Chapter 15

THE PUNISHMENT OF CURIOSITY.

For the first time in her careless, happy life Ruth knew the torments of an anxious mind. A chill struck through her very being at the suggestion that her dearly-loved father might be implicated in the sordid tragedy. Yet she did not lose her presence of mind, but wheedled the so-called brooch out of Mildred on the strict understanding that it should be restored next morning.

Her thoughts were painful in the extreme. For an examination of the piece of gold proved beyond doubt that it belonged to the same set of links as did the one she found under the window. Now Ruth recollected that in some Bond-street shop she had seen a similar set of links, the four ovals of which were enamelled respectively with a horse, a champagne bottle, a pack of cards, and a ballet girl. They were playfully denominated the four vices.

"Of course it is utterly impossible that he can have anything to do with it," she thought as she paced her bedroom. "There could have been no motive. Yet again, how did he, of all men, come into possession of that link?"

She remembered now the horror she had felt at the idea of marrying Neil when she had come to know that his mother was--at least to all outward appearances--a murderess. She judged that if her father should be guilty then Geoffrey would feel the same towards her. Again and again she tried to find some explanation, and again and again she failed. Only by her father himself could her doubts be set at rest, and he was absent. True, he would return in three days; but how to live during that time with this hideous doubt in her mind? She could imagine now how people felt when they were going mad. Sending down an excuse for not appearing at dinner, she went to bed. To face the world, even her own small world, was more than she could bear. Her only relief was in solitude.

Of course, as might have been expected, Amy came up to fuss over her and offer advice and blame her for having made herself ill in some way which Mrs. Chisel herself would have avoided.

Then in came Jennie, creeping like a mouse, with soothing speech and cool hands for the burning brow of the sick girl.

"I am not well dear," she said, in reply to Miss Brawn's inquiries. "All I want is a good night's rest. In the morning I shall be myself again." And with this answer Jennie had to be content.

Left to herself, Ruth began her self-communings. It crossed her mind that her father, who had always been a great admirer of beauty, might have been attracted by Mrs. Jenner's good looks. But even as she thought of it she dismissed the idea with a blush of shame. Who was she to think ill of her father? But she would certainly question Mrs. Chisel about her former governess, and would learn what had been Mr. Cass's attitude towards her.

Ruth, anxious to propitiate her, offered on the following morning to help with the work, but was told she could not do it as Mrs. Chisel wished. In spite of which disagreeable speech she waited patiently for an opportunity of introducing the subject of Amy's childhood and Amy's governess, and kept her temper, as best she might, under a deluge of platitudes and self-glorification on the part of her sister.

At length, after having made attacks upon several of her acquaintances, the good lady indirectly introduced the subject upon which Ruth wished to speak by giving her opinion as to the incapacity of Jennie Brawn as governess.

"I do not say she does not do her best," she said, magnanimously, "but, oh, dear me! Jane Brawn"--so she invariably referred to Jennie--"has no more idea of teaching than a Hottentot. I know how the thing should be done, as I have told her a dozen times, but she will not take advice."

"What about your own governess?" put in Ruth, artfully. "Was she any good, Amy?"

"She was excellent--as a governess," returned Mrs. Chisel, with a sniff of disparagement; "but as a woman she left much to be desired."

"But, my dear Amy, how do you know that? You were only a child."

"Children are much sharper than their elders give them credit for. I was ten years of age when Miss Laurence left and quite old enough to see through her designs."

"Miss Laurence? Was that her name, Amy?"

"Yes. She afterwards married a man called Jenner, a clerk in papa's office, and we saw no more of her as I had gone to school. A very good thing, too," went on Mrs. Chisel, with an air of offended virtue. "My mother never liked her. And she did turn out badly, after all, murdering her husband. I can only say it was a mercy it was not papa."

"Why should it have been papa?" asked Ruth, with a beating heart.

Mrs. Chisel tossed her head and observed that men were always men. "Papa is as good as the best of them," she added, "but all the same, he is a son of Adam, like the rest. And when an artful minx---- Ah, well, it does not do to talk of these things."

"I see," said Ruth, taking the bull by the horns. "Miss Laurence was pretty, papa was weak, and mamma----"

"Ruth!" screamed her sister, stopping her ears. "I will not hear these things! How can you speak so of papa? Pretty, indeed! I never thought her pretty. If you like--oh, yes, she would have made a fool of papa if mamma had not dismissed her."

"I thought she left here to get married?"

"You may think what you like," Mrs. Chisel said with dignity. "No one can say that I talk about the weaknesses of my parents. All the same, Mrs. Jenner, as she now is, was a minx, And made eyes at papa. I saw something of that, and I heard more. Though I was a child, I was not a fool, Ruth. Oh, it was as well that she left Hollyoaks, I can tell you. What an escape for poor, dear papa!"

