CHAPTER XXIII
Miriam went on to the drawing-room. The Marquess was sitting in hisusual deep chair, his hands folded on his knees, his head bowed; helooked as if he were asleep, but he was not; he was thinking, at thatmoment, of the half-tipsy son he had left in the dining-room, of thethin, bent figure of the old man who had suddenly reappeared on thatmorning months ago at Sutcombe House. What a terrible tangle it was;what a mockery that he should be sitting here at Thexford Hall, whilethe real owner was living in poverty in London! His thoughts were almosttoo bitter to be borne, and the so-called Marquess crouched in his chairand stifled a groan.
Thinking he was dozing, Miriam went straight to the piano and began toplay. When she had finished the piece, she was startled--for she hadbeen going over and over in her mind the scene in the smoking-room--bythe grave voice of the Marquess saying,
"Thank you, Miriam. That was very beautiful." He paused a moment. "Mywife used to play that; it is a favourite of mine. Please go on, if youare not tired."
She played a nocturne of Chopin; and he rose and stood at the fireplace,with his hands folded behind his back. As she turned and looked at him,he said, with a smile,
"That is a pretty pendant, Miriam. I think you have not many jewels,have you?"
She started, and turned her head away from him.
"Oh, I have quite enough," she said, with a laugh. "You must remember,Lord Sutcombe, that I am a poor clergyman's fourth daughter, and that Iam not accustomed to much jewellery."
"You are my son's wife, my dear Miriam," he said, with a slight smile."And a lady of your position has usually quite a quantity of jewellery.Personally, I do not attach much importance to the decrees of fashion,but I suppose that it is as well to comply with them. Has Percy ever bychance spoken to you of the family diamonds?"
The blood mantled in Miriam's face for a moment; then left it paler thanbefore.
"No," she replied.
"Ah!" said the Marquess. "Of course, there are some. Indeed, there are agreat many, and some of them are very beautiful, very valuable; in fact,I do not think I should exaggerate if I were to say that some of thestones are priceless; not only in a monetary sense, but because of theirsize and quality. There are, too, historic associations," he added,thoughtfully.
There was a pause; Miriam drooped over the piano, touching a note hereand there softly.
"Yes, some of them are historic," resumed the Marquess meditatively."There is a necklace which belonged to Madame du Barri, and anotherwhich Queen Elizabeth gave to one of her ladies-in-waiting. An ancestorof ours was a son of hers. I think the time has arrived when the jewelsshould, so to speak, be resurrected; that they should pass into yourpossession."
Miriam's heart beat fast; but the flush of gratification did not rise toher face, for she was thinking of the base, the nefarious uses to whichher husband would put these historic jewels.
"Indeed, they almost belong to you by right," said the Marquess. "Theyhave always gone with the title."
His voice grew gradually slower, and presently he stopped and lookedstraight before him, as if he had forgotten her presence. Indeed, he haddone so; for as he spoke of the title, there rose suddenly, like acinematograph film thrown on the screen, the bent figure, grey face andpiercing eyes of the real owner of the title. Not for the first time,he, the false Marquess, was giving away that which belonged to theshabbily-dressed old man who had refused to accept the position whichwas his by right of inheritance. The pause was a momentary one only, andthe Marquess went on,
"I am a widower; fortunately, Percy is married, and the family jewelsreally belong to you. You shall have them."
Miriam moistened her lips; her heart was beating thickly. As a woman,she desired the jewels; as a wife, she must obey Heyton.
"Oh, how good of you!" she said, trying to keep her voice steady."Indeed, it is more than kind of you, Lord Sutcombe. But--but I don'tthink I ought to accept them--now. They must be of very great value----"
"They are," he interjected, not complacently but with a sigh; for herecalled them as they shone on the neck and arms of his dead wife.
"And I feel as if they would be a great responsibility," Miriamcontinued. "Percy thinks of--of going abroad, of travelling for a time.Perhaps, when we come back and have settled down, you--you will be sogood, so kind as to give them to me. I can't thank you enough."
Her voice broke; for weak and foolish as she was, she could not butthink of the still weaker and more vicious man who had planned so base ause for the Sutcombe diamonds.
"Very well, my dear," he said, in a kindly voice. "We will leave them totheir repose in the safe upstairs. I brought them down from the bank,intending to give them to you."
"Upstairs?" she said, in something like a whisper, a frightened whisper.
"Why, yes," he said, simply. "They are in the safe in the little roomadjoining my bedroom. I have not seen them since my wife died," headded, with unconscious pathos.
Scarcely knowing why, a vague dread, a presentiment of evil stirredwithin Miriam's breast.
"Oh, ought they not to be sent back to the bank, Lord Sutcombe?" shesaid in a low voice.
"Perhaps they ought," he said, gravely. "You are thinking of burglars,"he added, with a smile. "You need not be apprehensive; the safe is aremarkably good one; one of the best, I believe, and I carry the keyabout with me always. I have it on my watch-chain. I don't think themost modern and scientific burglar could break open the safe; at anyrate, he could not do so without making a noise which someone in thehouse would hear. Oh, they are quite secure from burglars, believe me,Miriam."
