CHAPTER XIX
SHOWS GABRIELLE DEFIANT
Gabrielle crossed quickly to one of the long windows, which she unboltedand flung open, expecting to hear the shrill whir of the burglar-alarm,which, every night, Hill switched on before retiring.
"My dear little girl!" exclaimed the man, smiling as he strolledleisurely across to her with a cool, perfect unconcern which showed howcompletely he was master, "why create such a beastly draught? Nothingwill happen, for I've already seen to those wires."
"You're a thief!" she cried, drawing herself up angrily. "I shall gostraight to my father and tell him at once."
"You are at perfect liberty to act exactly as you choose," wasFlockart's answer, as he bowed before her with irritating mockpoliteness. "But before you go, pray allow me to finish these mostinteresting documents, some of which, I believe, are in your very neathandwriting."
"My father's business is his own alone, and you have no right whateverto pry into it. I thought you were posing as his friend!" she cried inbitter protest, as she stood with both her hands clenched.
"I am his friend," he declared. "Some day, Gabrielle, you will know thetruth of how near he is to disaster, and how I am risking much in anendeavour to save him."
"I don't believe you!" she exclaimed in undisguised disgust. "In yourheart there is not one single spark of sympathy with him in hisaffliction or with me in my ghastly position!"
"Your position is only your own seeking, my dear child," was his coldresponse. "I gave you full warning long ago. You can't deny that."
"You conspired with Lady Heyburn against me!" she cried. "I havediscovered more about it than you think; and I now openly defy you, Mr.Flockart. Please understand that."
"Good!" he replied, still unruffled. "I quite understand. You willpardon my resuming, won't you?" And walking back to the open safe, hedrew forth a small bundle of papers from a drawer. Then he threw himselfinto a leather arm-chair, and proceeded to untie the tape and examinethe documents one by one, as though in eager search of something.
"Though Lady Heyburn may be your friend, I am quite sure even she wouldnever for a moment countenance such a dastardly action as this!" criedthe girl, crimsoning in anger. "You come here, accept my father'shospitality, and make pretence of being his friend and adviser; yet youare conspiring against him, as you have done against myself!"
"So far as you yourself are concerned, my dear Gabrielle," he laughed,without deigning to look up from the papers he was scanning, "I offeredyou my friendship, but you refused it."
"Friendship!" she cried, in sarcasm. "Your friendship, Mr. Flockart!What, pray, is it worth? You surely know what people are saying--theconstruction they are placing upon your friendship for Lady Heyburn?"
"The misconstruction, you mean," he exclaimed airily, correcting her."Well, to me it matters not a single jot. The world is alwaysill-disposed and ill-natured. A woman can surely have a male friendwithout being subject to hostile and venomous criticism?"
"When the male friend is an honest man," said the girl meaningly.
He shrugged his shoulders and continued reading, as though utterlydisregarding her presence.
What should she do? How should she act? She knew quite well that fromthose papers he could gather no knowledge of her father's affairs,unless he held some secret knowledge of the true meaning of thosecryptic terms and allusions. To her they were all as Hebrew.
Only that very day Monsieur Goslin had again made one of thoseunexpected visits, remaining from eleven in the morning until three;afterwards taking his leave, and driving back in the car to AuchterarderStation. She had not seen him; but he had brought from Paris for her abig box of chocolates tied with violet ribbons, as had been his habitfor quite a couple of years past. She was a particular favourite withthe polite, middle-aged Frenchman.
Her father's demeanour was always more thoughtful and serious after thestranger's visits. Business matters put before him by his visitoralways, it seemed, required much deep thought and ample consideration.
Some papers brought to her father by Goslin she had placed in the safeearlier that evening, and these, she recognised, were now in Flockart'shands. She had not read them herself, and had no idea of their contents.They were, to her, never interesting.
"Mr. Flockart," she exclaimed very firmly at last, "I ask you to kindlyreplace those papers in my father's safe, relock it, and hand me thekey."
"That I certainly refuse to do," was the man's defiant reply, bowing ashe spoke.