And more than this Mrs. Chisel would not say. But Ruth had gathered that Miss Laurence had been an apple of discord in the house. From all that she had heard, in the strange way in which sharp children do hear things, Ruth had come to think that her mother had been more than a trifle jealous. Doubtless, if Amy's story could be believed, she had hated Mrs. Jenner for her beauty and had got her out of the house. She anxiously awaited the return of Mr. Cass from Bordeaux.

In due time he arrived, looking all the better for his journey, and was welcomed by Mrs. Chisel with enthusiasm. He was more pleased to see his grandchildren than their mother, for, like everyone else, he found her a trifle wearisome. As for Ruth, when she saw once more her father's grave face and kindly eyes, she was ashamed of all that had been in her mind; and she displayed so much affection that Mr. Cass was surprised, for as a rule his younger daughter was not demonstrative.

"You don't look well, Ruth," he said. And indeed her face was worn and thin. "What is the matter?"

"Nothing, papa. What should be the matter?"

"You are worrying about young Webster?" he asked, rather sharply.

"No, indeed," she protested. "I have quite got over my feeling for him. It was a mere girlish fancy."

"Of course it was," put in Mrs. Chisel, with superior wisdom. "And she is taking my advice, papa, about Mr. Heron."

"Is this true, Ruth?"

"Well, it may be," she said, hesitatingly. "I like him much better than I did. Have you heard anything of Mr. Webster, papa?" For she was anxious to hear if her father knew that Neil was at Bognor.

"No, nothing. I believe he is abroad, and I sincerely hope that he will stay there. Marry Heron, my dear Ruth, and forget all about him."

Ruth found it impossible to say more then, but determined to wait until her sister had retired for the night before seeking speech with her father.

Mr. Cass was pleasantly surprised when Ruth came into the library about ten o'clock. As a rule he saw her only for an hour in the drawing-room after dinner. He had quite expected that the two sisters would be chatting in their own rooms by this time.

"Well, my dear," he said, gaily, "have you come to give your old father some of your company? I suppose this is to make up for my absence."

"Yes," she said, as gaily as she could. "You have been away so long, and I do see very little of you, papa. I want to see as much of you as possible."

"Until you leave me for Heron," he said, patting her hand. "Seriously, my dear, I hope you will marry him. He is a good fellow, and will make the best of husbands for my Ruth."

"He wants me to be his wife," Ruth said, gloomily enough. "I have not decided yet; I may or may not marry him. But you can set your mind at rest about Neil Webster, papa. I would not marry him if there was not another man in the world."

Something in her voice struck Mr. Cass unpleasantly and he looked sharply at her. "Why not?" he demanded.

She returned his look boldly. "Because I know now why you did not wish me to be his wife," she said.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Woman's curiosity again," he said, harshly. "What do you know?"

"I know that his real name is Jenner, and that his mother----"

"Stop!" cried her father, his face growing haggard before her eyes. "Who told you this nonsense?"

"It is not nonsense," she cried in despair. "Oh, why will you not trust me? I know that it is true. Mrs. Jent told me."

"Oh! Then that was why you went to Brighton?"

"Yes. I was quite determined to find out why you forbade the marriage."

"I see," he said, ironically. "Well, are you any the happier for this discovery?"

She hid her face with a cry. "Heaven knows I am the most unhappy girl in the world!" she moaned.

"Ah!" said her father, a word of meaning in his voice. "So you do love the man after all?"

"No; but--never mind. Tell me, papa, is it true?"

"Yes. You know so much now that you may as well know more. Mrs. Jenner murdered her husband and has suffered imprisonment all these years."

"She did not murder him!" cried Ruth.

Mr. Cass, who was swinging the poker in his hands, dropped it with a crash. "Ah! and how do you know that she did not?" he asked in a stifled voice.

"Because Geoffrey says----"

"Heron!" He rose to his feet. "What has he to do with all this?"

"He is a friend of Neil's, and----"

"A friend of Neil's?" Mr. Cass said, incredulously. "How can that be? They never even got on well together; they were rivals. I do not believe it."

"Will you believe me when I tell you that Geoffrey is nursing Neil at Bognor in Mrs. Jent's house? He is, then. And Geoffrey wrote telling you that he was abroad--and Neil, too--to keep you away from Bognor."

Mr. Cass stood as though turned to stone, and the haggard look on his face seemed to grow more marked.

"There appears to be a lot of plotting going on behind my back," he said, quietly. "My own daughter is plotting against me. Why did you not tell me all this? No, never mind. You have told me so many lies that I cannot believe you. Do not answer that question. But I must ask you to tell me what this means?"