"I am glad," she said, almost inaudibly. "Shall I play you somethingelse."
"Do," he responded. "Where is Percy?"
"In the smoking-room, I believe," she replied.
He went to her and laid his hand on her shoulder.
"Percy is too fond of the smoking-room," he said, gravely. "Miriam, I donot wish to intrude--I have always held that no man has a right tointerfere between his son and his wife. But--forgive me, Miriam--I amanxious about Percy. You, who are his wife, must have seen that--forgiveme again--that he needs guidance. He is too fond of--what shall Isay?--of pleasure, the sensation of the moment. I had hoped that hismarriage would have wooed him from--from the self-indulgence to which hehad yielded in early life. Miriam, I count a great deal upon yourinfluence," he wound up lamely and with a deep sigh.
Her head bowed still lower over the keys, and she nodded.
"I know," she said. "I will do my best. But you know Percy!"
He sighed again. "Yes, I know," he assented. "There are certainweaknesses in most families which crop up, now and again, likeill-weeds, in some member; I fear that Percy--Don't cry, Miriam, we willhope for the best; and, as I say, I rely on you, I rely on you verymuch. You look tired, my child; it is time for your beauty sleep. I willgo and find Percy."
She stretched out her hand with a sudden apprehension.
"No, don't!" she exclaimed, with a catch of her breath. "I mean, that Ithink he has gone to bed. He was very tired."
The Marquess nodded, as if he understood.
"Very well, my dear. Now go. But don't forget," he said, as he held herhand and kissed her on the forehead, "the diamonds are yours, wheneveryou would like to have them."
When she reached her room, Miriam sank into a chair and covered her eyeswith her hands. She was weak and foolish, but she was not so weak andfoolish as not to be touched by the kindness of the Marquess. She wasglad that Percy had changed his mind about getting the diamonds, thoughshe could not guess why he had done so. When the Marquess next offeredthem to her, she would refuse again to accept them until Percy had foundsome other way out of his difficulty. She knew that the diamonds werealmost sacred in the eyes of the Marquess, not only because they werefamily heirlooms, but because his wife had worn them; and she shudderedat the idea of their falling into Percy's hands, the deceit andtreachery which he contemplated.
She dismissed her maid when she heard Percy e
nter his dressing-room; shelistened to his movements with a sense of uneasiness; he had alreadybecome indifferent to her, and a feeling of actual dislike of him wasgrowing up within her. Presently the door between the two rooms openedand he looked in.
"Hallo! not in bed?" His voice was thick, as it always was at that hourof the night; but he spoke with affected lightness and smiled. "You andthe old man been having a palaver, haven't you? Did he say anythingabout--the diamonds?" he added, casually.
"Yes," she said, without turning her head from the glass. "He offeredthem to me; but I refused them, as you told me to do."
He had been fumbling at his collar, but as she spoke, his hand fell tohis side and he looked straight before him, with a curious expression onhis face.
"That's right," he said, after awhile. "It wouldn't have done to haveseemed too anxious for them, greedy. He'll think all the better of you.Let 'em lie at the bank a little longer, till we come back from theContinent."
"They're not at the bank; they're in the safe in Lord Sutcombe'sdressing-room," she said, unthinkingly. Her eyes were still averted fromhim, and she did not see the sudden change in his face; it had grownabsolutely white.
"Oh!" he said indifferently, too indifferently. "In the safe upstairs,are they? Then he meant giving them to you? Well, they're all rightthere. Don't you take them: I mean, put him off. Look here, I've thoughtof another way out of the mess I'm in, Miriam. After all, it would havebeen playing it rather low down to pop the things, to play tricks withthem; they're the family diamonds, you know."
"Yes; your mother wore them," said Miriam in a low voice. "I'm glad youdon't--want them, Percy."
"That's all right," he said, with a forced laugh. "Don't you worryyourself."
He closed the door and sank into a chair in his dressing-room. He wasshaking, as if with ague; for the little plan he had formed in thesmoking-room was now rendered of no avail.
The little plan can be stated in a few words. There is a certainfascination in forgery; it is so beautifully easy; you have but to writeanother's man's name, copying that man's handwriting, and the trick isdone. Percy had tried his hand at the game already, and they say that ahorse that once stumbles is certain to fall again. He had intendedforging an order on the bank for the delivery of the jewels: and nowthey were not in the bank but here in the house. Within a few yards ofhim were diamonds and other precious stones, the possession of whichwould save him from ruin. The sweat broke out on his face, his lips grewparched, and he tried to moisten them with a tongue that was almost asdry. He knew the safe well enough, knew that even a skilled burglarwould find it difficult, if not impossible, to break into it. Thediamonds were within his reach, with only the door of that safe betweenhim and them. It would have been far better for his purpose, if they hadbeen at the bank!
Cursing his luck, the miserable man went on with his undressing.