Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Forrest (booksvooks txt) 📕

"Reynolds," Said The Baronet,  One Evening After Dinner,  Some Few Weeks

After His Interview With His Worthy Cousin,  The Heir To The Title,

"Place Candles In My Study,  And You Need Not Wait Up For Me. It Is

Likely That I Shall Sit Writing To A Late Hour." The Old Servant Bowed,

And Retired To Do The Bidding Of His Master.

After Affectionately Wishing His Niece Good-Night,  And A Passing Remark

To Mrs. Fraudhurst,  Sir Jasper Entered His Study,  Closing The Door

Quietly Behind Him.

For A Considerable Time He Paced The Room,  With His Hands Crossed Behind

His Back,  As Was His Custom When In a Meditative Mood. Finally,  Seating

Himself At His Escritoire,  He Placed The Massive Silver Candlesticks,

With Their Wax Lights,  In Such A Position That The Glow Would Not Effect

His Sight,  And Arranged His Materials For Writing To Suit Him. For A Few

Moments He Leaned Back In His Chair,  Then Selecting A Small Key From A

Bunch He Always Carried,  Unlocked The Centre Drawer Which Contained Only

A Few Memorandums And Drew It Completely Out. He Next Touched A Small

Spring At The Side,  When A Panel Of The Back Slid Open,  Disclosing An

Aperture From Which He Took The Packet He Had Brought From London The

Evening Previous To The Opening Of Our Story. This Was The Will And

Testament Of Sir Jasper Coleman,  In Which He Had Left His Niece,  Edith

Effingham,  Sole Heiress Of All He Possessed,  With The Exception Of A

Gratuity Of Five Thousand Pounds To Be Paid To His _Protege_,  Arthur

Carlton,  Within Six Months After His (The Baronet'S) Decease,  And To Be

Free From All Legacy Or Other Duties. Having Re-Read The Document,  He

Laid It On The Table Beside Him And Then Commenced Writing.

Sir Jasper Had Thus Acted Without The Knowledge Of His Lawyer,  The Man

With Whom He Had Consulted On Every Other Matter Since His Succession To

The Baronetcy,  Consequently That Gentleman Was In Ignorance Of Any Such

Will Being In existence. It Had Been Drawn By A Competent Lawyer

Residing In One Of The Suburbs Of London,  And Had Been Properly

Witnessed,  And Was,  In every Particular,  A Regular,  Complete Document.

The Parties Present On The Occasion Knew Nothing Of Sir Jasper,  Had

Never Heard Of Vellenaux Or Its Owner,  And In all Probability Would

Never Hear Of Him Again,  As There Was No Likelihood Of The Will Being

Contested. Why He Had Acted In This Manner Is Hard To Say.

The Baronet Had Finished His Letter,  And Was Again Musing,  And Muttering

To Himself,  "Ralph Coleman,  You Are An Unprincipled Man. Do You Think

Your Attempt To Coerce My Darling Niece To Listen To Your Suit Has

Escaped Me. You Have Failed In That Quarter And Now Come To Me To Assist

You. Well,  Well As She Is Safe I Can Afford To Forgive You,  And Let You

Have A Couple Of Thousand A Year,  To Enable You To Support Yourself Like

A Gentleman When The Title Descends To You." Here The Baronet Resumed

His Pen And Commenced The Writing Of A Codicil In behalf Of His Cousin,

Ralph Coleman.

Perfect Tranquility Reigned Throughout The House,  All,  With The

Exception Of Sir Jasper,  Had Retired To Rest,  And There Was No Sound,

Save The Ticking Of The Old-Fashioned Time-Piece,  With Its Monotonous

And Never Varying Tick,  Tick,  And The Scratching Noise Made By The Quill

As It Traced Its Inky Characters On The Yet Incomplete Codicil The

Baronet Was Preparing. The Candles Had Burned Low In Their Sockets,  And

The Fire On The Hearth Had Died Out Unheeded By Him Who Sat Writing Line

After Line. Suddenly A Spasm Seized Him. He,  With Great Difficulty,

Raised Himself From The Stooping Position Over The Escritoire,  But As He

Did So,  Another Spasm,  More Violent Than The First,  Attacked Him. He

Tried To Call For Assistance,  But His Tongue Clove To His Mouth. He Was

Suffocating. He Stretched His Arm Towards The Silver Bell,  Which Stood

On The Table,  But It Was Beyond His Reach. His Head Sank On The Cushion

Of The Chair. His Eyes Closed,  Another Convulsive Start,  And All Was

Over. Sir Jasper Coleman Was No More.

For Many Months Past It Was Customary Whenever It Was Known That Sir

Jasper Would Sit Up Late,  For Mrs. Fraudhurst,  On Passing The Door Of

His Chamber Before Descending To The Breakfast Room,  To Tap And Enquire

Whether The Baronet Would Come Down To His Breakfast Or Have It Sent Up

To Him. On The Following Morning The Widow On Stopping At The Chamber

Door Discovered That It Was Ajar,  And On Pushing It Gently Open Found

The Room Was Vacant,  The Bed Undisturbed And,  It Was Quite Evident From

Its General Appearance,  That Sir Jasper Could Not Have Passed The

Night--Or Any Part Of It--There. Though Startled A Little At First,  Mrs.

