CHAPTER XXII
As happy as Derrick, Celia hurried back to the Hall. So suddenly hadcome her happiness, so swiftly and unexpectedly had her life beensuffused by joy, that she was dazzled and bewildered, as one is dazzledand bewildered by the bursting of the midday sunlight through a bank ofclouds. It seemed almost impossible to realise that he was back inEngland, near at hand, that he loved her, that he had held her in hisarms; but the warmth of his kisses still lingered on her lips and helpedher unbelief.
As she entered the hall, Heyton sauntered out of the smoking-room; theeternal cigarette was between his thick lips, his hands were thrust inhis pockets; the smile, which Celia so much disliked, greeted herappearance, and his eyes roved over her with, the expression whichalways raised Celia's resentment.
"Hallo!" he exclaimed, with an offensive familiarity. "Been for a walk?By Jove! you look ripping, Miss Grant! Been enjoying yourself, to judgeby the look of you! I wish you would let me come with you; I might haveenjoyed myself too. I'm pretty well bored stiff; there's nothing to dohere, and the old place is dull as ditch-water; gives me the horrors.But I say, you'll be late for dinner. Hurry up and come and dine withus, won't you?"
"Thank you, Lord Heyton," said Celia, "but I dine alone in my own littleroom."
"What nonsense that is!" he said, impatiently. "Here, Miriam"--turningto his wife, as she came languidly down the stairs--"just tell MissGrant that she's got to dine with us to-night; she'll keep us from goingto sleep."
"Won't you?" asked Miriam, listlessly. "I wish you would; I'm sure LordSutcombe would like you to."
"Thank you very much," said Celia, as she passed on; "but I would ratherdine alone. I've a great deal to do to-night and must not waste timeover dinner."
"Oh, look here----!" began Heyton; but at the moment the butler advancedwith a telegram. Heyton took it and looked at it, and his manner changedinstantly. He stared at the telegram; his face growing pale, his teethclosing hard on the cigarette.
"What is it, Percy?" asked Miriam, as Celia passed into the library.
"Eh?" he said, with a start, as if waking up. "Oh, nothing! Yes, it is;it's dam bad news, I can tell you."
"Money again!" she said, with an impatient shrug of her shoulders.
"Yes, money; and a lot of it," he retorted. "Look here, Miriam, I'm in ahole, and a precious deep one this time. Hush! Here's the old man!" Hebroke off warningly, as the Marquess came into the hall.
He looked weary and careworn, and his shoulders drooped in the way thathad become habitual with him of late; and he frowned slightly as heglanced at the cigarette between his son's lips; for he disliked itspenetrating aroma as much as did Celia. Dinner was announced and theywent in; they talked in the desultory fashion which was customary withthem, and the Marquess, apparently lost in thought, did not noticeHeyton's pallor and the furtive glance which every now and then hedirected towards his father. As usual, Heyton did not refuse thebutler's offer of wine, and, after awhile, a hectic flush rose to hischeek, and he began to talk with a strained and unnatural gaiety.Miriam, who had been watching him, presently stretched out her handtowards his glass with a significant frown; but her husband glared ather and, reaching for the decanter, helped himself. Suddenly, apropos ofnothing, Heyton, addressing the Marquess, said:
"Have you noticed that pendant Miriam's wearing?"
The Marquess raised his eyes and smiled at her.
"Very pretty, my dear!" he observed.
"A present from Percy," she said, fingering it. "I'm glad you like it."
"A wedding present," said Heyton, with a sneer. "Not much of a present;but it was the best I could afford. She's pretty enough to deserve acomplete fit-out of diamonds, don't you think so?"
The Marquess looked up again, half curiously, as if he wondered whetherthere were any object in Heyton's remark; his lips moved as if he wereabout to speak; but he closed them again and his eyes went back to hisplate. Miriam rose and went to the drawing-room, and almost immediatelyafterwards, the Marquess left the table, saying, as he passed Heyton,
"That port is rather heavy, Percy; don't drink too much of it."
The weak and vicious face grew red and, with a sneer, Heyton retorted,
"Oh, if you begrudge me a glass of wine----" But he spoke under hisbreath, and the Marquess apparently did not hear him.
Heyton finished the decanter and then, with a rather unsteady step,betook himself to the smoking-room, fell into a chair and rang the bellfor coffee and cognac. He drank off the brandy, and took the telegramfrom his pocket. It was still in his hand when Miriam came into theroom, closing the door behind her. She stood regarding him in silencefor a moment, with the look of the disappointed woman in her eyes. Notfor the first time did she realise the folly of her conduct; she hadthrown over Derrick Dene for title and position; they were hers now, butto get them she had sold herself to a man whom she had learned todespise.
"Phew!" she breathed. "The room reeks of brandy." She went to a windowand flung it open. "I should have thought you had had quite enough todrink at dinner----"
"You may keep your thoughts to yourself, my lady," he said, with ascowl. "What I drink is my own business. And, by George! you'd drink, ifyou had as much on your mind as I have."
"You'd better tell me about it," she said; "you'd better tell me whatthat telegram means. And--Percy, I want to know why you called yourfather's attention to my pendant. You had some meaning, some object."
"Oh, you noticed it, did you?" he said, with a sneer. "I would scarcelyhave given you credit for so much intelligence. Well, I had a meaning. Iwanted to call the old man's attention to the fact that you, hisdaughter-in-law, had only a few trumpery trinkets to wear."
