at first iris intended to follow milly, thinking that she suffered from some slight indisposition; but recollecting that up to the moment of leaving the girl had seemed perfectly well, she concluded that it was merely to escape the sermon milly had left so hurriedly. for this reason she kept her seat, until it struck her that the exit might be designed in order to meet lovel. however, a glance assured her that the young man was still in his seat, and showed no intention of following her sister. the strange lady remained, but of course iris had not observed her as milly had done. mrs. drass, in a pew a little way off, gave a sniff of significance, and glanced at miss clyde, but that lady, seeing that lucas was listening attentively to the sermon (she had caught a glimpse of him, and had turned round to look), paid no attention to the hint. all this passed unperceived by the rest of the congregation.
mr. chaskin invariably limited his discourse to fifteen minutes; and on this occasion he was even shorter and more pithy than usual. the service was concluded by eight o'clock, and lucas was one of the first to leave the church. at once he was followed by the strange lady, whom he had not observed, and when iris emerged from the porch she found that both had disappeared. neither was milly in sight, so, concluding that she had gone home, iris prepared to follow. shortly, however, she was accosted by mrs. drass, who had left miss clyde in order to discover the reason of milly's exit. to the suspicious mind of the ex-governess, everything done by the doctor's daughter was a covert act of insolence against her former pupil. to such an extent can prejudice distort a naturally liberal nature.
"good evening, miss link," said mrs. drass, puffing and blowing--for she was very stout, and had made considerable haste to overtake iris. "i am so glad to see you. i want to walk home with you and see your dear pa. he is in, i dare say?"
"he was when i left, mrs. drass," replied iris, who quite understood what the good lady was aiming at. "do you not feel well?"
"not very, my dear. the heart, you know, and shortness of breath. i thought i would just see dr. lester before i drove home with selina."
"where is she?" asked iris, glancing round at the dispersing congregation.
"speaking with mr. chaskin. she will call for me at your house in half an hour, so i shall have time to see your pa. by the way, my dear," said mrs. drass, as they walked slowly onward side by side, "i hope your sister is not ill?"
"she did not mention that she was ailing," replied iris, dryly.
"then why did she leave before the sermon?"
"i do not know, mrs. drass. no doubt we shall find her indoors, and then you can ask her yourself."
"oh, my dear!" mrs. drass exclaimed in a shocked tone, as though virtuously indignant at the idea of gossiping. "i would not think of troubling about such a trifle. i simply thought your dear sister was ill, seeing she left before mr. chaskin's sweet discourse; and i had half a mind to follow with my smelling bottle."
"very kind of you," said iris, briefly; and then, as she disliked the conversation, held her tongue. mrs. drass at once began on a fresh topic.
"did you see that stranger in church?" she asked--"a handsome young lady, most beautifully dressed. i wonder who she can be?"
"i did not observe her particularly."
"she looked at mr. lovel a great deal," continued mrs. drass artfully, "and at your sister. i was ill-placed for observation, but i turned and saw their looks."
"i don't understand you," said iris, on her guard at this coupling of milly's name with that of lovel.
mrs. drass became tart at once. "oh, my love, it is not very difficult to understand," she said stiffly; "in my opinion, your sister exchanged so many glances with mr. lovel that the strange lady thought----"
"i don't want to know what she thought, mrs. drass. you forget that my sister is engaged."
"i think it is milly lester who forgets that!" cried mrs. drass venomously; "it is really disgraceful the way in which she flirts with mr. lovel!"
"mrs. drass!"
"now, don't be cross with me, my dear," wheezed the fat old lady, as they stopped at the gate of poverty villa. "i only repeat what all the village talks about. i don't know what mr. herne will say to your sister's conduct! such a good young man as he is!"
"here is dr. lester," said iris, cutting short these remarks; and leaving mrs. drass in the company of her stepfather, she retired hastily in search of milly. to her surprise, the girl was not in the house. iris searched everywhere, and, alarmed by this unexpected absence, went downstairs with the intention of leaving the house to look for her. passing by dr. lester's room, the door of which was ajar, she heard the oily voice of mrs. drass accusing milly of flirting with lovel. although she hated eavesdropping, iris listened in the interests of her sister.
"indeed, my dear doctor, i should advise you to interfere," mrs. drass was saying; "you know how particular mr. herne is. if he learnt too much about milly----"
"he shall learn nothing," broke in dr. lester's harsh voice, "unless you tell him."
"excuse me, i never speak of my neighbours' business. this has nothing to do with me."
"but it has a great deal to do with miss clyde."
"i don't understand----" began mrs. drass, when the doctor cut her short with a short and rude laugh.
"oh, you understand well enough!" he said, contemptuously. "i hear gossip as well as you do. miss clyde wants to marry lovel, and cannot do so till milly is out of the way. in the interest of your friend, you wish milly to marry herne, and so will not tell him of this--flirtation."
"there is some truth in that," admitted mrs. drass, "although you put it rudely."
"i put it plainly, you mean," said lester. "you can go away content, madam, for i shall speak to milly."
