CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SPRINGING A SURPRISE
The circumstance was something of a shock to him. Up to this moment hehad looked upon young Raynor as being merely a selfish, irresponsiblewastrel, not as something vicious, something that had the courage oreven the power to bite or to sting. Now, however---- He turned thebracelet over in his hand and examined it closely, to be certain beforehe finally decided that it really was Margot's.
The act served merely to deepen suspicion into certainty. By a dozenthings he knew it for what he hoped it might not be. It was Margot'sbracelet, beyond all possible question it was! So, then, he had been afool for his pains, had he--a fool taken in and gulled by appearances,eh? And the creature he had fancied a mere worm was, after all, aserpent and--dangerous!
Margot's bracelet in the pocket of Harry Raynor's evening coat wassomething rather more significant than Margot's picture and Margot'sletters in Harry Raynor's tobacco jar, for an evening coat consortedwell with an evening frock, and some woman who was not Ailsa Lorne, noryet Lady Katharine Fordham, had worn an evening frock at Gleer Cottagelast night.
Where was Harry Raynor last night? That, too, would want looking into inthe light of present events. And possessing two evening suits, which hadthat interesting young gentleman worn yesterday? This one, which he hadlent to Cleek, or the one he would himself wear at dinner to-night? Agreat deal would depend upon that point--as great a deal as sometimessends men to the gallows. For whensoever he had last worn this suit,this bracelet was put in the pocket of it. Upon that point there couldbe no shadow of doubt; for although he had forgotten all about thething--as evidenced by his leaving it in the pocket when sending theclothes to Cleek--he could not possibly have put this coat on againwithout noticing how abominably the thing sat upon the wearer, anddiscovering the cause of it.
And if he had worn this particular suit last night, and Margot could beproved to have visited Gleer Cottage at, or about, the time of themurder----Cleek shut off that train of thought, and puckered up his lipsuntil they were white and full of creases, and sighed inwardly, thinkingof the loving mother and of the added cross for the shoulders of thebitterly disappointed father, a man and a hero, a soldier and agentleman, cursed with such offspring as this!
"And the little beast would sacrifice the pair of them for the price ofa night's orgy, and turn suspicion even against his mother to save hisown skin if he were in danger," was his unspoken summing up of HarryRaynor's character. "Gad, how little there is in heredity, after all,when we so often see eagles breeding jackdaws and lions bringing forthmice!"
The dinner gong sounded again; and it was only then that he realized howlong a time he had spent mooning over a stolen bracelet and a gnat thatseemed suddenly to have grown into a bird of prey.
He turned round on his heel and switched off the light. "A bombshell for_you_, my laddie!" he said in the soundless words of thought, as he putthe bracelet into the tail pocket of his coat and nodded as if youngRaynor were there in person to be addressed; then he walked out and shutthe door behind him, and went down to the business of dining.
He found the General and his son and Mrs. Raynor and Ailsa awaiting himin the drawing-room, and was not--considering what he now knew--at allsurprised to learn that Lady Katharine had developed a bad headache,gone to bed, and wished no dinner at all.
"I can't think what's come over her," said Ailsa when she made thisannouncement.
"Oh, can't you?" said young Raynor with a cackling laugh. "Lord! womendon't look far beneath the surface of things, do they, Barch? Whowouldn't go to bed with a headache after a visit from a goat like GeoffClavering?"
"Harry, dearest, do think what you are saying, and before whom,darling!" bleated apologetically his adoring mother. "You mustn't mindhim, Mr. Barch; he _is so_ full of spirit, the dear boy."
Cleek did not reply, neither did the General. Possibly both weresecretly battling with a desire to catch hold of this young man and tokick him as far as the human foot could propel him; and it was, nodoubt, a relief to all when the two footmen swung open the great doubledoors leading into the dining-room and announced gravely that dinner wasserved.
With the matter of that dinner it is doubtful if anybody but Cleekreally enjoyed the hour spent in consuming it, and even he merelybecause the girl of his heart was beside him, and _that_ would make aheaven with any healthy and well-conditioned man in the universe. But itwas certain that nobody was deeply regretful when the end came, and Mrs.Raynor, rising, gave the hint to Miss Lorne that it was time to returnto the drawing-room and to leave the gentlemen to their half hour withthe coffee, the liqueurs, and the cigars. But to-night the General wouldhave none of these.
"Young men to young men's pleasure, gentlemen. I'm an old fogy, and I'msleepy," he said immediately after the ladies had retired. "Besides, mymonthly copy of the _Gardener and Fruit Grower_ arrived this evening,and I haven't looked at it yet. So, if you will excuse me, Mr.Barch----"
"My dear General, pray make no apologies," said Cleek, strugglingbetween the necessity for keeping up his rakish attitude and the desireto be a man in the eyes of this rugged old soldier, who was fighting abraver battle now than he had ever fought in the days when king andcountry called him. "If a man may not consider his personal conveniencein his own house, what's the good of saying that an Englishman's home ishis castle?"
"Ah, we outlive old notions, Mr. Barch, we outlive them!" replied theGeneral with a kindly smile and something that was like a smotheredsigh. "Pray make yourself thoroughly at home, however. I hear from Harrythat you have decided to honour us with a week's visit, and I am verygreatly pleased. Hawkins, in the absence of Johnston, see that thegentlemen want for nothing."
"Very good, sir. Serve your coffee in your study, sir?"
"No, I shan't take any. See that I'm not disturbed; and don't bother tovalet me to-night; I shall be reading late. Good-night, Harry;good-night, Mr. Barch." And with that he walked out of the room and leftthem.
"Now, then, Hawkins," said young Raynor as soon as his father was fairlyout of sight and sound, "set the decanters and the glasses on the tablehere, and you and Hamer clear off about your business as fast as you cantoddle. We don't need you. Hook it!"
"Very good, sir," replied Hawkins deferentially, and obeyed the order tothe letter.
Harry Raynor waited a moment to give both time to leave the room and toget beyond earshot, then caught up a decanter, drew a glass toward him,and poured out a stiff peg of brandy.
"I say, Barch, I've got a flea to put into your ear," he said earnestly,"and I didn't want those blighters hanging round to hear it; that's thereason I packed them off as I did. I'm going to give you a shock thatwill set you thinking."
"Are you?" said Cleek with the utmost serenity. "Well, I'm going to give_you_ one, too, dear boy; and as first horse at the post wins--I say,what price this little caper? How did you come by this, dear boy--andwhen?"
He dipped round and down into his coat-tail pocket, as he spoke, pulledout the scent bracelet, and laid it on the table before him.