A Very Naughty Girl

“Well, darling,” said Jasper as cheerfully as she could, “this is an old story, is it not? He did eat his hash, when all is said and done.”

“Yes; but I don’t like his manner. And you know he discovered about the boxes in the box-room.”

“That is over and done with too,” said Jasper. “He cannot say much about that; he can only puzzle and wonder, but it would take him a long time to find out the truth.”

“I don’t like his way,” repeated Sylvia.

“And perhaps you don’t like my way either, Sylvia,” said a strange voice; and Sylvia uttered a scream, for Evelyn stood before her.

“Evelyn!” cried the girl. “Where have you come from? Oh, what is the matter? Oh, I do declare my head is going round!”

She clasped her hands to her forehead in absolute bewilderment. Jasper went and locked the kitchen door.

“Now we are safe,” she said; “and you two had best go into the bedroom. Yes, you had, for when he comes along it is the wisest plan for him to find the kitchen locked and the place in darkness. He will never think of my bedroom; and, indeed, when the curtains are drawn and the shutters shut you cannot get a blink of light from the outside, however hard you try.”

“Come, Sylvia,” said Evelyn. She took Sylvia’s hand and dragged her into the bedroom.

“But why have you come, Evelyn? Why is it?” said poor Sylvia, in great distress and alarm.

“You will have to welcome me whether you like it or not,” said Evelyn; “and what is more, you will have to be true to me. I came here because I have run away – run away from the school and the fuss and the disgrace of to-morrow – run away from horrid Aunt Frances and from the horrid Castle; and I have come here to dear old Jasper; and I have brought my own money, so you need not be at any expense. And if you tell you will – But, oh, Sylvia, you will not tell?”

“But this is terrible!” said Sylvia. “I don’t understand – I cannot understand.”

“Sit down, Miss Sylvia, dearie,” said Jasper, “and I will try to explain.”

Sylvia sank down on the side of the little white bed.

“Now I know why you were getting this ready,” she said. “You would not explain to me, and I thought perhaps it was for me. Oh dear! oh dear!”

“I longed to tell you, but I dared not,” said Jasper. “Would I let my sweet little lady die or be disgraced? That is not in me. She will hide here with me for a bit, and afterwards – it will come all right afterwards, my dear Miss Sylvia. Why, there, darlings! I love you both. And see what I have been planning. I mean to go up-stairs to-night and sleep in your room, Miss Sylvia. Yes, darling; and you and Miss Evelyn can sleep together here. The supper is all ready, and I have had as much as I want. I mean to go quickly; and then if your father comes along and rattles at the kitchen door he’ll get no answer, and if he peers through the keyhole, the place will be black as night. Then, being made up of suspicions, poor man, he’ll tramp up-stairs and he’ll thunder at your door; but it will be locked, and after a time I’ll answer him in your voice from the heart of the big bed, and all his suspicions will melt away like snow when the sun shines on it. That is all, Miss Sylvia; and I mean to do it, and at once, too; for if we were so careful and chary and anxious before, we must be twice as careful and twice as chary now that I have got the precious little Eve to look after.”

Jasper’s plan was carried out to the letter. Sylvia did not like it, but at the same time she did not know how to oppose it; and when Evelyn put her arms round her neck and was soft and gentle – she who was so hard with most, and so difficult to manage – and when she pleaded with tears in her big brown eyes and a pathetic look on her white face, Sylvia yielded for the present. Whatever happened, she would not betray her.

CHAPTER XXVIII. – THE ROOM WITH THE LIGHT THAT FLICKERED

Now, all might have gone well for the little conspirators but for Evelyn herself. But when the girls, tired with talking, tired with the spirit of adventure, had lain down – Sylvia in Jasper’s bed, and Evelyn in the new little white couch which had been got so lovingly ready for her – Sylvia, tired out, soon fell asleep; but Evelyn could not rest. She was pleased, excited, relieved, but at the same time she had a curious sense of disappointment about her. Her heart beat fast; she wondered what was happening. It seemed to her that in this tiny room at the back of the kitchen she was in a sort of prison. The sense of being in prison was anything but pleasant to this child of a free country and of an untrained mother. She slipped softly out of bed, and going to the window, unbarred the heavy shutters and looked out.

