CHAPTER IV--THE LADY ARABELLA MARCH
"Now, there is no hurry, but so soon as you are both ready we shallstart," Mr. Salton said when breakfast had begun. "I want to take youfirst to see a remarkable relic of Mercia, and then we'll go to Liverpoolthrough what is called 'The Great Vale of Cheshire.' You may bedisappointed, but take care not to prepare your mind"--this to Adam--"foranything stupendous or heroic. You would not think the place a vale atall, unless you were told so beforehand, and had confidence in theveracity of the teller. We should get to the Landing Stage in time tomeet the _West African_, and catch Mr. Caswall as he comes ashore. Wewant to do him honour--and, besides, it will be more pleasant to have theintroductions over before we go to his _fete_ at the Castle."
The carriage was ready, the same as had been used the previous day, butthere were different horses--magnificent animals, and keen for work.Breakfast was soon over, and they shortly took their places. Thepostillions had their orders, and were quickly on their way at anexhilarating pace.
Presently, in obedience to Mr. Salton's signal, the carriage drew upopposite a great heap of stones by the wayside.
"Here, Adam," he said, "is something that you of all men should not passby unnoticed. That heap of stones brings us at once to the dawn of theAnglian kingdom. It was begun more than a thousand years ago--in thelatter part of the seventh century--in memory of a murder. Wulfere, Kingof Mercia, nephew of Penda, here murdered his two sons for embracingChristianity. As was the custom of the time, each passer-by added astone to the memorial heap. Penda represented heathen reaction after St.Augustine's mission. Sir Nathaniel can tell you as much as you wantabout this, and put you, if you wish, on the track of such accurateknowledge as there is."
Whilst they were looking at the heap of stones, they noticed that anothercarriage had drawn up beside them, and the passenger--there was onlyone--was regarding them curiously. The carriage was an old heavytravelling one, with arms blazoned on it gorgeously. The men took offtheir hats, as the occupant, a lady, addressed them.
"How do you do, Sir Nathaniel? How do you do, Mr. Salton? I hope youhave not met with any accident. Look at me!"
As she spoke she pointed to where one of the heavy springs was brokenacross, the broken metal showing bright. Adam spoke up at once:
"Oh, that can soon be put right."
"Soon? There is no one near who can mend a break like that."
"I can."
"You!" She looked incredulously at the dapper young gentleman who spoke."You--why, it's a workman's job."
"All right, I am a workman--though that is not the only sort of work Ido. I am an Australian, and, as we have to move about fast, we are alltrained to farriery and such mechanics as come into travel--I am quite atyour service."
"I hardly know how to thank you for your kindness, of which I gladlyavail myself. I don't know what else I can do, as I wish to meet Mr.Caswall of Castra Regis, who arrives home from Africa to-day. It is anotable home-coming; all the countryside want to do him honour." Shelooked at the old men and quickly made up her mind as to the identity ofthe stranger. "You must be Mr. Adam Salton of Lesser Hill. I am LadyArabella March of Diana's Grove." As she spoke she turned slightly toMr. Salton, who took the hint and made a formal introduction.
So soon as this was done, Adam took some tools from his uncle's carriage,and at once began work on the broken spring. He was an expert workman,and the breach was soon made good. Adam was gathering the tools which hehad been using--which, after the manner of all workmen, had beenscattered about--when he noticed that several black snakes had crawledout from the heap of stones and were gathering round him. This naturallyoccupied his mind, and he was not thinking of anything else when henoticed Lady Arabella, who had opened the door of the carriage, slip fromit with a quick gliding motion. She was already among the snakes when hecalled out to warn her. But there seemed to be no need of warning. Thesnakes had turned and were wriggling back to the mound as quickly as theycould. He laughed to himself behind his teeth as he whispered, "No needto fear there. They seem much more afraid of her than she of them." Allthe same he began to beat on the ground with a stick which was lyingclose to him, with the instinct of one used to such vermin. In aninstant he was alone beside the mound with Lady Arabella, who appearedquite unconcerned at the incident. Then he took a long look at her, andher dress alone was sufficient to attract attention. She was clad insome kind of soft white stuff, which clung close to her form, showing tothe full every movement of her sinuous figure. She wore a close-fittingcap of some fine fur of dazzling white. Coiled round her white throatwas a large necklace of emeralds, whose profusion of colour dazzled whenthe sun shone on them. Her voice was peculiar, very low and sweet, andso soft that the dominant note was of sibilation. Her hands, too, werepeculiar--long, flexible, white, with a strange movement as of wavinggently to and fro.
