As one slow day followed another without bringing the longed-for tidings her heart grew sick within her. Perhaps the boy had been spirited out of the country, and she should never set eyes on him again; perhaps something worse even than that had befallen him. Mr. Piljoy came over on business connected with the estate, but brought no comfort with him. Till some tidings of the missing heir should come to hand no steps whatever could be taken with reference to the settlement of the property. After his receipt of Nell's letter containing the news of the abduction he had communicated direct with the authorities in London, but, beyond a reply to the effect that the case was already in hand and having their best attention, he had heard nothing. He had more than one question to put to Miss Baynard having reference to Mr. Geoffrey Dare, to which she contented1 herself with replying that Dare had been her cousin's bosom2 friend, and was the missing boy's godfather, and had promised poor Dick to look after him as if he were his own son. What would have been Mr. Piljoy's horror and amazement3 had he been told that Mr. Geoffrey Dare and the notorious Captain Nightshade were one and the same person! Nell could not help laughing a little to herself as her imagination conjured4 up the picture.
But our heroine's state of soul-wearing suspense5 was not destined6 to last much longer.
On the evening of the second day after Mr. Piljoy's return home a letter was brought her which caused her to start with amazement the moment her eyes fell on it. The address was in the same writing as that of the packet in which her lost mask had been returned to her. For a space of some seconds she stood staring at it like one fascinated; then with fingers that shook a little she broke the seal and tore open the letter. Here is what she read: "Mr. Cope-Ellerslie presents his compliments to Miss Baynard, and has much happiness in informing her that news has reached him not only of the safety but of the whereabouts of her young relative, Master Evan Cortelyon.
"Should Miss Baynard think it worth her while to come as far as Rockmount, Mr. Ellerslie will be pleased to tell her all that has come to his knowledge in connection with the affair, in which case the bearer of this letter is instructed to act as her guide and escort on the journey."
She could hardly make out the last few lines for the happy tears which already dimmed her eyes, and so had to read them again.
Go to Rockmount! Of course she would. Had it been to the end of Europe she would have gone, and ten minutes later she was ready to start. Day was already drawing to dusk, and timorous-hearted Mrs. Budd would fain have persuaded her to put off her journey till morning. But timid counsels had never prevailed with Nell, and it was not in the least likely that they would in a case like the present.
She had at once sent word to have her mare7 saddled and brought round, and it was waiting for her, in charge of John Dyce, by the time she was ready. Nell was hardly surprised at finding that the man who had brought the letter, and who was waiting for an answer to it, was the one who on the occasion of her first sojourn8 at Rockmount had acted as her guide as far as the Whinbarrow road. Would he recognize in her the young spark whom he had then escorted? It seemed hardly likely that he would, and in any case, it did not matter greatly. It was far more probable that he would recognize her mare Peggy.
"I am going back with you to Rockmount," she said to him.
"All right, mum," he replied, with a tug9 at his forelock. "You couldn't have a finer evenin' for a ride."
Neither man nor horse had lacked for refreshment10 while waiting. And so presently they set out, Miss Baynard leading the way by about a dozen yards. This lasted till they had gone some six or eight miles, and had reached a point where it became necessary to diverge11 from the great highway they had hitherto been traversing and take to one of the tortuous12 cross-country roads which branched off into the desolate13 region of fells and moors14. Then the position of the two was reversed, and it was the man who led the way.
It was quite dark by the time they reached Rockmount, or as nearly so as it ever is on a clear, starlit autumnal night. As Miss Baynard drew rein15 in front of the house, her mind was busy with the incidents of that other night, now many months old, when one whom she had since learnt to love in secret with all the fervency16 of a first great passion had brought her to the door of Rockmount and had there left her. How full of incident for her those months had been! What a changed life, both inwardly and outwardly, had hers become between then and now!
Her guide, having dismounted, gave a resounding17 knock on the great oaken door and then helped Miss Baynard to alight. When that was done he led the horses away towards the back premises18, and the same instant there was the sound of bolts and bars being unloosened one by one. So remote and lonely was the house that it was no wonder the inmates19 looked carefully to their fastenings.
Then the door was opened, disclosing the same sour-visaged old serving-man, carrying a lighted candle, whom Nell had seen on the first occasion.
