HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1929-07-25, Page 7THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE
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CHAPTER VI —(Continued)
Realizinz that he had received his
stood for a few
elbows on the
the old bridge,
the clear’, dark
lilial dismissal, he
inoments with his
mossy parapet of
looking, down into
waters of the Dirdum with hate and
murder in his soul. He had no doubt
whatever that I-Iarry Kerr had oust
ed him from the position wJiich ho
imagined that he had held in his
) cousin’s heart, Something had told
liim yesterday that a subtle under
standing had been established be
tween these two,. sweeter and more
intimate than any he had ever beem
able to achieve. • >
Harry Kerr. was a stranger and a
pauper, with nothing-to recommend Slim but liis pink-and-white face and
the -airs which he gave himself -be
cause of his ancient lineage—a. pos
session that, in Maurice’s estimation,
was not worth so much as a snap of
the -fingers. How to get even with
liim—that was the question feverish
ly possessing his thoughts.
- There is a type of -man that dis
appointed love converts into a sort
of fiend. ‘Lionel Maurice ..was of
that type. He himself was- suffer
ing terribly for the first time in liis
life, and he would make, Blanche suf
fer in the same way through the man
who had supplanted him. . How, he
did not know, but of a surety he
would, .succeed,;.
Without making any further at
tempt to detain.''"her, he permitted
Blanche to go on towards the house,
to which, however; ..Jie foliowe^T her
in a few minue's’ tihie,
He had his host engaged with his
bailiff in the small "business-room
near the lrall. door. .Maurice, ’ who never hesitated to make ’full' use of
tiny privilege he imagined' his by
right, looked into the' room, and
finding his uncle alone, entered and
closed the door.
“Hulloa, Lionel,” said Bentley
Carrington, looking up genially,
“hard-up for, an,.; occupation, eh?
Why.didn’t you go.’-jvith the rest this
morning? They’ll’have good sport.’
“I didn’t care about: it today, Uncle
Bentley. May I speak’ to y'ou for a
moment?” • *,*“Why, certainly. I’.have just
been interviewing a possible tenant
for fMeadowside.. Farm—a very
.Shrewd old' 'Scotsman*. I can’t help
wondering whether there has. ever
been a good harvest here within the
-memory of man.lS. -
“Wants a bit off the rent on ac
count of the elements, suppose,”
said Maurice' drily;.;. “That’s the
beggarly Scots way—^iliey find that
it pays.”
“I like the old chap, however, and
I think I’ll let him have the place.
.Well, what is .it?”
“There is up good my stopping
here any longer,- Uncle Ben-tley, or in
coming back. I. think J,’H go into
Edinburgh this afternoon, and take
the night train.”'
“Why this haste?”,.,
“Oh, you must understand. * I
have got my final -conge frohj.
Blanche this morning.” ‘A
“Have you?”
Bentley Carrington s-poke kindly
enough, but lfg preserved an impass,-
jve face. Personally. he was not
particularly keen.on .Lionel Maurice
as a sbn-in-law, --.though willing' to
accept him had he^been his daugh
ter’s choice. . He .^acl . given him
every opportunity of^jn’essing, his
suit, extending the" Sull hospitality
of his house to him at all times, but
he could do no more. He had not
Had any conversation with Blanche
about the matter, but he had been
able to gather fronu, various .signs
that she was not very favourably
disposed towards her cousin.
“You have asked xher for-a defin
ite answer, then?”
“Yes, this morning.”
“she has refused you?”
absolutely.”
sorry, but I take it
nothing more to be
You- don’t seek to blame
situation by talking about it, Lionel.
I won't have Blanche badgered or
made unhappy—that’s the one tiling
I’m determined on, my boy. Take
my advice, and accept your disap
pointment like a man. Go back-to
work—there’s plenty of it lying wait
ing at Cornhill, and there are,, too
many of us down here. Jacfl goes
back tonight, by the by. Pritlow’s
letter renders it necessary. I can’t
help saying that I was surprised
when you turned up again.”
“I had to come, but-—”
At the moment there was a knock
at the door, ant! a man-servant look
ed in.