There was a moon in the sky, and the garden stood in streaks of bright light, and of dense shadow where the thick yew-hedge shut away the cold rays of the moon. Evelyn’s white little face was pressed against the pane. Pilot stalked up and down outside, now and then baying to the moon, now and then uttering a suspicious bark, but he never glanced in the direction of the window out of which Evelyn looked. To the right of the window lay the hens’ run and hen-house which have already been mentioned in these pages. Evelyn knew nothing about them, however; she thought the view ugly and uninteresting. She disliked the thick yew-hedge and the gnarled old yew-tree, and grumbling under her breath, she turned from the window, having quite forgotten to close the shutters. She got into bed now and fell asleep, little knowing what mischief she had done.

For it was on that very same night that Mr. Leeson determined, not to bury his bags of gold, but to dig them up. He was in a weak and trembling condition, and what he considered the most terrible misfortune had overpowered him, for the large sums which he had lately invested in the Kilcolman Gold-mines had been irretrievably lost; the gold-mines were nothing more nor less than a huge fraud, and all the shareholders had lost their money. The daily papers were full of the fraudulent scheme, and indignation was rife against the promoters of the company. But little cared Mr. Leeson for that; one fact alone concerned him. He, who grudged a penny to give his only child warmth and comfort, had by one fell blow lost thousands of pounds. He was almost like a man bereft of his senses. When Sylvia had left him that evening he had stood for some time in the cold and desolate parlor; then he sat down and began to think. His money was invested in more than one apparently promising speculation. He meant to call it all in – to collect it all and leave the country. He would not trust another sovereign in any bank in the kingdom; he would guard his own money; above all things, he would guard his precious savings. He had saved during his residence at The Priory something over twelve hundred pounds. This money, which really represented income, not capital, had been taken from what ought to have been spent on the necessaries of life. More and more had he saved, until a penny saved was more valuable in his eyes than any virtue under the sun; and as he saved and added sovereign to sovereign, he buried his money in canvas bags in the garden. But the time had come now to dig up his gold and fly. There were three trunks in the box-room; he would divide the money between the three. They were strong, covered with cow-hide, old-fashioned, safe to endure even such a weight as was to be put into them. He had made all his plans. He meant to take Sylvia, leave The Priory, and go. What further savings he could effect in a foreign land he knew not; he only wanted to be up and doing. This night, just when the moon set, would be the very time for his purpose. He was anxious – very anxious – about those fresh trunks which had been put into the attic; there was something also about Sylvia which aroused his suspicions. He felt certain that she was not quite so open with him as formerly. Those suppers were too good, too delicate, too tasty to be eaten without suspicion. At the best she was burning too much fuel. He would go round to the kitchen this very night and see for himself that the fire was out – dead out. Why should Sylvia warm herself by the kitchen fire while he shivered fireless and almost candleless in the desolate parlor? Soon after ten o’clock, therefore, he started on his rounds. He went through room after room, looking into each; he had never been so restless. He felt that a great and terrible task lay before him, and so bewildered was his mind, so much was his balance shaken, that he thought more of the twelve hundred pounds which he had saved than of the thousands which he had lost by foolish investment. The desolate rooms in the old Priory were all as they had ever been – scarcely any furniture in some, no furniture at all in others; they were bare and bleak and ugly. He went to the kitchen; the door was locked. He shook it and called aloud; there was no answer.

“The child has gone to bed,” he said to himself. “That is well.”

He stooped down and tried to look through the keyhole; only darkness met his gaze. He turned and shambled up-stairs. He turned the handle of Sylvia’s door. How wise had been Jasper when she had guessed that the master of the house would do just what he did do!

“Sylvia!” he called aloud – “Sylvia!”

“Yes, father,” said a voice which seemed to be quite the voice of his daughter.

“Are you in bed?”

“Yes. Do you want me?”

“No; stay where you are. Good night.”

“Good night,” answered the pretended Sylvia.

But Mr. Leeson, as he went down-stairs, did not hear the stifled laughter which was smothered in the pillows. He waited until the moon was on the wane, and then, armed with the necessary implements, went into the garden. He would certainly remove half the bags that night; the remainder might wait until to-morrow.

