CHAPTER X
A fortnight later Count Leven informed his wife that he was going homeon a short leave, but that she might stay in London if she pleased. Anaunt of his had died in Warsaw, he said, leaving him a small property,and in spite of the disturbed state of his own country it wasnecessary that he should go and take possession of the land withoutdelay.
Lady Maud did not believe a word of what he said, until it becameapparent that he had the cash necessary for his journey withoutborrowing of her, as he frequently tried to do, with varying success.She smiled calmly as she bade him good-bye and wished him a pleasantjourney; he made a magnificent show of kissing her hand at parting,and waved his hat to the window when he was outside the house, beforegetting into the four-wheeler, on the roof of which his voluminousluggage made a rather unsafe pyramid. She was not at the window, andhe knew it; but other people might be watching him from theirs, andthe servant stood at the open door. It was always worth while, inCount Leven's opinion, to make an 'effect' if one got a chance.
Three days later Lady Maud received a document from the RussianEmbassy informing her that her husband had brought an action to obtaina divorce from her in the Ecclesiastical Court of the Patriarch ofConstantinople, on the ground of her undue intimacy with Rufus VanTorp of New York, as proved by the attested depositions of detectives.She was further informed that unless she appeared in person or byproxy before the Patriarch of Constantinople within one month of thedate of the present notice, to defend herself against the charges madeby her husband, judgment would go by default, and the divorce would bepronounced.
At first Lady Maud imagined this extraordinary document to be a stupidpractical joke, invented by some half-fledged cousin to tease her.She had a good many cousins, among whom were several beardlessundergraduates and callow subalterns in smart regiments, who wouldthink it no end of fun to scare 'Cousin Maud.' There was no mistakingthe official paper on which the document was written, and it borethe seal of the Chancery of the Russian Embassy; but in Lady Maud'sopinion the mention of the Patriarch of Constantinople stamped it asan egregious hoax.
On reflection, however, she decided that it must have been perpetratedby some one in the Embassy for the express purpose of annoying her,since no outsider could have got at the seal, even if he could haveobtained possession of the paper and envelope. As soon as this viewpresented itself, she determined to ascertain the truth directly, andto bring down the ambassadorial wrath on the offender.
Accordingly she took the paper to the Russian clerk who was in chargeof the Chancery, and inquired who had dared to concoct such a paperand to send it to her.
To her stupefaction, the man smiled politely and informed her that thedocument was genuine. What had the Patriarch to do with it? That wasvery simple. Had she not been married to a Russian subject by theGreek rite in Paris? Certainly. Very well. All marriages of Russiansubjects out of their own country took place under the authority ofthe Patriarch of Constantinople, and all suits for divorcing personsthus married came under his jurisdiction. That was all. It was such asimple matter that every Russian knew all about it. The clerk askedif he could be of service to her. He had been stationed inConstantinople, and knew just what to do; and, moreover, he had afriend at the Chancery there, who would take charge of the case if theCountess desired it.
Lady Maud thanked him coldly, replaced the document in its envelope,and left the Embassy with the intention of never setting foot in itagain.
She understood why Leven had suddenly lost an aunt of whom she hadnever heard, and had got out of the way on pretence of an imaginaryinheritance. The dates showed plainly that the move had been preparedbefore he left, and that he had started when the notice of the suitwas about to be sent to her. The only explanation that occurred to herwas that her husband had found some very rich woman who was willing tomarry him if he could free himself; and this seemed likely enough.
She hesitated as to how she should act. Her first impulse was to goto her father, who was a lawyer and would give her good advice, but amoment's thought showed her that it would be a mistake to go to him.Being no longer immobilised by a sprained ankle, Lord Creedmore wouldprobably leave England instantly in pursuit of Leven himself, and noone could tell what the consequences might be if he caught him; theywould certainly be violent, and they might be disastrous.
Then Lady Maud thought of telegraphing to Mr. Van Torp to come to townto see her about an urgent matter; but she decided against that coursetoo. Whatever her relations were with the American financier this wasnot the moment to call attention to them. She would write to him, andin order to see him conveniently she would suggest to her father tohave a week-end house party in the country, and to ask his neighbourover from Oxley Paddox. Nobody but Mr. Van Torp and the post-officecalled the place Torp Towers.
