Accompanied by Bang and Jip, I walked out to the station yesterday to meet Murray Monteith, and when I saw him step from the train to the platform I felt what Betty calls a 'ruggin'' at my heart, for very emphatically he appeared as a link binding7 me to a life which I know I must soon re-enter, and which I have lately ignored and well-nigh forgotten.
Monteith is one of the aristocrats8 of our profession, a gentleman by breeding and nature from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot. Quiet, reserved, well knit and well groomed9, he fills the eye and takes the heart wherever he goes, and as I shook hands with him I felt a secret pride in the knowledge that he is my partner.
I welcomed him warmly to the strath of his forefathers10, and assured him that if his knife and fork happened to be reversed at dinner, or if any one offered a left-hand shake, he must just count it an accident, as we had long ago ceased to remember the disreputable part his namesake played in pre-Bannockburn days.
We had a twelve o'clock dinner: broth11—not the kind everybody or anybody makes, but Betty's broth—boiled beef, with potatoes in their skins, followed by a jam-roll, of which Monteith had two liberal helpings12. I told him that long ago it was usual to finish up a dinner with another plateful of broth, and he assured me that had he not partaken of the jam-roll he would gladly have revived the custom. I didn't forget to tell Betty of the appreciation13, and I know it pleased her, for when we drew in our chairs for a smoke I heard her voice from the back-kitchen raised, as timmer as of old, in the lilting strains of 'The Farmer's Boy.'
Then through tobacco-reek we talked business—at least Monteith did, and I listened. He had much to tell me, and he talks well. After disposing of some private matters, we broached14 the all-important object of our visit to Mrs Stuart, and it was only when we came to the unpleasant part of Miss Stuart's affairs that I told him of my wonderful discovery and the astonishing part that Joe had played in it.
Dressed in his Sunday best, Joe was awaiting his call in the kitchen, and on being brought in he was closely questioned by Monteith. Not only did Joe confirm all he had told me before, but he added to our knowledge by giving us the exact date of the baptism of the Major's baby. It synchronised with the date of a black day in Joe's life, when a girl died of whom he was very fond. When I was thinking sentimentally15 of his tragedy, and making allowances for much remissness16 that Betty deplores17, Monteith, with arched eyebrow18, was staring at him through a monocle, thanking Providence19 for having so opportunely20 sent him our way, and counting him a means to a successful end.
Long after Joe had left the room, Murray Monteith sat lost in thought. Monteith cannot leave a fire alone when he is thinking anything out. His room in our premises21 in Charlotte Square adjoins mine, and if I hear through the wall a vigorous poking22 and smashing going on I know he is tackling a ticklish23 problem. Yesterday, in five minutes, he 'bashed' Betty's fire out of recognition; and when for the tenth time he had lifted and dropped the poker24 he turned to me suddenly and said, 'By Jove, Russell, this will be a bitter pill for our friends Smart & Scobie!' I told him I didn't care a rap for that; what gratified me beyond measure was the fact that a sweet, sensitive girl had been spared humiliation25, and that, instead of being a nameless lassie, she was Miss Stuart of Abereran.
I spoke26 very feelingly, and Monteith wasn't slow to notice it. He focussed me slowly through his monocle. 'I share that sentiment with you, Russell,' he said. 'I am not unmindful of her, though I give voice to my feeling of exultation27 in scoring a point. I trust Miss Stuart has no inkling of what has been standing28 in our way to prevent a settlement in her affairs. You—you haven't met her yet?'
'Oh yes; we are a small community here, and I have spoken to her once or twice.'
'Then you've been visiting at Nithbank House?'
'Not since I went under my mother's care twenty years ago, when the Ewarts lived there.'
'Oh!' and again he fixed29 me through his monocle. But he saw I was disinclined to go into details, and his good breeding made further questioning impossible. 'Well,' he said, after a pause, 'Mrs Stuart will be delighted to know all this. Her stepson, Maurice Stuart, has been at the root of all this trouble. I understand he wanted to marry Miss Stuart; but she would have nothing to do with him, and in retaliation30 he has done his level best to turn the mystery of his uncle's marriage to his own account. He it was who instructed Smart and Scobie. He's an awful waster, I believe, and his stepmother long ago cut him adrift.'
This was news to me, but I feigned31 indifference32, and as adroitly33 as I possibly could turned the subject of our conversation to Joe and the part he had yet to play. 'I think, Monteith,' I said, 'we ought to take him with us to-day to Nithbank House. Mrs Stuart will be interested in him, and wishful, no doubt, to see and talk with him.'