He reached the garden; he arrived at the spot where his treasure was buried, and then he stood still for a moment, and looked around him. Everything seemed all right – silent as the grave – still as death. It was a windless night; the moon would very soon set and there would be darkness. He wanted darkness for his purpose. Pilot came shuffling up.

“Good dog! guard – guard. Good dog!” said his master.

Pilot had been trained to know what this meant, and he went immediately and stood within a foot or two of the main entrance. Mr. Leeson did not know that a gate at the back entrance was no longer firmly secured and chained, as he imagined it to be. He thought himself safe, and began to work.

He had dug up six of the bags, and there were six more yet to be unearthed, when, suddenly raising his head, he saw a light in a window on the ground floor. It was a very faint light, and seemed to come and go.

He was much puzzled. His heart beat strangely; suspicion visited him. Had any one seen him? If so he was lost. He dared not wait another moment; he took two of the bags of gold and dragged them as best he could into the house. He went out again to fetch another two, and yet another two. He put the six canvas bags in the empty hall, and then returning to the garden, he pressed down the earth and covered it with gravel, and tried to make it look as if no one had been there – as if no one had disturbed it. But he was trembling all over, and as he did so he looked again at the flickering, broken light which came dimly, like something gray and uncertain, from within the room.

He went on tiptoe softly, very softly, up to the window and peered in. He could not see much – nothing, in fact, except one thing. The room had a fire. That was enough for him.

Furious anger shook the man to his depths. He hurried into the house.

CHAPTER XXIX. – WHAT COULD IT MEAN?

Anger gave Mr. Leeson a false strength. He put the canvas bags of gold into a large cupboard in the parlor; he locked the door and put the key into his pocket. Then he went gingerly and on tiptoe to another cupboard, and took down out of the midst of an array of dirty empty bottles one which contained a very little brandy. He kept this brandy here so that no one should guess at its existence. He poured himself out about a thimbleful of the potent spirit and drank it off. He then returned the bottle to its place, and fumbling in a lower shelf, collected some implements together. With these he went out into the open air.

He now approached the window where the light shone – the faint, dim light which flickered against the blind and seemed almost to go out, and then shone once more. Slowly and dexterously he cut, with a diamond which he had brought for the purpose, a square of glass out of the lower pane. He put the glass on the ground, and slipping in his hand, pushed back the bolt. All his movements were quiet. He said “Ah!” once or twice under his breath. When he had gently and very softly lifted the sash, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away some drops which stood on his forehead. Then he said “Ah!” once more, and slipped softly, deftly, and quietly into the room. He had made no noise whatsoever. The young sleepers never moved. He stood in the fire-lit, and in his opinion lavishly furnished, room. Here was a small white bed and an occupant; here a larger bed and another occupant. He crept on tiptoe towards the two beds. He bent down over the little occupant of the smaller bed.

A girl – a stranger! A girl with long, fair hair, and light lashes lying on a white cheek. A curious-looking girl! She moaned once or twice in her sleep. He did not want to awaken her.

He looked towards the other bed, in which lay Sylvia, pretty, debonair, rosy in her happy, warm slumber. She had flung one arm outside the counterpane. Her lips parted; she uttered the words:

“Darling father! Poor, poor father!”

The man who listened started back as though something had struck him.

Sylvia in that bed – Sylvia who had spoken to him not two hours ago up-stairs? What did it mean? What could it mean? And who was this stranger? And what did the fire mean, and all the furniture? A carpet on the floor, too! A carpet on his floor – his! And a fire which he had never warranted in his grate, and beds which he had never ordered in his room! Oh! was it not enough to strike a man mad with fury? And yet again! what was this? A table and the remains of supper! Good living, warmth, luxuries, under the roof of the man who was fireless and cold and, as he himself fondly and foolishly believed, a beggar!

He stood absolutely dumb. He would not awaken the sleepers. A strange sensation visited him. He was determined not to give way to his passions; he was determined, before he said a word to Sylvia, to regain his self-control.

“Once I said bitter things to her mother; I will not err in that direction any more,” he said to himself. “And in her sleep she called me ‘Father’ and ‘Poor father.’ But all the same I shall cast her away. She is no longer my Sylvia. I disown her; I disinherit her. She goes out into the cold. She is ruining her father. She has deceived me; she shall never be anything to me again. Paw! how I hate her!”

