the next day dora altered her demeanour towards joad. hitherto she had been cold and unapproachable; now she sought his society with smiles, and quite bewildered the poor man with kindness. if joad, who was naturally very crafty, had not been in love, he would have mistrusted this sudden transformation and been on his guard. as it was, in the then state of his feelings, he ascribed dora's changed behaviour to a desire to be on better terms with one who was bound, owing to the terms of the will, to come into contact daily with her. in this belief he reciprocated her advances, and vied with her in amiability.
on her part, mrs. tice viewed the comedy with displeasure. nevertheless, she made no attempt to interfere. although she was unwilling to be an active party in revealing the truth to dora, yet she was by no means displeased that the girl should learn it from a third person. dora was deeply in love with allen; and the sooner she realized that there could be no union between them, the better it would be. to come to such an understanding, it was necessary that she should learn the secret. when she was possessed of such knowledge, the housekeeper was satisfied that, even if dr. scott did desire the match, dora would refuse her consent thereto. therefore mrs. tice preferred being spectator to actor. for some days dora pursued her amiable tactics, and joad fell deep and deeper in love. he was well aware, in his own heart, that this girl, young enough to be his granddaughter, would never consent to be his wife; but for all that, he put no restraint upon his feelings. moreover, he had a weapon in his hand which he hoped to use with effect. in spite of his belief that dora might not accept him voluntarily, he fancied that he could force her into the match by making use of the weapon aforesaid. but it was not to be brought into active service save as a last resource.
meanwhile the comedy of may and december, of methuselah in arcady, of "an old man's darling," went gaily on. joad paid more attention to his dress, he drank less brandy, and talked more affably. instead of burying himself in the library, he was to be found haunting the steps of dora. he loved her very shadow, and was never tired of gazing at her face. she seemed to him to be the most beautiful, the most wonderful, the most gracious woman in the world; and he gloated over her charms like an old satyr. crafty, astute and worldly as he was, he fell prostrate at her feet, a debased merlin entangled in the wiles of an artificial vivien.
dora played her part bravely; but at times it was too much for her, and she would leave the house to scour the country on her bicycle. joad was too old and shaky to accompany her, and she was thus relieved in some measure from his senile adoration. but, however near she approached to canterbury, she never entered the town or sought out allen.
"no," she said to herself, when unusually impelled to make the visit; "first i shall learn the truth. once in possession of allen's secret, of the name of mr. edermont's assassin, and i shall know how to act; till then i shall remain absent."
but, with all her diplomacy, it was not so easy to gain the confidence of joad. the least hint at mr. edermont's past, and he withdrew into himself. he evaded her most dexterous inquiries; and when she pressed him hard, assumed the character of a dull, stupid old man who knew nothing about the matter. yet he was not unwilling to discuss the details of the murder and subsequent robbery, although he professed himself unable to account for either. by acting thus, he ignored the question of edermont's secret enemy.
but one day dora succeeded in forcing him into plain speaking; but the revelation made was one she was far from expecting. the beginning of the whole matter lay in the fact that she discovered joad in the library the worse for drink. it was not that he was confused or maudlin, for the man's brain and speech were both clear. but he was filled with dutch courage, which made him more audacious than usual. dora reproved him for his vice.
"you should be ashamed of yourself, drinking so much brandy, mr. joad!" she said severely.
"i have not touched brandy for weeks!" said joad, lying glibly, after the fashion of habitual drunkards.
dora looked at him in contempt, and pointed out a tall mirror, before which they were both standing. it reflected her own tall, straight form, and also the figure of the disreputable old sinner.
"can you see your face and deny it?" she said in a tone of rebuke. "your eyes are red, your clothes are awry, your----"
"leave me to bear the burden of my own sins," said joad sullenly; "if i take brandy, i don't ask you to pay for it."
"but you are a gentleman, a scholar," persisted dora, sorry for the wretched old creature; "you should be above such low vices."
"we cannot be above the depths to which we have fallen, miss carew. my life has been one long failure, so it is scarcely to be wondered at that i fly to drink for consolation. few men have been so hardly treated as i have been."
"yet mr. edermont helped you."
"no doubt," retorted joad viciously; "but he would not have stretched out a finger to save me if i had not forced him to."
"you forced mr. edermont to----?"
"i forced him to nothing," interrupted joad, seeing that he had gone too far. "it is only my way of speaking. don't mind the ramblings of a foolish old failure."
dora looked at him silently. his eyes were filled with tears, and, ashamed of betraying his emotion, he turned away to busy himself with dusting a book. in the few words which he had let slip dora saw that he had possessed some power over the dead man which had won him house and home. that power she believed was connected with the lifelong misery of edermont, and with the fact of his murder. the idea made her take an unexpected step. seizing the astonished joad by the arm, she whirled him round, so as to look straight into his eyes.
"did you kill mr. edermont?" she asked abruptly. joad looked at her in amazement, and sneered in her face.
