CHAPTER XII
As so often happens after hours or days of crises, and even of quarrel,things went better for a while after Laura's return to The Chase.
True, life was now, even more than before, dull, sad, and difficult. Shemissed Oliver Tropenell's constant companionship and stimulating talk,more than she was willing to acknowledge even to her innermost self. Andyet, when Godfrey spoke of the other man's absence from Freshley withregret, his words jarred on her, and made her feel vaguely ashamed. Yetsurely, surely she had nothing to reproach herself with in the matter ofOliver Tropenell? She would so gladly have kept him as Godfrey's friendas well as her own.
They had made it up, those two ill-matched people--made it up, that is,after a fashion. They were now much where they had been six months ago,just before Oliver Tropenell with his strong, masterful personality hadcome into their joint lives.
And Godfrey? Godfrey Pavely was happier, more complacent than usual,during those late autumn days. He also was ashamed--though notunreasonably so--of the absurd importance he had attached to those twovulgar anonymous letters! He was sorry now that he had spoken of thematter to Oliver Tropenell, for that odd, rather awkward talk of theirson the matter had been perhaps a contributory cause of the other man'ssudden departure. If Oliver came home for Christmas, he, Godfrey, would"make it all right."
The banker had yet another reason for feeling life pleasanter than usualjust now. He was engaged in a rather big bit of financial business of akind his soul loved, for it was secret, immediately profitable, and witha gambling risk attached to it. The only person to whom he had said aword concerning the affair was Katty Winslow, and even to her, for hewas a very prudent man, he had been quite vague.
With Katty he was becoming daily more intimate. Laura's cold aloofnessmade him seek, instinctively, a kinder, warmer, and yes, occasionally, atenderer feminine presence. For the first time, lately, Godfrey hadbegun to tell himself that Katty would have made an almost perfectwife.... And Katty could have told you almost the exact moment when thatthought had first flashed upon Godfrey Pavely's brain. But she also knewthat so far he was content, most irritatingly content, with the _statusquo_. Not so she----And one evening Katty tried an experiment which wason the whole remarkably successful, though its effects were strangelydifferent from what she had expected.
While dining alone with Godfrey and Laura at The Chase, she startled herhost and hostess by throwing out a careless word as to the possibilityof her leaving Rosedean--of letting the house furnished, for a year....
Laura was astonished to see how much this casual remark of Katty's upsetGodfrey. He uttered an exclamation of deep surprise and annoyance, andhis wife told herself bitterly how strange it was that Godfrey, feelingso strongly about Katty, should not understand how she, Laura, feltabout Gillie. After all, Gillie was her own brother, and Katty was notGodfrey's sister--only an old playmate and friend!
Godfrey was, in very truth, much more than upset at those few carelesswords of his old friend--playmate, in the sense that Laura meant, shehad never been. So disturbed and taken aback indeed that he lay awakemuch of that night.
The next morning he broke his walk into Pewsbury by going into Rosedean,this being the very first time he had ever done such a thing.
He was kept waiting a few moments--as a matter of fact only a very fewmoments--in the familiar little drawing-room, before Katty, wearing acharming, pale blue dressing-gown, edged with swansdown, joined him.
As was her way, she began speaking at once. "Why, what's the matter?"she exclaimed. "Has anything gone wrong, Godfrey?"
He answered irritably, "No, not that I know of. But I've something tosay to you." He pulled out his big, old-fashioned gold repeater. "It'stwenty to ten--I thought I'd find you down!"
"I always breakfast upstairs in my own room. But I didn't keep youwaiting long----"
She was still a little breathless, for she had come down very quickly.
And then he began, with no preamble: "I want to know if you really meantwhat you said last night about letting this house furnished for a year?I'm by no means sure if the terms of your lease allow for your doingthat; I shall have to look into it after I get to the Bank. Still, Ithought I'd better come and see you first."
Katty grew very pink. "Oh, Godfrey!" she exclaimed. "Surely you wouldn'tbe so unkind----?"
There came over her pretty face that curious, obstinate look which hehad already seen there often enough to dread. Also she made him feelashamed of himself. But how attractive she looked--how fresh anddainty--like a newly opened rose! Katty had twisted up her hair anyhow,but that only made her look younger, and more natural.
"Let's come out into the garden," she said coaxingly. "Surely you canstay for a few minutes? This is the very first time you've ever been tosee me in the morning! Why not telephone through and say you've beendelayed,--that you can't be at the Bank till eleven?" She was edging himas she spoke towards the corner where, behind a screen, there stood thetelephone instrument.