"poor motherless girl! she needs talking to," sighed mrs. drass, and prepared to take her leave, satisfied in every way with the success of her mission.
before searching for milly, who was yet absent, iris determined to speak to her stepfather. the ice had been broken, and it was now easier to induce him to interfere. when mrs. drass took her departure, which she did almost immediately, iris entered the doctor's consulting room at once. lester already had got out the brandy bottle and was filling himself a glass. he looked red-eyed and wrathful, and turned viciously on iris before she had time to open her mouth.
"what is this i hear about milly and mr. lovel?" he snarled. "is her name to be on the lips of every village gossip? can't you look after her?"
"no, i can't. she laughs at me."
"where is she? i'll take care she doesn't laugh at me!" cried lester. "send her in here at once."
"how can i? she is not yet in."
lester looked at his watch. "twenty minutes past eight o'clock!" he growled; "and you let her gad about at this hour! no doubt she is with lovel now!"
"i should not be at all surprised," said iris, coldly.
"good lord! how coolly you speak!" raged the doctor, setting down his empty glass and filling it again. "don't you know that if herne hears of these things he'll break off the marriage!"
"i shouldn't blame him if he did."
"rubbish! i tell you, if milly loses herne, everything will smash up. we can't hold out much longer. herne has promised to pay all we owe and to lend me money. it all depends on milly; yet you let her flirt with lovel, and run the risk of ruining all. if chaskin heard about this lovel affair, he would tell herne, and then--curse it!"--the doctor broke off hastily, and drank another glass of brandy--"i must do something!"
"you won't do much if you go on taking that!" said iris pointedly.
"what is that to you, miss? mind your own business! i shall drink as much as i please." he filled himself a third glass of brandy. "as for lovel, if i catch him i'll trash the life out of him! spoiling milly's chance of a rich husband--i'll kill him before he does that. i shall lock her up, and you also, you--you----"
not waiting to hear what he called her, iris withdrew, sick at heart. she knew well enough that this was the commencement of a drinking bout, which would last three or four days. did lester meet his daughter in the company of lovel while the drunken fit was on him, he was quite capable of proceeding to personal violence. iris left the house hurriedly, with the intention of finding milly, and bringing her home lest ill should befall. at that moment, with her miserable home, the burden of milly's follies, and her own aching heart, the poor girl felt thoroughly ill and wretched.
on leaving poverty villa, she turned her steps towards the main street of the village, and wondered where she would find milly. it was yet light, a kind of luminous twilight, with a star-sprinkled heaven, and a gentle breeze sighing amid the trees. few people were about, as it was now about nine o'clock, and the majority of barnstead folk were within doors, lingering over their suppers. iris paced slowly along, her head aching with nervous pain, and her heart full of anxiety. when she arrived in the square where st. dunstan's church was situated she paused in utter helplessness, for she knew not in which direction to look for the truant; nor for very shame could she ask any of the passers-by if they had seen the girl. for the moment she was completely at a loss what to do.
unexpectedly the chimes began to ring, and the clock of st. dunstan's struck nine with slow and ponderous strokes. as iris counted them idly, she fancied she heard the sharp sound of a distant shot, and, for the moment wondered who could be shooting at that late hour. but the deep tone of the church bell striking the hour confused her, and hearing no more shots she thought that she must have been dreaming. after a pause she pursued her way, and turned homeward.
it struck iris that milly might have met lovel by appointment, in which case the meeting, to elude observation, would undoubtedly take place on the outskirts of the village. iris therefore made a detour, and walked homeward round by the common and through the sparse woods which fringed the town. but all to no purpose; not a sign of milly or of anyone else could she see, and it was with a sigh that she reentered barnstead streets on her way to the villa. as she passed the herne arms, she saw a carriage drive off, and as it whirled past her on the road to marborough, she noted that it was occupied by a lady. however, as she did not recognize the face--which she saw indistinctly in the twilight--she took no further note of the incident. in a few moments she reached home, and was met at the door by eliza in a great state of alarm.
"oh, miss, i am glad you've come," cried the servant. "your pa's run out like a raging bull, and i was feared lest he could 'urt you."
"i did not meet him," replied iris, with a chill feeling in her heart. "is milly inside?"
"no, mum; that's why i am feared. your pa was screeching out something about you and miss milly, an' i did believe as he was wanting to murder you both."
"nonsense!" cried iris irritably, as she entered the dining-room. "dr. lester is not well, and i daresay miss milly will be back soon. she--she has gone to see some friends," finished iris, thinking she must make some excuse.
"well, i 'ope she's safe, miss," said eliza, ominously, "for if she meets her pa he'll hurt 'er. jus' like a mad lion he were, miss."
when the servant withdrew iris sat down and tried to eat; but all in vain. the excitement and trouble of the evening were too much for her, and she could only swallow a glass of wine and water. eliza was informed that she might go to bed, and iris sat up far into the night waiting for the return of milly. ten, eleven and twelve o'clock struck; still the girl did not appear, and iris became terrified. such a thing had never happened before; and she felt sure that some accident had occurred. several times she went to the door, but saw no one. at twelve she ventured as far as the gate, and then in the darkness she heard the tramp of feet, and saw several men advancing, bearing something between them. in front walked a man alone.
"father!" cried iris, throwing open the gate. "milly!"
"hush!" said the grave voice of mr. chaskin. "it is i, miss link. there has been an--an accident. your sister is--dead!"
