Red Money by Fergus Hume (read dune .txt) 📕

You,  You,  You!

Noel,  Noel,  It Is Your Part To Woo,  And Here Am I Making All The Love."

 

"It Is Such A Serious Step For You To Take."

 

"It Is The Only Step That I Can Take. I Am Known As A Mercenary Woman,

Chapter 16 (The Last Straw) Pg 157

And Until We Marry And Give Up The Money,  Everybody Will Think

Scornfully Of Me. Besides,  Freddy Must Be Punished,  And In No Other Way

Can I Make Him Suffer So Much As By Depriving Him Of The Wealth He

Sinned To Obtain."

 

"Yes. There Is That View,  Certainly. And," Lambert Gasped,  "I Love

You--Oh,  Never Doubt That,  My Darling."

 

"I Shall," She Whispered Ardently,  "Unless You Get A Special License

And Marry Me Straightaway."

 

"But Garvington And Silver--"

 

"And Clara Greeby And Chaldea,  Who Both Love You," She Mocked. "Let Them

All Fight Out Their Troubles Alone. I Have Had Enough Suffering; So Have

You. So There's No More To Be Said. Now,  Sir," She Added Playfully,

"Wilt Thou Take This Woman To Be Thy Wedded Wife?"

 

"Yes," He Said,  Opening His Arms And Gathering Agnes To His Heart. "But

What Will People Say Of Your Marrying So Soon After Pine's Death?"

 

"Let Them Say What They Like And Do What They Like. We Are Going To The

Colonies And Will Be Beyond Reach Of Slanderous Tongues. Now,  Let Us

Have Tea,  Noel,  For I Am Hungry And Thirsty,  And Quite Tired Out With

Trying To Convince You Of My Earnestness."

 

Lambert Rang For The Tea. "Shall We Tell Jarwin That We Intend To

Marry?"

 

"No. We Shall Tell No One Until We Are Married," She Replied,  And Kissed

Him Once,  Twice,  Thrice,  And Again,  Until Mrs. Tribb Entered With The

Tray. Then They Both Sat Demurely At The First Of Many Meals Which They

Hoped Would Be The Start Of A New Darby And Joan Existence.

 

And The Outcome Of The Interview And Of The Decision That Was Arrived At

Appeared In A Letter To Mr. Jarwin,  Of Chancery Lane. A Week Later He

Received A Communication Signed By Agnes Lambert,  In Which She Stated

That On The Preceding Day She Had Married Her Cousin By Special License.

Mr. Jarwin Had To Read The Epistle Twice Before He Could Grasp The

Astounding Fact That The Woman Had Paid Two Millions For A Husband.

 

"She's Mad,  Crazy,  Silly,  Insane," Murmured The Lawyer,  Then His Eyes

Lighted Up With Curiosity. "Now I Shall Know The Name Of The Person In

The Sealed Letter Who Inherits," And He Forthwith Proceeded To His Safe.

 

 

Chapter 17 (On The Trail) Pg 158

Great Was The Excitement In Society When It Became Known--Through The

Medium Of A Newspaper Paragraph--That Lady Agnes Pine Had Surrendered

Two Millions Sterling To Become Mrs. Noel Lambert. Some Romantic People

Praised Her As A Noble Woman,  Who Placed Love Above Mere Money,  While

Others Loudly Declared Her To Be A Superlative Fool. But One And All

Agreed That She Must Have Loved Her Cousin All The Time,  And That

Clearly The Marriage With The Deceased Millionaire Had Been Forced On

By Garvington,  For Family Reasons Connected With The Poverty Of The

Lamberts. It Was Believed That The Fat Little Egotist Had Obtained His

Price For Selling His Sister,  And That His Estates Had Been Freed From

All Claims Through The Generosity Of Pine. Of Course,  This Was Not The

Case; But The Fact Was Unknown To The General Public,  And Garvington Was

Credited With An Income Which He Did Not Possess.

 

The Man Himself Was Furious At Having Been Tricked. He Put It In This

Way,  Quite Oblivious To His Own Actions,  Which Had Brought About Such A

Result. He Could Not Plead Ignorance On This Score,  As Agnes Had Written

Him A Letter Announcing Her Marriage,  And Plainly Stating Her Reasons

For Giving Up Her Late Husband's Fortune. She Ironically Advised Him To

Seek Out The Person To Whom The Money Would Pass,  And To See If He Could

Not Plunder That Individual. Garvington,  Angry As He Was,  Took The

Advice Seriously,  And Sought Out Jarwin. But That Astute Individual

Declined To Satisfy His Curiosity,  Guessing What Use He Would Make Of

The Information. In Due Time,  As The Solicitor Said,  The Name Of The

Lucky Legatee Would Be Made Public,  And With This Assurance Garvington

Was Obliged To Be Content.

 

Meanwhile The Happy Pair--And They Truly Were Extremely Happy--Heard

Nothing Of The Chatter,  And Were Indifferent To Either Praise Or Blame.

They Were All In All To One Another,  And Lived In A Kind Of Paradise,  On

The South Coast Of Devonshire. On One Of His Sketching Tours Lambert Had

Discovered A Picturesque Old-World Village,  Tucked Away In A Fold Of The

Moorlands,  And Hither He Brought His Wife For The Golden Hours Of The

Honeymoon. They Lived At The Small Inn And Were Attended To By A

Gigantic Landlady,  Who Made Them Very Comfortable. Mrs. "Anak," As Noel

Called Her,  Took The Young Couple For Poor But Artistic People,  Since

Agnes Had Dropped Her Title,  As Unsuited To Her Now Humble Position.