"Do you mean that you wanted him to buy me some, to give me a present?"she inquired, with a puzzled frown.
"No, not buy you some," he replied slowly, his eyes evading hers."There's no need to buy any. I'm thinking of the family diamonds;there's any amount of them already; a tiara, necklaces, bracelets--and,I remember, a string of pearls as good as any in the country. What's theuse of them, locked up in the strong room at the bank? Why doesn't hegive them to you; they're yours; by right, as you might say."
She seated herself on a chair at a little distance from him and lookedat him intently; her face had become flushed at his rough description ofthe Sutcombe jewels.
"What made you think of them to-night?" she asked.
"I've often thought of them," he answered, evasively.
"But you almost asked Lord Sutcombe to give them to me," she persisted."He must have known what you meant; I could see it by his face. But youwere foolish, Percy, to think that you'd get them that way."
"What other way of getting them is there?" he asked, sullenly.
"I don't know," she said. "You should have waited."
"Waited!" he repeated, with an oath. "I tell you I want those diamonds;and I must have them, and at once."
"_You_ want them?" she said, as if mystified; then her face grew crimsonfor an instant, but paled again as she leant forward. "You mean--youcan't mean, Percy, that you would _sell_ the diamonds? Oh, I see whatthat telegram means; you've been betting again! You promised me youwouldn't. But a promise isn't much to you. You've been betting again,and you've lost a great deal of money."
"You've guessed it right the very first time," he said, with an attemptat a laugh; but the sweat had gathered on his forehead and he wiped itaway with a shaking hand. "It's Skylark. He was a dead certainty; I gotthe tip straight from the stable; they must have pulled him; they musthave sold me. But I've got to pay up; I've _got_ to. Do you hear? If Ican't find the money by Monday week, I shall be posted. I suppose youknow what that means?"
"You'll be ruined," she said in a low voice.
"Cut by everybody; chucked out of every club, marked for life. Yes;sounds pretty black, doesn't it?"
"Is there no other way of getting the money?" she asked, wearily.
He shook his head. "If you knew anything at all, you'd know thereisn't,
" he said, sullenly. "The old man has just paid some biggish debtsfor me. That was what the row was about the other night. He warned methat it was the last I'd have from him for some time, and he'll keep hisword. Curse him!"
Miriam, accustomed as she was to his bad language, shrank.
"Percy! Your own father!" she whispered, with a shudder.
"Oh, don't go into heroics!" he said. "You'd curse everything andeverybody, if you were in the plight I am. And look here, you've got tohelp me. You and the old man have been getting on better than Iexpected; if he hasn't taken a downright fancy to you, he's got used toyou and treats you civilly. Can't you give him a hint about thediamonds? See here!" He leant forward, his hand gripping the table, thesweat gathering on his face again, his weak eyes bulging in his terribleeagerness. "I could raise money enough on the things to tide me overthis bit of bad luck until I struck a winner. Directly he'd given themto you, we'd go up to town; he wouldn't know whether you were wearingthem or not. But there! if it comes to that, we could easily get themcopied in paste; they imitate them so closely you can't tell the realfrom the sham. Fact. Why, half the women in London are wearing shams,and nobody's any the wiser."
She rose, her hand clutching at the lace on her bosom.
"I--I can't do it, Percy! Besides, it wouldn't be any use. It's strangehow little you know of the Marquess; you, his own son! Why, even I, whohave known him so short a time, know that to ask for them, to hint forthem, would be of no use. They are the family diamonds; they'resomething more than jewels in his eyes--don't you understand that?--hewill have to grow to like me a good deal better than he does before hegives them to me. It's no use, Percy. You must think of something else."
"There is no other way," he said.
He dropped back, his head sunk on his breast, his teeth gnawing at theprojecting under-lip; and she stood looking down at him, though scarcelyseeing him. Suddenly he glanced up at her, his lips twitching; a certainfurtive gleam in his light eyes.
"Oh, well, never mind, old girl!" he said, with an affectation ofconcurrence. "Perhaps you're right. We'll give it up. Don't worry; afterall, I dessay I shall find another way out. Here! you'd better go backto the old man. Go and play to him; he likes you to." As she movedtowards the door, he called to her in a cautious undertone. "Here!Miriam, come back. Now I come to think of it, I'm sure you're right asto not giving him a hint. Don't do it; in fact, if he says anythingabout the diamonds, say that you'd rather not have them at present. Youcan say that we're likely to be moving about, and that you'd rather waituntil we've settled down. You might lose 'em, don't you know."
Miriam looked at him, as if puzzled by this sudden _volte-face_; then,with a slight shrug of her shoulders, went out of the room. When thedoor had closed on her, Heyton rose and began to move about the roomunsteadily. His narrow forehead was contracted, as if he were thinkingdeeply; his lips worked, his hands closed and unclosed in his pockets inwhich they were thrust, and he glanced from side to side furtively. Somight a criminal look while plotting a coup more than usually risky anddangerous. Presently he came alongside the table on which the footmanhad placed the spirit-bottles and syphons. Heyton mixed himself a stiffglass of whisky and soda, drank it almost at a draught, then nodded atthe reflection of himself in the mirror opposite him.
"I think I could work it," he muttered. "Yes, I think I could work it."