"Be good enough to tell your master that Miss Baynard is here," she said.
Making an arch of one of his knotted hands, he peered at her for a moment or two from under it. Then he said: "The Master is expecting yo. Will yo be pleased to come in?"
And so for the second time, Nell crossed the threshold of Rockmount. The door having been shut behind her, the old fellow led the way across the hall, and so brought her presently to the same sparsely20 furnished room with which she was already so well acquainted. Then she was left alone.
As Nell looked round the room she could have fancied that only a few hours had gone by since she was last there. The candles were alight, a cheerful fire was burning in the grate; the heavy curtains of faded red moreen were closely drawn21; nothing was changed. From moment to moment she looked to see Mr. Cope-Ellerslie enter.
Would he, when they met, treat her as a stranger, or as one whom he knew already? It was a question she had asked herself more than once while on her way to Rockmount. That he knew the pseudo Mr. Frank Nevill to be none other than Miss Baynard, of Stanbrook, he had himself furnished her with proof positive in the return of her mask; but did he know at the time he gave her a night's lodging22 who she was, or did he not discover it till afterwards? And, in either case, by what mysterious means had he made the discovery? She had not forgotten, nor was it likely she should forget, that in the chamber23 assigned her at Rockmount she had found a certain feminine garment, but whether placed there by accident or design she had no means whatever of knowing. If by design, then must Mr. Ellerslie from the first have penetrated24 the secret of her sex. It was a thought which, even after all this time, caused the blood to tingle25 in her veins26.
But these questions, personal to herself, perplexing though they were, did not cause her for more than a minute or two at a time to lose sight of the main object which had brought her to Rockmount, while wholly at a loss to imagine how it had come to pass that the first news of the lost child should have reached her through Mr. Ellerslie, and neither through Bow Street nor Geoffrey Dare. Not that it mattered greatly, so long as news of him had come to hand. She was all impatience27 to hear what Mr. Ellerslie had to tell her.
She could not help starting when the door opened, thinking to see him; but it was Mrs. Dobson, the housekeeper28, who now came in. Nell had by no means forgotten Mrs. Dobson, and she scrutinized29 her a little anxiously. Would the housekeeper recognize her? Would there be anything in her manner to betray a knowledge of their having ever met before?
Mrs. Dobson, having shut the door, came forward a little way, crossed her hands in front of her, and made Miss Baynard a respectful curtsey. Then their eyes met, and Nell read nothing in those of the other which she might not have read in the eyes of any stranger. Undisguised admiration30 they betrayed of a surety, but to that our young lady was so used that she thought nothing of it.
"Madam," began the housekeeper, with the tone and manner of a well-bred dependent, "my master desires me to say that in another room there is a very charming little picture, a view of which he feels sure would please you vastly. If you will be good enough to accompany me I will conduct you to it."
Miss Baynard stared at the housekeeper with wide-set eyes. "A picture!" she said. "Surely Mr. Ellerslie has not asked me to Rockmount merely to show me a picture!"
"That is more than I can say, miss. My business is simply to repeat my master's message. But I feel quite sure that if you knew what the picture is, you would never forgive yourself for having refused to see it. Do come, miss," she added next moment, seeing that Miss Baynard still hesitated.
"Very well, I will go with you," said Nell.
Mrs. Dobson led the way through the gloomy old house to a bedroom on the first floor, but not the one occupied by Miss Baynard on the occasion of her first visit to Rockmount, although differing very little from it in its furniture and appointments, except in one particular. In the middle of the floor stood a couch, to which Nell's eyes travelled instinctively31 the moment she entered the room. It had been made up temporarily with pillows and coverlets, so as to form a child's bed. A solitary32 wax candle was alight on the chimney-piece.
A low, inarticulate cry broke from Nell. Brushing past the housekeeper, she went swiftly forward and bent33 over the couch. The truth had flashed across her as she set foot over the threshold, and now her eyes verified it. There, in rosy34 slumber35, his cheek pillowed on one hand, the other arm flung with graceful36 abandon outside the coverlet, lay the missing child. This was the picture Mr. Ellerslie had invited her to come and see!
