal, and pony chaises exacted almost the ordinary tarifif of a carriage and pair. The beach — that is, the fashionable part of it — was strewn with youth and beauty, modified, however, by a sprinkling of lady dragons and desperate old maids, who affected THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 89 juvenility, even to wearing crops and making a liberal display of sandals. The Belle of the Beach was undoubtedly Bertha Clare, who had attained to supremacy within a fortnight of her arrival at Dearport. Not only had she a most attractive person, but she was reputed to be an heiress— an Indian heiress, and almost entirely her own mistress. Her father had risen to be a judge, and shortly before his death had sent Bertha Clare to Eng- land, and appointed Mr. Hopkin, the brother of his deceased wife, her sole guardian. Mr. Hopkin had risen by trade to be opulent and what he called an " independent gentleman,^^ and he had a right to form his own estimate of himself. He was an honest, worthy man, and such qualifications ought to be a recommendation to a peerage. Both he and his wife, however, were in strong contrast to his beautiful niece, who, conscious of her own beauty and position, bore herself like an Indian queen, and ruled her 90 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, guardian and Ms lieliDmate instead of submitting to theii' guidance. Mrs. Hopkin, it is true, assumed to do tlie protective to Miss Clare, and duly took her place on a little mound of shingle whenever the beach was visited. She might as well have remained at home for the control she exercised over Bertha, who chatted and laughed with whom she pleased, and established quite a little coui't of her own from among the most agi'eeable young fellows who had sisters, and of some who had not such delightful connexions. Mrs. Hopkin very wisely abdicated without any public ceremony, and being an inveterate novel reader, contented herself with an occasional observation from beneath her great green silk umbrella. Young ladies, we have heard, are particularly fortunate in finding "very dear friends" on almost every beach, like sailors, who " In every port a true-love find." Bertha Clare had discovered " the dearest girl THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 91 that ever lived^' in Rosa Marston^ a young lady who bathed in the next machine. Their first introduction to each other took place in the water, and the intimacy was improved by the loan, or gift rather, of some hair-pins. A chat on the beach subsequently led to small con- fidences, and six riding-lessons from the same riding-master matured into a friendship which it was decided should last for ever. We dare aver that neither believed in such a possibility, but they were always saying it. Rosa had a brother — '^ O, such a dear, brave boy,^' Rosa said — who had just got his ensigncy, and was expected to go to India in the course of a year or two. AATien he came to Dearport of course he made one of the riding party, and afterwards or before, as the case might be, joined Queen Bertha^s court on the beach, and was very much objected to by the older courtiers, who had done daily sail and service for nearly three weeks. 92 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Bertha noticed the mortification which her new favourite created,, and, as became a beauty and a coquette, she played him off as frequently as she could against her other admirers. She was mistaken in Charles Marston if she had thought to gratify him by her coquetry ; for although that young gentleman was not insen- sible to the beauty of Bertha, he cared little for any preference she might be inclined to exhibit in his favour. One morning, Rosa, Bertha, and Charles Marston had been for a ride, and as the day was hot they reined their horses to a walk. '^ You are going to India, Bosa tells me, Mr. Marston,^^ said Bertha, rather abruptly. " Yes, I hope so, though I fear it will be a year or two before our regiment will be ordered there,^^ replied Marston. " Oh, how I pity you and anyone else that goes to that dreadful place V said Bertha, turning up her beautiful eyes. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 93 " Fie^ to speak so of the land of your birtli V replied Marston, laughing. " That was no fault of mine V said Bertha, smiling in turn. '^ I am glad it was not possible to make me live there. Oh, those sandy meadows ! that scorching sun ! those horrible niggers V^ " Niggers ?" asked Rosa. " We call the natives niggers/' replied Bertha, ^' though the name, I believe, is very olSensive to them." " Then why use it ?'' said Marston. '^ Because I hate them ! — detest them \" replied Bertha, speaking as though she did not exagge- rate her feelings. " The only one I could ever tolerate was my ayah — my nurse.'' " And she you only tolerated ?" said Marston. " Yes ; and when I was old enough to sec and think for myself, I have positively shuddered when I reflected that the ugly old thing had carried me in her arms, kissed me, and fondled me. Ugh ! it is shocking !" 94 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " It is shocking '/'' remarked Marston^ rather to himself than to Bertha. " I am sometimes ashamed to own that I was born in India/^ continued Bertha. ^^Even my mamma " Bertha paused. " Was an exception to your dislikes, I hope/'' said Marston. " O yes, of course/^ replied Bertha, coldly. " She was always ailing, poor dear, and that excused many of her eccentricities. Her greatest enjoj^- ment was to dress herself a perfect fright, and sit in her store-room, arranging with her ser- A'ants about puddings and pastry, and curries and brandy-pawny.^^ " All very good things, no doubt,^^ said Marston. " That was not the worst,-*^ continued Bertha, fancying that she was amusing Marston by her gabble — '^ mamma actually belonged to a mutton club.^' " Dear me, how funny V said Bosa, laughing. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 95 " There ! you laughed at it/^ replied Bertha. " Two or three of her friends belonged to it^ and they used to kill a sheep alternately. It sounds almost like living in a state of barbarism." " I presume there was a necessity for such an arrangement/^ said Marston. " But not for always talking about it^ as ma did. It was very shocking/' replied Bertha. " My papa used to encourage her too, I believe, as it saved his money.'' " For his little daughter Bertha to spend/' said Rosa. " You did not object to that ?" '^ Oh, but I did, when I was old enough to know how ridiculous he made himself at times by his economy. He was a judge, you know, Mr. Marston." " So Rosa has told me, and a very good one, I have heard from some Indian friends." ^' Yes ; but not like an English judge," said Bertha. " He used to dress so oddly — in a large white jacket made by mamma ! — his great bald 96 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, liead covered with a silk handkercliief, wMch the punkah kept waving about like vrings. I really was ashamed of him at times/^ Marston made no response ; but Rosa obseiTed, naively enough — " But then India is so very warm_, dear/' " Warm ! Disgustingly hot/' rej)lied Bertha. " And then papa never would have an English carriage, but sent us about in a great lumbering thing drawn by a camel ! — ^because it was cheaper and more ridiculous, I suppose/' E-osa saw that her brother was displeased with her dear friend, and indeed she was somewhat dissatisfied with her herself, and therefore led the conversation to a more agreeable reminiscence. "You had plenty of pleasant parties, no doubt," said Rosa. " I have heard many of our friends who had been in India speak of balls " ^^ Balls ! Pleasant parties ! Not at our sta- tion, I assure you^ dear^" replied Bertha. " I THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 97 went to one ball jnst before I came to England, and thought I should have been suffocated with the dust and the heat, or been torn to pieces by the great stupid boys of officers who but I forgot Mr. Marston has just joined the army/^ " About to join/^ said Mr. Marston, with a bow, ^^ and therefore not called upon to be offended with Miss Clare.'' " Offended with me V' said Bertha, laughing. " Nobody must be offended with me, as I always say what is uppermost in my mind. I'm afraid — well, we'll talk no more of that horrible India. Come ! Let us have a trot or a canter, Rosa." They were riding homewards, and had nearly reached the entrance into the to^vn, when Mrs Hopkin was observed approaching, seated on a donkey, and apparently thoroughly enjoying her ride. " Look ! look !" cried Bertha, colouring as she spoke ; " that dreadful Mrs. Hopkin making an exhibition of herself, as usual. I shall never VOL. I. H 98 PALKNER LTLE ; OR, be able to live with tLose people until I am of age^ I^m certain V' '^ Ohj everyone rides donkeys/^ said Marston, apologetically. " That's a fib, Mr. Marston/' replied Bertha, ^^ and only said out of kindness to me. How my dear papa could have consigned me to those old geese, I can't imagine. Hopky talks of giving what he calls a set of parties next winter to bring me out. Ha ! ha ! As though I would be introduced to their set ! — City pumps and old fogies and nobodies.'' They had now met Mrs. Hopkin, and Bertha passed the old lady without a look even, but Rosa and her brother saluted her, and Mrs. Hopkin continued to nod her acknowledgments long after the Marstons were out of sight, so gratified was she at their recognition. Charles Marston was too good a fellow not to be displeased at what he had heard dming the morn- ing ride, and he greatly distressed his sister Rosa THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 99 by telling her how unfavourably he thought of her new friend. They had quite a little quarrel upon the subject ; but as Charley loved his sister very dearly, and as he knew they should soon have to separate from each other, he surrendered at discretion, and promised to continue " the amiable^^ to the Belle of the Beach. We have neglected Mr. Hopkin all this time. He is now — as is his hourly wont — leaning over the low wall of the pier, watching the fishing- boats go out and in, or calculating how long it will be before the little spot of smoke on the horizon will turn into a great steamship, and be moored alongside the Custom-house quay to dis- charge its cargo of dilapidated voyagers. Being constantly on the spot, he is sure to have a good place near the gangway before the unfeeling visitors of Dearport crowd about it to witness and laugh at the poor victims to the mal de mer, as they run the gauntlet to the Custom-house. There is a boat just in, and the crowd of gazers H 2 100 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, are at their station. The sprightly Gauls are worthy ohjects of commiseratioii, and would be so, no doubt, but for a pardonable national con- viction on the part of the English that French- men cannot stand the sea, and for that reason alone Britannia must rule the waves in perpetuity. Our beloved countrymen are sometimes not more favoured by the much beflattered Neptune^ and show symptoms of great disorder. But failing such claims to attention, they so fre- quently contrive on their travels to make such ridiculous guys of themselves, that the most con- siderate of spectators are excused the exercise of the divine attribute of laughter. A middle-aged man leans for support upon the arm of a younger companion as they ascend the stairs. Mr. Hopkin has recognised them, and taken off his hat as much as the string which attaches it to his button-hole will permit. "Who are they?^^ asks Bosa Marston of Bertha Clare. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 101 " I don^t know, I^m sure, dear ;" but as the voyagers approacli nearer. Bertha adds, colouring very slightly, " Oh yes, I do — the man who saved Mrs. Hopkin from falling. I shall not acknow- ledge him.^^ And then composing her beautiful features into a marble mask, and opening her large black eyes to the full, she let Falkner and Mr. Bumps pass by — very properly — unnoticed. Falkner was a little piqued at this assumed for- getfulness — ^for he could not believe she did not recognise him — and on his way to the hotel, where he proposed to pass the night for the re- covery of Mr. Bumps, he resolved to remain at Dearport for a few days, and cultivate the acquaintance of Mr. Hopkin, who had just made a slight advance to an intimacy. On the following morning Falkner saw Mr. Bumps safely deposited in the railway carriage which was to convey him back to his scholastic duties, and the old tutor^s face looked very flushed, and his eyes more than usually blinky 102 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, as lie retained his hold of Falkner^s hand, while he pronounced the following valedictory address : "Good-bye, my dear Falkner. You have done me a great kindness in dragging me away to change of scenes — change of thoughts — and I shall go back to my desk and its routine with a — well, more contented spirit, if not with a lighter heart, than I have done for years past/^ " I^m heartily glad to hear you say so,''^ re- plied Falkner, pressing his tutor^s hand warmly. " I can never hope to repay this kindness,"*^ said Bumps, blinking very much ; " but if you can set me upon any poor service at any time — at any time " Mr. Bumps's eyes were getting watery, so Falkner gave his hand a hearty shake, and said, laughing — " I shall come to you, depend upon it, as I did some years ago, when you proved a truer prophet than I then thought it possible you could be. There^s the whistle ! Good-bye, old friend ! Write when you get home. Good-bye !" So pupil and tutor parted for a time. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 103 CHAPTER V. FALKNER TUENS DIPLOMATIST ANB IS INTRODUCED AT THE COURT OF QUEEN BERTHA— THE PICNIC AND WHAT IT LED TO. T?ALKNER knew enough of the customs of an English watering-place not to despair of finding Mr. Hopkin, and he set ofi" in chase of that gentleman as soon as the train had started for London. He first drew the news-rooms blank, and then tried a portion of the beach with the same ill success. A ship coming into the harbour promised a find, so away Ealkner went, and to his great satisfaction found Mr. Hopkin at the end of the pier struggling to get a mighty tele- scope which he had hired for a week into proper focus. The hack telescope was scored with rings, as its various possessors had each made his or her own observations, and Mr. Hopkin was patiently 104 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, trying them all in succession. Falkner arrived at a moment of difficulty, as the wind, being pretty fresh, had blown Mr. Hopkin^s wide-awake from his head, and then whirled its string about the poor gentleman^s neck after taking a short turn round the telescope. There was nothing serious in this dilemma, but it produced great confusion to Mr. Hopkin, and Falkner was quite justified in offering his assistance to restore the truant hat to its proper position. Mr. Hopkin was infinitely obliged, and after a short stare exclaimed — " Dear me, sir ! We met on the Continent, did we not ? '' Falkner was delighted to say that such had been the case. " And you were of great service to Mrs. Hop- kin at a time when I was incapacitated from the use of my legs, or I may say any physical exer- tion,^^ continued Mr. Hopkin. Falkner did remember some small service on board the Vivid. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 105 '^ And now^ to think that you should have un- wound me ! The coincidence is rather curious," said Mr. Hopkin. " May I be allowed to make your more intimate acquaintance ? My name is Mr. John Hopkin — of Ball Square, and, I am not ashamed to say, an alderman of the City of London." Falkner was equally confidential, and at the request of Mr. Hopkin shook hands to ratify the treaty of amity. Mr. Hopkin then made the usual commentaries on the weather and the wind, patted, as it were, the sea on the back, and expressed his concur- rence in the generally acknowledged advantages of steam, concluding with a strong expression of his satisfaction at having his foot upon his native shingle, and registering a vow never to honour any foreign country again with his pre- sence. " Indeed," said Mr. Hopkin, after a pause, " I should not, neither would Mrs. H., have thought 106 FALKNEE LYLE ; OR, of crossing over when we met you^ being both such very great sufferers at sea '^ "So was Nelson/-* remarked Falkner with a smile. " That was strange, for an admiral ! But I sup- pose the human system is made after one pattern, and the common sailors keep off the complaint by using that filthy tobacco/^ said Hopkin. " As I was saying, I should not have gone to Paris but to gratify my niece — the young lady you no doubt noticed with us/'' Falkner had noticed her, certainly. Mr. Hop- kin, with that confidence which the seaside seems to inspire in many people, entered at length into the particulars of his family connexions and busi- ness pursuits — his brother-in-law's rise and pro- gress in India and untimely death — the con- signment of Bertha Clare to his guardianship ; but with a reticence which did credit to his a^Tincular feelings, he said nothing of the worry and fret in THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 107 which he and his wife were constantly kept by the self-willed beanty. As the hour for luncheon approached^ the two new friends strolled instinctively towards their respective lodgings, and parted with the under- standing that they should meet again when the Boulogne boat came in, and enjoy the disorder of the sea- tossed passengers. " The wind^s just right for a rough passage/^ said Mr. Hopkin, with a peculiar chuckle ; '^ and a great number of French are coming over daily. So M. Rochefoucauld was right when he declared that the misfortunes of others are not altogether disagreeable to ourselves. ^^ Falkner did not fail to improve his acquaintance with Mr. Hopkin, who was one of those unfor- tunate Britons to be found stranded on the shore of most of our watering-places, and who day by day appear to follow the same routine of occupa- tion or amusement or relaxation, or whatever else they may call the state of self-boredom 108 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, wliich they cultivate. Staring at the sea^, staring at the ships, staring at each other, they pass away the morning of each successive day ; and appear to have satisfied the requirements of their existence when they have subjected them- selves for a given number of hours to a dry- salting in the sea air, or, as it is said in the vulgate, "to sniffing the briny /^ Falkner there- fore knew where to find Mr. Hopkin. After a few days, the old gentleman began to look earnestly for the advent of Falkner, and did not hesitate to acknowledge that but for him he should have become perfectly melancholy and sea sick (metaphorically), having no sympathy with his ward^s amusements or pursuits, never having been in his young days a lady^s man. Falkner was base enough to conceal his own anxiety to be admitted to form one of the happy circle which surrounded the Belle of the Beach, and actually lured Mr. Hopkin into accepting an in- vitation to lunch with him, confident that the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 109 civility would be returned, and the object he had in cultivating the guardian^s acquaintance be attained. Nor was Falkner mistaken, as in the course of a day or two after Mr. Hopkin had been his morning guest, he was invited to accept a similar courtesy. Bertha was in one of her most gracious moods the morning that Falkner was introduced to her and Mrs. Hopkin. She acknowledged her remembrance of Falkner's kindness on board the boat, and was delighted to be able to thank him. She mentioned many objects of interest which she had seen on the Continent at those places where Falkner had met them, and expressed her wonder that she had not seen Mr. Lyle on the beach, knowing that he had been at D carport a week, as she had seen him land from the steamboat. Mr. Lyle knew no one in Dearport, and had not ventured to intrude without an introduction. " Well, that difficulty is at an cnd,^^ said Bertha, with the most charming smile ; " and if 110 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, you are disengaged to-morrow, perhaps you wiU join a little party we have made T' " Oh, with pleasure/' replied the delighted Falkner. "A friend of one of our beach party/' con- tinued Bertha, " has offered the use of some delightful grounds in the neighbourhood, and we have projected a picnic — a positive picnic, in conjunction with some garrison people, where all must make themselves useful, agreeable, and ornamental/' " Those are acquirements seldom combined in the same individual," said Falkner, bowing ; ^^ except " ^^ In me, of course," replied Bertha. ^^ I accept any amount of flattery as my just tribute, so you can be as complimentary as you please. You will join us ? Therefore let me see what you can send to the commissariat," refeiTing to some ivory tablets. " Nothing wanting — nothing. Enough to provision Dover Castle for a week. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. Ill What can you suggest ? What can you do ? Play the flute ? or the accordion ? or the cornet T' " Neither, I regret to say," replied Falkner ; " but " he paused. " Well, I am sure you are not stupid, and can do something,'^ said the lively lady. " I can make first-rate ' cups,"* from cider to champagne," replied Falkner. " Better than all !" cried Bertha^ clapping her hands. " You shall be appointed Clerk of the Corkscrew and Comptroller of the Nippers ; and now au revoir, Mr. Lyle. I am engaged to ride with some new girls from — I forget where. You ride, of course ?" " Oh yes." " Then join us, if you like. Mr. Hopkin will show you where we get our horses. We start in an hour." And then, with a coquettish nod of the head and a most gracious smile, she left the room. The nod and smile hit Falkner in a very 112 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, tender place — where he had been wounded once before. Falkner Lyle does not promise to be much of a hero^ yet he must be ours for years to come. It is as well to explain what influenced Bertha Clare to give such a gracious reception to Mr. Hopkin^s friend. She had learned from her guardian that Falkner was not the son of the rustic oddity with whom he had travelled in France, as she and the Hopkins^ had imagined, but that he was a gentleman by birth and pro- fession — influence No. 1. She saw that he was handsome, well-bred, courteous, and manly — influence No. 2. And Bertha that morning had questioned her darling Rosa very closely as to a marked change in Brother Charley^s manner since the ride when India was the staple of con- versation, and had drawn from her dear friend that an unfavourable impression had been made on the young gentleman. Mr. Marston, more- over, had elected to join the garrison detachment THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 113 for the picnic — a proceeding which Bertha con- sidered very impertinent upon his part. She was glad, therefore, to have such a new recruit as the handsome stranger to play off on the morrow — and that was influence No. 3. The day was beautifully fine, and the locality selected for the gathering all that could be desired. A broad sward of the greenest and softest turf, almost as even as a trimmed lawn, sloped down to a bright running brook, whilst the top of the rise was crowned with some re- markably fine beech and oak trees, quite ex- cluding the heat of the sun. The Dearport party had ridden or driven over, and were the first upon the ground, the young ladies making a most charming display, whilst the elderlies hid many of the ravages of time under brilliant and artistic millinery. The garrison detachment would have been equally attractive had they possessed a rival to Bertha ; but there, as on the beach, she would have VOL. I. I 114 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, received the golden apple had any Paris been called upon to make snch an inAddious se- lection as devolved upon him on Mount Ida. The servants had set ont a slight refection^ but the picnic proper was not to take place until later in the day^ and many pleasant devices helped to make the intervening time enjoyable. A somewhat podgy lieutenant nearly blew himself into a fit by playing a set of quadrilles on a cornet- a-pis ton, and Falkner felt it to be a duty to keep a professional eye upon him during the performance. Archery occupied some^ and Mrs. Hopkin suggested a game of kiss-in-the-ring, offering herself to become the first ^dctim. The proposal, however, was considered premature, and abandoned. Hunt-the-slipper by the ladies was a great success, the melodious screaming of the players being delightful to hear. Some of the young men ran races, the winners being rewarded with love-knots of ribbons, and the losers being consoled by the formal presentation of wooden THE STORY OP TWO WIVES. 