By Birth A Lady Part 37

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, my child," said Charley sadly.

"It's about that I wanted to talk to you," said Nelly. "I don't like seeing you so low and dumpy when you ought to be jolly and happy. You know you are miserable about some one that I got to love very--very much."

Charley was silent; but his breath came thick and fast.

"And do you know, I'm sure that, if she had been left alone she would have been all that's wise and good and dear? May I go on?"

"Yes," said Charley, with quite a hiss.

"I thought you would like me to say anything, when you wouldn't hear it from any one else. Do you know, Charley, you mustn't be miserable about Miss B--any more? and if I wasn't going to have Hugh Lingon when I get big--I mean old enough--I should ask you to let me love you, and try and comfort you, and make you happy. I do love you very much now, you know, but I mean the other way."

She was silent for a few moments, while he went on turning over the pictures.

"Charley," she then said earnestly, "I don't think she has done right; but whether she's been persuaded, or somebody's told stories about you.

Max goes to see her very often--nearly every day now--and she writes to him lots of letters. O Charley, dear Charley!" she half sobbed, "what have I done? Pray!--please don't look like that! I thought telling you would make you leave off looking miserable, and ready to be happy again when you knew you couldn't have her. But pray--pray don't look like that!"

For the young man's ghastly face had frightened her, as he stood gazing full in her eyes, crushing the while one of the drawings in his hand.

"How do you know that?" he whispered hoa.r.s.ely.

"I heard Max tell Laury; and one day, when I went with her to his rooms, there was a whole heap of little narrow envelopes directed to him, and they were all in her handwriting. But please try and not fret, or I shall be so--so unhappy."

Charley drew a deep long breath, and for the s.p.a.ce of a good minute he stood there supporting himself by, and gazing blankly down at, the table, for a sharp pang had shot through him, and he felt giddy; but the next minute it pa.s.sed off, as he muttered to himself:

"Not yet, not yet. I must have farther proof!"

Then, by an effort, he recovered himself, and leading Nelly to the piano, he sat by her while she sang. A few minutes after, he was by Laura's side, talking to her quietly and gently, as he would have talked to any other lady.

And she knew the while what had pa.s.sed in the farther drawing-room--knew as well as if she had listened; for she knew that Nelly had heard her brothers words, and, in spite of Nelly's quickness, Laura had seen her looking at the letters that were in Ella's handwriting.

Laura's breast heaved as Charley sat beside her, and again she trembled, and her heart smote her as she saw how deeply that wound had been cut.

But though she pitied, she was hopeful; for she said to herself, "The day must come when Max's words will be true, and he will run to me for solace. The day must come! But when?"

Volume 2, Chapter XXIV.

MR WHITTRICK AGAIN.

During the rest of the evening at the Brays' party Charley was lively and chatty. By an effort he seemed to have cast aside the feelings that oppressed him; and as they went back to the Bond-street hotel, Sir Philip felt quite hopeful, as it seemed to him that his son was indeed going to turn over the fresh leaf.

The next day Charley was off betimes to Branksome-street, where he was fortunate in getting an immediate interview with the great Mr Whittrick.

"You received my letter, posted two days since?" asked Charley.

"Same evening, sir," said Mr Whittrick.

"You grant, I suppose, that it is as I said--Mr Maximilian Bray had been here before me?"

"My dear sir," said Mr Whittrick, with a smile, "when a gentleman pays me certain fees for certain services, he has bought those services--they are his private property, and I have done with them--that is all finished. Do you understand? This is a private-inquiry office, and every client's business is private. What I might divulge upon that pleasant old inst.i.tution the rack, I can't say--that being enough to make any man speak; but I believe I should do as many another man did."

"What was that?" said Charley, smiling.

"Tell any lie the inquisitors wished," said Mr Whittrick. "But as we have no rack nowadays, only moral thumbscrews, why, we are not forced to speak at all. No, sir; if there is such a person as Mr Maximilian Bray, or Cray, or Dray, or whatever his name is, and he came here on business, if we could, we did his business--we can't always, you know-- and there was an end of it; but if you want me to private inquire him, I'll do it, just the same as if he came here and wanted me to private inquire you, I should do it--both together if it was necessary--though I don't think I should say anything about visits here," he said, with a slight twinkle of one of his dark eyes. "So now, my dear sir, what's it to be? Shall we report to you upon this gentleman's proceedings? Let me see," he said, referring to the letter, "Bury-street, Saint James's, isn't it? Yes, quite right. Well, sir?"

"Yes," said Charley; "and set about it at once."

"How often, and how much, would you like to know?"

"How often!" cried Charley fiercely. "Every day--every hour if it is necessary. Write, send, telegraph to me. I want to know his every act and deed, till I tell you to leave off, if you can do it."

"I think we can manage it, sir," said Mr Whittrick, with a quiet smile.

"Not quite so quickly as we did the last, though."

"Then set about it at once," said Charley. "It will be rather expensive work, sir," said Mr Whittrick quietly.

Charley drew a blank cheque, signed by Sir Philip, from his pocket-book.

"What shall I fill this up for, Mr Whittrick?" said Charley.

"O, really, Mr Vining, I did not mean that," said Mr Whittrick. "With some clients, of course, we make sure of the money before acting; but I am in your debt still. What I meant was, are you disposed to go to the expense of men, day after day, the whole of their time on your business?"

"Yes, certainly," said Charley, taking pen and ink. "Shall I fill this up for a hundred pounds?"

"No," said Mr Whittrick quietly: "fifty will do for the present. But stay--let me see: make it to bearer, sir--Mr Smith or bearer; it might not be pleasant to Sir Philip Vining to have it known at his banker's that I am transacting family business. You see, sir, mine's a very well-known name, and one that has been blown upon a good deal, and some people are rather fastidious about it. And to tell the truth, sir, I really am agent sometimes in rather unpleasant matters. Thank you--that will do, sir. You shall have some information to-night, and of course, under these circ.u.mstances, a great deal may seem very trivial; but you must not mind that, for sometimes very trivial acts turn out to be the most important in the end, while again noisy matters turn out empty bangs. I think we understand one another so far; but would you like a few attentions to be paid to the lady?"

"What?" said Charley abruptly.

"Would you like one of my agents to give an eye to Number 19 Crescent Villas, Regents-park, Mr Vining?"

"No," said Charley sternly; "certainly not!"

"Very good, sir," said Mr Whittrick, in his quiet way. "Have you any farther commands?"

"No," said Charley, taking the hint, and rising; and the next minute he was face to face with Sir Philip Vining in the street.

For a few moments father and son stood quite taken aback at the suddenness of the encounter; but Charley was the first to recover from his surprise.

"There is only one house here, sir, that you would visit," he said quietly; "and there is no necessity. You were going to Whittrick's?"

Sir Philip bent his head.

"Let us go back to the hotel," said Charley; and without a word they entered the cab Sir Philip had in waiting, and were driven back to Bond-street.

Not a word was spoken during the backward journey; but as soon as they were alone in their private room, Charley placed a chair for his father, and then seated himself opposite to him.

"You were going to have me watched, father," he said calmly.

"My dear boy--my dear boy, it is for your own sake, and you drive me to it!" exclaimed Sir Philip.