Read Ebook: The Hampstead mystery: a novel. Volume 3 (of 3) by Marryat Florence

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Ebook has 599 lines and 47595 words, and 12 pages

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Hannah Hindes did not know what answer to make to this direct appeal. She was an honest woman, to whom a lie was an abhorrence, but she was also a woman who held her husband's reputation, perhaps his life, in her hands. She hesitated so visibly, that Captain Hindes began to think his brother's disorder must be such as she found it impossible to speak to him upon.

'Yes!' replied Hannah, with a sigh. 'Those have always been my sentiments, Arthur, and are so still. But Henry has grown so irritable of late, that the noise of the children playing about The Hall disturbed him, so I thought it best to let them go. They are with an old friend of mine, where I can see them almost every day. I daresay,' she continued, timidly, 'that you thought it very strange that we could not receive you at The Old Hall, as we did before. It cost me more than I can tell you to write and put off your coming here. But it was for the same reason. My husband cannot bear the least noise or confusion. I am afraid he has over-taxed his brain, and, when he returns home, he requires absolute rest.'

'Don't say anything more about it, Hannah,' replied her sister-in-law. 'Of course, Artie and I knew there was some unavoidable reason for the refusal. And, much as we should have liked to renew our former pleasant relations with you, everything must give way to Henry's health.'

'What are your plans?' inquired Hannah.

'We have hardly fixed them yet,' said Captain Hindes. 'We thought of staying in town for a while, just to see a few theatres and other amusements, while we look out for a country cottage to spend the summer in. But if my brother is seriously ill, I shall not dream of going far away from him.'

'Oh, Arthur! he is not so ill as that!' exclaimed Hannah; 'it is his mind that is suffering, rather than his body. He works so hard at the business, and now, of course, everything falls on his shoulders. He seldom gets to the City before noon, and, when he comes home, he is so exhausted, he cares for nothing but to go to bed.'

'But neuralgia is generally due to physical weakness, Hannah. The doctors always give Edie a tonic for it the first thing. Is Hal taking nothing to strengthen him?'

'He must be mightily changed,' said Captain Hindes, sighing; 'however, I will take your advice, and keep silence on the matter. I shall call at his office the first thing to-morrow. When do you think I shall find him there?'

'Not before twelve, Arthur; if then. Will not you and Edith have some refreshment before you go back?'

'No,' said Hannah, with a wintry smile; he is not quite old enough for that yet. He will not be three till his next birthday. He is quite well, thank you, Arthur; but I have to keep him at the top of the house, for fear he should disturb his father.'

'Why, Henry was always so devoted to Master Wally. Edie and I have often laughed together over his letters about his little son, and said, surely no man had ever had a boy before. At one time he could write of nothing else.'

'Oh! yes, and he loves the child as much as ever, perhaps more, but he cannot stand his noise. It jars upon his nerves. Sometimes I long for the time when Wally shall be able to go too. It is a dull life for a young child to be confined to the company of his nurse.'

'You grieve me more and more with each word you say, Hannah,' replied her brother-in-law; 'however, I shall see Henry for myself to-morrow. Come! Edie, we must make tracks for our hotel.'

'Won't you wait for the carriage to take you back,' asked Hannah anxiously, for she was distressed at not being able to show them more hospitality.

'No, thanks, dear. We shall get home quicker by the Metropolitan. We shall see you again soon. Good-night!' and, with his wife's arm snugly tucked under his own, Captain Hindes walked off again.

As soon as she was sure that they were gone, Hannah sat down and indulged in the luxury of 'a good cry.' It was seldom that she permitted her feelings to get the better of her, but this interview had upset her.

She visited her husband's bed-chamber at once, to find him sunk into a slumber, from which she could only rouse him to a semi-torpid condition. So she wisely let him sleep until the morning, when he was able to listen to her story, and conceive a hazy idea that his brother and his wife had paid The Old Hall a visit whilst he was asleep.

When Captain Arthur Hindes walked into the office the following day, he found his brother had not yet arrived. Naturally he was well-known there, by Mr Bloxam and all the older employ?s of the firm, and he received a hearty welcome, for he was a general favourite. Arthur was taller and fairer than Henry--had a handsomer face and a neater figure--was possessed, moreover, of a bright, happy temperament, and had always a kind word or a jest on hand.

'Not arrived yet?' he exclaimed in answer to Bloxam's intimation of the 'governor's' absence, 'and nearly half-past twelve! What makes him so late, Bloxam? He used to be called "the early bird" at one time.'

'Ah! Master Arthur, things are changed since then,' replied the old cashier. 'Mr Henry's not been nearly so active of late. I often think he's not well. He seems so mopey and dull. Perhaps it will be different now you've come home, Mr Arthur. You'll cheer him up a bit. He has felt Mr Crampton's death terribly, and Miss Jenny's too, for the matter of that, they came so quickly, one after the other, and he ought to have taken a change long ago. I'm very glad you've come back, sir. You'll do him more good than anyone else could do.'

'I am glad also, Bloxam, for Mrs Hindes's account of him quite alarmed me. But do you think he is really ill?'

Saying thus, the cashier retreated by a side door into his particular sanctum, as the glass doors from the front swung slowly on their hinges, as though propelled by an enfeebled hand, to admit Henry Hindes. He entered, looking much as he had always done of late, slouching along with a bent figure and a shaking frame. He had made some attempt, at the instigation of his wife, to brighten up his general appearance by assuming a frock coat and a tall hat, but they only served to make the difference in him more apparent. Captain Hindes could not for a moment believe the evidence of his senses, but when he was convinced that it was his brother who stood before him, he started forward to greet him with a slight cry.