"o lord! have you got that idea into your head?" said he contemptuously. "no, miss carew, i did not kill mr. edermont. one does not readily kill the goose with the golden eggs. by julian's death i have lost a protector--almost a home. do you take me for a fool?"
"i take you for a man who knows more than he says," said dora tartly.
"then i am wise. i keep my own counsel until the time comes for me to speak."
"i do not understand you."
"you will some day," retorted joad with a leer, "and that sooner than you expect. i wonder at your accusing me of this crime," he continued in an injured tone. "by your own evidence the murder took place at one o'clock, and at that time i was talking to mr. pride in my cottage. i wonder at your talking like this, miss carew."
"i beg your pardon, mr. joad," said dora ceremoniously. "i know that you proved an alibi. there is one thing about you that i admire," she added, after a pause.
joad's eyes glittered like stars as he turned an admiring glance in the direction of the young girl, and bent forward eagerly.
"what is that?" he demanded.
"you do not care for money."
"no," said joad, after a pause; "i do not care particularly for money. as long as i have a roof, a crust, and my books, i am satisfied. my wants are simple. but why," he continued, looking at her in a puzzled way, "why do you make such a remark?"
"because you refuse to pocket fifty thousand pounds."
"you allude to the reward. my dear lady, i cannot gain that."
"i am not so sure of your inability to do so," said dora coolly. "with your knowledge of mr. edermont's past life, you must know who it was he feared. if you know the name of that person, you know who killed him. with that knowledge, why not apply for the fifty thousand pounds?"
"i am not so omniscient as you think, miss carew. but we will suppose, for the sake of argument, that i have such knowledge: what would it benefit me to gain this fortune?"
"you could do good with it."
"could i gain your love?"
dora turned away with a flushed face, feeling the delicacy of the position.
"you must not talk to me like that, mr. joad," she said with great dignity.
"why not? i love you."
"then you ought to be ashamed to say so. i am the affianced wife of another man."
"allen scott?"
"yes," said dora with emphasis, "dr. allen scott.
"bah! why should you think of him? has he stood by you in this trouble? not he! he left you to fight the matter out by yourself. besides, there are reasons why you should not marry him."
dora's heart beat rapidly. was she about to learn the truth? had her rebuff brought about the desired result, and would this old man reveal what so long had been hidden? she believed that such was the case, and could scarcely manage, so intense was her excitement, to ask the necessary question to lure him on to a full confession. however, by an effort of will she managed to keep her voice fairly steady.
"are there any special reasons that you know of?"
"several!" snarled joad, rubbing his hands together, with an evil glitter in his eyes.
"i should be glad to hear them," she said in the tone of an empress.
"i dare say you would; but i don't intend to tell you what they are."
"why not?" demanded dora, trying to hide her disappointment at this unlooked-for result.
"because i don't choose to speak until it is my pleasure to do so," said joad insolently. "oh, i can see what you are up to, miss carew. you are trying to force the truth out of me for purposes of your own. but you shan't--shan't--shan't!"
the old creature stamped with rage, and his face grew so red in his excitement that dora really thought he was about to have a fit. she looked at him in astonishment, while he strove to control his anger and assume a dignified demeanour. such conduct was not to be tolerated, and dora walked towards the door of the library.
"i shall return when you know how to conduct yourself," she said coldly.
before she could open the door the delinquent shuffled after her, in a state of childish repentance. "do not go, do not go!" he cried piteously. "i am very sorry; indeed, i am very sorry."
"then why do you talk such nonsense?" said dora, seeing that she had gained an advantage. "do you think i want to know your secrets, you foolish old man?"
"yes, yes; i am a foolish old man," he repeated, catching up her words eagerly; "but do not be angry with me. i love you. oh, dora, dear, sweet dora, i love you!" and whining in this fashion the old man fell on his knees.
"rise, mr. joad! do not be foolish. get up at once--i insist!"
"not until you promise to be my wife. i love you. i am old, but my heart is young. listen, listen!" he continued, glancing round. "if you want money, i can get fifty thousand pounds. i know who killed julian!"
dora tore her dress from his grasp in horror. "you know who killed mr. edermont!"
"yes; i will tell the name; i will gain the fortune; i will give it to you. only consent to be my wife."
"your wife!" cried dora, shrinking back with visible repugnance.
"ah, i know that i am old," said joad piteously, "but reflect. there is much to be gained by you. i cannot live long; you would soon be my widow. i would leave you all the money; and think how rich you would be!"
"i wouldn't marry you if you offered me millions!" said dora with contempt. "i love one man only, and him only shall i marry."
joad rose in a fury. "don't tell me his name!" he shrieked; "i know it. allen--that miserable wretch! but you shall never marry him--never!"
"how can you prevent our marriage?"
"by telling the truth--by gaining the fortune!" he stepped forward and seized her wrist. "i hold the life of your lover in the hollow of my hand!"
"what do you mean?" panted dora. "explain!"
"you wish to know my secrets. well, i shall tell you one--one only--that will make your heart sore and your face white. who killed julian? who came here in the dead of night and struck his foul blow? who but allen scott--allen scott, the murderer! curse him!"
