NO sooner was the house clear of my cousin than I began to reckon up, ruefully enough, the probable results of what had passed.Here were a number of pots broken, and it looked to me as if I should have to pay for all! Here had been this proud, mad beast goaded and baited both publicly and privately, till he could neither hear nor see nor reason; whereupon the gate had been set open, and he had been left free to go and contrive whatever vengeance he might find possible.I could not help thinking it was a pity that, whenever I myself was inclined to be upon my good behaviour, some friends of mine should always determine to play a piece of heroics and cast me for the hero - or the victim - which is very much the same.The first duty of heroics is to be of your own choosing.
When they are not that, they are nothing.And I assure you, as I walked back to my own room, I was in no very complaisant humour:
thought my uncle and Mr.Romaine to have played knuckle-bones with my life and prospects; cursed them for it roundly; had no wish more urgent than to avoid the pair of them; and was quite knocked out of time, as they say in the ring, to find myself confronted with the lawyer.
He stood on my hearthrug, leaning on the chimney-piece, with a gloomy, thoughtful brow, as I was pleased to see, and not in the least as though he were vain of the late proceedings.
'Well?' said I.'You have done it now!'
'Is he gone?' he asked.
'He is gone,' said I.'We shall have the devil to pay with him when he comes back.'
'You are right,' said the lawyer, 'and very little to pay him with but flams and fabrications, like to-night's.'
'To-night's?' I repeated.
'Ay, to-night's!' said he.
'To-night's WHAT?' I cried.
'To-night's flams and fabrications.'
'God be good to me, sir,' said I, 'have I something more to admire in your conduct than ever I had suspected? You cannot think how you interest me! That it was severe, I knew; I had already chuckled over that.But that it should be false also! In what sense, dear sir?'
I believe I was extremely offensive as I put the question, but the lawyer paid no heed.
'False in all senses of the word,' he replied seriously.'False in the sense that they were not true, and false in the sense that they were not real; false in the sense that I boasted, and in the sense that I lied.How can I arrest him? Your uncle burned the papers!
I told you so - but doubtless you have forgotten - the day I first saw you in Edinburgh Castle.It was an act of generosity; I have seen many of these acts, and always regretted - always regretted!
"That shall be his inheritance," he said, as the papers burned; he did not mean that it should have proved so rich a one.How rich, time will tell.'
'I beg your pardon a hundred thousand times, my dear sir, but it strikes me you have the impudence - in the circumstances, I may call it the indecency - to appear cast down?'
'It is true,' said he: 'I am.I am cast down.I am literally cast down.I feel myself quite helpless against your cousin.'
'Now, really!' I asked.'Is this serious? And is it perhaps the reason why you have gorged the poor devil with every species of insult? and why you took such surprising pains to supply me with what I had so little need of - another enemy? That you were helpless against them? "Here is my last missile," say you; "my ammunition is quite exhausted: just wait till I get the last in -
it will irritate, it cannot hurt him.There - you see! - he is furious now, and I am quite helpless.One more prod, another kick:
now he is a mere lunatic! Stand behind me; I am quite helpless!"
Mr.Romaine, I am asking myself as to the background or motive of this singular jest, and whether the name of it should not be called treachery?'
'I can scarce wonder,' said he.'In truth it has been a singular business, and we are very fortunate to be out of it so well.Yet it was not treachery: no, no, Mr.Anne, it was not treachery; and if you will do me the favour to listen to me for the inside of a minute, I shall demonstrate the same to you beyond cavil.' He seemed to wake up to his ordinary briskness.'You see the point?'
he began.'He had not yet read the newspaper, but who could tell when he might? He might have had that damned journal in his pocket, and how should we know? We were - I may say, we are - at the mercy of the merest twopenny accident.'
'Why, true,' said I: 'I had not thought of that.'
'I warrant you,' cried Romaine, 'you had supposed it was nothing to be the hero of an interesting notice in the journals! You had supposed, as like as not, it was a form of secrecy! But not so in the least.A part of England is already buzzing with the name of Champdivers; a day or two more and the mail will have carried it everywhere: so wonderful a machine is this of ours for disseminating intelligence! Think of it! When my father was born - but that is another story.To return: we had here the elements of such a combustion as I dread to think of - your cousin and the journal.Let him but glance an eye upon that column of print, and where were we? It is easy to ask; not so easy to answer, my young friend.And let me tell you, this sheet is the Viscount's usual reading.It is my conviction he had it in his pocket.'
'I beg your pardon, sir,' said I.'I have been unjust.I did not appreciate my danger.'
'I think you never do,' said he.
'But yet surely that public scene - ' I began.
'It was madness.I quite agree with you,' Mr.Romaine interrupted.
'But it was your uncle's orders, Mr.Anne, and what could I do?
Tell him you were the murderer of Goguelat? I think not.'
'No, sure!' said I.'That would but have been to make the trouble thicker.We were certainly in a very ill posture.'
'You do not yet appreciate how grave it was,' he replied.'It was necessary for you that your cousin should go, and go at once.You yourself had to leave to-night under cover of darkness, and how could you have done that with the Viscount in the next room? He must go, then; he must leave without delay.And that was the difficulty.'
'Pardon me, Mr.Romaine, but could not my uncle have bidden him go?' I asked.