“A lady to see you, sir, in the lib
rary.”
“A lady! Who is she?”
Mrs. Riddell-Kerr, sir.”
“Mrs, Riddell-Kerr! From Essen
don, do you mean? But I didn’t
hear any carriage?”
“No, sir. I think she has walk
ed across tile fields.”
“Strange! All right. I'll see
her. Buck up, Lionel. Worse things
have happened than to suffer
through a girl's whim, and there are
as good fish in the sea—” .
He passed out as he spoke,
a moment Maurice’s interest
verted from his- own keen
pointment.
What could Harry Kerr’s
want at Bellenden Priory,
wait and see.
•' CHAPTER VII
and for
was di
di s'ap-
mother
He must
All in a Bay’s Work
“And
“Yes,
“I’m
there’s.
Lionel.
Blanche in any way, I hope? She has
always seemed to be perfectly frank
and open with you. She hasn’t led
you on to disappointment.”
“Well—no. But when I was here
last month she was. much kinder, and
I went away full of hopA It Was a
pity that Monnbassa business pressed
just at the time. If, I’had been able
to follow up my advantage then, we
might have been engaged today.”
Bentley Carrington shook his
head.
“I doubt it very-much, Lionel. I’m.
sorry',1 but as I say, there’s no more
to be said. 'One can’t force matters
of that kind.” ■”
“But^a few words frpin you might
help?-’ suggested Maurice with a
sud’d'en eagerness.
Again Bentley
liis head. ■z
“I can’t speak
have seen a good
mess in married life, and its a thank
less job to meddle. The child shall
have free choice. After all, ■she has
the right, to ’ it—every woman has.
She has only one life, andt she is en
titled to make the, best of it.”
“tt might bo the first in her case.
Surelyyou dejn’t want her to take
up with any of the penniless nincom
poops one meets hereabout-*—idiots
given, up to bucolic sports and. hav
ing not a hotioh beyond them.”
Carrington,• could ’not forbear a
smile at the ’ venom of the words-,
■understanding' perfectly. .What he was
driving at.
, “X don’t think igShti-better the
that
said,
Carrington shook
them, Lionel. I
deal of unhappi-
Alice Kerr stood by the table- in
the library of Bellenden Priory, one
slender hand resting on it, her lips
nervously twitching, the colour com
ing and going in her face.
Bentley Carrington closed the
door quietly and mudeHier a bow, at
once courteous and sincere.
“Good-morning, madam. What
can I do for you?”
He realized that it was some.urg
ent matter that had brought her—
that the greatest kindness hq. could
show was to come to the point right
away. He now saw the mistress of
Essendon for the first time, and the
stories of the pride and prowess of
the Riddell-Kerr's that he had heard
seemed hardly credible in the pres
ence of this somewhat frO-il,. shrink
ing woman who stood so timidly be
fore him. Yet when she threw back
her veil suddenly with a quick nerv
ous hand, there was something of an
air. plainly-visible. .^The-carriage 'Ot
her head, the inflection of her ex
quisite voice, when she spoke, the
winning sweetness of her wavering,
smile were all noted by him with
•profound and deepening interest.
Bentley Carrington was more than
a mei;e,,successful business man—:he
was, 'and' had always been, a .keen
student of human nature, to which
circumstances indeed he was hot slow
to attribute the greater part -of. his
success. He seldom made a mistake
in his estimate, and he saw before
him how a proud, sweet nature
-Humble through excessive trouble, a
suppliant under his- roof. The idea
moved him strangely, and infused in
to his manner a grave tenderness
Which certainly helped Alice Kerr
in her difficult task.
“I know not how to explain my
position, or even my .presence here,”
she began hurriedly. “Essenden is
in trouble. I am in need of a little
advice, and I . have...heard Of your kindness and your—ability. X-Iave I
your permission to speak?”
“Surely,?, madam, .but may I beg
you to sit’down? If it is-true that
you have walked from Essenden you
must be tired.”