As if compelled to obey, he took up the receiver, and uttered thefamiliar words, "Pewsbury 4." And at once there came an answer.
"Is that you, Privet? What a comfort it is to know that I can alwaysrely on your being there, whoever else isn't! This is only to say that Ihave been delayed, and that I don't expect to be at the Bank tilleleven."
Then came the calming, comforting answer, "Very good. That'll be allright, sir. There's nothing much doing this morning, from what I couldmake out when I was looking over your letters just now."
So Godfrey Pavely, feeling rather as if he was being driven along by apleasant fate, hung the receiver up, and followed the blue-garbedfigure out of doors, into a little pleasance now filled with exquisiteautumnal colouring, and pungent, searching scents.
In the furthest corner of the walled garden, which was so much olderthan the house itself, was a tiny lawn surrounded by high hedges. Therethey could talk without any fear of being overlooked or overheard; and,before her visitor could stop her, Katty had dragged two cane-seatedeasy chairs out of her little summer-house.
They both sat down, but this time Katty warily remained silent. She waswaiting for her companion to begin.
"You weren't serious, were you?" he said at last, and she felt theunderlying pain and surprise in his voice. "You don't really mean thatyou want to go away, Katty? Where would you go to? What would you do?Have the Standens asked you to go abroad again--not for a whole year,surely?"
"No," she said slowly, "not the Standens. If you must know, I've beenoffered a furnished cottage rent-free by those friends of mine, theHaworths, who live near York. The truth is, I can't afford to keep upRosedean! I hate saying this to you, but it's the truth."
"If you didn't go away so much----" he began irritably.
But she cut across him sharply, "After all, I've a right to go away if Ilike! But it isn't that, Godfrey. I've gone into it all--really I have!Even if I never left Rosedean I should still be too poor to go on livinghere comfortably."
"How much too poor?" he asked.
Katty drew a long breath. In a sense she was speaking at random, but noone would have known it from the tone in which she answered: "About ahundred a year--a little less, a little more."
And then Godfrey Pavely said something which very much surprised Katty."About that thousand pounds which was left to you the other day," hesaid hesitatingly.
"Well? That'll only bring in thirty-five pounds a year; you made all thearrangements," she added wearily. "You wouldn't let me have it--as Iwanted you to do."
"I couldn't, Katty, you know that! I didn't ask your aunt to make meyour trustee."
"Well, that thirty-five pounds won't make any difference."
She was sorry now she had told him of the little house on her generousfriends' estate. Perhaps he would offer to let her off the Rosedeanrent. But Katty had quite made up her mind to cut the cable, and make afresh start elsewhere.
"Wait a bit," he said slowly, "women always run on so fast! When Imention
ed that thousand pounds, I was not thinking of giving it you, asyou call it, to spend. I was thinking of that foreign investment Imentioned to you last week. If you're willing to take the risk, I mightstretch a point, for if things go well that thousand pounds might easilybe trebled in the course of the next two years. I'm so sure of that,that I'm quite willing to advance you, say, two hundred pounds."
He knew quite well that his proposal was utterly illogical, and bore, soto speak, no relation to the fact that the investment he was proposingmight turn up trumps.
Katty's eyes sparkled. She was very fond of ready money, and it was sucha long, long time since she had had any. "D'you mean you'd really giveme two hundred pounds _now_?" she asked joyfully.
And Godfrey, with his eyes fixed on the grass, said in a shamed voice,"Yes--that is what I do mean."
Somehow it hurt him to feel how that sum of money, so trifling to him,affected her so keenly. He was better pleased with her next question.
"What sort of an investment exactly is it?"
"It's in the nature of a company promotion," he said slowly. "And ofcourse you must regard anything I tell you about it as absolutelyprivate."
"Yes, I quite understand that!"
He drew a piece of paper out of his pocket. "As a matter of fact I'vegot a few facts about it jotted down here."
She drew her chair rather nearer to his, and Godfrey Pavely, turning hisnarrow yet fleshy face towards her, began speaking with far moreeagerness and animation than usual. Katty, who was by no means a foolwhere such things were concerned, listened absorbedly while he explainedthe rather big bit of financial business in which he was now interested.