Tears rushed to her eyes and overbrimmed them; a sob37 broke in her throat. Not for a full minute, for fear of waking him, did she venture to stoop and touch the peach-bloom of his cheek with her lips. Her heart was full, and not till a few more moments had gone by would she trust herself to speak. The housekeeper was at her elbow.
"Who brought him, and how long has he been here?" she asked.
"I found him keeping master company in the library when I came downstairs this morning. Some one had brought him in the course of the night. He has been playing about on the moors a good part of the day--not, of course, without some one to look after him--and came to bed thoroughly38 tired out. What a dear little gentleman he is! Not a bit like many children I've known, but trying to make friends with everybody. I suppose, miss, that you won't have any objection to sharing this room with him to-night?"
Miss Baynard was startled. "But I have not seen Mr. Ellerslie yet," she objected. "When his message reached me, my only aim was to lose no time in getting here, and certainly I had no thought or intention of staying the night at Rockmount."
"But consider the lateness of the hour, miss; and you would hardly care, I should think, to have the child wakened in order to take him a long journey in the middle of the night."
"No, I certainly should not care for that. But when I left home I did not know that Evan had been found, and that I was going to see him; only that Mr. Ellerslie had a message of some kind for me which concerned him."
"Well, miss, master certainly expects you to stay till morning, and asked me hours ago to arrange accordingly. But most likely he will speak to you himself about it. And now, if you are ready, we will go downstairs."
But Nell could not go without another kiss. "He is not left alone while he sleeps," remarked Mrs. Dobson as they left the room; "my niece watches by him."
Downstairs Miss Baynard found the table laid for one person, and three minutes later a dainty little supper was brought in.
"When shall I see Mr. Ellerslie?" she asked, as the housekeeper was on the point of leaving the room.
"He will do himself the honor of waiting upon you in the course of half an hour."
It was very rarely that Nell's appetite failed her, and her long ride through the night air had, if anything, tended to sharpen it on the present occasion. She was a healthy English girl, who came of a healthy stock. She hardly knew that she had such things as nerves. She was neither hysterical39, nor an?mic, nor introspective. No fin-de-siècle questions troubled her, because the century was yet in its infancy40. She was a warm-hearted, warm-blooded creature, somewhat too impulsive41 perhaps, and too easily led away by her own generous instincts, and although an existence such as hers would nowadays be regarded as intolerably narrow and antiquated42, yet was her life an exemplar of several of those minor43 if homely44 virtues45 with which so many of our up-to-date young women profess46 to be, and probably are, wholly unacquainted, and to regard with silent contempt. At any rate, Miss Baynard did full justice to her supper.
Scarcely had the table been cleared when Mr. Ellerslie entered the room. To Nell it seemed as if she might have parted from him no longer ago than the day before, so wholly unchanged was he from the picture of him which still lived so freshly in her memory. There was the long, grizzled hair parted down the middle, the short Vandyck beard and moustache, the black velvet47 skull48 cap, and the dark monkish49 robe which wrapped him from head to foot. There, too, was the set, mask-like face with its thousands of fine wrinkles, which from a little distance looked as if it were carved out of old ivory, a face which seemed to emphasize the pair of brilliant black eyes that looked out from under their heavy penthouse brows with an illusive50 something in them which reminded Nell strangely of Geoffrey Dare.
As he entered the room Miss Baynard rose and advanced to meet him with both hands outstretched. "Oh, Mr. Ellerslie!" she said, and in her voice there was a veiled emotion not far removed from tears, "how can I ever thank you enough, how ever be sufficiently51 grateful to you, for the glad surprise you have given me this evening? Surely you must be a necromancer52, or the good wizard of a fairy tale, for to me it seems nothing less than a fairy tale to have one I hold so dear restored to me in this fashion."
Mr. Ellerslie took her hands in his, bent over them, and raised them for a second to his lips. "Nay53, nay, my dear young lady," he replied, "if any thanks be due in the matter--though why there should be I fail to see--then must they fall not to my share, but to that of my nephew, Geoffrey Dare."
An involuntary "Oh!" broke from Miss Baynard. His nephew! It was a revelation which seemed to throw light on several things.