115 spoons.* The intervals between the games were filled up by some pleasant nonsense which made laughter ; wisdom at such a time would have met with no graver reception. There was an Alderney cow and a buxom milkmaid, a veritable gipsy fire, with a caldron supported by a tripod of hazel sticks, a fortune- teller^s tent and a genuine Zingara, who could trace her vagabond lineage back to the Cooper who was hung for horse-stealing in George the Second^s day, and whose sons had avenged the judicial murder of their progenitor by the sacking of many a henroost and the wiring of hosts of hares. To-day, however, Zingara's wrongs were for- gotten, and she promised to her votaries lords and ladies for their future spouses, as though they had been as plentiful and cheap as blackberries. At the sounding of the assembly by the pursy lieutenant the hampers were unpacked, each, according to contract, taking share in the arrange- I 2 116 FALKNER LILE ; OR, ment of the banquet beneath the umbrageous shadow of two venerable beech trees. How unlike the solemn serving of one of Mr. Quarter- maine's dinners was that merry table decking of those amateur waiters ! What arranging and re- arranging of pies and salads^ salads and pies^ lob- sters and jellies^ jellies and lobsters — so many- having confined their contributions to those popu- lar delicacies,, and thereby declaring their limited knowledge of housekeeping. The Hopkin^s, how- ever^ added solidity to the feast, and a' fore- quarter of lamb, many fowls, and a Yorkshire ham attested a matron^s experience of the re- quirements for a dinner. Falkner had been faithful to his promise and busy in his vocation. Very successful also, as a chorus of praise followed the first round of the cyder cup. He had likewise manufactured a cham- pagne cup of surpassing excellence ; and so popu- lar were these delicious beverages, so much in demand, that the requirements made u^on the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 117 exertions of the concoctor promised to deprive him of any chance of a dinner. " Eeally, Mr. Lyle, this is too bad/-* said Bertha, with such a smile ! ^^ We are depriving you of all enjoyment. ■'•' '^Not in the least, I assure you/^ replied Falkner, gazing at Bertha as though he were Bacchus and she Ariadne. ^' I am delighted to have been so successful.^^ '^ I say it is too bad/^ said Bertha, springing up, and shaking her face free from the lustrous curls which shaded it. ^^ I shall help you ; I can peel the lemons if you will give me one lesson.^' That was a delightful proposition, and the needful instruction was readily imparted to an apt learner. Falkner almost envied the golden fruit clasped by those soft white fingers, and thought he could willingly have gone on making cups until doomsday with Bertha Clare for an assistant operator. '^ How very kind of you," Bertha said ; ^'1 had 118 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, no idea wliat a task I had imposed upon you f and then sucli a smile ! such a look ! It is right and very proper to preach love sermons to young and old^ setting forth that mind, disposition, purity of soul, are alone worthy the devotion of our hearts, and those preach truly who say this. But some hearts are too impatient to go long to school — too susceptible not to love through the eyes, and over such Beauty gains a ready conquest. Falkner Lyle had first loved through his eyes, and was again to yield to the beauty of Bertha Clare. The last brewage was pronounced by the gentlemen to have been the best of all, but to this Bertha dissented, and as a "punishment for their ingratitude led Falkner away from his laboratory to a seat on the grass beside her. " What a chance V said one ; " ^\Tio is he T' said another, as the generous beauty rewarded Falkner^s exertions by helping him to the choicest THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 119 morsels^ and almost holding a reaming cup to his lips. ^' Bottom and Titania/^ said the fusby lieuten- ant to one of ^^ onrs/^ " Ohj not so bad as that — hang it !" replied the other. " She^s a fine girl^ but he^s a fine feller, and Bottom you know was an ass — I^^e seen his portrait.^'' Where was Mr. Charles Marston all this time ? Had he resigned all pretensions to be thought first favourite with the Belle of the Beach ? It seemed very like it, as he had not spoken to her after his arrival throughout the day, but devoted himself to the friends with whom he had come from the garrison. Had Bertha noticed this secession ? Rosa Marston was mortified at her brother's marked neglect of her dear friend, and was sur- prised to see how unconscious Bertha appeared to be of any defection. Throughout that long sunshiny day not a cloud crossed the brow of 120 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, darling Bertha, and to the last adieux her smiles, her laughing eyes, her glorious manner made her appear the happiest of the happy. Bertha had di'iven Rose to the picnic in a pony-carriage and pair. When they were seated for their return home, Charles Marston made towards them to bid them good-bye, but before he could reach the carriage Bertha gave the ponies the reins, and dashed away towards home. '' Oh, Bertha, Charles was coming to bid us good-bye, as he returns with his friends,^^ said Rose, hastily. " Was he T' replied Bertha, " I did not notice him.'''' That was true enough, but she had seen him. " He will think it so unkind of me not to have seen him before we left,^^ said Rosa. '^ Oh, not he ; he knew you were going half-an- hour ago ! Soho ! steady, little fellows V' con- tinued Bertha, addressing her ponies ; ^' we shall THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 121 get tired if we go this pace, and that won^t be right, ponies/^ Rosa was inclined to be silent ; not so Bertha, and she talked rapidly over the events of the pleasant day they had spent, quizzed many of the party, admired a few, and came to an end by abruptly asking Rosa what she thought of Falkner Lyle. ; " Dear me, Berty, what a funny question !" replied Rosa. " IVe not thought of him at all. He seems a very good-natured, lively fellow." " Yes j and he is more than that. He is a sensible, clever man, and worth all the insipid fools we meet down here," replied Bertha. '' You forget. Bertha — my brother is among our acquaintance," said Rosa, offended. " Oh, I wasn^t thinking of him, dear — I meant Choker, and Studs, and Shiny-boots," replied Bertha, enumerating by these nicknames several of the danglers on the beach. 122 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Rosa^s pretty fair face had been very red, and it now faded into a soft pallor, as she said — " I am not surprised that you had forgotten Charles, remembering how attentive you were to your new favourite. I suppose he will be pro- posing in a few days/^ " Favourite ! Proposing ! "VMiat does the child mean V said Bertha, turning round and looking at Rosa. The evening had closed in and the moon was up, a bright, round moon, which shed pale-blue light on the road and trees, the surrounding hills, and the speakers^ faces. " What are you thinking, Rosa ? — that because I talk freely, ride out, and listen to silly speeches of conceited boys, I am likely to play the fool and — well, it^s a stupid phrase — fall in love T' "I don^t know why you shouldn^t,^^ replied Rosa, looking in Bertha^s face, to which the moonlight gave a strange expression. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 123 " I do^ Eosa/^ replied Bertha^ empliatically ; " I believe it to be impossible. As long as I can remember, I never loved any one — any thing V' " Oh, Bertha, what are you saying T' cried Rosa, earnestly. " Your mamma — your father \" " My mother was a poor, weak-minded crea- ture that it was possible to pity, and that I did. She never tried to make me love her — I was left to the care of my ayah — the black woman I spoke of the other day. I saw my mother for a few minutes during the day, and that was as much as her health, she said, could bear. Was that the way to make her child love her?^^ Rosa did not reply. " When I grew older I was left to my gover- ness, who was a fool and a sycophant. She let me learn or not as I pleased, and had I not found pleasure in books I should have been more ignorant than I am, and that is needless.^' 124 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " Oh^ Bertliy,, I am sure you play charmingly/^ said Rosa^ not knowing what to say. " Thanks. Don^t you flatter^ or I shall hate you. At present^ Rosa_, I care more for you — I can^t say why — than I ever did for any one, but I donH love you/^ Bertha laughed as she made this confes- sion, and Rosa took her hand and pressed it, as though she pitied her friend who could not love. " What was I saying ? Oh, yes,^"* resumed Bertha ; " this governess, to keep in favour with her wayward pupil, told me I was very handsome, and should marry a prince. I grew old enough to understand the woman^s motive, and I hated her. I told my mother of what had been said to me. My mother owned that it was true — that I was very handsome. Do you think I could respect, could love such a teacher ? No, I pitied her — I hated my governess.^^ " Poor Berthy \" said Rosa, placing her arm round her friend's waist — and she did not resent the pressure. " Your papa was very fond of you ?" THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 125 " Yes, in his way, and tliat made him ridi- culous, and the laughing-stock of his friends. He saw me once a day, and showed his love for me by saving, saving, and squeezing money out of every conceivable thing. He was not a man to respect — no one did so — and I could not love him."*^ Rosa again sat silent. " And these people I am with now — good, kind, honest souls, I daresay,^" continued Bertha, ^^ rich and liberal, and all that, but are they the companions, the guardians for me ? K they were not relations I should not care so much, but I am obliged to own my aunt, and — isn^t she vulgar V Rosa owned Mrs. Hopkin was a little gauche, and Bertha gave one of her odd, sneering laughs at the phrase. After a pause. Bertha said, ^' We shall soon be in Dearport, so. Rosy, let me end this strange conversation — conference, or whatever you may call it. I donH know why I have said this to you.^^ 1 26 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ^^ Because you love me/^ said Rosa^ ^' though you won^t own it" " Well, I'll try, dear/' replied Bertha, '' and that I may do so, keep what I have said to your- self. One don't like to be thought heartless, and some day I may wish to marry — a single woman is so very dependant, even if she has money/' Bertha reined in her ponies so that they might go gently down the hill which leads to the har- bour, and allow the rest of the party to join company; then, clattering, laughing, and talk- ing, the horses and their riders and drivers entered the town of Dearport. When Rosa Marston laid her head upon her pillow that night she could not sleep for thinking of Bertha Clare and all which she had told her. Bertha — so beautiful, so rich, so admired — had confessed that she had never loved anyone, and believed that she never could do so. And Rosa thought of the dear mamma who had kissed her so tenderly before she came upstairs, and of the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 127 kind old father who had parted her curls from her forehead to kiss her also,, and who had asked God to bless her when she had pressed his cheek in return. She thought of her dear, brave bro- ther, who had been her playmate once, and was now about to become a noble soldier, never for- getting her, she knew, whatever fortune might be his, and then Rosa wept a few painless tears from thanldulness that her dear brother did not love the unloving one — Bertha Clare. And Bertha deceived herself when she tried to excuse her want of affection for those whom it would have been more natural to have loved, by- affecting to resent the fulsome flattery with which they sought, perhaps, to control her wilfulness. Cold, unloving by nature. Bertha also possessed a quicker intelligence than those by whom she had been nurtured, and as she grew conscious of this superiority she came to despise her intellec- tual inferiors. But she was proud of her beauty ; prouder as she grew to womanhood, and saw its 128 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, power and tlie advantages slie gained by it^ and she resented any neglect_, any slight of her per- sonal distinction. As time passes on we may see her strive to exercise its influence at the terrible sacrifice of her own peace. Mr. Charles Marston had rebelled, un- doubtedly, and was to be put to confusion by the offended beauty, even on the open beach at Dearport. ^' Good morning, Bertha,^^ said Rosa, as she approached the shingley throne of her friend, fol- lowed by her brother. ^^ Here is Charley come to make his adieux. He is going to the depot of his regiment.''^ ^^ Oh, indeed \" replied Bertha, in the most pleasant, careless tone. '^ How late you are this morning. Rosy \" "Yes, dear, I have been helping Charley to pack up — ^he is going, you know,^^ said Rosa, a little embarrassed. " Ah, so you said. Quite tired of Dearport, I THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 129 should think, Mr. Marston?^^ remarked Bertha, looking calmly in Mr. Charley^s face. " Oh dear, no ! I have been very jolly here,^' replied Mr. Marston. "You have all been so agreeable." " Keally, ladies, we ought to rise and courtesy for that compliment, seeing how very attractive the garrison squad was yesterday," said Bertha, smiling so prettily. " Oh, yes," added Helen Stacey, a pretty pug- nosed brunette. " Mr. Marston only honoured the Dearport division with a bow." " Hush, dear !" said Bertha. " Quite as much as we could expect from such a distinguished officer as Mr. Marston, who has eaten his first mess dinner. What do you call your little dog. Miss Stacey?" " Floss," was the reply ; and Bertha became intensely interested in a wheezy brute, too fat to walk, and of no earthly use but to propagate fleas and be in everybody's way. VOL. I. K 130 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Rosa was piqued^ as she knew how Bertha really detested Floss and all his tribe. Charley, too^ evidently understood this sudden conversion to dog-fancying, and was weak enough to feel annoyed by it. Duiing the quarter of an hour he remained upon the beach, he scarcely said half- a-dozen sentences, whilst Bertha was in the highest spirits ; recalling some of the principal events of the preceding day, and receiving in the best possible humour the raillery of some of her court on her treatment of Falkner Lyle. " A good fellow, that Mr. Lyle,^^ said Bertha, with a knowing shake of her head ; " and is now, 1^11 be bound, employed in a work of charity.''' '^ What ?'-' asked half-a-dozen voices. " Helping poor Mr. Hopkin to get through the morning on the pier, or perhaps saving him from being strangled, as Mrs. Hopkin told us he had done the &ther day.''^ So good a joke produced a chorus of laughter fi'om the little court, and during the ebullition of THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 131 merriment Marston approached Bertha to say- good-bye. " Good-bye^ Mr. Marston. Bon voyage" said Bertha, giving him her hand coldly. ^' I am glad you leave us Rosa and — good-bye. Oh, do look at that Floss ! He is choking himself with a piece of biscuit \" And so the disgraced favourite retired from court, rather mortified, it must be confessed, al- though he cared nothing — not a jot — for Bertha Clare. And so he told his good little sister Bosa when she tried to excuse the unaccountable con- duct of her dear fi-iend, as they walked home from the beach. K 2 132 FALKNER LTLE ; OR, CHAPTER VI. MR. HOPKIN HAS REASON FOE REJOICING, AND COMES OUT VERY STRONG — FALKNER OBTAINS HIS DESIRE, AND REPENTS. rPHE beach at Dearport had been long deserted by its migratory visitors; the lodging-house keepers had counted up their gains : some pre- paring to wait patiently the coming of the next season^ whilst others, as a forlorn hope, hung in the windows, " Apartments to let on very mode- rate terms/^ and occasionally caught a straggler. Falkner Lyle had commenced practice con- jointly with the popular Dr. Fleming, and his success had been very encouraging. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkin had invited him to continue his intimacy, as Bertha made no objection; and much of his leisure time was spent in their THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 133 society. Falkner Lyle was desperately in love with Bertha Clare. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkin did not know what to make of matters. They were very anxious to have Bertha married, as the imperious beauty ruled them with a rod of iron. " I wish Mr. Lyle would make Bertha an offer/^ said Mr. Hopkin, as he was shaving him- self ; " but I am afraid he has seen too much of Bertha^s impertinence to us, my dear." " The man^s too much in love to see any of her defects, if I know anything of such matters," replied Mrs. Hopkin ; adding, " George, have you moved my front ?" George had not, and the stray ringlets were soon discovered. "I Avish she would marry," sighed Hopkin, " and that I was relieved from my trust. She'll make a devil of a wife for somebody !" " Well, I don't know — women change so much after marriage. See what a high-spirited 134 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, girl I was at one time and what I am now/^ Forty years had certainly changed the high spirited girl into a portly, obstinate old woman. Mrs. Hopkin fought bravely with time ; and by the aid of bunches of false curls,, gorgeous caps and dresses, cheated herself, if nobody else, into the belief that she rubbed off the mark of ten years at least. Now that Mr. Hopkin had been led to believe that parties were necessary for his emancipation from Bertha, Mrs. Hopkin had employed none but a West-end milliner, and when she was thoroughly made up for an even- ing she was impressive, if not attractive. How Bertha sneered at the friends of the house of Hopkin ! How she ridiculed or found fault with all the arrangements of her guardians, although she knew the sacrifice poor Hopky, as she called him, made, when he allowed his house to be turned out of windows, and went through the ordeal of entertaining. It was not affectation on the part of Bertha, THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 135 this distaste of all that was done for her ; she was thoroughly distressed by the honest vulgarity which surrounded her^ and this feeling greatly influenced her in her subsequent conduct to- wards Falkner Lyle. '' What business have you had with Mr. Lyle that you have been closeted together for this half hour ?" asked Bertha of Mr. Hopldn. " Why, my dear, you mustn^t be angry or fly out at what I am going to say," replied Mr. Hopkin, looking rather livid. '' What do you mean ? I never do fly out, as you call it — I sometimes remonstrate with you when you do foolish things," answered Bertha. " Well, go on." '^ Mr. Lyle, my dear — as you must have seen, as every one else has seen for some time — ad- mires you very much, and " '' Well ? I know that," interrupted Bertha. " Oh, then he has spoken to you about it?" said Mr. Hopkin, smiling, and glad to be 136 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, relieved from making any further commmiica- tion. " About what ? Not^ certainly^ about his ad- miration — I could discover that without being told so/^ replied Bertha ; '^ but what has he been saying to you?^^ " My dear, Mr. Lyle is a gentleman, and '' '' Yes/^ ^^ And knowing that I am your guardian, he has very properly, as a gentleman, inquired what my sentiments would be — would be " " About what T' asked Bertha, quickly. " Would be, should he propose himself as your sweetheart — I mean, suitor,^^ said Mr. Hop- kin, getting very red. " And what did you say V asked Bertha shortly. " What could I say, my dear, to a gentleman who has dined here and danced here, and all that? I said I should not withhold my con- sent.'' THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 137 '^ Thanks — very many thanks_,^^ said Bertha, courtseying ; " and when do you propose to put up the banns ?'^ '^ My dear Bertha, I have nothing more to do in the matter. It now rests with you and Mr. Lyle/^ said Mr. Hopkin, striking his colours — foreseeing an approaching engagement. " You, my dear, are mistress of your own actions. ^^ " I was afraid I was not to be, without a struggle,"^ replied Bertha. ^^ When does the gentleman propose V " I really don't know — I don't indeed. I pre- sume our interview was necessary before I could do that. He is very honourable, very liberal ; he will settle all your money on yourself, and '' " Now hear what I have to say, Mr. Hopkin, and mind what I require of you,'' said Bertha, interrupting as usual. " I desire that you say nothing of this matter to Mrs. Hopkin or to any- one else. I don't want to be the talk of your friends. Mind, if I hear a syllable of this mat- 138 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ter — if I am joked or advised by anyone — I shall know the information comes from yon. You understand; sir?^^ Mr. Hopkin did understand fully what was required of him_, and promised to obey^ although he had; even in his then perturbed state^ an in- distinct vision of a connubial tempest when Mrs. Hopkin should discover that such an important secret had not been entrusted to her. Bertha went to her own sitting-room^ and having entered it locked the door. She walked about for some minutes^ and then sat down in her reading-chair and spoke in a low tone^ although there was none to hear. " This man intends to propose to me as my husband. I felt — I knew he would do so from the first day we met. I have not been annoyed by thinking he would do so^ but now that the proposal is more than probable I am alarmed, and uncertain as to the answer I should give him. To live the life I do is intolerable — impossible; THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 139 and this may be an escape into the world of decent people and congenial enjoyment. What shall I do V^ She rose and walked again about the room, as though the conflict of her thoughts could be subdued by motion. After a time she paused and resimied her seat and her soliloquy. '' Can I love this man ? Do I even care for him more than any other whom I have known or am likely to know? I think I can say ^ yes^ to that question as he is a handsome man ; generous, good-tempered, and well-placed in society — all in his favour. What will he expect from me as his wife? He will desire that I should love him. I cannot understand the feeling ! I have had preferences : not always enduring, certainly; I can discern the good and evil in my friends ; distinguish between kindness and unkindness, truth and de- ceit ; I prefer the nobler qualities ; and yet I am never touched with what I understand to be love. Could I make any great sacrifice for this man ? Yes — if he were the true brave fellow I think 140 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, him I could stand by him through all changes. Should I regret the lessening of his esteem? Yes. Of his admiration ? No ; I know that others would admire. Coidd I submit to his guidance ? If he were to prove very wise^ but it would be a struggle, even then.