"You would prefer, then, that I should go up to my father and explainall I have seen?"
"I repeat what I have already said. You are perfectly at liberty to tellwhom you like. It makes no difference whatever to me. And, well, I don'twant to be disturbed just now." Rising, he walked across to thewriting-table, and taking a piece of note-paper bearing the Heyburncrest, rapidly pencilled some memoranda upon it. He was, it seemed,taking a copy of one of the documents.
Suddenly she sprang towards him, crying, "Give me that paper! Give it tome at once, I say! It is my father's."
He straightened himself from the table, pulled down his white dress-vestwith its amethyst buttons, and, looking straight into her face, orderedher to leave the room.
"I shall not go," she answered boldly. "I have discovered a thief in myfather's house; therefore my duty is to remain here."
"No. Surely your duty is to go upstairs and tell him;" and he bentagain, resuming his rapid memoranda. "Well," he asked defiantly, a fewmoments later, seeing that she had not moved, "aren't you going?"
"I shall not leave you here alone."
"Don't. I might run away with some of the ornaments."
"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the girl bitterly, "you taunt me because you arewell aware of my helplessness--of what occurred on thatnever-to-be-forgotten afternoon--of how completely you have me in yourpower! I see it all. You defy me, well knowing that you could, in amoment, bring upon me a vengeance terrible and complete. It is allhorrible!" she cried, covering her face with her hands. "I know that Iam in your power. And you have no pity, no remorse."
"I gave you full warning," he declared, placing the papers upon thetable and looking at her. "I gave you your choice. You cannot blame me.You had ample time and opportunity."
"But I still have one man who loves me--a man who will yet stand myfriend and defend me, even against you!"
"Walter Murie!" he laughed, with a quick gesture of disregard. "Youbelieve him to be your friend? Recollect, my dear Gabrielle, that menare deceivers ever."
"So it seems in your case," she exclaimed with poignant bitterness. "Youhave brought scandalous comment upon my father's name, and yet you areutterly unconcerned."
"Because, as I have already told you, your father is my friend."
"And it is his money which you spend so freely," she said, in a low,hard voice of reproach. "It comes from him."
"His money!" he exclaimed quickly. "What do you mean? What do youimply?"
"Simply that among my father's accounts a short time back I found twocheques drawn by Lady Heyburn in your favour."
"And you told your father of them, of course!" he exclaimed withsarcasm. "A remarkable discovery, eh?"
"I told him nothing," was her bold reply. "Not because I wished toshield you, but because I did not wish to pain him unduly. He hasworries sufficient, in all conscience."
"Your devotion is really most charming," the man declared calmly,leaning against the table and examining her critically from head tofoot. "Sir Henry believes in you. You are his dutiful daughter--pure,good, and all that!" he sneered. "I wonder what he would say ifhe--well, if he knew just a little of the truth, of what happened thatday at Chantilly?"
"The truth! Ah, and you would tell him--you!" she gasped in a brokenvoice, her sweet, innocent face blanched to the lips in an instant. "Youwould drag my good name into the mire, and blast my life for ever withjust as little compunction as you would shoot a rabbit. I know--I knowyou only too well, Mr. Flockart! I stand in your way; I am i
n your wayas well as in Lady Heyburn's. You are only awaiting an opportunity towreck my life and crush me! Once I am away from here, my poor fatherwill be helpless in your hands!"
"Dear me," he sneered, "how very tragic you are becoming! Thatdressing-gown really makes you appear quite like a heroine of provincialmelodrama. I ought now to have a revolver and threaten you, and thenthis scene would be complete for the stage--wouldn't it? But forgoodness' sake don't remain here in the cold any longer, my dear littlegirl. Run off to bed, and forget that to-night you've been walking inyour sleep."
"Not until I see that safe relocked and you give me the false key ofyours. If you will not, then you shall this very night have anopportunity of telling the truth to my father. I am prepared to bear myshame and all its consequences----"
The words froze upon her pale lips. On the lawn outside the half-openglass door there was at that moment a light movement--the tapping of awalking-stick!