"It was Geoff who brought the child here at a late hour last night, asleep and perched on his horse in front of him. As to whom, where, and how he picked the youngster up, I must refer you to him in person."
"But when shall I see Mr. Dare? Is he not here?"
"At present he is not. Some business called him away in the course of the day. But I have his promise that he will be back not later than ten o'clock to-morrow morning."
"And I shall see him then?"
"Certainly you will, my dear Miss Baynard. He will be here immediately after breakfast."
By this time he had led her back to her chair, and had seated himself in another on the opposite side of the hearth54.
Miss Baynard hesitated a moment, then she said: "When I left Stanbrook in consequence of your message, Mr. Ellerslie, it was certainly without any design of staying over night at Rockmount."
"But, my dear young lady, as circumstances have fallen out, I fail to see how you can very well help yourself; that is to say, unless it is your intention to leave your young cousin for a time under my charge, a charge, I need scarcely tell you, which I will very gladly undertake."
"You are very good, Mr. Ellerslie, but when I go back Evan must go with me."
"Then permit me to observe that, putting yourself out of the question, the hour is far too late a one for the child to travel." It was the same argument the housekeeper had made use of.
"Besides, where's your hurry?" resumed Mr. Ellerslie. "The boy is restored to you, and that, as I take it, is the main thing. The rest's but leather and prunella."
"You might have added, Mr. Ellerslie, by way of clinching55 your argument, that it would not be the first time I have slept under the roof of Rockmount."
"Eh?" exclaimed Mr. Ellerslie, with a palpable start.
"A certain Mr. Frank Nevill sought and found shelter here one night early in the present year. It may be that you have not quite forgotten the young man in question?"
"I have not by any means forgotten him."
"Furthermore, you have been for some time aware--for how long I do not know--that the aforesaid Mr. Nevill and Miss Baynard, of Stanbrook, were and are one and the same person. And how I happen to know this I will now make clear to you. For a certain reason--which at the time seemed to him all-powerful, but which after-circumstances turned to foolishness--the soi-disant Frank Nevill chose, for one night, to enact56 the part of an amateur highwayman, and wound up his adventure by accepting the hospitality of Rockmount. On quitting here next morning, by some oversight57 he left his mask behind him. Time passed on, and when three or four months had gone by the missing mask was forwarded through the post to Miss Baynard, but without any word of explanation, or any clue to the sender of it. And there the matter rested till this afternoon, when Miss Baynard received a note from Mr. Ellerslie informing her that he had certain news to communicate. To Miss B. the writing seemed not wholly strange, and on comparing it with the address on the sheet of paper, which she had kept, in which the mask had been enclosed, she could not doubt that they had both emanated58 from one pen. But doubtless much of this is old news to you, Mr. Ellerslie. To Mr. Dare my double identity has for some time been no secret, and he----"
Mr. Ellerslie held up his hand. "Pardon me. Not even to me would my nephew speak of matters which involved a point of honor between himself and another. That which you have just told me has now become a matter of little or no moment, and such being the case, there can be no harm in my confessing that the identity of Miss Baynard with Mr. Frank Nevill was suspected by me almost from the first. Why was the same mare ridden by both, as one of my men, who chanced on Miss Baynard next day when on her way back to Stanbrook, averred59 to be the fact? But it was my housekeeper who was the first to raise a doubt in my mind with regard to the sex of 'Mr. Frank Nevill.' That young blade had not been ten minutes under my roof before she came to me and said, 'You may take my word for it, sir, that yon young gentleman in the oak parlor60 is no more a gentleman than I am, and would be far more at home in petticoats than in what he's wearing now.' Evidently Mrs. Dobson knew what she was talking about. She is a woman of penetration61, and I have a great respect for her."
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1
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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5
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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8
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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diverge
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| v.分叉，分歧，离题，使...岔开，使转向 | |
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tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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13
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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fervency
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| n.热情的；强烈的；热烈 | |
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resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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sparsely
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| adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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scrutinized
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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monkish
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| adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的 | |
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illusive
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| adj.迷惑人的，错觉的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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necromancer
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| n. 巫师 | |
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53
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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54
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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55
clinching
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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enact
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| vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演 | |
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57
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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58
emanated
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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59
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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60
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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61
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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