sir george clasped his hands to his eyes; everything for the moment had faded from his sight. the blood was rushing wildly through his head; there was a din like the clang of hammers in his brain. he was beside himself with grief and passion. his voice uprose again and broke the stillness of the night horribly. what were his title and his old family worth now? it was all as nothing, in the presence of this threatened calamity.
"mary, mary," he cried, "come to me. come, whilst i have the strength left to tell you the truth. tomorrow i shall be too weak, tomorrow i shall not dare to give all this up. come, and tell him that you will have none of him."
the speech ended in a yearning scream. it was a strange setting for so peaceful a scene. ralph darnley made a step forward, with the impulse to interfere, strong upon him. then a figure came between the light and the window, and mary appeared. she stood there, tall and stately in her white dress; her eyes were filled with stern disapproval. she came slowly down the steps and stood between the two men. she did not fail to notice mayfield's cut lip and the spot or two of blood on his gleaming shirt front.
"what is the meaning of this?" she asked. "father, you don't mean to say----"
"ay, but i do," dashwood said doggedly. "i struck him. would that i had killed him! there would be far less disgrace for the family in the end. i struck him, and he took it quietly like the cur and craven that he is!"
"i hardly think that i deserve that," mayfield said. "whatever my failings may be, you will not find a lack of physical courage amongst them. sir george has been very unfortunate in his speculations, and he chooses to blame me for it. we only got the news late tonight. a man in whom we trusted has played the knave, and sir george is likely to suffer for it. to put the matter quite plainly, unless your father can find a very large sum of money in a few days he will probably be prosecuted. one can make any allowance for his feelings in the circumstances, but that is no reason why he should accuse one of deliberately laying a plot to ruin him. as to the assault upon me, why let it pass. in the excitement of the moment----"
"pardon me," mary said quietly, "i heard my name mentioned. my father's voice was raised so loudly that i could not help hearing something of what passed. you did me the honour to say that i might avert the catastrophe."
"that is so," mayfield retorted in the same self-contained manner. "in certain circumstances i am prepared to stand by your father. i can say that it is a misunderstanding so far as he is concerned, and that i am prepared to take over the venture as it stands, and pay everybody who has lost confidence in it. i could write to the press and vindicate the honour of the man who stood in the light of prospective father-in-law to me."
the girl's face whitened in the moonlight. ralph could see the heaving of her breast. she had taken in the situation like a flash of inspiration. there was none of the grinning triumph of the successful rogue on mayfield's face; it was all being quietly and decorously done, but the grip of iron was there all the same, the iron hand in the velvet glove. mary essayed to speak, but words failed her for the moment. sir george stood between the man and his prey with trembling hands outstretched as if to keep them apart. his lips opened, he gabbled something too incoherent for understanding, then he collapsed like a heap of black cloth on the grass. something seemed to snap in his brain, then a blank came over him.
mary forgot everything else in the dictates of humanity. with a cry she knelt on the grass by the side of the stricken man. ralph came forward, slowly followed by slight. it seemed natural that he should be there at that moment. mary turned towards him instantly. here was the friend in need that she so sorely prayed for.
"it is some kind of seizure," she said. "my father had one two years ago in paris. he was warned then to avoid any undue excitement. will you please help me to carry him to his room? slight, call a groom up and send him to longtown for a doctor."
"no occasion," mayfield remarked. "give me the key of the stables, and i will take my car into longtown and bring the doctor back with me. it will take less time."
it was a weary two hours that passed before the doctor arrived. still, his account was a fairly cheerful one when it came. it was merely a case of rest and quietness and careful nursing. sir george had fallen into a kind of troubled sleep.
ralph turned to go. mayfield had volunteered to take the doctor home again. slight was sitting with his master till mary was ready to return. she stood by the window leading to the lawn; that means of exit was as good as any other, ralph said.
"what were you doing outside tonight?" the girl asked keenly.
"we will go into that another time," ralph suggested. "i did not mean to listen, but i heard everything. did i not tell you that mayfield was a villain?"
"i have felt it before now. without any apparent cause for it, i have detested that man. and he has always acted as if he had only to say the word and i would consent to be his wife. on two occasions i have refused him. to think that men should be such villains where innocent girls are concerned! of course, he has led my father into a terrible position, and my hand is to be the price of his freedom. ralph, i am so dreadfully, horribly afraid of that man! how wonderfully he must have controlled himself when my father struck him! and how cleverly he insinuated that he might be allowed to appear as my future husband. i tell you i would give up everything to be free of this tangle. what is my pride, what is my home here, so long as the happiness of a lifetime is at stake!"
"that is a lesson that i have tried to teach you before," ralph said quietly. "mary, i love you. the time will come when you will love me. if ever you needed a friend in your life, you need one at this moment. i could show you a way out, but after that i should never dare to claim my reward, because the obligation in your eyes would be too great. i want you to care for me for my own sake. still, you need have no anxiety. within the next few hours mayfield will be powerless to harm you."
"ralph, you speak in enigmas. i pray you to be plain. can't you trust me?"
"my dear, in this matter i cannot trust anybody; by heaven, i can hardly trust myself. ah, if you only knew how i love you and how great the temptation is! but the reward that i am working for will be all the sweeter when the time comes. go sleep now with a calm mind, for i pledge my honour that things shall be as i say."
mary's two hands had fluttered out to ralph. she was moved by the deep sincerity of his words, for a broken smile, half respect and half affection, quivered on her face. with an impulse that he could not resist, ralph drew the girl to him and laid his lips on hers. then, with a sigh, he put her from him and turned towards the window.
"there," he said, "i ask no pardon for my audacity. i could not help it. and that kiss was as pure as if it came from your mother's lips."
"the first from any man," mary murmured, a pink flush on her face. "you are a good man, ralph, and it is a pity i did not meet you before the curse of the family pride fell upon me. good night, and god bless you for all your kindness to me."
the window closed and the blind fell, the lights in the house began to vanish one by one, and still ralph lingered there on the grass. he saw mayfield return, he saw the last ray extinguished, save for the solitary glow in sir george's bedroom. a clock over the stables struck the hour of two, and still ralph stood there oblivious of the flight of time.
he was thinking of the dramatic scene of the evening. more than once he mourned his lost opportunities. he had all the strings in his own hand, the game was entirely his, and he felt, too, that in spite of her fateful pride, mary was beginning to care for him. if not, why had she taken his kiss so sweetly? ralph had only to proclaim his identity, he had merely to prove his title to the estate, and at once he would be in the position to free the present occupier of dashwood hall of his peril. and mary would not refuse to marry the man whose blood was as pure as hers. but ralph had made up his mind what to do. he would win her love as ralph darnley, afterwards the truth could be told. why not tonight? he asked himself. there was no time like the present. he would go and find the will, he would let sir george know where it was.
the house was still now, and ralph knew the way . . . . he was in the long corridor presently, here was the old oak dower-chest and the panel below it. here was the spring by which the panel was released. the thing was ridiculously easy.
ralph pressed in the spring and the panel came away. within it was a long manuscript written on thick white paper. ralph thrilled as he read the endorsement. beyond doubt, here was the will of his grandfather, sir ralph dashwood. all this was quite plain in the moonlight. it only needed now to put the will at the bottom of the dower-chest and write a letter to sir george anonymously, and tell him where to seek for it. and ralph had only to be silent henceforth, and the deception would pass for all time. verily mayfield's triumph was likely to be a very short one, and . . .
somebody was speaking to ralph: mary, with her hair over her shoulders, and a candle in her hand. her face was cold and set, her eyes filled with stern displeasure.
"thief in the night," she said. "what is the meaning of this, mr. darnley?"