"Hush!" cried Flockart. "Remember what I can tell him--if I choose!"
In an instant she saw the fragile figure of her father, in soft felt-hatand black coat, creeping almost noiselessly past the window. He had beenout for one of his nocturnal walks, for he sometimes went out alone whensuffering from insomnia. He had just returned.
The blind man went forward only a few paces farther; but, finding thathe had proceeded too far, he returned and discovered the open door. Nearit stood the pair, not daring now to move lest the blind man's quickears should detect their footsteps.
"Gabrielle! Gabrielle, my dear!" exclaimed the Baronet.
But though her heart beat quickly, the girl did not reply. She knew,however, that the old man could almost read her innermost thoughts. Theominous words of Flockart rang in her ears. Yes, he could tell aterrible and awful truth which must be concealed at all hazards.
"I felt sure I heard Gabrielle's voice. How curious!" murmured the oldman, as his feet fell noiselessly upon the thick Turkey carpet."Gabrielle, dear!" he called. But his daughter stood there breathlessand silent, not daring to move a muscle. Plain it was that while passingacross the lawn outside he heard her voice. He had overheard herdeclaration that she was prepared to bear the consequences of herdisgrace.
Across the room the blind man groped, his hand held before him, as washis habit. "Strange! Remarkably strange!" he remarked to himself quitealoud. "I'm never mistaken in Gabrielle's voice. Gabrielle, dear, whereare you? Why don't you speak? It's too late to-night to play practicaljokes."
Flockart knew that he had left the safe-door open, yet he dared not moveacross the room to close it. The sightless man would detect theslightest movement in that dead silence of the night. With great care heleft the girl's side, and a single stride brought him to the largewriting-table, where he secured the document, together with thepencilled memoranda of its purport, both of which he slipped into hispocket unobserved.
Gabrielle dared not breathe. Her discovery there meant her ruin.
The man who held her in his toils cast her an evil, threatening glance,raising his clenched fist in menace, as though daring her to make theslightest movement. In his dark eyes showed a sinister expression, andhis nether lip was hard. She was, alas! utterly and completely in hispower.
The safe was some distance away, and in order to reach and close it hewould be compelled to pass the man in blue spectacles now standing,puzzled and surprised, in the centre of the great book-lined apartment.Both of them could escape by the open window, but to do so would be tocourt discovery should the Baronet find his safe standing open. In thatcase the alarm would be raised, and they would both be found outside thehouse, instead of within.
Slowly the old man drew his thin hand across his furrowed brow, andthen, as a sudden recollection dawned upon him, he cried, "Ah, thewindow! Why, that's strange! When I went out I closed it! But it wasopen--open--as I came in! Some one--some one has entered here in myabsence!"
With both his thin, wasted hands outstretched, he walked quickly to hissafe, cleverly avoiding the furniture in his course, and next seconddiscovered that the iron door stood wide open.
"Thieves!" he gasped aloud hoarsely as the truth dawned upon him. "Mypapers! Gabrielle's voice! What can all this mean?" And next moment heopened the door, crying, "Help!" and endeavouring to alarm thehousehold.
In an instant Flockart dashed forward towards the safe, and, withoutbeing observed by Gabrielle, had slipped the key into his own pocket.
"Gabrielle," cried the blind man, "you are here in the room. I know youare. You cannot deceive me. I smell that new scent, which your auntAnnie sent you, upon your handkerchief. Why don't you speak to me?"
"Yes, dad," she answered at last, in a low, strained voice, "I--I amhere."
"Then what is meant by my safe being open?" he asked sternly, as allthat Goslin had told him a little while before flashed across hismemory. "Why have you obtained a key to it?"
"I have no key," was her quick answer.
"Come here," he said. "Let me take your hand."
With great reluctance, her eyes fixed upon Flockart's face, she did asshe was bid, and as her father took her soft hand in his, he said in astern, harsh tone, full of suspicion and quite unusual to him, "You aretrembling, Gabrielle--trembling, because--because of my unexpectedappearance, eh?"
The fair girl with the sweet face and dainty figure was silent. Whatcould she reply?