She appeared quite at ease, and, after thanking Adam, said that if any ofhis uncle's party were going to Liverpool she would be most happy to joinforces.
"Whilst you are staying here, Mr. Salton, you must look on the grounds ofDiana's Grove as your own, so that you may come and go just as you do inLesser Hill. There are some fine views, and not a few naturalcuriosities which are sure to interest you, if you are a student ofnatural history--specially of an earlier kind, when the world wasyounger."
The heartiness with which she spoke, and the warmth of her words--not ofher manner, which was cold and distant--made him suspicious. In themeantime both his uncle and Sir Nathaniel had thanked her for theinvitation--of which, however, they said they were unable to availthemselves. Adam had a suspicion that, though she answered regretfully,she was in reality relieved. When he had got into the carriage with thetwo old men, and they had driven off, he was not surprised when SirNathaniel spoke.
"I could not but feel that she was glad to be rid of us. She can playher game better alone!"
"What is her game?" asked Adam unthinkingly.
"All the county knows it, my boy. Caswall is a very rich man. Herhusband was rich when she married him--or seemed to be. When hecommitted suicide, it was found that he had nothing left, and the estatewas mortgaged up to the hilt. Her only hope is in a rich marriage. Isuppose I need not draw any conclusion; you can do that as well as Ican."
Adam remained silent nearly all the time they were travelling through thealleged Vale of Cheshire. He thought much during that journey and cameto several conclusions, though his lips were unmoved. One of theseconclusions was that he would be very careful about paying any attentionto Lady Arabella. He was himself a rich man, how rich not even his unclehad the least idea, and would have been surprised had he known.
The remainder of the journey was uneventful, and upon arrival atLiverpool they went aboard the _West African_, which had just come to thelanding-stage. There his uncle introduced himself to Mr. Caswall, andfollowed this up by introducing Sir Nathaniel and then Adam. The new-comer received them graciously, and said what a pleasure it was to becoming home after so long an absence of his family from their old seat.Adam was pleased at the warmth of the reception; but he could not avoid afeeling of repugnance at the man's face. He was trying hard to overcomethis when a diversion was caused by the arrival of Lady Arabella. Thediversion was welcome to all; the two Saltons and Sir Nathaniel wereshocked at Caswall's face--so hard, so ruthless, so selfish, so dominant."God help any," was the common thought, "who is under the domination ofsuch a man!"
Presently his African servant approached him, and at once their thoughtschanged to a larger toleration. Caswall looked indeed a savage--but acultured savage. In him were traces of the softening civilisation ofages--of some of the higher instincts and education of man, no matter howrudimentary these might be. But the face of Oolanga, as his mastercalled him, was unreformed, unsoftened savage, and inherent in it wereall the hideous possibilities of a lost, devil-ridden child of the forestand the swamp--the lowest of all created things that could be regarded asi
n some form ostensibly human. Lady Arabella and Oolanga arrived almostsimultaneously, and Adam was surprised to notice what effect theirappearance had on each other. The woman seemed as if she would not--couldnot--condescend to exhibit any concern or interest in such a creature. Onthe other hand, the negro's bearing was such as in itself to justify herpride. He treated her not merely as a slave treats his master, but as aworshipper would treat a deity. He knelt before her with his hands out-stretched and his forehead in the dust. So long as she remained he didnot move; it was only when she went over to Caswall that he relaxed hisattitude of devotion and stood by respectfully.
Adam spoke to his own man, Davenport, who was standing by, having arrivedwith the bailiff of Lesser Hill, who had followed Mr. Salton in a ponytrap. As he spoke, he pointed to an attentive ship's steward, andpresently the two men were conversing.
"I think we ought to be moving," Mr. Salton said to Adam. "I have somethings to do in Liverpool, and I am sure that both Mr. Caswall and LadyArabella would like to get under weigh for Castra Regis."
"I too, sir, would like to do something," replied Adam. "I want to findout where Ross, the animal merchant, lives--I want to take a small animalhome with me, if you don't mind. He is only a little thing, and will beno trouble."
"Of course not, my boy. What kind of animal is it that you want?"
"A mongoose."
"A mongoose! What on earth do you want it for?"
"To kill snakes."
"Good!" The old man remembered the mound of stones. No explanation wasneeded.
When Ross heard what was wanted, he asked:
"Do you want something special, or will an ordinary mongoose do?"
