CHAPTER SEVEN.
MR. FARRELL'S PLAN.
"Miss Farrell, sir!" said the maid, throwing open the door of thelibrary.
And Ruth walked forward, followed closely by Mollie.
It was a long, narrow room, lined with book-shelves, and the solitarylight from a crimson-shaded lamp on the central table gave an air ofgloom after the bright illumination of the hall without. On a lounge-chair beside the table sat Bernard Farrell, looking more cadaverous thanever, with a velvet-skull-cap over his whitened locks. He did not riseas his great-nieces approached, but held out his hand in a greetingwhich was courteous enough, if somewhat cold.
"How do you do? I am pleased to see you. Excuse me for not having metyou earlier, but I am not feeling well to-day. I trust you havereceived every attention since your arrival at the Court. Mrs Wolffhad my instructions to look after your comfort."
"Thank you, yes; we had tea in our room--a lovely room. We are lookingforward to enjoying the view from that splendid window!"
"Ah, yes; it is very fine in clear weather! Please make yourselves athome, and ask for anything that you need. The servants are good, butthey are unused to visitors. Have no hesitation in keeping them up totheir duties. Will you be seated? In a few minutes we can, I hope,begin the business of the hour."
He waved them towards some chairs which were ranged before his table.Four chairs! In the twinkling of an eye the girls had grasped both thenumber and what it implied. Two other guests at least were at presentin the house, and equally interested with themselves in the comingdiscussion. Their advent was evidently momentarily expected, for MrFarrell turned an impatient glance at the clock, and even as he did sothe door opened once more and two young men entered the room. One wastall and dark, with an olive skin, and a curious, veiled look about hiseyes, caused by the presence of short but abnormally thick black lashes.Viewed in profile the lashes entirely hid the eye, but the effect ofthe thick black line was, singularly enough, rather attractive than thereverse. He had a dark moustache, and his chin was square and well-developed.
His companion was--well! the girls felt that they might have guessed itbefore, as one of the awkward things which was bound to happen. He wasthe stranger of the railway carriage, the supercilious personage whomthey had flattered themselves they would never see again!
Like the two girls, the new-comers had evidently not seen their hostbefore, for they were greeted by him with practically the same phrases;and then came a general introduction.
"I must make you known to your fellow-guests--Mr Jack Melland, MrVictor Druce--Miss Farrell, Miss Mary Farrell. Mr Melland and MrDruce are great-nephews of my late wife. Miss Farrell and her sisterare my own nephew's only children."
The two young men turned towards the girls with curious glances. OverMr Jack Melland's face flitted an amused glance of recognition. Hiscompanion's dark eyes widened with a curious scrutiny; then the lashesdropped, and hid them from sight. Seen thus, with mouth and eyes alikeveiled, the face was a mask devoid of expression; yet Mollie had aconviction that she had surprised something closely approachingdisappointment in that fleeting glance. Why the sight of Ruth andherself had affected the stranger in so unpleasant a fashion it wasdifficult to understand; but the impression remained. Her eyestravelled upward to the face of Jack Melland, and marvelled at thecontrast.
"His face betrays him, in spite of himself. His nostrils alone wouldgive him away," she told herself, smiling. "He is cross, the otherinscrutable; Ruth is frightened, and I am amused. We look like fourschool-children seated in a row, with Uncle Bernard as the teacher...When is the lesson to begin?"
At once, apparently; for Mr Farrell lost no time in preliminaries, butbegan his explanation as soon as the young men were seated.
"I have asked you to meet me here as soon as possible after yourarrival, for it is better that we should understand each other from thebeginning. You have thought it strange, no doubt, that, after havinghad no communication with your families for so many years, I shouldsuddenly develop a desire for your company. Circumstances have,however, materially altered for me during the last few weeks by thediscovery that it is necessary that my affairs should be settled withoutdelay.