'Oh, certainly,' said Monteith, as he snipped34 the end off another cigar; 'and, if he's still about, you had better call him at once. The carriage is at the door, I see.'
Mrs Stuart had very kindly35 sent her brougham for us; and so it came to pass that when we left the door Joe was sitting on the dicky beside the coachman, arms folded and eyes front—conscious, however, I felt sure, that Nathan's Betty was approvingly watching him from behind the dining-room curtains.
We were received very graciously by Mrs Stuart in the library. I introduced Monteith to her, and she at once apologised for having put him to the trouble and inconvenience of travelling so far. Then she inquired in a very kindly way after my health, and told me that when first her niece had informed her of my residence in the village she felt annoyed that the firm had not advised her; but that, after all, it was perhaps wisely kept from her, as she would only have worried me about business and made herself a nuisance.
I laughingly said something in reply about doctors being autocrats36, and thanked her for her inquiries37 and consideration, and, to my great relief, the subject was gradually and agreeably changed to something else.
The Hon. Mrs Stuart is tall and angular, and she dresses in stern black, as becometh a sorrowing widow. She has, for a woman, a very square, assertive38 chin and a somewhat determined39 mouth; but the effect of the hard, firm chiselling40 of the lower part of the face is discounted by the kindly expression of her mellow41, blue-gray eyes. Her hair is streaked42 with gray, and she has arrived at that time of life when, for preference, she sits and talks to visitors with her back to the light.
As Monteith had surmised43, the important business she had referred to in her letter had to do with Miss Stuart's affairs, and as this was causing her great anxiety we went into the matter at once.
She explained to us, as she had done privately44 to me before, that she really didn't know, or, rather, that she had never had opportunities of knowing, her late brother-in-law, General Stuart. 'He was queer,' she said, 'very queer; lived in a bleak45 part of Cornwall most of his time, preferring it to Abereran in Perthshire; for years kept his marriage a secret, and made no mention of a daughter; and then, when we were looking forward with reasonable certainty to some day seeing Maurice laird of Abereran, a handsome girl of eighteen, an undoubted Stuart, was brought home from a Continental46 school, and, as his daughter, Désirée Stuart, installed mistress of his house. Personally, I had not a doubt of Miss Stuart's status or right of birth; but Maurice—well'——and she shrugged47 her shoulders and looked thoughtfully away down the avenue.
I asked my partner to tell her what we had learned from Joe, and he did so in that easy, off-hand, taken-for-granted style which we men of law sometimes affect, and which is intended to impress our clients with our astuteness48 and perspicacity49. At first Mrs Stuart looked indifferent; but as the story was unfolded, and Joe's part established, she sat forward in her chair in utter amazement50. 'Remarkable51! remarkable!' she exclaimed. 'I never heard of such a wonderful coincidence.'
After we had discussed it in all its bearings, and settled on a definite plan of action, Joe was brought in. As my presence and advice were no longer necessary, I asked that I might be permitted to see Miss Stuart with reference to her Banku shares, and to this Mrs Stuart readily agreed. When we were passing through the hall to the drawing-room she asked if it was my intention to acquaint her niece with the news we had learned. I replied that as Miss Stuart had not been made aware of the nature of the difficulty which had so long confronted us, it wouldn't be advisable to tell her all we knew; but, with her permission, I would take the opportunity of informing her that certain knowledge we had acquired lately was likely to hasten a settlement. She agreed with me in this, and it was with a beating heart I entered the drawing-room.
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1
looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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4
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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6
hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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7
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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8
aristocrats
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| n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 ) | |
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groomed
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| v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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10
forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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11
broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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12
helpings
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| n.（食物）的一份( helping的名词复数 )；帮助，支持 | |
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13
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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14
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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15
sentimentally
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| adv.富情感地 | |
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16
remissness
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| n.玩忽职守；马虎；怠慢；不小心 | |
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deplores
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 ) | |
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18
eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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opportunely
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| adv.恰好地，适时地 | |
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21
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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22
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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23
ticklish
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| adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理 | |
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24
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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25
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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26
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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27
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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28
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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29
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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30
retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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31
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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32
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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33
adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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34
snipped
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| v.剪( snip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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36
autocrats
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| n.独裁统治者( autocrat的名词复数 )；独断专行的人 | |
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37
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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38
assertive
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| adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的 | |
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39
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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40
chiselling
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| n.錾v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的现在分词 ) | |
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41
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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42
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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43
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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44
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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45
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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46
continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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47
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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48
astuteness
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| n.敏锐；精明；机敏 | |
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49
perspicacity
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| n. 敏锐, 聪明, 洞察力 | |
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50
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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51
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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