'Good God! Hal, my dear old fellow!' he exclaimed, 'is this you?'

'Who else?' demanded Henry, with an attempt at jocularity, as he held out his hand and grasped that of Arthur.

'Why, dear old chap, you're not looking yourself at all. You took me quite by surprise, though Hannah did prepare Edie and me last night to see a change in you.'

'Hannah, Hannah!' cried his brother quickly; 'what had she to say of me? What did she tell you? How dared she--I mean, why did she mention me at all?'

'My dear Henry, it would have been very extraordinary, surely, if she had not mentioned you, considering that we went over to Hampstead to see you, and were much disappointed to find you had already retired to bed. You want shaking up, old fellow, that's what it is. You've been worrying yourself over this big business too much. Your late partner's death has thrown too much responsibility upon your shoulders. How I wish I were not such a fool, and could help you a little. But now that I have returned, you must come out more, Henry. It is quite time you came back to the world. It is--let me see!--quite nine months or more, surely, since that poor girl met with her death--'

'Stop! stop!' cried Henry suddenly. 'What poor girl? What are you talking about?'

Arthur looked bewildered.

'Why! Miss Crampton, or rather Mrs Walcheren, of course. It was her death, wasn't it, that led to the other. You must have felt it terribly. Such a sudden shock, and when you regarded her as almost one of the family.'

'Oh! no, I didn't,' replied Hindes, in an incoherent manner. 'Why should I have felt it? She was nothing to me. I didn't care about her. Why, to hear you talk in that extravagant way,' he continued, turning his suspicious eyes upon his brother, 'one would think--one would almost imagine that I had had something to do with it all.'

'Something to do with it,' repeated Arthur, in a distressed tone of voice. 'Oh, Henry! how can you say such a thing! But you felt it deeply, I am sure. Anyone could see that from your altered appearance. But, my dear brother, there is such a thing, you know, as giving way too much to our feelings. You have lost two of your dearest friends, but you have your wife and children left. You must think of them, Henry, and also a little of me, of whom you are the last surviving relative. For all our sakes, dear old chap, try and rouse yourself from this morbid condition. A little amusement and gaiety will do you good. Hannah should have urged you to go out again before this. But, now that I have come home, I mean to persuade you to it, for my own sake as well as yours. Will you?'

'I'd rather go to the theatre to-night, Henry. I shouldn't like to leave my little woman at home by herself, the first evening she spends in England. We will do the music-halls afterwards. What do you say to this? Come straight to Haxells' from the office, and dine with us. I will wire for Hannah to join us, and we'll make a party to the Lyceum in the evening. I can go now and secure a box. Will you do it, Henry? Do say yes!'

'Of course I'll do it, Arthur. What has my wife been telling you--that I'm not able to go to theatres and places of that sort? It's lies, I tell you--all lies. I'm as fit as they're made. All right, Bloxam. I'll attend to you in a minute.'

'I'd better go now, Henry, and leave you to your work,' said Captain Hindes, with a perplexed face, 'you'll get on better without me. Don't forget. Haxells' at five, and we'll dine there, and spend the evening at the theatre. And I'll telegraph to your wife at once that she may make no engagement for to-night. Good-bye for the present, dear old fellow. I'm awfully glad to have met you again Hal. Good-bye till this evening.'

But though he had said he was awfully glad, Captain Hindes looked awfully sad as he took his way back to the hotel to tell his wife of his interview with his brother. He fulfilled his engagements, secured a box at the theatre, sent Hannah an invitation by wire, and ordered a good dinner to be ready for the party at six.

But Hannah came, and the dinner came, yet there was no appearance of Henry Hindes. After some delay, Arthur volunteered to go back to the City and see if he had yet left the office. On reaching it, he was told that the 'governor' had been gone some time, and the clerk, who carried his papers to the hansom, had heard him distinctly give the order to drive to Hampstead, so the only thing his brother could do, was to jump into another hansom and follow him there. He expected to find Henry had mistaken the time of meeting, or had returned home to dress for the theatre, which, he had told him, was unnecessary. The man who opened the door of The Old Hall looked so surprised to see him, that Arthur's first inquiry was,--

'Has not your master returned?'

'Yes, sir, he has been home the best part of an hour.'

'Where is he?'

'In the library, I think, sir.'

Captain Hindes did not wait to be announced, but hastened to the library by himself. He found his brother seated in an arm-chair doing nothing, with his hands folded on his lap.

'Hullo!' cried Arthur.

Henry started as if he had been shot, and exclaimed,--

'Good God!' Then, turning towards the intruder, said angrily. 'How dare you startle me in that way? I have told you again and again--'

'Hal! Hal! it is I--Arthur,' replied the captain, quickly.

Henry Hindes turned a lack-lustre eye upon him, and said in a tone of surprise,--

'Arthur? but where have you come from? Why didn't you let me know you were coming home? We should have sent the carriage or something to meet you.

'Henry, old boy, what are you talking of?' said Captain Hindes. 'Why, I saw you at the office this morning, and you promised to dine with us this evening, and go to the theatre afterwards. Your wife is already in town, and I have come to see why you have not joined us. Had you forgotten your engagement? Why did you not come straight to Haxells', as you promised?'

'Did I promise?' asked his brother in a stupid way. 'I suppose I have forgotten it! I have so much business to think of. But I had better tell Hannah I am going with you, or she will wait dinner for me.'

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