"I have, as you know, no child left to inherit, and as this place is notentailed, it is entirely in my hands to bequeath as I think fit. Untilnow--for reasons which you may perhaps understand--the idea of making awill has been so painful that I have continually postponed the ordeal;but my doctor, who is also my old friend, has convinced me that I mustdelay no longer.
"I am suffering from an affection of the heart which makes it impossiblethat I can live longer than a couple of years, and probably the time maybe but a few months. He has urged me, therefore, to settle businessaffairs, so that I might spend the remainder of my days undisturbed; butto decide on a suitable heir is not an easy matter. I am, as you mayhave heard, a very rich man, and I hold strong, and perhaps somewhatunusual, ideas as to the qualifications which are necessary for theowner of great wealth. It is not my intention to divide the inheritancein any way, therefore it is the more important to make a right choice."
He paused for a moment, and the four young people looked up sharply.Victor Druce's eyes roved quickly from one to the other of his threecompanions. Jack Melland's lips closed more tightly than before.Ruth's cheeks glowed with a carmine flush. She was the nearestrelation; hers was the first claim! Her heart beat with quick,sickening thuds; only Mollie looked frankly curious and unperturbed.
"As I said before," continued Mr Farrell, "we are, so far, completestrangers to each other; but I judge you all to hold equal rights toanything which I have to leave. Ruth and Mary are my nearest legalrelations; but my wife's people always ranked with me as my own, and,other things being equal, I should prefer a male heir. I make no pointof the name; the Court is not an estate which has descended to me frommany generations of ancestors. My father bought it from the late owner,so there is no real reason why a Farrell should necessarily inherit.
"It is from one of your number, then, that I shall adopt my heir; but,in order to do so, I must have some knowledge of your respectivecharacters and attainments. As I said before, I hold somewhat unusualviews. What the world in general would probably consider the bestqualification for the owner of a big estate is, in my eyes, aninsuperable objection. What I look to find, others might regard as afault. We all have our own ideas, and must act according to our lights.I wish then, in the first place, to make your acquaintance but do notbe afraid that I shall make the task too unpleasant.
"For the furtherance of my plan, I should wish you to lead as full andinteresting a life as may be. The Court has been shut up for years, butits doors can now be thrown open for your benefit. You are free to comeand go, to invite whom you will, and no doubt the neighbourhood will beeager to meet you half-way. My own health will not permit me to arrangeyour amusements; but I give you the use of my house, carte blanche asregards expenses, and Mrs Wolff to play propriety--the rest you mustarrange for yourselves. If each in turn took the management of affairsfor a few weeks at a time, it would meet my views, as helping me to formthe necessary ideas of character and tastes."
There was a simultaneous movement of surprise on the part of thelisteners, and one and the same word was repeated by four pairs oflips--
"Weeks!"
Mr Farrell smiled grimly.
"You are surprised at the time implied. My invitations wereintentionally vague, for I had not at the time made up my mind as tovarious details. I have now decided that for the proper development ofmy scheme three months at least will be necessary. I therefore inviteyou to be my guests at the Court during that period."
Again came the involuntary, simultaneous start of surprise, and JackMelland cried hastily--
"It is impossible! I am obliged to you, sir; but it is quiteimpossible, so far as I am concerned. My business--"
"My--my mother!" cried Ruth. "We could not leave her so long; she needsour help-
-"
Mr Farrell interrupted with upraised hand.
"We will defer objections, if you please! I am prepared to meet andanswer them, later on. For the present I ask you to think quietly overthe prospect which lies before you, and to consider how far suchobstacles as you have mentioned should be allowed to stand in the way.Surely the object is worth some temporary inconvenience or loss. Thishouse, and all that it contains, with various properties bringing in anincome of over ten thousand a year, will in due course become theproperty of one of your number--of the one who best fulfils a certaincondition which I consider essential."
"And the condition--the condition?" queried Mollie eagerly.
Mr Farrell looked at her in silence, while a grim smile passed over hisfeatures.
"That," he said slowly--"that, my dear Miss Mary,--will be discovered,with other things,--when you hear my will read aloud on the day of myfuneral?"