‘Hail, Sir Herbert Farrington! all hail!’ cried the old lady, using the language, but having little of the appearance of a witch in Macbeth.
‘My dearest grandmother,’ Herbert said, ‘I am so glad to see you again, and looking so well. Why, you are like a queen!’
‘I am a queen dowager receiving the young king,’ she replied, as she made him sit by her side. ‘Let me look at you well, my sweet boy; you are my own son’s son. I knew it; I felt it all along, and now there is no longer any doubt, and you will soon come into your own.’
[186]
‘Please, dear grandmother, be more explicit5. Is there anything new? You threw out vague hints in your last letter; but I am still quite in the dark.’
‘Light will soon be let in on you, my sweet boy. At last, after all this dreary6 waiting and long suspense7, information has reached Mr. Bellhouse—from the other side of the grave, I believe—’
Herbert looked keenly at the dowager. Was her mind again becoming unhinged?
‘I cannot account for it otherwise. The letter was from my Herbert, my long-lost Herbert. Of that I have no doubt; and is he not dead, dead these many many years? Mr. Bellhouse laughed at it, sneered8 at it and the information it gave. Yet he was wrong; his prejudices misled him. He could not deny that there was something in it all when we found that it put us on[187] the right track. Now we have the only evidence that was wanting to complete the case.’
‘Not evidence of the marriage, surely? Can it be possible that you have discovered that?’
‘Authentic evidence of the marriage.’
And she told him the whole story as it has been given in a previous chapter.
‘Now you understand, Herbert, why I give you your title. It is yours, clearly, by right. You must assume it at once.’
‘Not quite yet, I think,’ Herbert replied gently, fearing his refusal might vex9 her; ‘I would still rather wait. It would look so foolish to have to go back again. Suppose we do not gain our cause.’
‘But we must and shall win it; of that I have not the shadow of a doubt.’
‘I trust in Heaven we shall,’ Herbert[188] said, in a voice so earnest and yet so sad that his good old friend, with a woman’s unerring intuition, guessed that he was suffering and sore at heart.
‘Something has happened to grieve you, Herbert, dear? You have been ill-used; you are unhappy? Tell me, at once, every word.’
Herbert was willing enough. Young men crossed in love generally ask for nothing better than an appreciative10 and consolatory11 listener.
‘You love her, truly, deeply, with all your heart and soul?’ said the dowager, when she had heard all about Edith Prioleau from beginning to end.
‘Indeed I do, and have done so ever since I saw her first.’
‘And you think she returns it?’
‘I cannot be quite positive, of course.[189] But I should be hopeful were I certain I did not lose ground. But when one is miles away, and there are so many others close by her, encouraged and approved of by her parents, and with ever so many opportunities, I begin to be half-afraid. She may give way; she may change her mind. There is an old Spanish proverb, “The dead and those gone away have no friends.” She will soon forget me, perhaps; she may have done so already.’
‘Stuff and nonsense!’ cried the old lady, with great spirit. ‘“Faint heart”—you know the rest—is a better proverb than that. Win her! Of course, you shall win her, as you will the law-suit, the title, estates, and everything else.’
‘What does Mr. Bellhouse say? Is he sanguine12?’
‘You know what lawyers are;’ and[190] from this Herbert gathered that doubts and difficulties still stood in the way, notwithstanding Lady Farrington’s confident hopefulness.
‘Mr. Bellhouse is very tiresome13 at times. He is a very self-opinionated man, almost too slow and cautious for me. It was only at my most earnest entreaty14 that he would take any action at all.’
‘You have commenced the suit then?’
‘Yes; and given Sir Rupert notice to quit,’ said the Dowager, rubbing her hands in high glee.
‘Has he replied?’
‘He came here in person, but I would not see him. Then he went to Mr. Bellhouse, who declined to discuss the matter with him. The last thing was a letter from him, imputing15 the basest motives16 to all of us, threatening a counter-action for conspiracy[191] or something—and that’s where it stands now. But with God’s help we shall beat him, dear; we shall beat him, and he will wish that he had given in.’
Next day Herbert paid an early visit to Mr. Bellhouse in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and found the old lawyer, although in manner cordial and kind, somewhat disheartening in tone.
‘Do not expect too much, Mr.—shall I still say Larkins? Yes? I agree with you, it is so much better not to be premature17. Do not be over-confident, Mr. Larkins, I beg of you; the disappointment would be so bitter if we failed after all.’
‘Failure is quite on the cards, I presume?’ Herbert asked, coolly enough.
‘Unhappily, yes. There are flaws, not many, but one or two serious ones, in the chain of evidence. I have no moral doubt[192] myself that the marriage we have discovered is truly that of your father and mother. But moral proofs are not enough in a court of justice. Our difficulty will be to establish identity between this Corporal William Smith and the missing Herbert Farrington.’
‘Mrs. Larkins will swear to him.’
‘She never knew him as Farrington. All she can do is to describe the person she knew as Smith, who ran off with her sister, and we must compare her description with that of Lady Farrington.’
‘But there was the letter addressed and sent to Lady Farrington after my mother’s death; surely that will go some way?’
‘It is a strong presumption18, I don’t deny; but not necessarily sufficient, at least to a British jury, when titles and large possessions[193] are at stake. That was why I counselled compromise.’
‘Was it rejected?’
‘Indignantly. Threats, moreover, were used, as perhaps you have heard.’
‘Mrs. Cavendish-Diggle was at the bottom of that, I suppose? She, as heir apparent, would be a principal loser, supposing things remained as they are.’