 

"And In The Colonies," She Explained To Her Husband,  During A Moorland

Ramble,  "It Would Be Absurd For Me To Be Called 'My Lady.' Mrs. Noel

Lambert Is Good Enough For Me."

 

"Quite So,  Dear,  If We Ever Do Go To The Colonies."

 

"We Must,  Noel,  As We Have So Little To Live On."

 

"Oh,  One Thousand A Year Isn't So Bad," He Answered Good-Humoredly. "It

May Seem Poverty To You,  Who Have Been Used To Millions,  My Darling; But

All My Life I Have Been Hard Up,  And I Am Thankful For Twenty Pounds A

Chapter 17 (On The Trail) Pg 159

Week."

 

"You Speak As Though I Had Been Wealthy All My Life,  Noel. But Remember

That I Was As Hard Up As You Before I Married Hubert,  Poor Soul."

 

"Then,  Dear,  You Must Appreciate The Fact That We Can Never Starve.

Besides I Hope To Make A Name As A Painter."

 

"In The Colonies?"

 

"Why Not? Art Is To Be Found There As In England. Change Of Scene Does

Not Destroy Any Talent One May Possess. But I Am Not So Sure,  Darling,

If It Is Wise To Leave England--At Least Until We Learn Who Murdered

Pine."

 

"Oh,  My Dear,  Do Let Us Leave That Vexed Question Alone. The Truth Will

Never Become Known."

 

"It Must Become Known,  Agnes," Said Lambert Firmly. "Remember That

Silver And Chaldea Practically Accuse Us Of Murdering Your Husband."

 

"They Know It Is A Lie,  And Won't Proceed Further," Said Agnes

Hopefully.

 

"Oh,  Yes,  They Will,  And Miss Greeby Also."

 

"Clara! Why,  She Is On Our Side."

 

"Indeed She Is Not. Your Guess That She Was Still In Love With Me Turns

Out To Be Quite Correct. I Received A Letter From Her This Morning,

Which Was Forwarded From Kensington. She Reproaches Me With Marrying You

After The Trouble She Took In Getting The Forged Letter Back From

Silver."

 

"But You Told Me That She Said She Would Help You As A Friend."

 

"She Did So,  In Order--To Use An Expressive Phrase--To Pull The Wool

Over My Eyes. But She Intended--And She Puts Her Intention Plainly In

Her Letter--To Help Me In Order To Secure My Gratitude,  And Then She

Counted Upon My Making Her My Wife."

 

Agnes Flushed. "I Might Have Guessed That She Would Act In That Way.

When You Told Me That She Was Helping I Had A Suspicion What She Was

Aiming At. What Else Does She Say?"

 

"Oh,  All Manner Of Things,  More Or Less Silly. She Hints That I Have

Acted Meanly In Causing You To Forfeit Two Millions,  And Says That No

Man Of Honor Would Act In Such A Way."

 

"I See," Said Mrs. Lambert Coolly. "She Believed That My Possession Of

The Money Would Be Even A Greater Barrier To Our Coming Together Than

The Fact Of My Being Married To Hubert. Well,  Dear,  What Does It

Matter?"

 

Chapter 17 (On The Trail) Pg 160

"A Great Deal,  Agnes," Replied Noel,  Wrinkling His Brows. "She Intends

To Make Mischief,  And She Can,  With The Aid Of Silver,  Who Is Naturally

Furious At Having Lost His Chance Of Blackmail. Then There's Chaldea--"

 

"She Can Do Nothing."

 

"She Can Join Forces With Miss Greeby And The Secretary,  And They Will

Do Their Best To Get Us Into Trouble. To Defend Ourselves We Should Have

To Explain That Garvington Wrote The Letter,  And Then Heaven Only Knows

What Disgrace Would Befall The Name."

 

"But You Don't Believe That Freddy Is Guilty?" Asked Agnes Anxiously.

 

"Oh,  No. Still,  He Wrote That Letter Which Lured Pine To His Death,  And

If Such A Mean Act Became Known,  He Would Be Disgraced Forever."

 

"Freddy Has Such Criminal Instincts," Said Mrs. Lambert Gloomily,  "That

I Am Quite Sure He Will Sooner Or Later Stand In The Dock."

 

"We Must Keep Him Out Of It As Long As We Can," Said Noel Decisively.

"For That Reason I Intend To Leave You Here And Go To Garvington."

 

"To See Freddy?"

 

"Yes,  And To See Chaldea,  And To Call On Silver,  Who Is Living In My Old

Cottage. Also I Wish To Have A Conversation With Miss Greeby. In Some

Way,  My Dear,  I Must Settle These People,  Or They Will Make Trouble.

Have You Noticed,  Agnes,  What A Number Of Gypsies Seem To Cross Our

Path?"

 

"Yes; But There Are Many Gypsies In Devonshire."

 

"No Doubt,  But Many Gypsies Do Not Come To This Retired Spot As A Rule,

And Yet They Seem To Swarm. Chaldea Is Having Us Watched."

 

"For What Reason?" Agnes Opened Her Astonished Eyes.

 

"I Wish To Learn. Chaldea Is Now A Queen,  And Evidently Has Sent

Instructions To Her Kinsfolk In This County To Keep An Eye On