"Well, of course I want a good one. But I see no need for anythingspecial. It is for ordinary use."
"I can let you have a choice of ordinary ones. I only asked, because Ihave in stock a very special one which I got lately from Nepaul. He hasa record of his own. He killed a king cobra that had been seen in theRajah's garden. But I don't suppose we have any snakes of the kind inthis cold climate--I daresay an ordinary one will do."
When Adam got back to the carriage, carefully carrying the box with themongoose, Sir Nathaniel said: "Hullo! what have you got there?"
"A mongoose."
"What for?"
"To kill snakes!"
Sir Nathaniel laughed.
"I heard Lady Arabella's invitation to you to come to Diana's Grove."
"Well, what on earth has that got to do with it?"
"Nothing directly that I know of. But we shall see." Adam waited, andthe old man went on: "Have you by any chance heard the other name whichwas given long ago to that place."
"No, sir."
"It was called--Look here, this subject wants a lot of talking over.Suppose we wait till we are alone and have lots of time before us."
"All right, sir." Adam was filled with curiosity, but he thought itbetter not to hurry matters. All would come in good time. Then thethree men returned home, leaving Mr. Caswall to spend the night inLiverpool.
The following day the Lesser Hill party set out for Castra Regis, and forthe time Adam thought no more of Diana's Grove or of what mysteries ithad contained--or might still contain.
The guests were crowding in, and special places were marked for importantpeople. Adam, seeing so many persons of varied degree, looked round forLady Arabella, but could not locate her. It was only when he saw the old-fashioned travelling carriage approach and heard the sound of cheeringwhich went with it, that he realised that Edgar Caswall had arrived.Then, on looking more closely, he saw that Lady Arabella, dressed as hehad seen her last, was seated beside him. When the carriage drew up atthe great flight of steps, the host jumped down and gave her his hand.
It was evident to all that she was the chief guest at the festivities. Itwas not long before the seats on the dais were filled, while the tenantsand guests of lesser importance had occupied all the coigns of vantagenot reserved. The order of the day had been carefully arranged by acommittee. There were some speeches, happily neither many nor long; andthen festivities were suspended till the time for feasting arrived. Inthe interval Caswall walked among his guests, speaking to all in afriendly manner and expressing a general welcome. The other guests camedown from the dais and followed his example, so there was unceremoniousmeeting and greeting between gentle and simple.
Adam Salton naturally followed with his eyes all that went on withintheir scope, taking note of all who seemed to afford any interest. Hewas young and a man and a stranger from a far distance; so on all theseaccounts he naturally took stock rather of the women than of the men, andof these, those who were young and attractive. There were lots of prettygirls among the crowd, and Adam, who was a handsome young man and wellset up, got his full share of admiring glances. These did not concernhim much, and he remained unmoved until there came along a group ofthree, by their dress and bearing, of the farmer class. One was a sturdyold man; the other two were good-looking girls, one of a little overtwenty, the other not quite so old. So soon as Adam's eyes met those ofthe younger girl, who stood nearest to him, some sort of electricityflashed--that divine spark which begins by recognition, and ends inobedience. Men call it "Love."
Both his companions noticed how much Adam was taken by the pretty girl,and spoke of her to him in a way which made his heart warm to them.
"Did you notice that party that passed? The old man is Michael Watford,one of the tenants of Mr. Caswall. He occupies Mercy Farm, which SirNathaniel pointed out to you to-day. The girls are his grand-daughters,the elder, Lilla, being the only child of his elder son, who died whenshe was less than a year old. His wife died on the same day. She is agood girl--as good as she is pretty. The other is her first cousin, thedaughter of Watford's second son. He went for a soldier when he was justover twenty, and was drafted abroad. He was not a good correspondent,though he was a good enough son. A few letters came, and then his fatherheard from the colonel of his regiment that he had been killed by dacoitsin Burmah. He heard from the same source that his boy had been marriedto a Burmese, and that there was a daughter only a year old. Watford hadthe child brought home, and she grew up beside Lilla. The only thingthat they heard of her birth was that her name was Mimi. The twochildren adored each other, and do to this day. Strange how differentthey are! Lilla all fair, like the old Saxon stock from which she issprung; Mimi showing a trace of her mother's race. Lilla is as gentle asa dove, but Mimi's black eyes can glow whenever she is upset. The onlything that upsets her is when anything happens to injure or threaten orannoy Lilla. Then her eyes glow as do the eyes of a bird when her youngare menaced."