She had taken a hansom to the Embassy, but she walked back to CharlesStreet because she was angry, and she considered nothing so good for arage as a stiff walk. By the time she reached her own door she was ascool as ever, and her clear eyes looked upon the wicked world withtheir accustomed calm.
As she laid her hand on the door-bell, a smart brougham drove upquickly and stopped close to the pavement, and as she turned her headMargaret was letting herself out, before the footman could get roundfrom the other side to open the door of the carriage.
'May I come in?' asked the singer anxiously, and Lady Maud saw thatshe seemed much disturbed, and had a newspaper in her hand. 'I'm soglad I just caught you,' Margaret added, as the door opened.
They went in together. The house was very small and narrow, and LadyMaud led the way into a little sitting-room on the right of the hall,and shut the door.
'Is it true?' Margaret asked as soon as they were alone.
'What?'
'About your divorce--'
Lady Maud smiled rather contemptuously.
'Is it already in the papers?' she asked, glancing at the one Margarethad brought. 'I only heard of it myself an hour ago!'
'Then it's really true! There's a horrid article about it--'
Margaret was evidently much more disturbed than her friend, who satdown in a careless attitude and smiled at her.
'It had to come some day. And besides,' added Lady Maud, 'I don'tcare!'
'There's something about me too,' answered Margaret, 'and I cannothelp caring.'
'About you?'
'Me and Mr. Van Torp--the article is written by some one who hateshim--that's clear!--and you know I don't like him; but that's noreason why I should be dragged in.'
She was rather incoherent, and Lady Maud took the paper from her handquietly, and found the article at once. It was as 'horrid' as thePrimadonna said it was. No names were given in full, but there couldnot be the slightest mistake about the persons referred to, who wereall clearly labelled by bits of characteristic description. It was allin the ponderously airy form of one of those more or less true storiesof which some modern weeklies seem to have an inexhaustible supply,but it was a particularly vicious specimen of its class so far asMr. Van Torp was concerned. His life was torn up by the roots andmercilessly pulled to pieces, and he was shown to the public as aLeicester Square Lovelace or a Bowery Don Juan. His baleful career wastraced from his supposed affair with Mrs. Isidore Bamberger and herdivorce to the scene at Margaret's hotel in New York, and from thatto the occasion of his being caught with Lady Maud in Hare Court by ajustly angry husband; and there was, moreover, a pretty plain allusionto little Ida Moon.
Lady Maud read the article quickly, but without betraying any emotion.When she had finished she raised her eyebrows a very little, and gavethe paper back to Margaret.
'It is rather nasty,' she observed quietly, as if she were speaking ofthe weather.
'It's utterly disgusting,' Margaret answered with emphasis. 'Whatshall you do?'
'I really don't know. Why should I do anything? Your position isdifferent, for you can write to the papers and deny all that concernsyou if you like--though I'm sure I don't know why you should care.It's
not to your discredit.'
'I could not very well deny it,' said the Primadonna thoughtfully.Almost before the words had left her lips she was sorry she hadspoken.
'Does it happen to be true?' asked Lady Maud, with an encouragingsmile.
'Well, since you ask me--yes.' Margaret felt uncomfortable.
'Oh, I thought it might be,' answered Lady Maud. 'With all his goodqualities he has a very rough side. The story about me is perfectlytrue too.'
Margaret was amazed at her friend's quiet cynicism.
'Not that about the--the envelope on the table--'
She stopped short.
'Oh yes! There were four thousand one hundred pounds in it. My husbandcounted the notes.'
The singer leaned back in her chair and stared in unconcealedsurprise, wondering how in the world she could have been so completelymistaken in her judgment of a friend who had seemed to her the besttype of an honest and fearless Englishwoman. Margaret Donne had notbeen brought up in the gay world; she had, however, seen some aspectsof it since she had been a successful singer, and she did notexaggerate its virtues; but somehow Lady Maud had seemed to be aboveit, while living in it, and Margaret would have put her hand into thefire for the daughter of her father's old friend, who now acknowledgedwithout a blush that she had taken four thousand pounds from Rufus VanTorp.
