Friends I Have Made Part 10

"`I am,'

"`Your obedient Servant,'

"`Alexander Saint Ray.'

"`Mr Hendrick.'

"If I had any remnant of my old weakness hanging about before, it was all cleared away now, as I stood tearing the letter to fragments.

"`It's a lie--a wicked, atrocious lie!' I exclaimed, stamping on the pieces. `Our darling has been driven away, or there is something wrong.

She would never act like this.'

"`Never, Harry,' exclaimed my wife, who stood there flushed and angry one moment, pale as ashes the next. `But stop! what are you going to do?'

"`Going to do?' I roared, `going to seek for our child.'

"`But you are not strong enough--the agitation--'

"`Strong! agitation!' I exclaimed, catching her so tightly by the arm that she winced. `Look at me, Lizzy; I never felt stronger in my life.'

"In less than an hour I was being whirled up to town by the train, and on reaching the station, the cab that took me on to Woodmount Square seemed to crawl.

"I thundered so at the knocker, and dragged so fiercely at the visitors'

bell, that the footman in a tawdry livery stared at me aghast as he opened the door, and I strode in.

"`Tell your master I want to see him,' I said hastily.

"`Ain't at home, sir,' he said, recovering himself.

"`Your mistress, then,' I cried fiercely.

"`She ain't--'

"`Confound you!' I roared, catching him by the collar, to the disarrangement of his white cravat; `tell her--there, there!' I said, cooling down and slipping a couple of florins in the man's hand. `Here, show me in directly to either of them; I am Miss Hendrick's father.'

"The man's frightened, angry face changed on the instant, and he showed me at once into a garish drawing-room, where a coa.r.s.e, florid woman was lying back on a lounge, fanning herself.

"`Mrs Saint Ray,' I said hastily, `my name is Hendrick. I have come up in answer to your husband's letter.'

"`You must see him, my good man,' she exclaimed angrily. `I told Thomas not to admit any one.'

"`But this is life or death to me, madam--my child's honour. Tell me, I beg of you, all you know.'

"`You people should bring your children up better,' was the reply.

`It's very dreadful--very shocking! and my poor darlings have had a most narrow escape.'

"`Did it never occur to you, madam, that other people have darlings whom they love?' I exclaimed, unable to control my anger. `But there, tell me, what steps have you taken to find out where she went?'

"`Steps! I take steps? Absurd! My good man, you must be mad.'

"`I shall be soon,' I muttered, then aloud--

"`But you have done something, madam, surely?'

"`I desired Mr Saint Ray to write to you, and of course you are the proper person to take steps, as you term it,' said the lady contemptuously.

"`Tell me when she left and how. Give me some information, I beg of you,' I exclaimed.

"`My good man, I cannot touch the subject at all. It is too painful-- too dreadful. See Mr Saint Ray. When I think of having harboured so dreadfully shameless a creature, I feel faint--it turns me sick.'

"I dared not speak--I dared not give utterance to the rage still struggling in my breast, for this was only a woman, and such a woman, that I dashed out of the room, and the door banged heavily behind me.

"As I left the room I nearly fell over the footman, who had evidently been listening, and I caught a glimpse of two female heads disappearing at a doorway as I hurried down the stairs.

"`Here, my man,' I said, `tell me all you know,' and I thrust my hand once more into my meagrely filled pocket.

"`Oh, it's all right, sir, I don't want paying,' said the footman hastily. `It's my belief she drove poor Miss Hendrick away with her temper. She's a wunner,' he continued in a whisper, `reg'lar tiger-cat, and the young ones is reg'lar tiger-kittens--beasts,' he added, half savagely.

"`Tell me when she went.'

"`Well, sir, it was the night afore the night afore last as she went out, and didn't come back. I'm going, too, and so's two of the maids.'

"`Did she take her box?'

"`Lor', no, sir, nothing at all; and when she didn't come back, we down in the servants' 'all said as she had been driven away, and gone home.'

"`But,' I said, and I felt the blood come into my face as I asked the question about my own child, `but did she go alone?'

"`Oh, yes, I think so, sir.'

"`And,'--I was choking as I asked the question--`what gentlemen came to see her?'

"`Gentlemen--to see her?'

"`Yes; your master said so in his letter.'

"`Why, what a whopper!' exclaimed the man indignantly. `n.o.body never came to see her once. Stop! yes, they did.'

"My heart seemed to stand still at his words.

"`Yes, there was an old gentleman called one afternoon--grey-headed old gentleman--a parson, of course--so there was. It was while I was out with the carriage. Hann let him in, and fetched Miss Hendrick down, and she saw him in the dining-room. I remember Hann told me all about it.

To be sure; and that little cat, Miss Celia, kicked up a row because Hann wouldn't let her go into the dining-room while the gentleman was here, and she said she'd tell her mar. Miss Hendrick ain't been home, then, sir?'

"`No, my man, no.'

"`Then I should go bang to the pleece station, sir. They'd find out.'

"I took the man's advice, and went to the nearest station, where I saw a sergeant, and stated my case, while he made notes in a book.