He went to the window, got out just as he had got in, drew down the sash, and stepped softly across the dark lawn.

He was very cold now, and he felt faint; the effect of the tiny supply of brandy which he had administered to himself had worn off. He went into his desolate parlor. How cold it was! He thought of the big fire in the bedroom which he had left. How poor and desolate was this room by contrast! What a miserable bed he reposed on at night – absolutely not enough blankets – but Sylvia lay like a bird in its nest, so warm, so snug! Oh! how bad she was!

“Her mother was never as bad as that,” he muttered to himself. “She was extravagant, but she was not like Sylvia. She never willingly deceived me. Sylvia to have a strange and unknown girl – a stranger – in the house! All my suspicions are verified. My doubts are certainties. God help me! I am a miserable old man.”

He cowered down, and the icy cold of the room struck through his bones. He looked at the grate, and observed that a fire had been laid there.

“Sylvia did that,” he said to himself. “The little minx did not like to feel that she was so warm and I so cold, so she laid the fire; she thought that I would indulge myself. I! But am I not suffering for her? While she lies in the lap of luxury I die of cold and hunger, and all for her. But I will do it no longer. I will light the fire; I will have a feast; I will eat and drink and be merry, and forget that I had a daughter.”

So the unfortunate man, half-mad with bewilderment and the grief of his recent losses, lit a blazing fire, and going to his cupboard, took out his brandy and drank what was left in the bottle. He was warm now, and his pulse beat more quickly. He remembered his six bags of gold, and the other six bags in the garden, and he resolved that if necessary he would fly without Sylvia. Sylvia could stay behind. If she managed to have such luxuries without his aid, she could go on having them; he would leave her a trifle – yes, a trifle – and save the rest for himself, and be no longer tortured by an unworthy and deceitful daughter. But as he thought these things he became more and more puzzled. The Sylvia lying on that bed was undoubtedly his daughter; but his daughter had spoken to him from her own room at a reasonable hour – between ten and eleven o’clock – that same night. How could there be two Sylvias?

“The mystery thickens,” he muttered to himself. “This is more than I can stand. I will ferret the thing out – yes, and to the very bottom. Those trunks in the attic! I suppose they belong to that ugly child. That voice in Sylvia’s room! Well, of course it was Sylvia’s voice; but what about the other Sylvia down-stairs? I must see into this matter without delay.”

He went up-stairs and found himself outside Sylvia’s door. He turned the handle, but it was locked. There was a light in the room, doubtless caused by another fire. He looked through the keyhole; the door was locked from within, for the key was in the lock.

More and more remarkable! How could Sylvia lock the door from within if she was not in the room? Really the matter was enough to daze any man. Suddenly he made up his mind. It was now five o’clock in the morning; in a short time the day would break. Sylvia was an early riser. If Sylvia or any one else was in that room he would wait on the threshold to confront that person. Oh, of course it was Sylvia; she had slipped back again and was in bed, and thought he would never discover her. How astonished she would be when she saw him seated outside her door!

So Mr. Leeson fetched a broken-down chair from his own bedroom, placed it softly just outside the door of the room where Jasper was reposing, and prepared himself to watch. He was far too excited to sleep, and the hours dragged slowly on. There was an old eight-day clock in the hall, and it struck solemnly hour after hour. Six o’clock – seven o’clock. Sylvia rose soon after seven. He waited now impatiently. The days were beginning to lengthen, and it was light – not full daylight, but nearly so. He heard a stir in the room.

“Ha, ha, Miss Sylvia!” he said to himself, “I shall catch you, take you by the hand, bring you down to my parlor, tell you exactly what I think of – Hullo! she is making a good deal of noise. How strong she is! How she bounded out of bed!”

He listened impatiently. His heart warmed now to the work which lay before him. He was, on the whole, enjoying himself at the thought of discovering to Sylvia how black he thought her iniquities.

“No child of my own any more!” he said to himself. “‘Poor father,’ indeed! ‘Darling father, forsooth!’ No, no, Sylvia; acts speak louder than words, and you were convicted out of your own mouth, my daughter.”

Jasper dressed with despatch. She washed; she arranged her toilet. She came to the door; she opened it. Mr. Leeson looked up.