^'' She rose again and leaned her forehead, as though to cool it, upon the marble mantelpiece. In this position she continued to mutter as before. " If he should discover that I have no love for him ? I have none now, and yet he seeks me. I shall be the same as I am now — as I have always been — perhaps more to him — for him. I shall not care to provoke admiration as I have done, not always without mortification. Charles Marston, you had your Roland for your Oliver, I trust. What put him into my mind at such a time? — a coxcomb \" Bertha^s reverie ended. Her face was flushed and her lips seemed feverish. Having noticed her appearance in the glass, she put on her THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 141 bonnet, rang for the page who usually attended her, and went out for a walk. Bertha had not gone far when she met Mrs. Hopkin, who had been investing in a codfish at an abated price, and was returning home, attended by the fishmonger's boy bearing the fish on a tray, in case, as Mrs. Hopkin told Bertha in a whisper — " in case they should change it '''' — it was such a bargain. Bertha was sufiiciently annoyed at the meeting not to have had her susceptibility fur- ther outraged as it was by Eosa Marston passing in the family carriage and recognising her once dear Bertha. '^That old fright will craze me," thought Bertha, as she walked away from thrifty Hopkin ; and commonplace as the adventure was it had an influence in deciding Bertha to become the wife of Falkner Lylc, should he propose to her. The next day, when Falkner called at the Hopkins' he found Bertha alone. There was an unaccountable restraint in her manner towards 142 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, him wMcli he could not understand,, unless Hop- kin had told her of what had passed between them and she was displeased at his presumption. Almost desperate at this idea^ Falkner^ in a few passionate words, declared his love, and was de- lighted not to be repelled. " You are a bold man, Mr. Lyle, to ask me to be your wife/^ said Bertha, in a voice like music, and looking more beautiful than ever. " You must have seen what a wayward, self-willed creature I am, and may perhaps continue to be.'^ " I would not have you unlike what you are,^"* replied the embarrassed lover. " The faults you name are almost virtues, and love will make them " But why repeat all the foolish things that Falkner said ? Enough to record that he became so insensible to the flight of time, so absorbed in the ecstasy of the moment, that a valuable chronic patient was forgotten to be visited, and became THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 143 t in consequence lost to the practice of Messrs. Fleming and Lyle for ever ! Six months after this exciting interview, Falkner Lyle and Bertha Clare were made man and wife. Old Hopkin came out splendidly on the wedding day, and the prodigality of the breakfast and the after doings were long the talk of the invited and the neighbourhood. Hopkin would have had his house illuminated, but the lamp man had no emblematical designs but royal cro^^^s, V^s and A^s and R^s, and it was decided that none of those devices were appropriately emblematical of a wedding. Mr. Hopkin was desirous to discharge his functions as a guardian to the uttermost, and he was also anxious to supplement some extra demonstration of rejoicing on his own account. He had never known how much he disliked Bertha until he was on the point of resigning her — had never known how much of his own personal comfort had been sacrificed to her ca- prices and self-will until the day of emancipation 144 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, drew nigh. There was a dance in the evening, long after the happy pair had departed for Buxton, when Mr. Hopkin, who had not been known to dance for twenty years_, wound up the ball (like the immortal Mr. Fezziwig) by hauling Mrs. Hopkin through the mazes of the Sir Roger de Coverley. Falkner Lyle was very proud of his beautiful wife, and for some months after the marriage willingly indulged her in her love of society, and never grew tired of receiving congratulations on his marital good fortune. At the end of this time Mr. Fleming^s health required a change to a warmer climate during the approaching winter, and the full weight of the practice therefore devolved upon his young partner. It was on account of tliis probable contingency that Falkner had been admitted into partnership, and he had therefore no reason to complain of the additional labour and anxiety now thrown upon him, and he accepted both cheerfidly. Not so Bertha. Falkncr's time was neces- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 145 sarily less at his own disposal, and he found it imperative, for the proper discharge of his duties, to restrict the acceptance of friendly invitations to his own family connexions. Bertha accepted this necessity with moderate patience at first, but she had never learned to control her inclinations, and the task of doing so became more difficult every day. Falkner tried for a time to put away the painful conviction that his wife had not an entire sympathy with him, and that she rather rebelled against the limitations of visits instead of stri\dng to look vrithin her own home for the comfort of domestic enjoyment, and by so doing make his labours lighter. There was no doubt at last that she desired to exchange his companionship for that of the crowd — that she did not care overmuch to wait patiently for the coming of her wearied husband — ^head- wearied — and when a few words of sympathy from her would have been a better restorative VOL. I. L 146 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, for Mm than all tlie medicaments to be found in the Pharmacopoeia. Falkner felt this conduct bitterly^ but was silent. One morning at breakfast^ Bertha said — '^ How long is this Mr. Fleming to remain abroad V ^' For three months longer^ I am afraid. His improvement is very slow^ but_, I trust, certain/^ replied Falkner. " Three months V' exclaimed Bertha,, " and you are to do all the di'udgery of the practice until he returns T' " I shall have to attend to all the practice — such was our agreement/^ replied Falkner. " Then it^s very provoking, very/^ said Bertha, petulantly. '^ We are losing all oui' most agree- able friends, and I don^'t like it.^-* " Surely not all T' asked Falkner. " Well, of course not all ; your people are all very pleasant and that, but one gets tired of seeing the same faces and dresses, and hearing THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 147 the same music and small-talk/^ answered Bertha. ^' I am sorry that you are not happy with such society/^ said Falkner^ sadly. " I should be happier if there was a little more variety in our acquaintance. Here is a note from the Graysons — you remember how pleased we were with them at Buxton — inviting us for next Thursday, and I suppose I must send the usual card of refusal. I wonder the ink on those cards don^t turn red with the fibs they tell.^^ " You are engaged, are you not T' asked Falkner, quietly. " You are engaged with me — at home.^^ " Don^t talk such nonsense as that, Falkner, don^t. Tliat^s a mean equivocation, and you ought to be ashamed of making it. Iladn^t I better say we will accept V " If you desire to do so, but / may not be able to keep the engagement,^' replied Falkncr. The acceptance was sent, and Falkner was not L 2 148 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, able to leave the bedside of a patient, whose life was preserved by the doctor^s persevering attention and assistance. Falkner wrote to Bertha, telling her he conld not be home for some hours perhaps. When he did return, jaded and weary, he found that his wife had kept the engagement, leaving for him a scrap of paper begging him to follow and bring her home. Those few lines made him very heartsick, but he had just come from the successfcQ performance of a great duty, and he found comfort in remembering the cause which had left his wife free to act according to her inclination. Mrs. Falkner Lyle had been loudly announced and graciously received by the Gray sons. She had sat receiving the homage of every eye that looked upon her, and her noble bust heaved and fell with pleasurable emotion. It quickened slightly in its action when the names of Mr. and Miss Marston were announced, but was again THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 149 undisturbed when her dear friend Rosa and brother Charley recognised and addressed her. So warm was the greetings so delighted was the expression of each face^ that no one could have imagined that for many many months there had been a social iceberg between them. Charles Marston was glad to be so received, for, strange as it may seem, no man likes to be cut by a pretty woman. Whatever pain Bertha may have inflicted on the young soldier and his fond sister, was amply compensated by her affa- bility to the one and her almost tenderness to the other. "Your husband is here, I suppose ?^^ asked Rosa. " No, dear. I am sorry to say he is detained with a most important case ; but I hope he will be here to take me home.^^ " You are looking more beautiful than ever. Bertha ; and I am so glad to have met you. We must not be such strangers to each other for the future,^^ said Rosa. 150 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " No_, dear. I shall be most delighted to have your companionship,, for a doctor^s wife has but a lonely time of it^ I can assure you/' replied Bertha. " Well^ I suppose Mr. Lyle must be away from home a great deal T' said Rosa. "Yes — a very great deal/' replied Bertha ; " and Mr. Lyle is such a Darby of a husband^ that he won't let his poor Joan ^dsit without him. But I must cure him of that/' she added half aloud. Mr. Marston now claimed Bertha for a dance^, and when it was over Master Charley gave a little sigh — he couldn't help doing so. He was lucky enough to take Bertha down to supjDcr, and his first question was — " Is your husband here ?" " Not at present/' replied Bertha. " Ours is a horrid profession — we are doctors^ you know." " Yes, so I heard. I never saw Mr. Lyle but once — at that precious picnic, when I behaved so badly ; I should not know him again, I fancy." THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 151 " Your eyesight must be good if you could, considering that you never approached the poor Dearporters within speaking distance/' " Oh_, do you remember that ?" said Master Charley. " Well, I thought you hadn't looked at me, or known I was there/' '^ I see many things which I never mention," said Bertha. ^^ Get me some jelly, if you please, and I'll take some champagne." Charley ex- ecuted both commissions with readiness, and the supper over, dancing was resumed. Bertha had just finished a waltz with — yes ! it was with Master Charley, when the weary Falkncr entered the room. Mr. Marston was about to take Bosa home, as she was not well, and the nonsensical nothings he was saying at parting to Mrs. Lyle were being laughed at as though they were the best things a wife could hear. When Mr. Marston turned away, Bertha drew up her fine form, and a ray of pleasure played upon her face as she thought — '^ Con- 152 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ceited puppy ! You escape from me ? I could lead you where I would^ if it so pleased me." Falkner interrupted his wife^s meditations by sitting down at her side^ and, after a brief stay, they went home. Before Falkner could undress, a ring at the nigbt-bell told of more work to be done. It was Mr. Grace, the assistant, who bad rung, as be bad a case of importance under bis charge, and was anxious for the opinion of his principal. Falkner returned to his dressing-room and put on bis usual dress. " What, going out again, Falkner,^'' said his wife, " at this time of night ?" " Yes, dear,'"' replied Falkner. " Our duties are never done, and Mr. Grace is anxious about his patient.^^ " One of Mr. Grace^s patients — why, some poor person, I suppose ?'' asked Bertha. " Yes, and whose health, therefore, is of more consequence than a rich one^s,^^ replied Falkner. THE STOllY OF TWO WIVES. 153 '^ Good night, dear/^ and lie kissed his beautiful Bertha, who might have seen a twitching motion about her husband^s lip had she looked with more wifely eyes. It was broad daylight when the doctor returned, and not wishing to disturb his sleeping wife he partly undressed and laid himself upon a couch in his dressing-room. Fairly exhausted, he fell into a deep sleep until aroused by his servant at the usual hour for rising. Falkner appeared more worn, more depressed than even the loss of sleep and the previous day^s professional anxieties should have produced, when he sat down to his solitary breakfast. More than one heavy sigh escaped him as he saw, nearly for the first time, the little cloud coming on, which was, perhaps, to darken his future. Yet Bertha was still beauti- ful — more beautiful indeed, now that she had arrived at the maturity of womanhood ; but there was a consciousness of some great want un- satisfied, a dread of some great calamity to come. 154 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, When husband and wife met at dinner, there was little said by either for some time, as Bertha interpreted Falkner^s despondency to be a silent censure of her conduct on the preceding evening. It was not in her nature to endure meekly any interference with her desires or caprices, and she therefore resolved to bring her husband to confession, and then to a knowledge of her own independence. " We^d a delightful evening at the Graysons,^^ she said ; " you ought to have come earlier." "It was with difficulty that I came at all," replied Falkner, seriously. ^' I am glad I went," continued Bertha. ''*' I met some very pleasant people, and my dear old friend, Rosa Marston," — adding, after a pause, ^' and her brother." " You were waltzing with him when I entered the room," said Falkner. " Ah ! yes ; you came to me just after he had left with Rosa — what^s the matter, Falkner ? THE STOflY OF TWO WIVES. 155 You have some silly fancy in your head that's annoying you. Surely not my waltzing with such an old acquaintance as Mr. Marston ?'' asked Bertha. " Not exactly that/" replied Falkner, " though I would rather that my wife waltzed with her husband.'" " WTien he was not there to waltz with ?" " Because he could not be there^ and had told you so/' said Falkner. " Then you should have been better pleased that I had kept our engagement/' replied Bertha. " I might as well be with the Hopkins again if I am to remain mewed up here and never go out except when we can go together. Perhaps you would wish to play the Grand Turk, my dear ?" '' No ; I would desire only that we should act towards each other as true husband and wife should do, Bertha, and to do that we should share each other's cares — each other's 156 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, pleasures/^ said Falkner^ with sadness in his face. " I do believe you are serious ! — that you are annoyed at my going to the Graysons — are you T* asked Bertha. " I am. I think you acted inconsiderately towards me — knowing how I had been employed ; and the scrap of paper you left with your request that I should follow you gave me more pain than I have felt for years.^^ " Oh_, nonsense ! Falkner. — I am sure there was nothing improper in what I wrote, nothing un- reasonable in what I did, and I am afraid our married life will not be as pleasant as it has been if you become selfish and exacting.^^ Bertha rose as she said this, and moved towards the door of the dining room. — " I hate a quarrel, and we seem to be approaching one. Don^t let us act like a silly boy and girl. I claim to have con- trol over my own actions, and I shall for the future cultivate those friendships which are agree- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 157 able to me. WTien you have finished your wine come upstairs like a good old fellow, and 1^11 beat you again at chess /^ When Bertha had left the room the little cloud increased and increased, until it covered with its deep shadow all the household gods which Falkner had set up. There was no relenting in the unloving woman, and as her husband ceased to remonstrate again with words, Bertha indulged her self-will to the utmost, and her private brougham was heard stopping at her door long after midnight gene- rally three or four times a week. As Mrs. Lyle had been introduced by the Marstons to many of their friends, it was not surprising that the umwhile admirer at Dcarport met the Belle of the Beach, or that, meeting — ^he being the brother of Bertha's dearest friend — there was more freedom in their intercourse than there would have been had they only acknow- ledged the casual acquaintance of a ball room. 158 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Falkner continued to confine Ms visits to those friends whom lie had originally selected^ and was never seen in the Marston set^ and it was not very much to the discredit of Miss FitzBryant that she started a little scandal of her own which reflected upon the beautiful Mrs. Lyle. Miss FitzBryant^ a patient of Falkner^Sj had been seriously compromised many years before,, but by the good-nature or indifference of her friends had been allowed to creep back into society. As a matter of course^ the Magdalen became a self- constituted she-dragon, gnawing the golden apples, or reputations, of her entire con- nexion. It was, therefore, in the discharge of this duty that she had spoken of Mrs. Lyle to her husband, the doctor, and having praised her beauty to the skies, " brought the angel down^^ by some dark revelations of a scandal, which had reference to certain flirtations with Charles Marston. Vague, ridiculous as those insinuations were. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 159 Falkner could not dismiss them from liis mind, and as tliey took form and colour lie resolved to speak to Bertha, if only to warn her of the im- pressions she was creating in that society which she coveted so much. With great gentleness, with unaffected assurance of his disbelief in the truthfulness of the surmises of her accuser, Falkner told Bertha what he had heard. The beautiful face which he had admired, '^ not wisely but too well,^^ became almost terrible by the in- dignation which was expressed by the flashing- eyes, the compressed mouth, the reddened cheeks, the quick beating of her angry heart. When she spoke, it was to utter the wildest invective against the miserable woman who sought to pal- liate her own fault by attributing guilt to others — well, if not guilt, at least a reprehensible folly, almost as damaging to her good name. " And you, Falkner — you to be my informant ! How dare you suspect me T* " On the contrary, I have expressed my con- 160 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, viction of your innocence/^ replied Falkner, as calmly as lie could. " I am jealous of your good name — my own/^ " Jealous of my good name \" said Bertha^ her lip quivering witli passion. " You have no right to suppose it to be in danger from any act of mine. If I had believed you capable of this weakness I Tvould not have married you. A jealous man is a fool^ and would be a domestic tyrant if he could.'''' " I am not jealous/^ replied ralkner^ gro^^ing angry also ; " and I have shown you the utmost consideration in my power — even at the sacrifice of my own comfort.^'' " You have consulted your own convenience, as I have mine/^ said Bertha, " and as we have to live together, we had better continue to do so.^^ " No/^ replied Falkner ; " I protest against a continuance of the independent course you have assumed. I shall require to be considered THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 161 — that you only visit when I can visit — and that you are seen less with the Marstons/^ " T\Tiat ? You can play the domestic tyrant then, husband V said Bertha, bitterly. ^^ ^^Tiat if I rebel ?^^ ^^ You have done so/' answered Falkner. " If what I have done is rebellion, I am afraid we shall have uneasy lives, Mr. Lyle,'' continued Bertha. '' I deny your right to control my actions so long as they are not justly censurable — and they have not been so, despite what you have heard from that wicked old Magdalen. However, the subject of that scandal will soon be removed — Mr. Marston leaves England before the end of the year. Have you anything more to say, Falkner?" " No, not at present," replied Falkner, in a low, husky voice. Bertha said no more, but left the room, her beautiful face darkened by anger, if by no more baneful feeling towards her husband. VOL. I. M 162 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, This quarrel was tlie beginning of tlie inter- necine wars Tvliicli may have been foreseen as likely to arise fi'om the union of hands and not hearts — of marriage without that love which en- dures and sacrifices much to make up the greatest blessing of our lives — a home in all its fulness. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 163 CHAPTER VII. DOMESTIC STRIFE, WHICH HAS THE USUAL ENDING! — MR. BUMPS IS TAKEN TO GREENWICH, AND THEN INTO COUNCIL. T)EFORE tlie end of tlie year Bertha had given birtli to a daughter — a fragile thing at firstj but by the care of Falkner it grew in strength. Poor babe ! It brought more strife into its parents^ home, as Bertha insisted upon delegating her duties as a mother to another, and Falkner was strongly opposed to that cruel fashion — ^that great injustice to mothers and children, be they rich or poor. O Bertha ! Bertha ! lovely as you have ever seemed to your husband^s eyes, you would have been a hundred times more beautiful discharging your first and honest duty, sharing youi' life with the most helpless of created things. They barter M 2 164 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, to mucli loss who exchange for any other plea- sure a mother^s sacred privilege; whilst they too generally tempt to the commission of great wrong those who^ for a little gain_, rob their own offspring of its birthright. And when Falkner gave up the contest with his wife he only yielded to that terrible necessity — a choice between two evils. Mr. Fleming returned to England^ his health perfectly restored^ and he was distressed to observe a marked change in his young partner,, which he attributed to over-exertion in the dis- charge of the increased duties which had de- volved upon him. When^ however, Mr. Fleming spoke to Falkner upon the subject, thanking him for the relaxation he had enabled him to obtain, and from which so much good had come, he was surprised at the manner in which his acknow- ledgments were received, and at the mental dis- tress evidently oppressing his fi'iend and coad- jutor. Mr. Fleming forbore to press for an THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 165 explanation, but lie could not help showing the sympathy he felt. Falkner perceived this, and after a morning of angry altercation at home, he resolved to confide to his partner some of the causes of the disquietude he could not conceal. It was a sad revelation for the one to make and the other to hear, and when ended the remedy for the evils which existed appeared to be very difficult to determine. '' You have grieved me greatly by what you have said, and I hardly know how to advise you. My own married life has been so unlike yours that my experience suggests nothing,^^ said Mr. Fleming. " I did not expect otherwise,^' replied Falkner ; " but it is a relief to me to have been able to speak to some one — to you particularly.^' " What if you were to relax a little^ and share her visiting T' asked Mr. Fleming. " I have done so in a degree,^' replied Falkner. " We have had parties at home, and I have gone 166 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, out when I would have given much to have been spared the discomfort of doing so. The disease is deeper than mere pleasure seeking/^ " I trust you do not suspect '* " No/^ Falkner paused. ^^ I suspect no crimi- nality_, but I am almost certain that she is seek- ing the attentions of others^ and is not restrained by any love for me.^^ " You must not think that/^ said Mr. Fleming, taking Falkner^s hand. ^^ She is young, and has been so long out of society — so much indulged. After a time she may, nay, will, look to her home for enjoyment.-'^ '^ Never, Fleming, never V' cried Falkner, in a tone of anguish. " She is a cold, heartless woman, untouched by kindness, uncontrollable every way. Even her child has scarcely a hold upon her.^^ " No — no. Be calmer " " I am nearly desperate, Fleming,''^ continued Falkner, hiding his face with his hands. " What THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 167 influence I ever had with her is gone. She does not care to disguise from me how utterly indif- ferent I am to her and she to me. She insults me daily by her calm^ cold irony and manner ; and when I am stung into retaliation she hears me to an end^ and then maintains a contemptu- ous silence." *' Do you think if any one were to point out to her the probable consequences of her con- duct " " I have done so/' interrupted Falkner ; ^' onl) this morning, I — I almost spoke of a separation — I spoke of it as a possibility, and she replied — ' Why, are we not separated now ? \^,Tiat have we in common ? True, you have tried to force me to accept your notions of life, and I have resisted, and intend to do so.' I asked her to recal what she had said — she refused. ^ But for the scandal,' she said, ' of a formal separa- tion, it would, perhaps, be the better course for both. She had nothing to fear from ex- 168 FALKNER LYLE; OR, posure. It was more convenient perhaps to live together. Certainly better to come to some un- derstanding to live in peace/ " " And what answer did you make T' asked Fleming. " None. I then determined to come to you, and acquaint you with my miserable condition. What shaU I do? Shall I leave her?