"I have told no lies," cried Ruth, indignantly. "If you had been more open with me, papa, I would never have set to work to find out this affair. I will tell you all, just as it happened, and you can judge for yourself if I have been wrong."

"Nothing can excuse your silence," he said, bitterly. "You don't know what harm may come of this meddling with what does not concern you. Well, I will hear your story."

He sat down again and looked at the fire, while Ruth related all that had happened, and how Geoffrey and she had made up their minds to discover the truth. Mr. Cass listened without a word. Only when she had finished did he make an observation.

"You have done wrong," he said, sternly. "You should have told me all this at once. I am the best friend that Neil Webster has, and it was my place to look after him, not Heron's."

"But is Mrs. Jenner innocent?" Ruth asked, anxiously.

"I cannot answer that question," he said, evasively, but he clenched his fist. "At all events I will see Heron and Neil, and hear what grounds they have for believing that she did not kill the unhappy man. I can only hope, Ruth, that you will refrain from meddling in the matter any more."

"Oh, I have done with it, papa. I'm sorry if you think I have behaved badly; but I thought I was acting for the best. You can depend upon my doing nothing more. The matter is in Geoffrey's hands now."

"And it will soon be in mine," her father said, coldly. "If Mrs. Jenner is to be released I am the person to see to it."

Ruth noticed that he did not say "If Mrs. Jenner is guiltless," and her heart was like lead. She made up her mind to try the effect of the link, and, rising as if to go, drew it from her pocket.

"I will go to bed now," she said, quietly. "By the way, here is something of yours," and she placed the piece of gold before him. "Yes, it is mine," he said, glancing at it. "I gave it to Mildred for her doll. How did it come into your possession?"

She burst into teats. The strain was getting too much for her. "Oh, papa, say it is not yours," she wept, stretching out her hands.

"Ruth, you are hysterical," Mr. Cass said, with some severity; and the girl noticed even then that he was a trifle nervous. "Why should I deny that it is mine? I had a set of these links made many years ago when I was foolish enough to wear such things. One pair I lost, the other remained in my desk amongst a lot of rubbish, until one day I gave one piece of it to Mildred. I had intended to have the other pair replaced, but time went on, and somehow I never had it done. Why should you cry about these things, and why do you shew me this link?"

"Because I found one oval like this under the window of the Turnpike House."

Mr. Cass rose from his chair and looked at her with a frown. "Go on," he said.

"I have nothing more to say," she cried with a fresh burst of tears. "I know now that the links did belong to you. How did you lose the one at the Turnpike House? The blow--"

"Was struck through the window, you would say," her father finished, with a cold smile, "and that I struck it!"

"No, no!" she cried. "I am sure you did not. Oh, I am sure you did not, father. But ever since I have found these links I have been in terror for you. What if the one I gave Geoffrey should be traced? Oh, I wished I had kept it myself?"

"It is too late to wish anything now," he said, bitterly, but very quietly. "I must say you are a dutiful daughter. I suppose you really mean to accuse me of having murdered Jenner?"

"I do not--I do not. I am sure you never did. You can explain."

"I explain nothing," he interrupted, sternly. "The links are mine. Whether I dropped a portion of one at the Turnpike House or not does not matter to you. I will see Heron and explain to him. All I ask of you is to hold your tongue."

"I will, I will," sobbed the girl. "But, oh, father, don't be hard on me. I'm very sorry that I meddled at all."

Mr. Cass looked at her in silence, and his stern face softened. "I know you do not credit me with this crime," he said, "and I am glad you have so much grace. But even to you I cannot explain. You must trust me."

"I do. Whom should I trust but my own dear father?"

"I wish you had thought of that before, and had not acted in this underhand way. However, it is of no use talking now. The thing is done and I must put it to rights as best I can. I will see Heron and Webster. Put all these things out of your mind, child."

"How can I until I know the truth?" she said, passionately. "I am sure you are innocent, but I am certain, too, that it was not Mrs. Jenner who committed the murder. For Neil's sake, for my own sake, I want the horrible thing explained."

"Whether it will be explained or not does not rest with you or with me, my dear girl. I cannot say to you what I should wish to say. All I can advise you is to hold your tongue. If you do not Heaven knows what will happen!"

"I will say nothing," she said, faintly, and staggered towards the door. Her father had not insisted upon his innocence as she had expected him to do; he had taken refuge in vague phrases which meant nothing. Yet she could not believe--she thrust the thought away from her. "I will go. I will say no more," she repeated.

"Ruth," he cried as she opened the door, "one thing I must tell you. You have either done great good or great harm. But, in either case, you have brought sorrow to this house."