Jasper fell back.

“Merciful heavens!” cried the woman; and then Mr. Leeson grasped her hand and dragged her out of the room.

“Who are you, woman?” he said. “How dare you come into my house? What are you doing in my daughter’s room?”

“Ah, Mr. Leeson,” said Jasper quietly, “discovered at last. Well, sir, and I am not sorry.”

“But who are you? What are you? What are you doing in my daughter’s room?”

“Will you come down to the parlor with me, Mr. Leeson, or shall I explain here?”

“You do not stir a step from this place until you tell me.”

“Then I will, sir – I will. I have been living in this house for the last six weeks. During that time I have paid Miss Sylvia, and she has had money enough to keep the breath of life within her. Be thankful that I came, Mr. Leeson, for you owe me much, and I owe you nothing. Ah! do you recognize me now? The gipsy – forsooth! – the gipsy who gave you a recipe for making the old hen tender! Ha, ha! I laugh as I thought never to laugh again when I recall that day.”

Mr. Leeson stood cold and white, looking full at Jasper. Suddenly a great dizziness took possession of him; he stretched out his hand wildly.

“There is something wrong with me,” he said. “I don’t think I am well.”

“Poor old gentleman!” said Jasper – “no wonder!” and her voice became mild. “The shock of it all, and the confusion! Sakes alive! I am not going to take you into that icy bedroom of yours. Lean on me. There now, sir. You have not lost a penny by me; you have saved, on the contrary, and I have kept your daughter alive, and I have given you the best food, made out of the tenderest chickens, out of my own money, mark you – out of my own money – for weeks and weeks. Come down-stairs, sir; come and I will get you a bit of breakfast.”

“I – cannot – see,” muttered Mr. Leeson again.

“Well then, sir, I suppose you can feel. Anyhow, here is a good, strong right arm. Lean on it – all your weight if you like. Now then, we will get down-stairs.”

Mr. Leeson was past resistance. Jasper pulled his shaky old hand through her arm, and half-carried, half-dragged him down to the parlor. There she put him in a big armchair near the fire, and was bustling out of the room to get breakfast when he called her back.

“So you really are the woman who had the recipe for making old hens tender?”

“Bless you, Mr. Leeson! – bless you! – yes, I am the woman.”

“You will let me buy it from you?”

“Certainly – yes,” replied Jasper, not quite knowing whether to laugh or to cry. “But I am going to get you some breakfast now.”

“And who is the other girl?”

“Does he know about her too?” thought Jasper. “What can have happened in the night?”

“If you mean my dear little Miss Eve, why, no one has a better right to be here, for she belongs to me and I pay for her – yes, every penny; and, for the matter of that, she only came last night. But do not fash yourself now, my good sir; you are past thought, I take it, and you want a hearty meal.”

Jasper bustled away; Mr. Leeson lay back in his chair. Was the world turning upside down? What had happened? Oh, if only he could feel well! If only that giddiness would leave him! What was the matter? He had been so well and so fierce and so strong a few hours ago, and now – now even his anger was slipping away from him. He had felt quite comforted when he leaned on Jasper’s strong arm; and when she pushed him into the armchair and wrapped an old blanket round him, he had enjoyed it rather than otherwise. Oh! he ought to be nearly mad with rage; and yet somehow – somehow he was not.

CHAPTER XXX. – THE LOADED GUN

Now, it so happened that the fuss and confusion incident on Evelyn’s departure had penetrated to every individual in the Castle with the exception of the Squire; but the Squire had been absent all day on business. He had been attending a very important meeting in a neighboring town, and, as his custom was, told his wife that he should probably not return until the early morning. When this was the case the door opening into his private apartments was left on the latch. He could himself open it with his latch-key and let himself in, go to bed in a small room prepared for the purpose, and not disturb the rest of the family. Lady Frances had many times during the previous evening lamented her husband’s absence, but when twelve o’clock came and the police who had been sent to search for Evelyn could nowhere find the little girl, and when the different servants had searched the house in vain, and all that one woman could think of had been done, Lady Frances, feeling uncomfortable, but also convinced in her own mind that Evelyn and Jasper were quite safe and snug somewhere, resolved to go to bed.