'I suppose it would go against me even in an English court,' said LadyMaud in a tone of reflection. 'It looks so badly to take money, youknow, doesn't it? But if I must be divorced, it really strikes meas delightfully original to have it done by the Patriarch ofConstantinople! Doesn't it, my dear?'
'It's not usual, certainly,' said Margaret gravely.
She was puzzled by the other's attitude, and somewhat horrified.
'I suppose you think I'm a very odd sort of person,' said Lady Maud,'because I don't mind so much as most women might. You see, I neverreally cared for Leven, though if I had not thought I had a fancy forhim I wouldn't have married him. My people were quite against it. Thetruth is, I couldn't have the husband I wanted, and as I did not meanto break my heart about it, I married, as so many girls do. That's mylittle story! It's not long, is it?'
She laughed, but she very rarely did that, even when she was amused,and now Margaret's quick ear detected here and there in the sweetripple a note that did not ring quite like the rest. The intonationwas not false or artificial, but only sad and regretful, as genuinelaughter should not be. Margaret looked at her, still profoundlymystified, and still drawn to her by natural sympathy, thoughhorrified almost to disgust at what seemed her brutal cynicism.
'May I ask one question? We've grown to be such good friends thatperhaps you won't mind.'
Lady Maud nodded.
'Of course,' she said. 'Ask me anything you please. I'll answer if Ican.'
'You said that you could not marry the man you liked. Was he--Mr. VanTorp?'
Lady Maud was not prepared for the question.
'Mr. Van Torp?' she repeated slowly. 'Oh dear no! Certainly not! Whatan extraordinary idea!' She gazed into Margaret's eyes with a look ofinquiry, until the truth suddenly dawned upon her. 'Oh, I see!' shecried. 'How awfully funny!'
There was no minor note of sadness or regret in her rippling laughternow. It was so exquisitely true and musical that the great sopranolistened to it with keen delight, and wondered whether she herselfcould produce a sound half so delicious.
'No, my dear,' said Lady Maud, as her mirth subsided. 'I never was inlove with Mr. Van Torp. But it really is awfully funny that you shouldhave thought so! No wonder you looked grave when I told you that I wasreally found in his rooms! We are the greatest friends, and no man wasever kinder to a woman than he has been to me for the last two years.But that's all. Did you really think the money was meant for me? Thatwasn't quite nice of you, was it?'
The bright smile was still on her face as she spoke the last words,for her nature was far too big to be really hurt; but the littlerebuke went home sharply, and Margaret felt unreasonably ashamed ofherself, considering that Lady Maud had not taken the slightest painsto explain the truth to her.
'I'm so sorry,' she said contritely. 'I'm dreadfully sorry. It wasabominably stupid of me!'
'Oh no. It was quite natural. This is not a pretty world, and there'sno reason why you should think me better than lots of other women. Andbesides, I don't care!'
'But surely you won't let your husband get a divorce for such a reasonas that without making a defence?'
'Before the Patriarch of Constantinople?' Lady Maud evidently thoughtthe idea very amusing. 'It sounds like a comic opera,' she added. 'Whyshould I defend myself? I shall be glad to be free; and as for thestory, the people who like me will not believe any harm of me, and thepeople who don't like me may believe what they please. But I'm veryglad you showed me that article, disgusting as it is.'
'I was beginning to be sorry I had brought it.'
'No. You did me a service, for I had no idea that any one was going totake advantage of my divorce to make a cowardly attack on my friend--Imean Mr. Van Torp. I shall certainly not make any defence before thePatriarch, but I shall make a statement which will go to the rightpeople, saying that I met Mr. Van Torp in a lawyer's chambers inthe Temple, that is, in a place of business, and about a matter ofbusiness, and that there was no secret about it, because my husband'sservant called the cab that took me there, and gave the cabman theaddress. I often do go out without telling any one, and I let myselfin with a latch-key when I come home, but on that particular occasionI did neither. Will you say that if you hear me talked about?'
'Of course I will.'
Nevertheless, Margaret thought that Lady Maud might have given her alittle information about the 'matter of business' which hadinvolved such a large sum of money, and had produced such importantconsequences.