“I have come on foot—-yes. But
it is a lovely wall; across the fields
and through the woods when one is
in a mood to enjoy it. I am not at
all tired, but, thank you, since you
wish it, I will Sit.”..She took the chair that he offered, j
hardly believe how little we live up
on at Esendon, being served by a
handful of faithful folks who are
content with a small return besides
our gratitude and love. And we
have never been to 'blame. My hus
band’s uncle, who was laird immed
iately before him, destroyed the
place just as Ludovic Playfair des
troyed Bellenden through wicked
ness and extravagance. Every rod
of unentailed land had been parted
with, and it was cream of the pro
perty that had been
of the Kerrs about
years before,
and the few acres
Essendon proper
and burdened that it “takes every
penny of the rents to pay the dues.
Then rents have fallen Sadly, You
know how hard the times have been
in agripultural districts, how fierce
the 'competition that we have to bat
tle with, All these causes have com
bined to bring about the trouble—
I had almost said the doom—of Es
sendon.”
“And has the trouble become more
acute of late?”
“It has always been acute,” she
said with a sigh. “But just as pres
ent, because the mortgages have not
been met, we are under pressure.
Our lawyer, Mr. Weaver Laidlaw—
you know him, J think?”
“Yes. I’ve had a good many
transactions with him since. I .came
to the Priory,”
“Well, he was at ftssendon last
night. He had had a final inter
view with the people in Edinburgh
who hold the mortgages for their
clients, and they will not renew
them. We must sell the few things
we can an get out, Mr. Carrington,
and let the place for what it will'
bring. We can no longer afford to
live under its roof even as meagrely
as we are doing.”
“That is very sad hearing, Mrs.
Kerr, and I could wish your hus
band had come to me himself this
mqrniM.g.and we might have arrived
at soiiie conclusion.” . •
She drew a littlp, gasping breaths
“Oh, he does not know, that I am
here to-day! It is difficult to tell
you, but he is a proud man, and his
sorrows have embittered him. When
lip married first lie was like Harry
—sunny-tempered and happy, with
never a cloud on his -brow. The
young, happily for them, do not
realize the burden of life. It would
be a sadder world 'than it is if they
did.”
“I agree with
have come on
ask my advice,
lar point?”
“It is about
the beginning,
of him if we go out—to live, as my
husband says, at some cheap foreign
watering-place or in some
•town lodgings? He .is well
ed, and I think he is clever,
well at the University, but
cannot be carried through without
bls knowledge or consent.”
'No, no. I must talk him oyer,
did not close an eye last night,
Carrington. He as walking the
All
acquired by one three hundred
that has gone,
that are left—
are so mortgaged
you. Then you
your own account to
but on what particu-
my son, as I said in
What is to, become
and he sat down opposite her, his
keen,, clever face wonderfully soft-'
ened,. his eyes only kind.
“Il ‘ '
to speak,
kind to him yesterday,
home full of it.”
“I showed him only flie courtesy
of the field, Mrs. Kerr, and I .had
had enough of hunting. T did not
even deny myself, and we were .pleas
ed to see him at th’e house after
wards. I liked him very much.”
.“You did? He is a -good lad,
Harry, but'somehow he has not had
the best of chances. “ Since you have
come to l\ve in our midst, Mr. Car
rington, you must have gathered
bow it is With the most of us who
have been liere for so many genera
tions. We are so poor that we can
not lift our heads. We at Essendon
are the poorest of all.”
“I have heard many things,
the'wise man believes only the
dence of his own eyes and ears;
that, only after it is proved,” he
wered with a slight smile. 1
how ik it-
ent, and -----
“Since ^you have come on your own
accord 1,0 me, I suppose I may ask
you a few questions?”
“Oh, yps, us many as you please.
I wish . you to know everything.
That is Whit I liavp come for.”
“Well, Essendon is‘a fine estate,
.Your fafme^are among tile best in
the •county/ ‘How. is it that you have
fallen on stick hard tint k?”
POh, we are not to^ blame,
are simple folks,
tonishod to •"loioW;
dreary
educat-
He did
... _______ ____he has
never beem taught a trade or a pro
fession. He has simply grown up
as heir to Esendon. When he left
school, and'when I saw how things
were going, I implored my husband
.to.-do- something .different—to . place
him, .where at ^least he could earn a
living; but he would not do it; This
will seem incredible folly to you, Mr.