^' asked Falkner. Mr. Fleming shook his head gravely before he spoke. " No, my poor friend — you must not ask me to answer your question. He undertakes a thankless task who strives to keep peace in disturbed households. He assumes the most painful responsibilities of a judge who ventures to give judgment between man and wife, and I decline, as I have done before, to do so.^^ " It was not fair to ask you such a question ; I must decide for myself.'^ THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 169 " Yes/^ replied Fleming ; " but I may offer one course for your adoption/^ '^ I will try any means to save us both from the dreadful alternative of separation/^ " Write to her/^ said Fleming ; " write to your wife all that you have told to me. Write calmly, lovingly, if you can. You have a child now to plead for peace between you — and who knows but that, away from the irritation of a controversy, her heart may be touched, and a better future for both of you be resolved upon V' There was so much that was reasonable in the suggestion that Falkner promised to adopt it, although he did not believe that good would come of it. However, the lettet should be sent. The disagreement of the morning had been so fierce and unpleasant that Falkner had left word with a servant that he should not dine at home, and he was pondering how to dispose of himself for the rest of the day, when who should present him- self but old Mr. Bumps, become once more a free 170 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, man for a few weeks. There was sometliing startling in this unexpected advent of his old tutor Falkner felt, although he could not define wherefore, until he connected Mr. Bumps with his first meeting with Bertha, and his first con- fession of love for Ethel. Strange, that this old usher should always be destined to have a part in the love passages of his life ; and it was a moment or so before Falkner could return the salutation of Mr. Bumps and say how glad he was to see him. " I thought you would be pleased,^^ replied Mr. Bumps. ^^ I called at your private residence on my way hither, on the chance of finding you at home.^^ " Ah, no ; I was not at home,^^ replied Falkner, vaguely. " No j neither was Mrs. Lyle. I saw her get into a brougham at the door — a brougham with a young lady and gentleman." " I can^t guess who they were," replied Falkner. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 171 " As I got nearer I heard the young gentle- man order the coachman to drive to Rich- mond, to the something or other/^ said Mr. Bumps. '^ The Star and Garter V asked Falkner, curi- ously. " Yes — ^yes — that was it — the Star and Garter/^ answered Bumps. " That's strange/' muttered Falkner. " She did not tell me of any engagement^ — yet perhaps I ought not to be surprised at that.'' He stop- ped in his walk for a moment or two, and then said more audibly, " It's early enough in the afternoon — what say you ? Shall we run down to Richmond ?" " As you please." '^ And yet, upon second thoughts, I will not do that," said Falkner, again stopping and looking vacantly into his tutor's face. " That would seem like watching her. No — wc will go to Greenwich, old boy, and have a little dinner at Quarter- 172 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, maine^s. I have not had a holiday for some time/' Mr. Bumps was quite at the disposal of his old pupil; and the two started for Greenwich. During their dinner,, and afterwards as they sat over their good wine^ Falkner seemed to take pleasure in recalling the old times at The Cedars — old school-fellows^ and at last^ an old love. " What; you haven't forgotten pretty Ethel ?'' said Mr. Bumps. '^ I hardly think Mrs. Lyle would be pleased at such an enduring recollec- tion did she know of it/' said Mr. Bumps^ wash- ing down his observation vrith an excellent glass of claret. " Mrs. Lyle would be perfectly indifferent if she knew I had had a dozen engagements; she is not so sympathetic/' replied Falkner^ with a slight sneer on his lip. " Hallo ! hallo ! Falkner, I don't like to hear you say that/' observed Mr. Bumps. " It is THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 173 young days for you and your wife to talk of indifiference/^ ^' Perhaps it ouglit to be considered premature/' replied Falkner ; " but I am afraid my powers of pleasing are not very enduring/' '^ Bad boy to say that V said Bumps, blinking over the brim of his glass. " Like this good wine — age improves them/' " Come,, no compliments between us/' replied Falkner, rather gravely. " I know my faults ; but one, I fancy, will be corrected for the rest of my life." " What is that ?" asked Mr. Bumps, feeling a little rebuked. " Falling in love with beauty, and only beauty." Mr. Bumps pushed back his chair and looked earnestly at Falkner as he spoke on. "I have committed that folly more than once in my life, old friend ; once when Ethel Meriton made me the most wretched little fellow without whiskers that ever lived, I believe, for a time." 174 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " A short time/^ said Bumps^ smiling. " Yes — I own for a short time ; but I am sur- prised how often I find myself thinking of her pretty face^ and investing it still with all the goodness I imagined associated with it six years ago/^ Falkner filled a bumper and drank it ofi"^ and Mr. Bumps imitated the operation. " I then met with beautifal Bertha Clare. Beau- tiful Bertha Clare and her fascination mastered me. My reason must have been deadened. All my faculties must have been spell-bound. I was fascinated — there is no other word.^^ The wine was powerful^ the brain weakened from work and suffering; so the long-concealed sorrow was betrayed at last. Mr. Bumps drank no more wine^ but sat listening to his pupil — his friend — declaim against the cold unloving woman he had made his wife. ^^ I know her at last, old friend/^ said Falkner, his voice thick and low. " I know her to be as incapable of love — of pity — as though she were THE STOUY OF TWO WIVES. 175 a marble woman — some beautiful creation of an inspired sculptor. She has neither passion nor feeling, and the deceived fools who minister to her vanity are as much despised and uncared-for as I am.^^ " I would not have heard this for a thousand pounds — and I am very poor/^ said Mr. Bumps. ^''You have only heard it a few days sooner than I had intended, for — let me fill your glass." Falkner emptied the bottle, and ordered a fresh supply before he proceeded. " I have consulted with my partner upon the course I should take. He very properly declines to advise me to act as I know he thinks I should act. He has sug- gested, however, that I should write to my wife. I shall do so. She will tear the letter before my face and sneer at me. My friend" — Falkner pressed his hand upon his tutor's arm — " my friend, I should be afraid of that woman if she were capable of love. She could be a Borgia, to gratify an inclination." 176 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " Why not leave her T' asked Mr. Bumps. " Ah ! there spoke the friend that Fleming would not be. One only cause has made me hesitate. We have a child — a child which I have unwisely — cruelly, perhaps — saved from dying.^^ Falkner pressed his closed hand upon his forehead, whilst Mr. Bumps replied — " Why. should the child be a difficulty ? Mrs. Lyle — if she is what you describe her — would readily part with the child.''^ " No, I don^t think that,"^ replied Falkner ; "for though I do not believe she has a true mother^s love — I speak because I have seen her conduct — yet she has the instinct of a mother, and would cling to her young. I trust she would do so — I trust that she would care for her child, and that that one softening influence may in time leaven her whole nature.^'' Poor Falkner again pressed a closed hand against his forehead, whilst his friend and tutor clasped the other between his own. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 177 '' My poor boy ! your trial is a hard one, but keep the brave heart you have always shown, and do not crouch into corners as I did — coward that I was ! You said you had thought of me in your sorrow — what can I do ? — what can I do T^ " You shall know in good time, my friend — not now. The wine — the — I am not cool enough to make myself understood, but I have a project in my mind — should all come to a wreck — which will require your friendly aid to carry through. I will trust no one but you and my partner Fleming.^' The two friends left the tavern ; and if Falk- ner^s steps were unsteady, if his words clogged his voice, and his laugh were louder than decorous, the good wine had only done the good work it was intended to do, and made glad for a time the aching heart of a kindly man. Mrs. Lyle had returned and gone to bed before Falkner reached home. The exhilarating VOL. I. N 178 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, effect of tlie wine had passed away, and he sat long past midnight in his room meditating, and writing the letter to his wife. He felt it was labour lost. Ah ! lovers labour he would have named it if he could have deceived himself. When husband and wife met at breakfast their greeting of each other^ though reserved,, was less so than it had been of late. Falkner, impressed no doubt with the appeal he was about to make for peace — Bertha desirous to conciliate an expected remonstrance for the yes- terday^s excursion which she had not mentioned to her husband. ^' You were home late, were you not V asked Bertha. "Yesj I met my old tutor and friend, Mr. Bumps. I took him to Greenwich." " Indeed V Bertha paused. ^^Tiy was she not equally communicative ? Falkner would at one time have been vexed at her reticence. He was pleased now that he knew where she had THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 179 been, and would tell lier so if she continued silent upon the subject. " You did not dine at home T' said Falkner, half inquiringly. " No j some friends called,, and I went out with them to dinner." Bertha paused. " At Richmond, I believe," said Falkner, as before. "Yes, at Richmond," replied Bertha, opening her large dark eyes to the full. '' Who told you that?" " One of your party was heard to give the driver orders for Richmond." " Which of my servants acts as spy upon me ?" asked Bertha, rising. " Wliich, sir ?" Falkner replied very calmly, and without quitting his chair — " Your question implies a meanness upon my part of which, I believe, all but you would think me incapable. My informant was no servant, and I shall not tell you from whom I received my information." N 2 180 TALKNER LYLE ; OR, Bertha adopted her usual mode of expressing her contempt for Falkner^s opinions and re- monstrances by lea^dng the room. The brougham — the professional brougham — arriving^ Falkner proceeded to make his morning round. Among his patients on his list was Miss FitzBryant^ whose susceptibility to rheumatism made her a frequent patient of Messrs. Fleming and Lyle. She had sent her servant early in the morning with a note to request that she might be visited, less, it would appear, to obtain relief from the skill of the doctor, than to make a small domestic tiff, as she thought, between him and his wife. She little imagined what an avalanche of obloquy she was bringing down upon her silly mischievous head. " Oh dear, Mr. Lyle, how kind of you to come so early/^ she said, as Falkner entered the room. '^ My usual hour of calling,^^ replied Falkner. " Ah, yes, ordinarily. Yes, but I should have THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 181 tliouglit, after such a day as you had at Richmond yesterday, you would have been fatigued,, to say the least of it ; it is so tiring, dancing on carpet this weather/' " I was not at Richmond, my dear madam/' replied Falkner, colouring slightly. " Not there ! Why, Mrs. Lyle was the life of the party,'' said Miss FitzBryant, adding, ^' Oh, I'd quite forgotten. You are so much in request that poor Mrs. Lyle has to do all the visiting tout seule. But of course you know the occasion of the party, and who were there ?" " Well, 1 am compelled to confess ignorance of the occasion and the visitors," replied Falkner, feeling a strong desire to know all. " Oh, indeed ! But you are so devoted to yom^ profession," said Miss FitzBryant. " Young Marston, having obtained his lieutenancy, is or- dered to India, and this party was arranged to bid him, as it were, good-bye. Confined to his closest and dearest friends — even I was not asked ; 182 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, but a friend of mine dined in an adjoining room, and called on me on her way home last night. She was quite full of it. Mrs. Lyle seemed to have been delightful. She was evidently doing her utmost to keep poor Marston in spirits ; and if anybody could do that, Mrs. Lyle was the party.'' Miss FitzBryant said much more ; but she might as well have talked to the walls as to Falkner, after he had heard the cause of the en- tertainment at Richmond. He rallied, however, after a few moments, and affected to have heard the account of the doings at the " Star and Gar- ter ■''' with pleasure ; prescribed a startling dose for Miss FitzBryant, as that lady would have discovered had she really required to have taken it; and then took his departui'e. The cause of Falkner's extreme surprise and annoyance at what Miss FitzBryant had commu- nicated, arose from the duplicity of his wife, she having led him to believe, by no direct assertion. THE STOEY OF TWO WIVES. 183 certainly, that Cliarlcs Marston had left England some months back, and that her intimacy with his family had ceased almost before his departure. What was her reason for deceiving him? He asked himself the question a hundred times diu'ing the day, and refused to receive the sug- gestions which occurred to him as the answer. When he returned home, an hour before dinner, he found Bertha in the drawing-room, and having determined to demand an explanation from her, closed the door, and seated himself opposite to her. She looked at him steadfastly, as though she anticipated a scene, and dared him to begin. At last she said, " Well T' " This morning. Bertha, you brought our con- versation to a close in your usual insulting manner, by leaving the room abruptly .^^ " As I shall do now if you are proposing to quarrel," said Bertha, rising. " No, not until you have heard what I have to say,'' replied Falkncr. " Must I stand be- 184 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, tween you and the door ? Don^t compel me to do that. It would look like \dolence/'' Bertha resumed her seat again^ using her monosyllabic challenge, '^ Well T' '' I have been surprised, mortified, to hear to- day " '^ More eavesdropping ?" '' To hear to-day that you are capable of practising deceit towards me,^^ said Falkner, calmly. " I practise deceit towards you T' repeated Bertha, curling her lip. " Why — for what reason should I do so ? I don^t fear you.^^ " No, you have had no cause for fear any more than you have had cause to disregard me, as you must do. Let that pass. You led me to be- lieve that the persons you met at Richmond yes- terday were no longer your intimates, and that one of them had left England some months back.^' " You mean Charles Marston, I suppose T* asked Bertha. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 185 '^ I do ; and you now understand why I said you have practised deceit towards me" replied her husband. " Wliy have you done so ?" " Why ?" Bertha^s face coloured deeply. " "Why do you ask the question ?" " To receive an answer from you/^ " I did not care to have the Marstons a con- stant source of altercation between us, and therefore I never mentioned them. I saw no reason — see none now — why I should give them up because '' She paused. " Why stop ?" " Because of your stupid jealousy — your in- sulting mistrust of me/^ said Bertha. " I have not been jealous, or you would have known of it, and so would the man who occa- sioned it. I have not mistrusted you, or your actions would have been more controlled. Yes — in spite of that sneering look — I would have been master of my own honour, had I had any fear that it was not safe in your keeping." 186 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Bertha bowed her head, but not thankfully. She seemed to disdain to receive such an ac- knowledgment of his good opinion, and then said — " Then why refer^ as you have just done, to my connexion with the Marstons V '^'^ Because others, who do not know, do not believe in you as I do, judging by what they see, speak to your disadvantage/'' '' Who ? ^\}lo dare do that ? Though I can guess ; and if I have, perhaps, shown Marston a preference over others, it has been to defy the opinion of such scandalmongers as you have listened to." " You have done this ? You have trifled — only in appearance, you say — with your position as my wife T' asked Falkner, much moved. ''^You must put your own construction on what I have said,^^ answered Bertha ; then ask- ing abruptly — " Who told you what you know ? Miss FitzBryant V THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 1S7 " Yes— in part '' " The cat ! The venomous cat !" cried Bertha, pacing the room. " That wretch — that wicked wretch, who dared to say that baby^s eyes were like Marston's.'' " Horrible V exclaimed Falkner, springing up from his chair. " Yes, and she did \" " Horrible words, from your lips, you unfeel- ing woman ! Knowing through your own eyes and ears what base construction is put upon your actions, you dare to continue them, destroying my honest name as much as though you were guilty. Shameless woman ! I will submit no longer to such un wifely proceedings. I will be master here, — master of you so long as the law gives me the power to be so.'^ Bertha shrunk from him as he spoke, and for the first time in her life, perhaps, had not courage to face her reviler. " Now, mark what I am about to say, madam,^^ 188 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Falkiicr continued, in a calmer but still deter- mined tone : " There is a letter, written by me at the request of a true friend to both of us. Read it, and if you can accept honestly the conditions it mentions, for the sake of the child I will con- sent that we remain together. If you reject them we will separate at once. Do you under- stand me V " Yes — put down the letter.^' Falkner did as she requested, and then left the room. When he returned to it in an hour^s time he found the carpet strewed with the fragments of his letter — scattered either in rage or contempt ; and on the table an open sheet of paper on which was written — " We separate. — Bertha Clare." THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 189 CHAPTER VIII. FALKN'EE's HOilE LS BROKEN UP, AND ilANY CifANGES FOLLOW. rrillE legal separation between Mr. and Mrs. ^ Lyle was eflfected so quietly that more than a fortnight elapsed before the circumstance be- came known to even Miss FitzBryant, who ap- peared to have a natural instinct for the discovery of disturbances among her friends, and also a mission for the diffusion of disagreeable know- ledge wherever she went. The Lyle story had to travel from the nursery to the kitchen of !Mrs. Lyle, being conveyed thence to the door-steps of the next house during the matutinal cleansing, to be again confided to a lady^s maid on her way to her mistress's boudoir. 190 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, and there deposited with a milliner's message and the Morning Post. As is usual in London^ Mrs. Lyle and her neighbour did not visits but the nature of the news was sufficiently interesting of itself to make it a welcome addition to the stereotyped gossip of a morning call, and at length it reached the ears of one of Mrs. Lyle's most distant acquaint- ances, who, however, was on intimate terms with Miss FitzBryant. For the next three days that inexorable scandalmonger was seen driving about in her hack brougham, disseminating the sad story of a broken home, and adding at each nar- ration some new speculation as to the cause of the rupture. By frequent repetition of her own wicked surmises, she came to accept them as truths, and at the end of the third day had manufactured a scandal which, in the good old days of merrie England, would have subjected her to have stood in the parish church, di-essed in a white sheet, and holding a candle in her THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 191 hand. Did tliis wliolesome custom still prevail in some quiet places we could name, what an illumination of parish churches might be effected without any cost to the parishioners. The conditions of the deed of separation were simple enough. Bertha retained possession of her house and its contents, her carriage and horses. Her fortune was already secured to her. Tlie guardianship of the child had been the only difficulty. Falkncr had judged, from the dele- gation of her maternal duties to a hireling, that Bertha would have readily resigned the care of the child — Ada it was named ; but the proposal to do so was met by an angry outbreak that startled the legal negotiator and made him cede the point. " It was,^^ he said, " as though he had at- tempted to deprive an infuriated tigress of her cub — he almost felt her teeth and claws, and he should charge an extra thirteen and cightpcnce for the fright he had experienced.^' 192 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Had love at last touclied the marble heart of Bertha ? Or was it the mere maternal instmct common to most natures,, that^ for a while^ made her thus resolute in the retention of her child ? Her conduct was a paradox difficult to compre- hend j as in less than three months from the time of her separation from her husband^ Kttle Ada was sent with her nurse away into the country, and only visited at intervals of a fortnight by her pleasure-seeking mother. Mrs. Lyle was received much as usual in society until Miss FitzBryant^s little story obtained general circulation. At last it reached Bosa Marston; and as her brother^s name had been freely introduced, and to the prejudice of Bertha, she proved a truer friend than such '' dear friends " usually do, and at once resolved to com- municate what she had heard to the person most injured by its scandal. When Bertha had heard the story she sat for a time with her fingers pressed upon her lips, THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 193 as though to restrain the angry words struggling for expression. Ilcr large dilated eyes seemed to glow with the indignation she strove to sup- press. The effort to control herself was vain; and poor Uosa trembled visibly as the incensed woman paced about the room, her fine figure and expressive face making her no unworthy embodi- ment of the Tragic Muse. "I cannot — will not — bear this any longer, Rosa Marston. I would rather die a hundred times than not revenge such hideous lies. No, don^t you be alarmed, my friend. You have done right to tell me. But for that miserable — that lying hag — who invented this scandal, I will keep no terms. Meet her when I may — in the street, or in a crowd of people — I will compel her to deny what she has said. Yes, if I shake it from her word by word.^^ Rosa could only clasp her hands together and look imploringly at her friend. " That hag was more than any other person the VOL. I. o 194 FALKNER LYLE ; Oil, cause of our separation. She only whispered then, but she drove me into revolt. I could have died, but not submit. So I and Falkner are apart. I nearly loved that man at one time of my life, when Ada was first born.^^ As though ashamed at having confessed this passing weakness, Bertha threw back her beautiful head and shook away the glossy curls which had fallen over her face, saying — " I almost hate him now, and I shall do so, perhaps, before I die ; but of this I am sure — ^he would not allow me to be belied by that old harridan, and I shall appeal to him to refute this string of lies. I shall go to my lawyer at once.^^ " Oh, dear V' cried Rosa ; " how sorry I am that I told you what otherwise you might never have known \" " I had begun to know it,^^ replied Bertha, fiercely ; " I can read looks as well as understand words, and I had remarked more than one highly proper friend receive me with co}Tiess or pass me THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 195 by with a formal grin or curtsey. I know many of my dear friends hate me because I command what they cannot ; let art do what it may for them. I know my own advantages and their power^ and some of these made-up creatures may provoke me to use them.