After he had been speaking to her without interruption for some minutes,Katty exclaimed: "Yes, I think I see now exactly what you mean! Therecertainly doesn't seem much risk attached to it--at any rate as regardsthe start off, as it were. But what made these French bankers pick _you_out, Godfrey? After all, they're doing you a very good turn."
"I don't exactly know why they picked me out, as you call it----" hespoke hesitatingly. "But during that year I spent in Paris I came acrossa great many of that sort of people. My father got me the best possibleintroductions."
The piece of paper on which he had jotted certain notes and calculationswas a large piece of thin foreign notepaper covered with smallhandwriting in the diluted ink which some French business men use.
"Can you read French?" he asked doubtfully.
She answered rather sharply, "Yes, of course I can!" and held out herhand.
The letter, which bore a Paris address, and the date of a fortnightback, was from the French banking house of Zosean & Co. It explained atsome length that a client of the bank, a wealthy South American ofPortuguese extraction named Fernando Apra, had become possessed of anestate on the coast of Portugal to which was attached a gamblingconcession. The idea was to make the place a kind of Portuguese MonteCarlo, and the present possessor was very desirous that English capitaland English brains should be put into the company. The returns promisedwere enormous, and there seemed to be little or no risk attached to thebusiness--if it was run on the right lines.
"I have gone into the matter very thoroughly," said Godfrey Pavely, "andI have convinced myself that it's all right. This Fernando Apra alreadyhas a London office. I managed to see him there for a few minutes lastweek. His real headquarters are in Paris."
"And are you finding all the money?" asked Katty eagerly. "Will it beall your money and _my_ thousand pounds, Godfrey? In that case Isuppose we shall get all the profits?"
He smiled a little at woman's cupidity. "No," he said, "I haven't beenable to find it all myself. But I've managed to get in a very good man.Some one with whom I've done business before, Katty."
"What's his name?" she asked inquisitively.
Godfrey Pavely waited a moment. "I don't know that I ought to tellyou--" he said uncomfortably. "He doesn't want to appear in thebusiness."
"Of course you ought to tell me!" All sorts of strange ideas floatedthrough Katty's mind. Was he going to say "Oliver Tropenell"? She ratherexpected he was.
"Well, I _will_ tell you," he said, "for I know you can hold yourtongue. The name of the man who's going into this business with me isGreville Howard."
"D'you mean the big money-lender?" Katty couldn't help a little tone ofdoubt, of rather shocked surprise, creeping into her voice.
"Yes," he said doggedly, "I do mean the man who was once a greatmoney-lender. He's retired now--in fact he's living----" and then hestopped himself.
"Why, of course!" Katty felt quite excited. "He's living in Yorkshire,near the Haworths! They've often talked about him to me! They don't knowhim--he won't know anybody. He's a rather queer fish, isn't he,Godfrey?"
"He's absolutely straight about money," exclaimed Godfrey Pavelydefensively. "I've had dealings with him over many years. In fact he'sthe ideal man for this kind of thing. He has all sorts of irons in thefire--financially I mean--on the Continent. He's a big shareholder inthe company that runs the Dieppe and Boulogne Casinos."
He got up. "Well, I ought to be going now. It's all right isn't it,Katty? You won't talk again of going away?"
"Could you let me have that two hundred pounds this afternoon?" sheasked abruptly.
Godfrey Pavely looked at her with a curious, yearning, rather sad look.Somehow he would have preferred that Katty should not be quiteso--so--he hardly formulated the thought to himself--so ready to do_anything_ for money. "Very well," he said. "Very well, my dear"--hevery seldom called her "my dear," but he had done so once or twicelately. "I'll bring it this afternoon, in notes."
"That _will_ be kind of you," she said gratefully. "But look here,Godfrey, do take it out of my thousand pounds! Put eight hundred in thisthing."
He shook his head and smiled. Women were queer, curiously unscrupulouscreatures! "That would be right down dishonest of me, Katty."
They were now walking across the little lawn, which was so securelytucked away, out of sight of any prying window, and before going throughthe aperture which had been cut in the hedge, they both turned round andclasped hands. "Thank you so--so much," she said softly. "You've been adear, kind friend to me always, Godfrey."
"Have I?" he said. "Have I, Katty? Not always, I fear."
"Yes, always," and her voice trembled a little.
He bent down and kissed her on the mouth with a kind of shamed,passionate solemnity which moved, and, yes, a little amused her. What_queer_, curiously scrupulous creatures men were!
"Go now, or you'll be late," she whispered.
And he went.