Part 34 (1/2)
”Yes, yes?” urged Richard ”And then?”
”I do not remember He came, as I said, often, reat invalid, but solandI think he did not trust hilish friends, and when I spoke of hohtly, and look terribly sad I saw that for some reason the subject pained him, so I never spoke of it if I could help it”
”He was acompanion, Mr Carstares; he used to tell h as I had not heard hih for ly well dressed, but what his occupation was I could not quite ascertain He said he was a gentleman of leisure, but I do not think he was at all wealthy He frequented all the ga houses, and I heard tales of his hed and said he lived by Chancehe meant dice Yet I know, for I once had conversation with his servant, that his purse was at times very, very slender”
”The time he aided you, Mrs Fanshaas that?”
She flushed
”That was a few months after we first met him I wasfoolish; my married life was not very happy, and I wasor, rather, I fancied myselfin love with an Austrian nobleman, ell, sir, suffice it that I consented to dine with hialant ho quite different
I do not knohat I should have done had not Sir Anthony arrived”
”He did arrive then?”
”Yes You see, he knew that this Austrian had asked me to dineI told himand he counselledand very foolishi+ would not listen When he called at our house and found that I was out, he at once guessed where I had gone, and he followed ave an Austrian name, and was announced just as the Count tried totried tokiss et the relief of that lish!+ The Count was furious, and at first I thought he would have his lackeys throw Anthony out But when he heard all that Anthony had to say, he realised that it was useless to try to detain me and I was taken home Anthony was very kindhe did not scold, neither had he told ht a duel, and the Count ounded in the lung That was all But it rateful to him and interested in his affairs Mr Fanshawe left Vienna a feeeks after that, and I have never seen hed and looked steadily across at Carstares ”And you you are so like him!”
”You think so, madam?” was all he could find to say
”I do, sir And so more, which, perhaps, you will deem an impertinence Is Anthony your brother?”
The suddenness of the attack threw Carstares off his guard He hite
”Madam!”
”Please be not afraid that ue, sir It does not run aith ht for the first time, I was struck by the resemblance, and I asked my partner, Mr Stapely, who you were He told me, and much ”
”Trust Will Stapely!” exclaier
”As he told me of your elder brotherhoin fact, he told me the whole story Of course, my mind instantly leapt to er than you Was I right?”
Richard rose to his feet and walked away to the , standing with his back to her
”Ay!”
”I was sure of it,” she nodded ”So that hy he would not speak of England? Poor boy!”
Richard's soul writhed under the lash of her pity
”So he will always be outcast,” she continued ”Alone, unhappy, without friends-”
”No!” he cried, turning ”'Fore Gad, no, madam!”
”Will societycruel, hard societyreceive him, then?” she asked
”Society willone dayreceive hi for that day,” she sighed ”I wish I had it in my power to help himto repay in part the debt I owe him”
At that he lifted his head
”My brother, madam, would count it not a debt, but an honour,” he answered proudly
”Yes,” she sht almost be he”
”He is worth a thousand of me, Mrs Fanshawe!” he replied vehe down at the table
”And his name?” she asked softly
”John Anthony St Ervine Delaney Carstares,” he said, ”Earl of Wynchalad, for he would always be Anthony tosilence, broken at last by the lady
”I fear I have made you sad, Mr Carstares You will drink a dish of Bohea with ain”
”You are very good,you will allow ?”
”I shall be honoured, sir I am nearly always at home to my friends”
Her sister entered the room soon after, and private conversation caht, hearing the hours toll by and the owls screech in the square The ords had sunk deep into his ever-uneasy conscience, and he could not sleep for the thought of John, ”alone, unhappy, without friends”Tiued this question with hi where his brother nohether he was still roahwayman No one would ever kno he, Richard, dreaded each fresh capturethe prisoners, and he visited Newgate so often that his friends twitted hi he had Selwyn's love of horrors
He would argue that the matter rested in John's own hands: if he were minded to come back to society, he would do so; but deep within himself he knew that such a decision was unworthy of one even so debased as was he Then his mind went to Lavinia, who alternately enchanted and exasperated hio she had defied him openly in the matter of her friendshi+p with Lovelace, yet had she not afterwards apologised, and thrust the Captain aside for his sake? She was so sweetly naughty, so childishly unreasonable Selfish? Yes, he supposed so, but he loved her!loved her so greatly that it were a pleasure to him to die for her sake Yet JohnJohn was his brotherthe adored elder brother, and by obeying Lavinia he ronging hi hi told! It always came back to that point: if only she would consent And she never would She insisted that, having race her now She was right, he knew, but he wished she could be for once unselfish
So he worried on through the night, tossing to and fro in his great bed, a weight on his mind, a ceaseless ache in his heart
Towards dawn he fell asleep and did not wake again until his chocolate was brought to him Bitterly he reflected that at least John had no conscience to prey upon hi with conflicting arguments, and aith the decision as far off as ever To-day his head ached unbearably, and he stayed in bed for so over the Square, and through it the trees, with their withered, autumn leaves, loo infinitely depressing about the dull outlook, and presently he rose and allowed his valet to dress hier His headache was better by the time he had visited his wife in her rooht's rout, and, going out into the square, he called a chair, ordering the men to carry him to White's, where he intended to write two letters
Sonantly full of memories of John to-day, and he was thankful to be out of it White's was crowded even at that hour of the h his head Men hailed hi him bets; someone tried to tell him some piece of scandal; they would not let hier support it, and he left the house to go further down the street to his other club, the Cocoa-Tree, which he hoped to find less rowdy It was fuller than he expected, but many of the men had coa