^^ Rosa Marston became more frightened now, but she could not quit her seat. She was fasci- nated as it were by this beautiful basilisk. Bertha rang the bell violently, and the servant who answered it looked alarmed. " Order the brougham directly. Tell Miller to bring my bonnet and cloak here — I am going out — you, Rosa, must go with me.^^ '^ But, dear, I have an engagement '^ ^' Not so important as this with me. You must tell my lawyer what you have heard. I could not — I could not have temper, patience, to do it. Mr. Lyle will do me justice — he is a gentleman — a rare thing now-a-days. Plenty of idle men, selfish, conceited men : but Falkner o 2 196 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, was more tlian that. I was never ashamed of him. It would have been better if he had known your brother."*^ " Yes^ it was strange they did not meet/^ said Rosa ; " but you '' She paused as though afraid of saying anything to distui'b the quiet of her friend. "Yes, I did keep them apart. I had my reasons/^ replied Bertha. '' Indeed ! What reasons V said Rosa". "You had better not ask/^ replied Bertha. " And yet, if you knew the truth, you might not believe these e^dl tales of me. Are you easily offended, Rosa? I think not."*^ " No, you could not offend me, or would not,^^ replied Rosa. Bertha paused a moment, and looked at Rosa before she replied. " Yes, I think, having said so much, I think it is as well that I should say more. Your brother was once a great favourite of mine. THE STOllY OF TWO WIVES. 197 When we first met at Dearport^ he affected — I mean, he tried to make me believe — that I was also agreeable to him. I don^t hesitate to con- fess that I was pleased by his attention, and might have '^ She paused. '^ Loved him ?" asked Rosa, timidly. *■' No/' replied Bertha, curtly. " What was I saying? — Oh, that your brother was marked in liis attentions to me until a certain ride, which you may remember, when he took offence at what I had said, and dropped me " '' O no — not — not that,'' said Kosa. " I am sure if he thought he had given you pain " " He did not. No man ever had the power over me to do that," replied Bertha, proudly; ^^ but he annoyed mc, dear Rosa ; he mortified my vanity a little, that was all." " But remember how you treated him before everybody on the beach when he was going away." " Yes, I remember that also, because I in- 198 FALKNER LTLE ; OR, tended to give him a Roland for his Oliver. I was not contented^ however,, with that re- venge^ as I heard from one of onr dear friends on the beach that he had boasted at his escape from the fascinations of my — well — my beauty/^ " Oh^ he never would have done that V' ex- claimed Rosa. " Perhaps not ; but I believed he had done so, and, therefore — now I shall make you angry — hate me, perhaps, as he is such a good brother — but I must end now I have begun. I determined that he should return to his allegiance ; and so, when we met again, I did try to fascinate him. I was very, very gracious, and he, poor fellow, struggled for a little while against the sorceress, but in vain.^^ " Oh, Bertha, how wicked of you V said Rosa. " Perhaps — ^but your brother, what of him ? I listened to his empty compliments, his emptier professions of love — if that^s the word — and might have deserved No, thank God ! my THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 199 husband was a gentleman — a generous,, noble- hearted gentleman, and prevented even the thought of wrong ; so I kept them apart, as Falkner^s quick-sighted honour would not have tolerated your brother^s danglings at the skirts of beauty/^ Rosa was angry — very angry — to discover that her brother had been tricked into such unbe- coming folly, to gratify the spiteful revenge of her dear friend, Bertha. The brougham was announced, aiid the ladies were driven to the office of Mrs. Lyle^s lawyers, Messrs. Bright and Light. After a brief audi- ence the ladies departed, Mr. Bright undertaking that Mr. Lyle would relieve his wife from the imputations of Miss Fitz-Bryant. In the course of the day a short document, declaratory of the real cause of separation, was drawn up and, when signed by Falkner, was forwarded to Mrs. Lyle, who made such vigorous use of it, that her mis- chievous enemy. Miss Fitz-Bryant, was compelled to recant so humbly, that she disappeared from 200 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, society for the rest of the season. Mrs. Lyle was regarded as an injured Tvoman,, and her little dinners and her quiet " evenings^^ were eagerly sought after, whilst her visiting list might have been extended ad infinitum. The effect of this unpleasant incident upon Falkner was to add a new wound to his already Meeding peace. From the day of his last great quarrel with Bertha, a terrible doubt would now and then come into his mind — so terrible, yet so vaguely supported, that he would crush it out with all his power of will, and hide it beneath his better belief of Bertha^s nature. He never hinted at its existence to his counsellor and friend, Mr. Fleming, nor to his older friend and comforter, Mr. Bumps, who had come to him in his trouble, and, from the experience of his own sorrow, had prayed Falkner to be strong of heart and fight bravely to obtain a happier future. No; that doubt, which came back to him after his interview with Mr. Bright, would THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 201 Lave been a secret until his life had ended^ but for a revelation to be made hereafter. On the following day, when Falkner came to the surgery, Mr. Fleming was waiting him in the consulting-room. After the ordinary salutations had passed, Mr. Fleming said — " Mr. Bright has been here with a proposal, which , I think will be a capital thing for you, and of benefit to both of us. One of the Life Offices is resisting a claim upon them for a large sum, and Bright is concerned in thp case. They suspect a fraud has been attempted, and a com- mission of inquiry is to be held at Vienna. Bright wants you to go, and a chajige would do you good, and be very profitable, I take it, pro- fessionally. You won^t be away more than a month, and Mr. Grace and I can manage the practice very well while you are gone." The proposal was, indeed, tempting ; and, after some discussion as to the condition of patients 202 FALKNEE, LYLE ; OR, and other professional matters,, Falkner agreed to call on Mr. Bright and arrange for the journey. It was necessary^ Falkner learned^ that he and Mr. Bright should start on the morrow or the day after^ so there was short time for prepara- tion. Falkner sent for his little Ada (who had not as yet been sent into exile); and surprised the nurse by the strong emotion he displayed when he held the little creature in his arms. He kissed the child repeatedly, looking at it with such sorrow in his face, that he seemed to have some foreboding that evil was to come of this parting, or that he was never to see her again. The child at last gave a feeble cry, and then, having kissed it passionately, he gave her to the nurse w ithout a word. The nurse thought " his conduct very odd,^^ she said — the more so as her usual gratuity was increased fourfold, of which she said nothing. The next day Falkner was on his way to Vienna. The village to which Ada and her nurse were THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 203 sent was about forty miles from London,, and not easy of access, lying some two or three miles from the main road and post town. It was a dirty, straggling place, being the property of a bad landlord, who never visited it, but remained content to receive the rents, which were collected by the publican. The wet-nurse, who called herself Mrs. Shackles, but had had to borrow a marriage certificate of a cousin^s wife to vouch for her respectability, was a native of Muckton, and was almost as respectable as the rest of the inhabitants. The population lived chiefly by broom-making, migrating during the season into the hop districts, where they earned enough to eke out the year some way or the other. Mrs. Shackles had contrived, by putting great restraint upon herself, and by exercising that ex- ceeding cunning for which the bad among the lower classes are distinguished, to conceal the natural depravity of her character ; but now, returned to her native place, well furnished with 204 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, money, and having a liberal pay-mistress in Mrs. Lyle, she soon resumed her former habits of oc- casional intemperance, and its attendant unclean- liness, except upon the days when Mrs. Lyle was expected to visit her. Her cottage was then set in order, her dress arranged tidily, and her own demeanour quiet and respectable as it had been when in London. Despite the comparative neglect which Ada experienced at the hands of her nurse, she appeared to Bertha to be thi'iving, although there were wise women at Muckton who would shake their heads at times, and declare that Nanny Shackles was not the nurse for an ailing child. Mrs. Lyle's visits rarely exceeded an hour or two at the utmost ; but so well satisfied was she with what she saw on the last occasion of her coming, that she made up her mind to accept an invitation to a country house for a month, giving .Mrs. Shackles to understand that she should not sec her for that time. Mrs. Shackles affected some THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 205 concern at lier deprivation of ]\Irs. Lylc's visits but assured the satisfied mamma tliat " she might stay away in peace, if nurse^s devotion to her little charge had anything to do with it/^ Mrs. Lyle departed, and Mrs. Shackles that night was more than usually hilarious at bed-time. The commission of inquiry proved to be more protracted than had been anticipated, and occu- pied nearly six weeks. At the end of that time Mr. Bright was taken very seriously ill, and it required all Falkner's skill and attention to re- store the old gentleman. "^^Tien the patient was convalescent, he could only travel by very easy stages, and nearly three months had passed when the two commissioners arrived in London. The day following his retui'n Falkner sent the usual messenger to request the presence of his little daughter Ada. He knew not why it should be so, but his heart beat quickly as he sat waiting the coming of the child, for whose gratification he had strewed the table with toys. 206 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, corals and bells^ dolls, and a whistling bird. These he re-arranged a dozen times, and wondered if her infant mind would receive any pleasure from his gifts. He marvelled, too, if she had grown in strength, and if she would be wise enough to recognise his voice — her father^s voice — and know it was he who kissed her. The servant^s bell was rung, and he opened the door of the room in which he was, that he might be ready to receive his little Ada. But the messenger had returned alone, and with the news that " Mrs. Lyle was in the country and Miss Ada was in the country.^' " Where T' "Mrs. Lyle was at Hackenbury Hall with some friends, and Miss Ada was with her nurse at Muckton, where she had been a long time \" " Not together V^ cried Falkner — " mother and child not together ! You are a fool, and have brought a bungling message.^^ The man said he had not, and proposed to THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 207 fetch the cook, who had told him what he had repeated. Falkner could not wait that arrange- ment, and therefore he hurried to the house of his wife — no longer his home — and inquired the truth. The messenger had spoken truly, and Falkner was obliged to sit down and ask for water. There was a sad conflict within. Affection for the poor helpless creature sent away in a stranger^s keeping — resentment for the cold, unloving woman, who had asserted a mother^s claims only to neglect a mother^s duties. What was her conduct to him — her disregard of his hard toil, her disobedience to his reasonable requirements, compared to this cruel abandonment — was it not abandonment ? — of her child. The servant had lived at the house when Falkner was its master, and had witnessed and heard many of the scenes of domestic strife which had taken place within its walls. She knew little of the causciiof those contentions ; but Mr, Lyle had always been kind and good to all those about him, and his present ^08 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, distressed state moved the poor woman to risk getting into trouble^ she said^ and therefore she told him what she thought of Muckton and of Mrs. Shackles^ and her description was so harrowing to the miserable father^ that he shook away the womanish weakness which oppressed him, and left the house to take counsel and action also. The conference between Mr. Bright, Mr. Fleming, and Falkner, was long and earnest. It was evident at the conclusion that the lawyer had yielded an unwilling assent to the proposal of the others, and had clogged it with a condition that Falkner promised to fulfil. Muckton was, as we have said, about forty miles from London, but a landau and post-horses were readily obtained, although it was near nine o^clock. The road passed near The Cedars, and there the post-boy was ordered to stop. Falkner walked round to the window of the room formerly occupied by his old tutor, and, to his evident relief, he saw a light still THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 209 burning -within. He threw a stone at the window^ and with sufficient force to break the glass and alarm the old mathematician, who instantly demanded Who had disturbed him ? " Falkner Lyle. Come down— I want to speak to you.^^ Although it was against the rules of the Cedars to have doors opened after eleven o'clock, Mr. Bumps heard only the voice of his friend, and came out. '^ Wliat is the matter, my dear boy ?" said Mr. Bumps. Falkner told him hurriedly what had taken place at Mr. Bright's office, and then begged of the old tutor to obtain permission to be absent for a few days. " Certainly,'^ said Mr. Bumps, " and I am proud, very proud, that you have selected me for such a service. To-morrow's a whole holiday — an annual affair, as you may remember, and if it were not, I'd resign if the principal should refuse VOL. I. p 210 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, me an exeat ! Fortunately, tliey^e an evening party, and Dr. Mansford, our new ^ head/ has not gone to bed/^ Whilst Falkner waited the return of his tutor, he looked in to the old play-ground, and though but a few minutes were so occui)ied, what shadows came around him ! What memories rushed through his excited brain ! what heavenly voice repeated the name of Ethel ? He pressed his hands before his eyes to shut out those visions of happier days ; but the voice would be heard calling '' Ethel ! Ethel \" " Yes,^^ he said, half aloud, " I hear, and I will so understand why her name haunts me in this familiar place, if it be God's will V His incoherent words were repeated more than once, as though he fally comprehended their meaning. Mr. Bumps had obtained his exeat, and he and his old pupil were soon on their road to Muckton. The chaise, however, stopped at the post town. THE STORY OE TWO WIVES. 211 and the travellers, after a timej obtained admission to tlie commercial hotel, and went to bed, both fairly exhausted with excitement and their journey. A substantial brealifast awaited them in the morning, to which Mr. Bumps did ample justice, Falkner eating but little, although urged to exertion by the words and example of his old tutor. When the meal was ended, the two friends sauntered out as though to make an in- spection of the town, but having ascertained the locality of Muckton, they took the path to it across some fields, scarcely talking on their way. When they were about a quarter of a mile from the village, Falkner said — '^ I will wait for you here — I have a book and a cigar, so do not hurry your return, but satisfy your- self fully as to the truth of what I have heard.'^ " Never doubt that,^^ replied Mr. Bumps ; " I shall make straight for the public-house, as the more likely place to hear of Mrs. Shackles." The public stood in the centre of the village, p 2 212 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, and was a verydissipated-lookingplace^liaving seats outside, and the ground strewed with fragments of tobacco-pipes — the accumulation of many- weeks, as no evidence of a broom ha^dng been at work was anywhere apparent. The sign was okl and weatherbeaten, scarcely revealing the Four Horse-shoes, which gave name to the house. The window-frames and shutters were sadly in want of painty and the flooring of the passage was broken at the entrance. A large tap-room faced the untidy bar, and more fi'agments of tobacco-pipes on the floor, and rings of beer upon the table, told the character of the proprietor. Mr. Bumps rapped several times with his stick upon one of the tables before any one answered his summons, and then a slipshod old woman, wearing large iron-rimmed spectacles, made her appearance, wiping her dirty hands on a dirtier apron. Mr. Bumps had made up his mind for the worst, and so he said — THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 213 " Bring me some bread and clieese and a glass of ale." " Glass o' ale ? we don^t bring glass o^ ale into tap-room, only mugs/' replied the woman. " That will do/' replied Mr. Bumps, having a higher object in view than his own delectation. After a considerable wait, the old woman returned with rather a doughy-looking roll and a slice of some material which might have been soap or cheese, and a delf mug of beer. " Sixpence,'' said the woman. Mr. Bumps satisfied the demand, and then said, quite in an easy kind of way — " Do you know a Mrs. Shackles in this place ?" " Do I ?" replied the woman ; " strange if I didn't know Nan Shackles, though she's no Mrs. if she ought to be — but that's her business." " Don't she live near here ?" asked Mr. Bumps. " Can't live far from here, nobody can't, seeing the whole place aint a quarter o' a mile long," 214 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, replied the woman. " Slie^s at tlie bottom of the street, toother side o^ the way. Do you want her?'"' " Yes — I have a little business with her/^ said Mr. Bumps, evasively. ^' Well^ she^U soon be here. I canH read the clock, but it^s nigh eleven, isn^t it?^^ asked the woman. " She^s pretty regiJar for her pint or her drop o^ gin.^^ Mr. Bumps felt a cold shudder as he thought of Falkner^s child being in such keeping. She had scarcely left the room, Mr. Bumps putting his bread and cheese in his pocket when she was gone, before two women, loud in talk and laughter, entered the " Fom' Horse-shoes,^^ and lolling over the bar, commenced a noisy chat with the landlady, and after a time re- ceived a measure of spirits, which they drank off with remarkable facility. ^^ There^s a old man in the tap wants to speak to you, Nan,^^ said the landlady. ^' Wants me ?" asked the lady addressed. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 215 " Wliat^s he after me for, I wonder V^ And an unkempt, brazen woman presented herself to Mr. Bumps, who inquired — " Are you Mrs. Shackles V " Yes — that^s my name, for want of a better,'^ replied the lady. " What may yours be ?'' " You^^e never heard it,^' replied Mr. Bumps ; " and — I^m a friend of the cook at Mrs. Lyle^s — Hem V' " I do not see what I^m to be the better for that/' said Mrs. Shackles. " I told her,'* continued Mr. Bumps, quite abashed by the woman's replies — '^^I told her that I was coming to Muckton, and she asked me to call and see how you were.'' " Well, that's kind on her, to be sure," replied Mrs. Shackles ; " very kind, 'cause I don't think there was much love lost between us." Mr. Bumps was rather posed, so he said — " Perhaps you would take a little refresh- ment ?" 216 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ^^ Well/^ replied Mrs. Shackles,, " I never say no to a good offer ; and there^s Mrs. Cricklewood, my friend, as would join, IVe no doubt. ^' Mrs. Shackles was right in her conjecture, and Mr. Bumps had the satisfaction of conciliating both the ladies at the expense of a shilling. Having thus established a moderate intimacy, Mr. Bumps felt justified in joining in the general conversa- tion, and accompanying the ladies on their way home. When they came to Mrs. Shackles^s cottage, Mr. Bumps saw a little unwashed child lying in the lap of a girl of tender years, who was vainly trying to quiet the crying of her charge. "That child^s always crying now,^^ said Mrs. Shackles ; " did you give it the bottle T' " Please, I couldn^t get up to it, she's so heavy,'' said the girl. " Ah, Nancy," said Mrs. Cricklewood, " you don't use that little dear as you ought to — I never knew a child thrive on a bottle." THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 217 ^^ You mind your own business, if you please, and 1^11 mind mine/"* said Mrs. Shackles ; and as Mrs. Cricklewood seemed to consider it was part of her business to lecture Nancy Shackles on her general conduct and behaviour, a wordy war sprung up between the ladies, which threatened at one time to end in fisticuffs — the recent potations adding not a little vociferousness to the recriminatory and disgraceful contest. Mr. Bumps had seen enough for the present, and having pleaded other engagements elsewhere, and being assured " he could do as he liked, and they^d try to get on without him,^^ he went back to his poor friend Palkner with more than a con- firmation of Mrs. Shackles^s real character, as received from the old servant at Mrs. Lyle's. 218 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, CHAPTER IX. ^IR. BinHPSTEAD RENDERS HIMSELF AMENABLE TO THE LAWS, AND TAKES A NIGHT RIDE WITH HIS OLD PUPIL. n^HE effect of Mr. Biimpstead^s report upon Ealkner was very distressing, althougli he came prepared to hear snch a revelation and to act npon it. " Patterson^s Roads" was not then an obsolete volume, and the two friends were engaged for some time in the study of that still interesting compilation. They sj)oke almost in whispers, as men converse when some good or e^il pui'pose is to be carried out in secresy. Dinner was an- nounced as ready to be served, and their con- ference ended. '^Capital soup,Falkner," said Mr. Bumps. "Try it again — you must make a better meal than you did at breakfast, or I shall have you ill on the road." THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 219 " Never fear_, old friend/^ replied Falkner, " I am hungry now — I know the worsts and having decided upon a course of action, I am content to wait the result/' The dinner was plain but well served, and there was no particular fault to find with the wine. It might have been less cognizant of brandy, perhaps, but its bucolic patrons liked their wine to warm them, and Mr. Bumps and Falkner did not object to a little extra stimulant on the present occasion. TMien the evening began to close in, the two friends left " The Commercial,^' and — carelessly, it seemed — smoking their cigars, strolled into the town. They turned, however, very soon out of the main street, and again took the way to Muckton, keeping, however, to the cart-road, as being the nearer ai)proach to the cottage of Mrs. Shackles, and thereby avoiding the observa- tion of the other villagers. As before, Mr. Bumps proceeded alone, Icav- 220 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ing Falkner to await the result of his new em- bassy under a clump of trees about a quarter of a mile from the cottage where Ada was at nurse. There was no light in the village when Mr. Bumps reached it^ and he had to knock twice at the door before Mrs. Shackles was awakened. Having put the child to bed she had fallen asleep^ and the cause of her somnolency was no doubt attributable to her morning and afternoon visits to the " Four Horseshoes.-'^ '' What^s brought you back ?" she said to Mr. Bumps,, without inviting him to enter. " I thought you^d gone off in a huff, and was going to make some mischief up yonder. ■" " Not in the least/-* replied Mr. Bumps ; " and, if you will get a light and let me sit dowTi, 1^11 tell you what really brought me to you in the morning. It^s of consequence to you that you should do so." Mrs. Shackles had some vague fear that her THE STORY OF TAVO WIVES. 