‘Are you not aware of the change in her prospects19? There is a lawful20 male heir, independent of you, I hear. Ernest Farrington left a son.’
‘A son? By Mimie? He married her, then? Thank heaven for that! If, indeed, it be true.’
‘There can be no question about it. Mrs. Ernest Farrington is accepted by the family, and the child Ernest is mentioned[194] by Sir Rupert as a party to the forthcoming suit.’
‘I wonder whether the old people, the Larkins’, are aware of this? It will gladden their hearts. I almost wish that we were going no further with the case. They have been such staunch friends to me always, that I should be loth to oust22 their grandson.’
‘That is pure sentimentalism,’ said the matter-of-fact lawyer. ‘There must be a limit to that sort of thing, or the world would come to an end.’
‘Well, perhaps so. When will the cause come on for trial?’
‘That will depend. We have gone through the preliminaries, but have asked for time. I am most anxious to find out more about the letter which gave us the great news. Lady Farrington insists that the writer was your father.’
[195]
‘My father? Still alive?’
‘It seems incredible. But I am making all possible inquiries23. The letter, such as it was, was scrawled24 upon the back of an old invoice25 for goods. The invoice was for powder and two shot guns, and the goods were supplied by Messrs. Jan Steen, of Pietermaritzburg, in Natal26.’
‘Have you followed up that clue?’
‘To the best of my ability. I sent a special messenger to the Cape27 of Good Hope. His instructions were to trace the invoice from Messrs. Jan Steen, if possible, to the person who eventually received the goods. It may take some little time to ferret out, but I can trust Jimlett implicitly28 in all such affairs. Of course, if we could only produce Herbert Farrington, alias29 Corporal Smith, in propria persona, the case would be won.’
[196]
‘Have you any news yet from Mr. Jimlett?’
‘Only short business communications reporting progress. In his last I was informed that he had arrived at Pietermaritzburg, and had easily come upon Messrs. Jan Steen. That was where the real difficulty began, of course.’
‘Did they help him in any way?’
‘They were not very cordial,’ he says; ‘they deal largely with the gun-runners, or persons employed in the contraband30 trade across the frontier of Natal. Their business is a large one—a lucrative31 one, and possibly dangerous. Hence Jimlett had to overcome considerable reticence32 on their part. They acknowledged their invoice—that, indeed, it was impossible to repudiate—but they decline to say to whom the arms were supplied; indeed, they declare[197] they cannot, as all such goods pass through many hands.’
‘And there the matter stands?’
‘For the present, yes. We must wait patiently. I confess I have confidence still in Jimlett, and feel sure he will unravel33 the mystery if any man can. Perhaps we shall hear more next mail.’
Nothing came, however—neither next mail nor the one after. Meanwhile the suit dragged itself slowly along, and went through the usual phases and formalities. At first it attracted but little notice from, and excited but little interest in, the public. The announcement in the daily papers that a suit was pending34 which promised to be as involved and interminable as the half-forgotten Tichborne trial was classed with the ‘big gooseberry’ paragraphs of the ‘silly season’ and treated with contempt. No[198] one read the short accounts which appeared in the law notices; and it was not until the spring term, when the case was duly opened, that general attention was aroused.
There was an element of romance in it. The young claimant—not in this case an overgrown ex-butcher, but a gallant35 soldier bearing the Queen’s commission and that envied decoration the Victoria Cross—was entitled to a certain respect, and soon won the suffrages36 of the crowd. Nor was society against him. Sir Rupert was not beloved in his own walk of life. The great world is generally indifferent, and often unjust, but it is seldom very wrong in its estimate of those who belong to it. Wicked people may prosper37 well enough, and long be fairly spoken of, but never if they are unpleasant and disagreeable to boot. Sir Rupert had all these bad traits, and was, in[199] consequence, universally unpopular. His character stood out all the blacker as the case proceeded, and his treatment of the Dowager Lady Farrington was set forth21 in its true light; nor was he absolved38 from harshness in his attitude towards Herbert Larkins as a lad.
The law, nevertheless, was, as it seemed, altogether on the side of the strong. The claimant’s case was good so far as it went, but, as was feared, there were several serious flaws in it. Lady Farrington’s peculiarities39 were brought out into somewhat unfavourable prominence40 in the witness-box, and elicited41 considerable merriment. The cross-examining counsel made the most of her craze, and turned her inside out, so to speak, on the subject of claimants in general and Herbert in particular. Mrs. Larkins was so very stout42 and positive that[200] her statements could not be shaken; but after all, although hers was the evidence most relevant, it was entirely43 uncorroborated and unsupported. Not even Herbert, with his undoubtedly44 honest bearing, could turn the scale; and the case day after day was going more and more in favour of Sir Rupert, when all at once came a report from Mr. Jimlett, which inspired the plaintiffs with fresh—almost exaggerated—hopes.
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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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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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vex
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| vt.使烦恼，使苦恼 | |
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appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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consolatory
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| adj.慰问的，可藉慰的 | |
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sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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imputing
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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oust
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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invoice
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| vt.开发票；n.发票，装货清单 | |
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natal
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| adj.出生的，先天的 | |
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cape
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implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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alias
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contraband
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| n.违禁品，走私品 | |
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lucrative
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| adj.赚钱的，可获利的 | |
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reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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unravel
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| v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开 | |
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pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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suffrages
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| （政治性选举的）选举权，投票权( suffrage的名词复数 ) | |
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prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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absolved
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| 宣告…无罪，赦免…的罪行，宽恕…的罪行( absolve的过去式和过去分词 )； 不受责难，免除责任 [义务] ,开脱（罪责） | |
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peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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