Carrington; -but old' traditions are
hard to kill, and I am afraid Border
pride’ only equals Border poverty.”
“There is something fine in it,
Mrs. Kerr,” was Carrington’s unex
pected reply. “Regarded from a
purely business point of view it is,
of course, worse, than folly—-it is
shame, and even cruelty. But, as I
say, there is something about it that
appeals. I have felt the spell of it
sin.ee I came here to live. It has in-
trested me profoundly.”
Her eyes brightened at these un
expected and wholly sympathetic
words.
“Oh, how kind you are, and how
quick to understand! They' say
nothing more than the truth about
you when they say that you are a
blessing to the neighbourhood. Then
will-you advise me about Harry?
You have‘a-great business in Lon
don, I am told—a business - where
money is made. Could you make
an opening for him so that he might
be taught to earn his own living? I
think he has ability: He is quick,
clever, shrewd, and I have often been
astonished at his common-sense.
And he has no vices,’ she added
proudly. “No mother’s son ever
left her roof purer and cleaner than,
would Harry Kerr.”
He admired the sweet pride
Which shone in her eyes, the quick
uplifting of her head. And this
pride was more easily understood
It js about my son I have come than the other-—it was something
You know him, you were
He came
but
evi-
and
ans-
‘But
' He paused for a mom-
then inquiringly ' said,
We
You would be us-'
anti you would
tangible, something that Bentley
Carrington had himself felt in con
nection with his own son,
“That is a tribute to a young man,
and there are not many who deserve
it,” he replied with a smile. “Well,
I could' find him a berth in my of
fice at Cornhill*—nothing easier. He
will not be the first son of an old
family to retrieve the shattered for-
turnes of his house in the stock mar
kets of the world.” ■ .
“And it is a perfectly honourable
business, of course,, or could not pos
sibly be engaged in it,” she said sud
denly, and Carrington smiled, easily
detecting the misgivings at the back
of her simple, honest mind.
“I think I may hay that my .money
is 'Clean, iMts. Kerr,V. he answered,
not at all put out.
„ There was something about the
whole personality of the mistress
of • Essendon that disarmed every
prejudice. She was herself trans
parent at the day. ’
, “Then, may I send Harry to you?
Would, thefe bb a premium to pay?"
if thero should be, I think .I could
get-it from my own relative^, ” who
would be in sympathy with any at
tempt on Ilarry’s part to carve out a.
career for himself.”
“There would b6 no premium, if
yotir son comes to , Cornhill, Mrs*
Kerr, I Will see that he works for
his living,” replied Carrington
gravely. “But what about Mr. Rid
dell-Kerr? it is obvious that this
He
Mr,
floor in the small hours, and to-day
be looks- like an old, old man. If
only he would come here and see
you, he would feel so differently
about everything,”
“In the field yesterday he looked
at me once or twice in a not very
friendly way. I understand that he
does not approve of the new people
said Carrington,
that so?”
“Well—yes. I
Indeed, it is your
be so. But you
is with us all here,
servative to the last drop of our
blood—we' hate changes.”
“They are bound to come, Mrs.
Kerr, We live in a kaleidoscopic
dge. Well, what is it yo’u wish me
to do?”
, He waited courteously, but he did
liot in any way seek to help her out.
She looked at him with the same
mixture of eagerness -and wistfulness
that was so well calculated to appeal
to a man of Carrington’s fine sensi
bilities. . But he hardened his heart.
He wished to bring her to a state
ment in exact
desired.
“If I could
band and say
Willing to give
in your Office,
him your business, and put him in
the way of earning his own living, it
would make a new man of him, I
ar-m sure.”
“It is a good deal to ask from a
stranger, and, so far, you have not
not shown the common courtesy of
neighbors to the ladies of my ‘house,
Mrs. Kerr,” he said with a quiet de
liberation.
(To be continued.)
deliberately.
must be honest,
right that I should
understand how it
We are com
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