221 situation was in jeopardy, and so she controlled her pertness, lighted a candle, and closing the curtains at the window, invited Mr. Bumps to enter. Having done so, she said : " Now, sii', what^s up, if you please ? I ex- pects somebody here presently, and Td rather he''d not sec you." " My business is of great importance, my dear ma^am,^^ replied Mr. Bumps, '^ and worthy your most serious attention; so please sit down and listen patiently. You must not be angry with me because I mean you well, and to be of service to you." ^^ Good gracious ! what's up ?" said Mrs. Shackles, evidently alarmed at this peroration of her visitor. "In the first place, Mr. Lyle's lawyer has found out the deception you have practised on Mrs. Lyle." Mrs. Shackles whitened at the mention of the lawyer. 222 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ^' You are not a married woman ; you have made use of a marriage certificate not yours to obtain a false character, and that is imprison- ment for six months, mth, I believe — yes, with hard labour/'' Mrs. Shackles clutched her apron with both hands, and then proceeded to roll it into a ball. '' You have sadly neglected the little baby, and have proved yourself altogether unworthy the confidence which has been placed in you, — substituting a bottle " ^' The child^s weaned, sir ; Mrs. Lyle wished it weaned,^^ said Mrs. Shackles, tremulously. " So much the better,^^ replied Mr. Bumps ; '^'^but Mrs. Lyle did not wish her child to be unwashed, and left to the care of a girl too weak in the back to prociu'c it the requisite nourishment, Mrs. Shackles. All this, I say, is known, and I have come to save you from the consequences of your misconduct, if you will let me." THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 223 " I^m sure I'm mucli obliged to you, and to cook also, if she's sent you/' said Mrs. Shackles. " She did not send me, and only one person knows of my coming. Now, what I have to propose can be said in a few words. As you are certain to lose the care of the child, I will give you a good sum of money if you will sur- render the infant and leave this place with me to-night." Mrs. Shackles stared, as well she might, at this proposition, and starting up seemed to re- gard Mr. Bumps as a respectable embodiment of the Spirit of Evil, to whose counsels she had listened so often. " Don't agitate yourself," continued Mr. Bumps, " but hear me to an end. If you con- sent to my proposal, I am prepared to pay you down fifty pounds — ten five-pound notes — ten times five are fifty — fifty pounds !" displaying as it were the very notes — the very money ; '^ and the same sum — fifty pounds — when we part to- 224 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, morrow mornings you undertaking — for your own sake — to keep out of the way until tlie cMld is no longer inquired for/^ ^^ Fifty pounds — and fifty pounds all at once \" said Mrs. Shackles^ evidently overpowered by the magnitude of the sum offered by — well — by the old gentleman. " Remember^ you^ll be dismissed from your charge ; you may be tried,, convicted^ and have to pick oakum/^ said Mr. Bumps^ slowly. ^^By accepting my offer you will gain a large sum, and though, perhaps^ you don^t care for that, do this poor child an incalculable service." " That^s true,'''' replied Mrs. Shacldes, thought- fully; "Fm fond of the little thing, and — a hundred pounds ! must it be done to-night ?^^ '^ To-night ; this hour," said Mr. Bumps. " You have no ties here, have you ?" '^ Well, yes ; Tve got one, Joe Maxwell ; we^^e been going to be married once or tT\-ice, but something's put it off. Joe wants to ameri- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 225 gate — go to America — and perhaps this money '^ " Would be the very thing. Where is Joe T' asked Mr. Bumps^ shrewdly guessing that Mrs. Shackles would not go without seeing him_, and feeling assured that Mr. Maxwell would not stand in the way of his own advancement. '' Well^ I should say he^s at the Four Horse Shoes^ or coming on here. Ifs about his time for calling/^ said Mrs. Shackles^ as a cuckoo-clock screamed out eight. Joe INIaxwell called himself a carpenter and builder J but his practice was confined to jobbings post and rails^ cart-sheds and pigsties ; just the fellow for an emigrant ; and so^ when he came into Mrs. Shackles^s cottage^ and heard all that had been said, and all that was to be done,, he went out with Mrs. Shackles into the back garden for a priA^ate conference, and returned in about ten minutes to say the parties were agreed, and, if Mr. What^s-your-name would pay Mr. VOL. I. Q 226 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Maxwell the first instalment^, Mrs. Shackles was ready. " Agreed/^ said Mr. Bnmps. " Prepare the baby for the journey — wrap it np well, as we shall have to travel all night. Bring the bottle, and, when we get to the post-town yonder, the money shall be paid."*^ '' Well, that's fair,'' replied Mr. Maxwell ; " so get ready, Nancy — ^wrap np warm, and I'll run up to The Horse Shoes, and get you half-a- pint of rum — you like rum, don't you?" Mr. Bumps interfered — "AYe will take care that Mrs. Shackles wants for nothing on the road. She will have the interior of a carriage to herself, and I promise that it shall be well furnished. You had better say in the morning that Mrs. Shackles has been summoned unex- pectedly to town, with orders to bring the child with her. I should advise you to follow as soon as you can, and at once proceed to America." To all this Mr. Maxwell gave willing adhe- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 227 rence, and in less than half-an-hour the party- walked silently from Muckton, Mr. Bumps acting as advanced guard. The carriage had been stopped when it reached the end of the lane leading to Muckton, and Falkner had bidden the man wait the coming of his friends. As Mr. Bumps and his party drew near the clump of trees, where Falkner had parted from his companion, a man stepped out into the road and preceded them, wallving very quickly until he was lost in the darkness of the night. It was Falkner. When he regained the carriage, with throbbing heart and choking voice, he gave hurried directions for the route to be taken. Mr. Bumps soon arrived with his convoy, having purposely waited in the lane until Falk- ner had made his arrangements with the driver. Mrs. Shackles and her precious charge were safely deposited inside, and Mr. Bumps, having by the light of the carriage-lamp " made all fair" with Mr. Maxwell, mounted with Falkner into the Q 3 22S FALKNER LYLE ; OR, rumble^ and gave tlie word to the post-boy to proceed. Falkner could not speak for some time^ but continued to press the band of bis friend^ wbo thought it better to remain silent also. The night was dark_, the roads devious and perplexing^ the monotony of the ride only relieved now and then by the change of horses and the consequent disbursement of money ; but neither of the two fi'iends took count of time^ and ever after remembered that night as one remembers a dream in which numberless scenes have crowded upon each other, and left no defined impression of any. When the carriage stopped at The Cedars the next morning it was past daybreak. The woman and child were gone, and Falkner and Mr. Bumps the only occupants. " Such services as you have rendered me to- night cannot be acknowledged by words/^ said Falkner pressing his old tutor^s hand. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 229 " Then wliy attempt to do so V^ replied Mr. Bumps, with a pleasant look, despite his nnshaven chin and weary eyes. " I tell you again I am honoured — I am proud that you came to me. You acted kindly in doing so, and you also acted wisely, for I am the last man, I take it, likely to be suspected of an elopement with Mrs. Shackles, or of willingly adopting a baby depen- dent for its existence on a bottle. Good-bye, God bless you, my poor boy. I shall expect to hear from you in a day or two -," and, so saying, the old gentleman walked off with a jaunty step and upright carriage, as though to assure his friend that he was all the better for the fatigue which he had undergone during the past night. The proceeding which we have just described was only part of a scheme which Falkner had arranged for the future, and as soon as he had taken a little rest he went to his friend and partner, Mr. Fleming, to whom he coramuni- 230 I'ALKNER LYLE ; OR, cated tlie successfal accomplishment of Ms plan to obtain the custody of his child. " And you stiU adhere to your resolution to abandon me and leave England T' asked Mr. Fleming, with a forced smile. " Yes/^ replied Falkner ; '^ you do not doubt it, I am sure. There can be only three short weeks before she learns the abduction of the child. These letters from Mrs. Shackles will have to be posted at intervals of a week, or she may return earlier, and that I would avoid, if possible. Have you done anything for me T' " Yes/'' answered Mr. Fleming. ^^ My brother the director, has secured you an appointment to Regiment, now stationed at Napoor, and your commission will be ready to-moiTOw or the next day. Your certificates were of course satis- factory T' '^ Thanks to you and your brother,'^ said Falk- ner. " And the other desirable matter ? I have very strong reasons — stronger than I can THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 231 mention to you — for the change of name ; though you admit that those I have already given were sufficient for your acquiescence. Did you broach the subject to your brother ?^^ " I did — of course I did V' replied Mr. Fleming ; " and,, as an East Indian director is a lord paramount^ your name wiU stand on the books or muster-roll, or whatever they call the register^ as Frank Lawton.-'^ '^ Lawton was my mother^s maiden name, and therefore I selected it/^ said Falkner. " Mr. Grace is delighted to have the oppor- tunity you offer to purchase your interest/^ con- tinued Mr. Fleming ; " and so I suppose we must consider Falkner Lyle as lost to us for ever.^^ " Yes ; and but for the — for my child, I should care little how soon Frank Lawton fol- lowed him," said Falkner, with a deep sigh. " Pshaw ! Nonsense V exclaimed Fleming. " I admit you have been hit very hard ; but the 232 TALKNER LYLE ; OR, world is a good world,, and you^ll live to say so. When your girl grows up '^ " Ah, stay V interi'upted Falkner ; '' I find I shall want a trustee for her^ as I intend to make over to her the small fortune I have^ and depend upon my pay for my own wants /^ " Don^t be a fool/'' said Fleming. " Suppose you should be fi'ee from Mrs. Lyle and want to marry again V " That is impossible — quite. I have not lost my trust in woman, but I have in myself. No • — I must be permitted to do as I please in re- spect to Ada j but there are difficulties which Mr. Bright will explain to you, if you will act for her.^^ Mr. Fleming readily consented, and there ended their conversation, as they had profes- sional duties to attend. Mrs. Lyle^s pleasant ^dsit at Hackenbury Hall was over. Never had host and hostess, their family and guest, spent such a delightful THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 233 month, and next year was not to pass without a renewal of the visit . There was much truth in this, as Bertha, when she was in the vein, could be a most agreeable companion, and a pretty- woman is always a pleasure of herself. Her graces dispel distrust; and, as '' Angels were painted fair " to look like Juliet, so a generous nature is ever supposed to be associated with the beautiful ; and Mrs. Lyle was very beautiful. What would have been thought of her had it been told that her cold, unloving, selfish nature, had driven from her a true gentleman, a loving husband ; that, to make herself the idol of the hour, she had closed her " living founts " against her child ; that, to make holiday, she had left her helpless babe to a drunken slattern, to be less cared for than the roadside beggar's brat ! Oh, ladies, dear mothers ! Mrs. Shackles is no creation of the fancy, but has her proto- 234 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, type in many places^ and her patroness in many a lionse of pleasure^ whidi ought to be that blessed haven from the perplexities of life — a home. A fly from The Commercial^ driving into Mnckton,, created the nsnal excitement^ and brought to the cottage-doors and windows the idle and the busy. The carriage stopped at the cottage where Nancy Shackles used to live^ but the shutters were closed and the door fastened^ with a notice, " To be let/'' pasted upon it. An anxious face looked from the window of the fly, and then Mrs. Lyle got out and walked hastily to the adjoining cottage of Mrs. Crickle- wood. " Mrs. Shackles has left Muckton these three weeks or more, ma'am,^^ said INIrs. Cricklewood. " Three weeks ! Where has she gone V' ^^To London, ma^am. Joe Maxwell are gone too, and he said the nuss-child had been sent for,^' replied Mrs. Cricklewood. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 235 Mrs. Lyle leaned lier hand against tlic door- post and looked as ttougli slie were on the point of assailing her informant. Mrs. Cricklewood drew back from fear. " You are a lying woman V said Bertha, at length — " you are lying ! The child — the nurse — are here somewhere in Muckton.'^ " I assure you not, ma^am — I assure you not. I knows nothing of them, ma^am; never did — only what I was told," replied Mrs. Cricklewood. Bertha, uninvited, entered the cottage and sat down. " Give me some water — quick, or I shall choke!" The water was at hand, and Bertha drank a large draught. " Don^t mind what I have said. I was almost beside myself; but tell me — repeat — what you told me just now, if you spoke the^truth." Mrs. Cricklewood repeated to Bertha what had been said by Joe Maxwell, and what was known 236 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, to all the village. She said more — that '' Joe Maxwell had long talked of going to America, and that it was thought he had made an honest woman of Nan Shackles at last, and was off for good and all." Bertha^s eyes glittered with her suppressed emotion, and she prayed for tears to come and quench their fire. She could not weep ; her strong resistant nature, her powerful self-will, had always driven back her tears, and now they would not come when bidden. Her brain seemed to swell and beat against her forehead, and she pressed her brow with her clasped hands until it was colourless. Oh, for tears ! tears ! yet they would not come. Such a struggle could not last long ; and, springing up for a moment, she fell prostrate on the floor, uttering wild hysterical cries, that it is mockery to call laughter. Mrs. Cricklewood ran to the door and shouted for help. It was w^ell she had done so, as the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 237 aid of four or five strong women was required to control tlie fearful struggles of the unhappy lady. One of the women had sense enough to send the fly back to Craddock for a doctor ; and until his arrival the scene within the cottage was painful — terrible almost. It was long after the arrival of the doctor that the hysterical paroxysms could be subdued^, and^ when they ceased^ Bertha lay on the cottager^s pallet more like a beautiful statue than a living woman — so calm — so cold. Happily for the cause of this distressing scene — the infant Ada — Falkner was not a witness to it^ or he might have relented and foregone the scheme he had devised for his chikVs happiness. He might have thought it was a mother^s love overpowering a mother^s strength. Was it so ? or was it not rather the resentment of an impe- rious uncontrollable nature at having its will thwarted — its rights contravened ? "Whatever the causc^ the effect of the disturb- 23 S FALKNER LYLE ; OR, ance was extreme suffering on tlie part of tlie unhappy Bertha^ and she insisted upon returning to her own house, despite the serious prostration which she was assured would attend the journey. As soon as she recovered sufficiently to be propped up in her bed, she sent for Mr. Bright ; but that gentleman had his own reasons for de- clining to act for her, and recommended another practitioner. A nurse who was in attendance recommended a Mr. Furager, whose lady was a client of hers ; and that gentleman^s official address having been ascertained, he attended to receive instructions. Bertha rapidly informed him of what had taken place — her separation from her husband — the abduction of her child. She would have the law set in motion. "Where was Mr. Lyle ? Inquiries were made, and Mr. Lyle was found to be away, and not expected to return for days. That simplified the case. He it was that had stolen the child, she was THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 239 sure of tliat ! What proof could she give — what evidence of the truth of her accusation ? None. Who then could have stolen the child — her child that she had claimed — that she had obtained against all protest^ remonstrance^ and threat ? The nurse, perhaps ? Such women had been known to take strange, strong liking for children they had nurtured, more especially when their own offspring had paid the penalty of their mother^s wrong-doing and died. No ; that she would not allow to be possible ; her child to be reared by such a creature as the nurse had been proved to be ! Her child to be called by any name but her own ! — To be a drudge, a labourer's drudge ! The legal gentleman listened calmly to all these ravings, and then declared to her the course he should pursue. Inquiries should be made at Muckton, at Craddock, at the seaports, and the shipping agents ; advertisements should be in- serted in the papers, if thought advisable. Mr. 240 FALKNER LYLE ; OR Lyle should be seen as soon as possible^ and no doubt but a clue would be obtained^ and restitu- tion effected; and so '^'^ Good-day^ my dear madam/^ A smart lawyer^s clerk was despatched to Muckton, and he_, after making three days^ holiday of the job,, reported — ^^ Strange old man^ dressed in dusty blacky called at Four Horse Shoes day of abduction — had bread and cheese, pint of ale — asked for Mrs. Shackles — saw the aforesaid at Four Horse Shoes, when the aforesaid came for her usual morning drain, Gin, cold without. Old man aforesaid stood half-pint rum to aforesaid Shackles, and one Cricklewood. Aforesaid old man walked down village with aforesaid women. Aforesaid women had row — old man walked away. Joe Maxwell de- posed to landlord of Four Horse Shoes that he was in luck, and was going to United States of America, as was Nancy Shackles, spinster, when she could give up baby. Baby had been sent for to town, thereby meaning London. THE STORr OF TWO WIVES. 241 " Mary Cricklewood deposed that day after row cottage of Shackles aforesaid shut up^ and never came back. Knows nothing, and wont know more. Horrid account of Mrs. Lyle^s visit — wonldn^t repeat it without liquor, which gave aforesaid. " Commercial Inn, Craddock. Can^t remember anybody in particular like old gent aforesaid. Remember landau bringing gents late at night — nothing remarkable — ^had bed, breakfast, din- ner, paid bill, and had pair drove by Jerry Hide — Jerry drunk for three days afterwards, so sup- posed was tipped well — no evidence of the fact — said Jerry deceased. " Craddock Turnpike. Pikeman no recollec- tion of landau; might have had if asked next day — knows a landau when he sees it, but wont say he saw that on the night of abduction. Wouldn^t look for ticket of that date — said he'd something else to do. Evidence to contrary by deponent.^' From these very unsatisfactory notes, Mr. VOL. I. B 242 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Furager^ tlie professional gentleman employed by Mrs. Lyle, contrived to make out a supposi- titious case to the effect : — " That some one in the employ of Mr. Lyle had gone to Craddock in a landau_, and subse- quently abducted the child and nurse /^ The evidence to substantiate this view of the question was vague in the extreme ; but persever- ance and legal acumen often did wonders, and might in the present case. Mr. Furager therefore determined to wait on Mr. Lyle. Mr. Lyle was not expected at the surgery for a few days, but Mr. Fleming was within. ]\Ir. Furager paused for a moment, and elected to see Mr. Fleming. With much diplomatic circumlocu- tion, Mr. Furager opened his case, and to which Mr. Fleming paid the most respectful attention. '^ K you have made this statement to me, Mr. Furager,^^ replied Fleming, " in the expectation of learning anything in respect of the abducted child, I am sorry to say you will be disappointed. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 243 I never saw the child ; I never saw the nurse ; and I should not know either if I were to meet them. As to Mr. Lyle and his proceedings, I have only to say that gentleman has thought proper to retire from connexion with me, and Mr. Grace, my late assistant, has purchased Mr. Lyle^s interest.^^ " And you do not expect Mr. Lyle here again, then?^^ asked Mr. Furager, in surprise. " No, I do not,^^ replied Fleming, calmly. ^^ We parted fair — well, good fi-iends, I may say ; but, if I understood Mr. Lyle correctly, he has by this time either left, or will leave, England for some years. ^^ " And taken the child with him ! That^s his plan V cried Mr. Furager. Mr. Fleming, merely by gesture, implied that he really could not say. " He must not do that, sir/' said Mr. Furager. "The law must be put in motion. Chancery must step in.'' R 2 244 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " Not here,, I hope/^ said Mr. Flemings witli a smile at his own little joke. " But, seriously, is Mrs. Lyle much distressed at the loss of her child ?^^ ^' Of course she is, Mr. Fleming. What a ques- tion to ask ! But you doctors have to deal with such a multitude of children that you set no value on them.^^ ^' Pardon me, Mr. Furager ; they are our most valued and valuable patients — teething, wind, measles, vaccination, and mammals whims, make a long bill, Mr. Furager. But, Mrs. Lyle^^ " Well, she is in great uncertainty as to what to think. She dreads the idea of her child being brought up by that drunken Shackles, and all that, you know — very natural,^^ said Mr. Furager. " Very natural.^^ Mr. Fleming thought that Mrs. Lyle might survive that anxiety ; but he said nothing more. '' Well, sir,^"* said Mr. Furager, rising, " I am THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 245 obliged by this interview^ although your infor- mation has been limited. I have learned enough, however, to shape my case. Good morning.^'' " Good morning, Mr. Furager,^^ replied Mr. Fleming, looking at his watch. "You legal gentlemen are more fortunate than we, the dispensers of pills and potions. Had I occupied your valuable time on business which did not affect you personally in the least, you would charge 13s. 4d. ; I am obliged to give — I won^t say advice — but information gratis.^' Mr. Fura- ger felt it only civil to laugh at Mr. Fleming's funny observations, and he did so accordingly. Two days after, when Mr. Furager had almost despaired of finding any evidence against Mr. Lyle from which he could make a plunge, Bertha received the following letter from her husband : — " Bertha Lyle, — As it is more than probable that we shall not meet again (I leave England in a day or two — I hope never to return), I desire 246 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, to send to you my forgiveness of all that has made shipwreck of my life^ and to ask for pardon for any jnst cause of oJffence "which I have given you. " I know not how you will receive this. Be it as it may^ the words are written_, and from my heart.^^ [There was a change in the colour of the ink_, as though the letter had been laid aside and then resumed.] " I now desire to justify an act — even to you who have the least right to ask it — and which I hear has caused you^ and still causes you per- haps, pain and anxiety. You claimed the guardianship of your child ; you demanded it. Although you had found your mother ^s duties irksome, at least I thought you did love the child, and I yielded to your wish — your right, perhaps. You confided that helpless creature to a drunken profligate ; not from utter indifference to your child, but to gratify your love of pleasm-e. You neglected its happiness and comfort, as you did THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 247 mine. I have forgiven you that wrong. To save our child from a perilous future I have re- moved her from your care. So long as she is living and happy you will hear no word of her, unless your whole course of life changes, and that I believe to be impossible. You know now that our child is in safe keeping. " Falkner Lyle.^' She crushed the letter in her hand and dashed it upon the ground, stamping upon it, and raving, as was her custom, for a time ; then, the first angry burst over, she began to think how she could resent the injury. She remembered that her lawyer had lamented the absence of any proof that Falkner had hand and part in the abduction of Ada. Here was proof — proof of his own sending ! Mr. Furager was written to, to call that night, or to-morrow. Mr. Furager jiromiscd to call in the morning. 248 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, When he did so, Bertha, looking like a beautiful Fate, handed to him the letter which had been sent to her the pre^dous evening. Mr. Furager opened it, and read aloud the two first paragraphs of the letter. " Go on, sir — read on,^^ said Bertha. " There is nothing more, madam.^^ ^' Nothing more ? Are you mad T' and Bertha snatched the letter from the hands of her won- dering adviser. There was nothing more than the two sen- tences read by Mr. Furager — the rest had vanished ! Falkner's knowledge of chemistry had been called into request, and the evanescent ink, having conveyed its message, had vanished like a tricksy spirit. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 249 CHAPTER X. BEETHA ATTENDS TO HER OWN AFFAIRS, AND WITH NO GREAT SUCCESS — FALKNER GOES TO INDIA, AND MEETS WITH MARSTON. ^f'^HE tigress was badly wounded,, but not dis- abled by the blow inflicted, altliougli it liad reached her only vulnerable part. She therefore proceeded to consult Mr. Furager. " There is nothing to be gained by looking at that blank sheet of paper, Mr. Furager/^ said Bertha, when she had submitted Lyle's letter to the perusal of her legal adviser. " What is to be done r " Although this piece of paper is no longer evidence against Mr. Lyle, it has given us the right clue to the labyrinth, and that is some- thing, Mrs. Lyle,^' replied Furager, rather piqued. 250 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, '' Still I ask, wliat is to be done ? His part- ner, Fleming, must know where he is/"* said Bertha, resolutely. " Let us go to him and de- mand information/^ "I am afraid we should not take much by our motion, madam,^^ replied Furager, coolly. '' Mr. Fleming is not a man to be bullied into confessing anything ; however, we will go to him.^^ Bertha was at the door in a moment ; but Mr. Furager proceeded to tie up papers, lock tin cases and drawers, carefully button his coat, Avith that methodical calmness which is so irri- tating to another impatient to be gone. " Mr. Fleming will be out if we dawdle, Mr. Furager," said Bertha, opening the door. " He begins his visits at one, and it is now past twelve o'clock." ^^ I am quite at your service, madam," re- plied Furager, ringing a bell at the same time. ^' Not five minutes drive from here, you know. Oh, Rogers^" addressing a clerk who had en- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 251 tered, " you will liave copies made of these affi- davits, and I should like to see an abstract of Botherby^s agreement in the course of the day. I think thafs all '' " I hope so/^ said Bertha, " or we shall lose Mr. Fleming." ^' I am yours, madam," replied Furager, smil- ing professionally. " You ladies are so impa- tient; we lawyers are obliged to proceed with more consideration, more deliberation." Bertha had heard nothing of Mr. Furager's " exit speech," as she had walked away to her carriage the moment Mr. Furager gave an indi- cation that he was ready to follow her. TVTien they arrived at Mr. Fleming^s sur- gery, Mr. Furager sent in his name, and was told by the messenger, in reply, that Mr. Fleming was engaged with patients, and should not have time to speak to Mr. Furager until he returned from making his round of visits — -say six o^clock. Mr. Furager rose to depart, but Bertha laid her hand upon his arm, saying: to the servant — 252 FALKNER LYLE ; OH, " Tell Mr. Flemings Mr. Furager has brought a lady — a patient — who will wait her turn/' adding, in an under tone to Furager, as the ser- vant left the room, '^ It is but a guinea fee, and I can have either ad\dce or information." The servant returned. " Mr. Fleming was sorry " " Oh, nonsense, man V said Bertha ; " I shall not occupy ten minutes of his time," and, with- out further parley, she entered Mr. Fleming's consulting-room . '^ Mrs. Lyle !" exclaimed Mr. Fleming, rising, as the unexpected ^dsitor presented herself. " You must excuse this intrusion, Mr. Flem- ing, as I am almost distracted, and I have a right to come to you for relief. You know what has happened, I presume V " That you and Mr. Lyle are separated — ^yes." " That of course you know ; but you know also that my child has been stolen from me, and bv Lvle." THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 253 " Mr. Lyle and I have been separated for three weeks ; I have not seen him since we cancelled our deed of partnership/^ replied Fleming ; " and I cannot give you the informa- tion which I presume you are seeking.^^ " I am not to be deceived, Mr. Fleming, by your urbane manner and soft speech. You must know where Lyle is, where my child is ; and I will know also/^ said Bertha, fiercely. "You cannot know from me,^^ replied Mr. Fleming. " Your husband, I believe, is far at sea, and has been so for some days.^' " Left England ? Taken the child with him ? Where has he gone, sir ?" asked Bertha, approach- ing nearer to Mr. Fleming. " I have already told you all I have to say concerning Mr. Lyle and his movements. He thought proper to withdraw from our practice at a very short notice, and might have put me to the greatest inconvenience but for the presence of •Mr. Grace. I have patients waiting, madam. 254 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, and you must excuse my wishing you good morning/^ '^ Your patients must wait until I am answered — satisfied — Mr. Fleming. I have had a great wrong done me^ and by Mr. Lyle; I will not rest until I have my child again,, cost what it may^ and I demand of you^ sir, to aid me in defeating my wicked, cruel husband. Where has he gone, sir? I insist upon the truth. ^' " I have answered your question, madam,^' replied Fleming, growing slightly angry ; " and you are not satisfied. Your husband once asked me to interfere in your domestic quarrels ; I declined, although I believed him an ill-used man. I now decline to take any part in your difference because you ask me ^^ " I do not ask you,^' said Bertha, fiercely : " I am equal to my own position. I only ask you to tell me where Lyle has gone T' ^' Your pertinacity is irresistible," replied Mr. Fleming. '' Pray be seated for a few THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 255 moments/' and the doctor left the room by a side-door ; Bertha thought, to get some paper or information. Mr. Fleming did not return for half-an-hour, and Bertha's patience being exhausted at the end of that time, she rang the bell. The servant who answered her summons, in- formed her that Mr. Fleming had started on his afternoon round of visits, and would not return, as he was engaged to dine at one of the Clubs, he could not say which. Bertha was foiled, and she expressed her indignation by going to her carriage and leaving Mr. Furager to follow at his pleasure when he should awake, as he had fallen into adose in the book-room, and dreamed that an articulated skeleton in a glass case was a client who had gone through a suit in Chancery. When Mr. Furager awoke and returned to his office, he found Mrs. Lyle cross-examining the clerk who had visited Craddock and made the 256 FALKNER LTLE ; OR, "Report/^ wMcli^ as we have seen^ disclosed nothing. '' This young man and you^ Furager^ must go again to Muckton^ and I shall go with jou." said Bertha, as the indignant adviser entered the room. '' Pardon me, ma^am/^ replied Furager, " that will not be convenient ; and, permit me to observe that, excellent client as you no doubt will prove to be, you must be kind enough to recollect that I am a gentleman, and require to be treated as one."*^ " Mr. Furager,^' replied Bertha, '' my case is too desperate to let me stand upon forms of any kind; I don^t come to you as a gentleman — I come to you as a lawyer, who is to be paid for his time and ingenuity in getting back my child. If that is objectionable to you, tell me so, and I will take my own course.^' " I think upon the whole, madam, that would be the better course^^^ replied Mr. Furager, calmly. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 257 '•' Very well^ sir ; then I shall go to Muckton alone/' said Mrs. Lyle, and, with a rapid inclina- tion of the head to her legal adviser, she went to her carriage, and later in the afternoon was posting away to Craddock. The next day Mrs. Lyle held a court of inquiry in Mrs. Crickle wood's cottage, but the information she gained was very slight. '^ There had been a middle-aged man who acted liberal and stood liquor, but he'd gone away again in the afternoon. Nancy Shackles was a bad 'un, that was certain, and Joe Maxwell wasn't no better, and was always talking of going to Americky, and all that. He was very fond of Nancy, and paid for burying her child when it died, and no doubt but they'd got married at last and gone away for good and all." " He finding them the means," thought Bertha ; " but, after what he had written, he could not have left the child in their care." It was lucky for Mr. Bumps that Mrs. Lyle VOL. I. 8 258 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, had taken little interest in him as the friend of her hnsband; and therefore he never presented himself to her imagination as the " middle-aged gentleman who acted liberal/^ Had she done so, however, and convicted Mr. Bnmps of complicity in the abdnction of her child, she would have learned nothing, however mnch she might have interrogated, as the old tutor had vowed to be faithful to the old pupil ; and not even the Press Yard of Newgate could have squeezed Falkner^s secret out of the old boy. It was another instance of the power which a strong will exercises on a weaker one, that E,osa IMarston could not free herself from the influence which Bertha had obtained over her ; that, despite the insight which she had had of her dear friend^s real character, their intimacy was still maintained, and was not put an end to even by a further exhibition of Bertha^s evil nature. " My inquiries have ended in no good results,^^ THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 259 said Bcrtlia to Rosa. '' Mr. Fleming refuses to see mc — to write to me ; and if he knows the retreat of his friend he will give me no cine to it. The idiots at ]Muckton, I believe, are as ignorant as they seem to be. I have promised a large reward to any who can discover where Shackles has gone. T^Tiat more can I do T' " I cannot advise you, dear Berthy/^ replied Rosa. ^' I can only sympathize with you.^' " Thanks j but that will not help me/^ said Bertha, sharply. '' If that child lives I will find her, though I give up life and fortune to do so.^' " Poor Berthy ! Do you love her so much T' asked Rosa. Bertha paused before she answered, pressing her hand upon her bosom like one in pain. She then said, " I cannot tell a lie — no, I do not love anything so much as I love my child — if what I feel for her be love ; but I know there is another feeling at work which will make me s 2 260 FALKNER LYLE J OR, resolute — untiring — in the recovery of my " Indeed \" said Rosa. ^^ Yes ; I tHnk I could not die knowing that that man had gained his purpose — had triumphed over me — in securing to himself what he most desired when he separated from me. I am sure I could not die knowing that.'''' '' Do not talk so wildly, Bertha ; you frighten me/^ said Rosa. " Then don^t listen to what I say. Leave me. I can do without your sympathy/' replied Bertha, pacing the room. " Why don't you go ? for if you stay I shall talk."'' " I cannot leave you in such distress/'' said Rosa, clasping her hands. " i am not distressed, in your meaning of the word. I am excited, perhaps, and care not to be otherwise '' — adding, after a brief pause, '^ I told you once that I had nearly loved that man " THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 261 " You did J and you will come together again some day/^ replied E,osa, soothingly. " Yes/^ said Bertha, dashing a china cup upon the marble hearth, ^^ when those pieces re-unite —not till then." " I told you, Rosa, that I was nearly hating that man. I do hate him ! with all the bitter- ness of a wronged woman — of a woman who de- spises herself for whatever kindness she has felt for an unworthy villain, who has made her to be mocked and scorned by friends and enemies.^^ Rosa could only clasp her hands and look piteously at her friend. " He has fled like a coward — left no trace of his hiding-place — so he fancies, I suppose. Revenge can be very patient as well as very sudden, and I will never rest until I have confronted him. I cannot die until I have done so V^ For more than an hour she continued to rave and threaten, until, exhausted by her own vio- 262 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, lence^ she was again seized as slie had been when at Mnckton, and for some days she remained confined to her room^ sullen and uncommu- nicative to all but Rosa Marston. Unhappy Bertha ! It is needful to our story that we leave Bertha,, and now follow the fortunes of Falkner Lyle. He had^ as may have been conjectured by what we know^ determined to quit England, where his young life had known so much sorrow, and in a distant land strive to forget the past and make a brighter futui'e. His partner, Mr. Fleming, and his old tutor, Mr. Bumps, were appointed trustees of nearly all he possessed for the use of his child, and then, with no word of parting except to them, he, adopting his mother^s name, set sail for India. Thousands of miles across the sea, and hun- dreds of miles over the land, had to be traversed. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 263 before Frank Lawton reached Napoor, tlie station of the regiment to which he was attached. The long monotonous voyage had only in- creased the despondency with which he was at times afflicted ; but the novelty of the new life which now awaited him soon worked a beneficial change ; his brave heart accepted the relief with thankfulness, and he resolved to forget, as far as possible, the sorrows which had made him an exile. He found his predecessor anxiously expecting his arrival, as ten years' service in India had made a return to England desirable for many reasons — an irritable liver not among the least of them. To this last cause, no doubt, was attributable the extreme disagreeableness of the retiring surgeon, whose departure left but little regret among those who had been, perforce, his constant associates, and Mr. Lawton met with a most satisfactory welcome on his arrival at Napoor. The station was in the Bengal Presidency, 264 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, and^ owing to its isolated position,, was not a very favourite one with its military occupants. It was situated in tlie midst of a great plain, skirted with jungle. As usual, it faced the west. On the eastern side of the Parade was a row of tents — Bells of Arms, as they are called — and near to them were the mud thatch-covered huts of the native troops. The officers^ bungalows, whitewashed mud and thatch, were placed in the rear, whilst away to the right were the barracks occupied by a detachment of artillery, exclusively Europeans. Beyond the confines of the military cantonment were the dwellings of the ciWlians, and each provided with ^dde verandahs, shaded by plantains and other indigenous trees. There was a chui'ch of no architectural beauty, a somewhat pretentious assembly-room, and a small theatre. There was also a racket-court, and near it the band-stand, where, on two nights of the week, the beauty and fashion of Napoor assembled to flirt and chat, if not to enjoy the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 2G5 music, which,, it must be confessed, was not at all times to be commended as the perfection of execution. As no station would be complete without its coffee-shop, there was one at Napoor, and not far from it a commodious swimming bath — an unappreciable luxury by those who have never lived in India. Such a change from the busy, teeming world of mighty London, or from the lovely landscape glories of beautiful England, would at one time have awakened regrets in the mind of Falkner Lylc ; but to Frank Lawton the utter dissimili- tude to all that he had known before was wel- come, helping as it did to obliterate, in part, the remembrance of a terrible dream, or what he wished to believe had been a dream. With the men of his own regiment the doc- tor soon became an established favourite, and also, in fact, with the limited number of the com- munity of civilians at Napoor, as his good spirits 266 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, and social accomplisliments were always at their service. TMiatever of painful retrospect^ and its consequent depression, would intrude itself, were known only to himself in the loneliness of his chamber, or in his solitary wanderings. About twelve months after Lawton^s arrival at Napoor, the detachment of artillery was ex- changed_, to the disturbance of many pleasant friendships, which had grown up between officers and men of the two services, and the non-military residents at the station. But such disruptions are among the vicissitudes of a soldier^s life, and are accepted like any other unpleasant contin- gency connected with duty. The new detachment was received with the cordial welcome which soldiers are always ready to accord to each other, and, after a time, the little community was as though nothing had oc- curred to disturb its social serenity. No — there was one to whom the change had brought some cause of disquiet, although he con- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 267 cealed it from public observation ; but wlicn lie was alone_, the night after the new comers had dined at the infantry mess_, the doctor returned home so ill at ease^ that he could not go to rest until long after the extinguished lights in the cantonment told that all else were sleeping. " What a cruel accident^ or fatality — what else is it ?" said Lawton, half aloud. " That he of all others should be ordered here — here to this out of the world place^ daily to recall to me the miserable fact^ and to fret my spirit, when I have sacrificed so much to live at peace.^^ It was indeed strange that out of the great army of India, and on that speck of the vast Indian Empire, two men should meet who had better been apart. But so it was ; although Lieutenant Marston knew not that the pleasant doctor he had met that night at the friendly mess was the self- exiled husband of the heartless woman, who had also made him run at her chariot-Avhecls, only to 268 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, laugh at his stupidity,, regardless herself of the shame of the exploit^ and of the pain she gave to the one honest heart that loved her. Those two men were now to pass their lives together within the narrow boundary of a small station^ to be brought almost in daily contact with one another, to exercise all the courtesies of life towards each other ; one believing that he saw the chief destroyer of his broken home, although he still believed that Marston was less censurable than the woman who had tempted him to what he still strove to believe had been only a criminal flirtation. Lawton^s — we shall continue to speak of him as Lawton — nature was too honest to allow him to conceal his dislike to IMarston, and he de- bated with himself again and again whether it would not be the more manly course to confide to Marston who he really was, and explain to him the difficulty he felt in associating with him THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 269 on the same terms of cordiality as lie could do with others. Yet why should he trust this man with a knowledge which affected the successful accom- plishment of the great desire of his life ? When Marston would have dishonoured him^ he knew that he was Bertha^s husband — that the happiness of a household was at stake^ and regarded it not. He would wait a little longer before he decided upon his course of action. It was nearly decided for him. One night, after a late sitting, the doctor and Marston were suddenly left together, the other men of the party being called away to attend to some duty. There was a silence, which after a time became embarrassing, and Marston said : " Doctor — Mr. Lawton — I hope I am mis- taken in a notion I have had for some time, and which I have been on the point of naming to you a dozen times ; shall I speak out ?" 270 FALKNER LYLE ; Oil, " Certainly^ if it is anything you wish me to know/"* replied the doctor. " Well, it is quite a matter between us_, and this it h," said Marston, pausing for a moment or two before he continued : '' I have noticed from the first day we arrived here — I'll say more — I have been distressed to feel that for some reason, unknown to me, you have not shown me the same cordiality as you have to the rest of our men — I can't guess the reason. To-night you have scarcely addressed a word to me. If I am right in my conjecture, may I ask why V The doctor did not expect to be \m.i to the crucial test at such a time, and therefore he re- plied evasively — " Certainly. Oh, you must not mind me — I am — I am like the rest of us — not always in the humour to talk. Besides '' " Besides what V asked ]\Iarston, as though he were determined to be answered. N ^ THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 271 '^ I am_, like most men of higli spirits,, subject to attacks of despondency^ and you have come upon me when IVe had one/^ " I am sorry to hear that you are so afflicted/'' said Marston^ coldly ; " I should have thought^ judging by your general bearings that you could have no cause for despondency/^ " You do think so/^ replied the doctor, turning round upon his chair, and looking Marston steadily in the face. " Are you disposed to listen to what has been part of my bitter experience of life/^ " If you choose to make the confidence/^ answered Marston, much surprised at the change in the doctor's manner, and at what he had said. '' You have never been married ; I have. I trusted my love, honour, to the keeping of a woman.'' The doctor kept his eyes fixed on Marston's face. " My wife, sir, was remarkably beautiful — 272 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, SO miicli so^ that wherever she went she attracted attention — admiration,, I may say. Mine is a profession which leaves one no control over one^s time, and ^ leisure hours/ as they are called, come rarely. My wife did not care to think of this, but visited here and there as often as she could. Not much harm in that, you will say.^^ '' Perhaps not,^-* answered Marston, still won- dering at the strange manner and speech of the doctor, who continued : " I thought there was — great wrong, as it made her neglect her home duties, but she disobeyed my requests that she would not visit without me. I did not foresee the result of her disobedience or she should not have disobeyed me so long.^^ The doctor paused, still regarding his auditor steadily, fixedly. " There are men, Mr. Marston, who as- sume to be gentlemen, men of honour, and who are believed to deserve the character. They enter honest homes, mix freely with wives, THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 273 mothers^ and daughters, and are trusted on the faith in their pretensions of being gentlemen ; but let a woman show how she can be assailed, and all her claims upon the honour of these men are set at naught, and if she can be led into sin they^ll lead her. You have known such men, Mr. Marston, as I have.^' " Of course — who has not?^-* replied Marston. "Such men I stigmatize as the worst of cowards. They dare not, like true thieves, bid you stand, and demand your purse; but they sneak about your home to rob it of its peace and honour. I have been robbed by such a sneaking coward.^^ Marston could not understand why the doctor never removed his eyes, but continued to stare fixedly at him whilst speaking. " I am very sorry for you, Lawton — very, and regret that I have provoked this confidence, as it must have given you pain to open your old wounds.^^ VOL. I. T 274 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " Not in the least/^ replied the doctor^ strik- ing his breast. " I have endured the actual cautery, and feel no longer. A home broken up — a wife that abandoned me — abandoned her child, in act^ if not in thought^ have had their share in the work. Now, what should be done to my fine gentleman ?^^ " It is difficult to say,^^ replied Marston_, look- ing away for the first time from the doctor. " Many men are led into foolish flirtations and intrigues without a thought, and pursue them without reflecting on the pain they may occasion to others /^ adding, after a moment^s pause, " or imagining the bitter repentance which sometimes overtakes themselves.^^ " Do you speak from personal experience, Mr. INIarston T' asked the doctor, his voice hoarse and low. '' Well — yes — no," replied Marston. " I was once foolish enough — ba^se enough^ you would say — to presume — ^but I would rather not speaJi THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 275 upon the subject. It is not to my credit^ and less to the partner in my folly, as she was married.^' The conversation was ended by the return of the friend who had left them^ and shortly after- wards the doctor bade the others good-night, having no forgiveness in his heart towards Mr. Marston ; and when he reached his lonely bun- galow, that terrible doubt to which we have be- fore referred came back to him and drove sleep from his pillow. Nor did Marston find sleep so readily as he was accustomed to do. The doctor^s strange manner — his painful story — would come back to Marston_, until he could not avoid connecting them with his own imprudent flirtations with Bertha. He thought at first that this association was absurd — ridiculous ; but, recalling what Rosa had told him in her letters from home of the ultimate separation of the Lyles, he started up from his couch, as though appalled by visions of T 2 276 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, the home he had broken and the peace he had destroyed. So strongly was he impressed with this appli- cation of the doctor^s story^ that^ when writing to his sister on the following day_, he added this postscript : ^^ By-the-bye^ I have omitted to tell you of a strange discovery I have made since we have been at Napoor. I fancy I have discovered in the doctor of the _, whom do you think ? Mr. Lyle ! But say nothing of this until you hear further from me/^ THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 277 CHAPTER XI. ROSA RECEIVES A SCOLDING FROM HER BROTHER WHO IS SURPRISED IN HIS TURN. "ITT HEN next Lieutenant Mars ton heard from liome lie was mortified and vexed to find that Rosa had confided his post scriptum surmise to Mrs. Lyle. That imperious lady had desired Rosa to press her brother for further information ; to require him to write at length the reasons he liad for his first conjecture. To these requests Charles Marston refused compliance, and fairly scolded sister Rosa for what he was pleased to call " a breach of confidence.^' Rosa was greatly distressed at her brother's letter, and when Bertha called upon her she found her in tears. " No bad news from India, I hope ?'' said 278 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Bertha. " I see you liave a foreign letter in your hsLud" ^'^No^, dear,, not exactly bad news/^ replied E-osa, folding up her letter. ^^ Yet you have been crying/^ said Bertha. '' Is your letter from your brother?" " Yes^ dear^ but " Bosa hesitated to say more. ^^ But what ? He has been writing something you donH care that I should know_, — is that it V asked Bertha; but not receiving a reply, she continued,, — '^ I have no curiosity, dear, as to your secrets ; I only wish to ask what he says about the man he met and thought was Lyle." ^^ He says nothing about him ; that is, nothing more than we know,^^ replied Rosa. " Well, what does he say, Bosa ? I have a right to ask that, and do,"^ said Bertha, sharply. '^ He merely scolds me for repeating to you what he had written ; calls it a breach of confi- dence, and positively forbids me naming the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 279 subject again to liim or to you; and here I am doing it !" Poor Rosa could not resist her fate. "^ Then he is a selfish, bad fellow/^ said Bertha, rising, and, as was usual with her when annoyed, walking about the room. " At one time I could have made him not only answer my questions, but have compelled him to hunt up that man. ^^Tiat brutes men are V* Rosa tried to speak, but could not. " They try all their arts of adulation, flattering our weaknesses, cringing to us, and even blindly sacrificing their best interests to win us, as your brother would have done ; and then, when their fit of passion has passed away, they treat us with the contempt we should have deserved had we been weak enough to have become their victims. I tell you they are all alike; mean, selfish, cowardly, and cruel.'' "Bertha, you shall not speak so of Charles," said Rosa, colouring with displeasure. ^' Who shall stop me ? Not you, even, Rosa," 280 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, replied Bertha. " I have been wronged by men, and I will repay tbem, if only by words. You say that Charles Marston refuses to write any more upon the subject I have most at heart ?^' " He does. Neither will I offend him by doing so. Bertha," replied Rosa, firmly. " I shall not trouble you to do so. I can act for myself, I daresay. Is he at his old station, at Napoor ?" asked Bertha. " Yes." " Very well ; I shall tell him what a good girl you have been in obeying him, and that he must not scold his own little sister any more," said Bertha, sneeringly. " Then you intend writing to him ?" asked Bosa, surprised. " I intend knowing more than he has been pleased to communicate at j)rcsent," replied Bertha ; " and from my former admirer, Mr. Charles Marston. Good-day, Bosa. Bing the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 281 bell, therc^s a dear. Perhaps I shall see you again to-morroAv. Good-day." Charles Marston knew little of Bertha Lylc when he thought to free himself from her impor- tunity in an offhand way, and his refusal to communicate further upon the subject of his P.S., determined that energetic hater to a course which few women would have dared to adopt. The coolness of which Marston complained as existing between himself and Lawton certainly increased from the night of their strange con- versation, and in time assumed, on the part of the doctor, an unmistakable " cut." Marston could assign no other reason for this conduct than the one which had at first suggested itself : that Lawton and Lyle were the same man, and the earnestness — the strangeness — of the doctor's manner must have proceeded from the fact, that Marston was known to him as the reputed admirer of his wife. With this conviction growing stronger day by day, Marston was 282 FALKNER LILE ; OR, perplexed exceedingly as to wliat his own conduct should be towards the injured doctor. He was not left many months in doubt. The small station of Napoor was in a flutter of delight, as the officers of the two arms had decided upon giving a ball at the Assembly-rooms. But let us quote what an abler pen has written on a similar event occuiTing at the station of Kabob : — " The walls of the Assembly-rooms are resonant again with the sounds of jollity and preparation. The sable pagan has started into activity, and the dusky chandeliers once more glitter in their joy, the crimson-edged flounces of the punkahs, fresh from the hands of the blanchisseur , glimmer with spotless purity. The stewards, indefatigable fellows, defiant of all heat, devote themselves to the rigid lacing-up of the floor-cloth; and the once bare walls, with their sickly hue of pale yellow wash, are now gay and verdant with wreaths and other incrustations of foliage, so THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 283 artfully devised and skilfully applied; while radiant stars of glittering swords and bayonets, with regimental colours splendidly conspicuous, likewise decorate and adorn the walls. * * * * ^' But the hour has come. Eight, nine, ten, sounded on the gong; the lights are lit, the torches flicker at the gate, buggies roll into the portico, and the fair ones begin to drop in. The arrival of one, a second, then a brace, establishing a quartette, justifies the immediate opening of the ball. The music strikes up and a quadrille is fairly under Aveigh." " But, see, fresh arrivals have added to the hilarity of the scene,"* and, as at Kabob, the ball at Napoor passed through the varied phases of polka, waltz, and deuxtemps, and the most liberal of suppers. * For further particulars, see Captain Atkinson's admi- rable sketches and description of our station, under the title of " Curry and Kice." 284 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, Poor Mars ton had to migrate between the assembly and the guard-room until he was re- lleved_, and^ fairly tired out, sought the quiet of his own bungalow. But a great unrest was travelling over the sandy road which lay between Napoor and the next Travellers^ Bungalow. A voyage up the Indus is far from pleasant, owing to the intense heat. The burning blast, the barren shores, with their millions of particles of sand, all combine to make the voyage dreary, uncomfortable, and uninteresting; whereas the dawk or palankeen conveyance is a certain and comfortable means of transit, if not a rapid one. A lady and a female attendant occupied two of those conveniences, each borne by four natives, and accompanied by eight more to relieve them at brief intervals. Their destination was to the interior station of Napoor, and the journey would occupy some days, the rate of travelling being about three miles an hour, independent of the necessary THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 285 halts at the usual places of refreshment, the Travellers' Bungalows, which had been erected at the expense of the Government. The lady's luggage was particularly scant, and the bangy wallahs, as they are called, who carry the boxes, had an easy time of it. It was evident that the lady's stay was to be a brief one, as she secured relays of bearers for her return within a week, and her impatience to get forward was only excused by the liberality of her payment. When the last stage had been accomplished, and the lady and her attendant had been safely housed at the hotel attached to the coffee-shop at Napoor, the night had set in, and almost the only sound to be heard in the station was the music of the band in the distant Assembly-room. " A ball night," said the lady ; " that is pro- voking, as I suppose all the officers are there ?" The coffee-shop keeper thought so, except those sahibs who were on duty. " Learn directly if Lieutenant Marstou is at 2S6 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, the ball or on guard /^ said the lady ; and then, with the assistance of her attendant^ she made a slight change in her toilet. The coffee-shop keeper had ascertained that Sahib Marston was not at the ball^ but was in his own bungalow fast asleep ; so said his khansumah or butler. Nevertheless the lady desired to be conducted thither, and was obeyed accordingly. Marston had swallowed more than one "peg^^ to cool his parched throat, and had deluded himself into the belief that sleep was coming to weigh his eyelids down, when his valet entered softly to announce to sahib that a lady, a stranger, who had just arrived at the coffee-shop by dawk and bearers, desired to see him. Such a very unusual announcement at that late hour of the night rather startled the young lieutenant ; but, as gallantry would not allow him' to keep a lady waiting in the verandah, he partially dressed, and ordered the lamp to be lighted in his breakfast-room. Thither was the THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 287 lady slio^viij and^ -when Marston entered the room^ lie was fairly dumb-foundered to find Mrs. Lyle awaiting liim. Yes; all those thousands of miles by sea, and those hundred miles by land, which lay between Napoor and England,, had she travelled, unaccompanied but by her maid-servant, to ques- tion Charles Marston on the sui'mise of his P.S., and to drag from him what further he knew or imagined concerning her supposed hus- band. Before Marston had sufficiently recovered to speak. Bertha had seated herself, and removed the light shawl with which her head had been covered, at the same time shaking down her long curls as though she intended to remain some time. She appeared to scorn or dispense with the usual formality of meeting, and said, or rather commanded — " Let me have some coffee, and then give orders that we are not interrupted." With the obsequiousness of his own vaict, 2S8 FALKNER LYLE ; Oil, Marston proceeded to obey lier, and the coffee was soon brought^ and tatties placed against tlie opening into the room. " You of course know tbe cause of this visit, Mr. Marston/'' said Bertba, " and will respect it so far as to assist me in obtaining what I have travelled so far to attain." " R-eally/^ replied Marston, hesitatingly, " I cannot guess." " You cannot T' asked Bertha, in rather a . cold, sneering tone. " I thought you knew all my affairs from my dear friend Rosa." " I know in part only, as " ^' You were in some way the cause of my separation from Mr. Lyle," said Bertha, calmly. " Good gracious ! I " " Do not disturb yourself on that account, Mr. Marston," interrupted Bertha, in her usual rude way. ^' That separation must have come sooner or later. We were only united by the giving and receiving of a ring. I think that is THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 289 the form in question. We made a gi'eat mistake in doing so. I know now I was never intended for a wife.^^ '' No doubt there were faults on both sides/' said Marston, confirmed by what he had heard. ^' I am not here to make confession of mine if it were so^ Mr. Marston. You did not at- tempt to reprove my errors/*' replied Bertha, with a sneer. " You had heard,, before I named it just now, that Lyle and I had separated V " Yes, I knew that/' replied Marston, colour- ing slightly. " You know also that my child was stolen from me ?'' '^ Yes, I heard that also.'' replied Marston. '^ And that Lyle was the inhuman wretch that deprived me of her," said Bertha, but without any emotion. " No, I did not know that." " Then my dear friend Rosa has shown more command over her pen than I gave her credit VOL. I. u 290 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, for. I desired her not to name that circum- stance^ as I was ashamed of being the object of a tricky by which,, however^ I learned that Lyle had stolen the child. You now know why I have come to you — come from England.^^ '^ I really do not know what you propose by this visit/' said Marston, quite embarrassed. ''In a postscript to a letter to your sister B/Osa/' replied Bertha^ leaning both her arms upon the table^ and looking Marston steadfastly in the face^ ''you said you had met out here with Mr. Lyle; but — ^hear me out — ^but no in- quiries would you answer; no explanation would you give.'' " Because I had no more to tell/' replied Marston. " Are you sure of that ?" asked Bertha. " Quite ; I spoke only from surmise." " "What gave rise to your surmise, as you call it ? You have a right to be honest with me — you of all men living/' said Bertha. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 291 Marston again coloured slightly ; but the shade of the lamp was upon his face^ and Bertha saw it not. Marston had been long convinced that he owed Falkner an atonement, and the time he felt was come for making it, even at some fencing with the truth, which he could not speak without betraying — so it seemed to him — the confidence reposed in him by the doctor. The reasoning was specious enough. '^ I repeat/^ said Marston, after a pause, " I have nothing more to say on the subject.^^ " And I repeat, why did you surmise that the man you met was Mr. Lyle V asked Bertha. " Simply because the man was a doctor, who had separated from his wife in England, and answered, in many respects, to your description of Mr. Lyle. Recollect, I never saw Mr. Lyle except once, and then at a distance, and when passing about town in his brougham. I should not have known him had I met him at dinner,'* replied Marston, now perfectly self-possessed. u 2 292 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " Where is that man now ?" said Bertha, after a pause. " At this moment I can^t say/^ replied Mars- ton, again colouring at the evasion of the ques- tion. ^^ He was attached to another regiment than mine, and our intimacy was not very close nor continuous. What is your object in tracing Mr. Lyle?^^ " Had that man '^ — Bertha paused, and then repeated, ^^ Had that man a child with him ?^^ '^ No, certainly not,-*' replied Marston. " I must have known if he had had anyone with him. Besides, no man in his senses, or who had the least regard for his child, would bring her to this infernal climate willingly." " I have thought that, too," replied Bertha ; '^but he would rather see her dead than with me ; as I would, than leave her to him." Marston^s pulse stopped, and then beat quickly, as even bold men^s hearts will pause and throb when wickedness is about them. He had almost THE STORY OY TWO WIVES. 293 resolved to answer no further question ^ wlien Bertha asked abruptly — " What was this man^s name ?" Marston could not tell a direct lie — it would have stuck in his throat ; and there was some- thing remaining of the fascination which the beautiful woman had so long exercised over him. Marston answered, therefore, perforce — " Lawton/' Bertha wrote down on her tablet the name, obserAdng as she did so, ^' I need not do this — I shall not forget. He may have placed the cliild at nurse under this name of Lawton — in England, perhaps, or France. By advertising continuously I may discover the child. He would not have used his own name. He was too cunning for that." Bertha rose and began re- placing her shawl. " May I ask what you now propose to do ?" said Marston. Bertha smiled rather contemptuously. " Do 294 • TALKNER LYLE ; OR, not concern yourself witli me^ Charles Marston. I will neither compromise you nor myself by remaining liere^ rely upon it. I could not rest until I had made this long journey, and shall return contented that I have gained, perhaps, one trail of this devil/^ " It seems very dreadful that you should have made such a journey alone/^ ^^ Nothing dreadful, I assure you, Mr. Marston. I have a settled purpose to carry out, and I shall do it — will do it at all hazards,^^ replied Bertha. " The dawk will be ready for my return in an hour at most_, and then farewell, Mr. Mars- ton. Who would have thought,^^ Bertha added, gaily, "when I held my court on Dearport beach that you and I, Charles Marston, should have met and parted as we do now in the interior of India ! Good-bye. Let one of your servants see me to the hotel, as I hear music, and people may be about — not that I fear them.^^ " I will go with you myself,^^ replied Marston ; " that is^ if you will permit me that honour.^^ THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 295 "As you please/^ said Bertha, ^vi-apping her shawl around her head, but leaving her face partially exposed. Whilst Marston was putting on a coat. Bertha fell into deep thought ; nor had the angry expression of her cogitations passed from her face as she and Marston went out of the bungalow. The day was just break- ing. The dancers had not tired, though some of the elder gentlemen had retired from the party. On the opposite side of the rather naiTOw way which led from the Assembly-room to the infantry quarters, and along which Marston and his charge had to pass, were two gentlemen muffled in their roquelaures, the dancing-room having been intensely hot. As the quartette passed each other, one of the gentlemen asked, " Did you sec that woman with Marston, Lawton ? What a beau- tiful fiend she looked ! Who is she, I wonder ?" But Lawton had staggered to the wall, and was leaning upon it. " What^s the matter ? Are you not well V* asked the colonel, who was the doctor's companion. 296 FALKNER LYLE ; OR, " I must be — I am. My head^s confused by the heat. Come on. I shall be better -when I can get some drink,^^ replied the doctor; adding to himself, '^ If it were not impossible^ I could swear that it was. Ridiculous ! My mind is so continually dwelling on that one subject, owing to Marston^s presence here, that I shall make a fool of myself. I have done wisely to go.^^ The colonel and the doctor parted, after a cool draught of soda-water had satisfied the colonel that the good doctor was himself again. Falkner, or Lawton, was never to be again the man he had been — the light-hearted, hopeful man he had been when he married Bertha. No ; she had cast a shadow over his life which was never entirely to pass away, and which deepened in the presence of Marston. E-esolutely as the doctor strove to convince himself that the woman he had seen come out of Marston^s bungalow was not Bertha, the doubt which had been so terrible of old again came back to him. THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 297 Bertha had not lost all her influence, as we have said, over her one-time admirer, and he had come to pity her — not regarding the real cause of her sorrow. He promised her that if he should again talk with Lawton, he would obtain, if possible, a confirmation or refutation of his conjectures; and, if the result could be con- ducive to Bertha's future peace, it should be made known to her. At an early hour of the day, long before the little fasliionable community of Napoor had slept off their fatigue. Bertha Lyle was on her way back to Bengal. If Marston had been disposed to have re- garded his promise to Bertha, after the sorceress had departed, he was deprived of the opportunity of doing so, by the astounding announcement that the doctor had exchanged into another regi- ment, and was about to join his new comrades. Why had he done this ? What had his mess- fellows done to deserve it? 298 TALKNER LYLE ; OR, The doctor^s might have been a Galenas head over an apothecaiy^s shop for what anyone could get from his lips. No one could say why the doctor had deserted Napoor. One only guessed at the cause, and he was silent also. The ship which bore Bertha back to England was doomed to run a perilous course ; not from storm or shipwreck, but from an epidemic which passed through the living people like an angry fire, scorching and destroying, and, for a time, resist- ing all efforts to subdue it or to stay its progress. When that was done at last, and the sea had received the dead, the survivors met once more together ; many with scarred and swollen faces, scarcely recognisable by those who had met them day by day before the terrible pestilence had run riot through the ship. Bertha was one of those who had had to strug- gle fiercely with the enemy, and she bore from the conflict many wounds to her former beauty. She was not insensible to the loss she had sus- THE STORY OF TWO WIVES. 299 tained ; but sorrow could not soften her stubborn nature^ and she made the suffering she had undergone, and its after consequences, fresh in- centives to her hatred of her husband. Many of her best friends and worst enemies had been busy with her fair fame whilst she had been away from England, censuring as unjusti- fiable her voyage to India, and the imprudence and indelicacy of seeking out Marston — the man with whom her name had been more than once associated unfavourably. And the magic charm was impaired — ^her remarkable beauty — which more than anything else had permitted her friends to regard some of her conduct as venial, if not excusable ; and which, in a person of lesser fascination, they would have condemned as a crime, " without benefit of clergy.'^ There was change everywhere. Bertha saw — change in herself, in her friends, in all but poor, simple-minded Rosa Marston. " Faithful found Among the faithless, faithful only she." 300 FALKNER LYLE. In the course of a short time the once-beau- tiful and much-sought-for Mrs. Lyle^s carriage seldom stopped the way at the doors of her former acquaintances ; and Rosa was warned by a married sister^ Mrs. Roy, that she would suffer by continuing to associate with such a ques- tionable person. Rosa was certainly not popular with the young men of her set_, and,, though she had many quali- ties which go to make a good wife, there was no one to propose to the friend of Bertha. Mrs. Lyle had, immediately on her return to England, resumed, with the aid of Mr. Furager, the search for her child ; and not till every available means had been exhausted did she abandon the hope of discovery. ^Tien that time arrived she disposed of her house and furniture, and went away into a retirement which few cared to disturb. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.