Fraudhurst Was Not Long In coming To A Conclusion As To What Really Had

Happened During The Night. It Had More Than Once Occurred To Her Active

Mind That Such Might Be The Manner In Which The Baronet'S Life Would

Terminate. "And The Hour I So Feared May Have Come At Last," Thought

She,  As The Consequences That Might Accrue To Herself,  Should Such Turn

Out To Be The Case,  Rose Up Before Her; But She Was Equal To The

Emergency; Quickly And Noiselessly She Descended To The Private Library

And,  Without Rapping,  Entered,  Closing The Door Quietly After Her.

The Morning Sun Streamed Through The Stained Glass Windows,  Casting

Their Brilliant Hues Full On The Face Of The Corpse,  Rendering The Pale

Features More Ghastly To Look On Than The Convulsions Had Left Them.

Mrs. Fraudhurst Was A Woman Of Strong Mind,  But No Feeling,  And The

Presence Of Death Had No Terrors For Her. She Had Entered,  Prepared In

Her Own Mind For The Spectacle That Now Presented Itself. Her Plans Had

Been Already Arranged,  But She Had Hardly Counted On Their Being So

Easily Executed. With A Firm Hand She Took Up The Will And Unfinished

Codicil,  Folded Them,  And Placed Them Carefully In The Bosom Of Her

Dress. She Now Took Up The Bunch Of Keys,  And Replacing The Centre

Drawer,  Locked It And Dropped The Bunch Of Keys Into One Of The Pockets

Of Sir Jasper'S Dressing Gown,  And Finding That The Open Letter Related

To General Business Connected With The Estate And Some Charitable

Institution,  Left Them As She Found Them,  And Without One Look Of Pity

Or Regret On Her Now Flushed Face Towards Him To Whose Liberality She

Had For Years Been Indebted For A Home,  With All The Comforts And

Conveniences Of Life,  Left The Apartment And Regained Her Own Chamber

Without Meeting Or Being Seen By Any One. Her First Act Was To Securely

Lock Up The Papers So Feloniously Obtained,  Then,  Applying Cold Water To

Her Heated Brow,  To Wait For The Ringing Of The Second Bell For

Breakfast. She Could Hear The Voice Of Edith,  As Her Laugh Rang Out Upon

The Lawn Beneath Her Open Window,  At The Gambols Of The Two Greyhounds.

"Reynolds,  Ascertain Whether Sir Jasper Will Have His Breakfast Sent Up

To Him," Said Mrs. Fraudhurst,  As She And,  Edith Took Their Seats At The

Table,  Some Twenty Minutes Later.

Edith Did Not Speak,  But Waited Patiently To Know If Her Uncle Would

Come Down. There Had Been A Growing Coolness Between Her And The Lady

Who Headed The Table. She Could Not But Think That There Was Some

Complicity Between Her And Ralph Coleman With Respect To Herself. She

Could Not Tell Why This Should Be,  But Could Not Divest Herself Of The

Idea,  Nevertheless.

"My Master Is Not In His Own Room,  And Has Not Slept In His Bed,"

Hurriedly Exclaimed Reynolds,  Re-Entering The Breakfast Room. Edith

Started Up,  Visibly Agitated,  But Not So With The Widow,  She Coolly

Said,  "You Had Better Look In at The Library,  He Was Writing There Late

Last Night And May Probably Have Thrown Himself On The Lounge,  And

Fallen Asleep There."

"I Will Go With You," Edith Said To The Old Servant,  As She Proceeded A

Little In advance Of Him.

Mrs. Fraudhurst Sat Staring Blankly Out Of The Window Waiting For The

Result,  Which She Knew Must Ensue. A Loud Shriek From Edith Rang Through

The House,  And Breathless With Excitement,  Reynolds Entered And

Announced Sir Jasper'S Death And That Miss Effingham Had Fainted.

The Time For Action Had Now Arrived. "He May Be Only In a Fit," Said

Mrs. Fraudhurst. "I Will Myself Drive Over For Dr. Martin. Call Miss

Effingham'S Maid And Let Her Be Carried To Her Own Room And Properly

Attended To. I Will Return With All Speed; In The Meantime,  Reynolds,  Be

Sure That No One Enters The Room. You Had Better Lock The Door And Take

Possession Of The Key As Soon As Miss Edith Has Been Removed." After

Quickly Dressing,  She Proceeded Towards The Stables To Hurry Forward The

Harnessing Of The Pony Phaeton,  Which Was At All Times At Her Disposal,

And Drove Rapidly To The House Of Dr. Martin,  Though She Well Knew His

Services Would Be Of No Avail,  But It Was A Part Of The Plan She Had

Matured,  And Was Now Carrying Out.

Fortunately For Her The Rector And Sir Jasper'S Lawyer And General

Business Agent Were At The Time With The Doctor In His Surgery,

Consulting On Some Parish Business And Without A Moment'S Delay They

Proceeded To Vellenaux,  The Rector Riding With Mrs. Fraudhurst,  Whose

Appearance And Conduct Were Well Suited To The Occasion.

Life Was Pronounced Extinct,  And The Cause Of Death Was Supposed To Be A

Sudden Attack Of His Old Complaint,  Disease Of The Heart. The Lawyer,  In

The Presence Of All,  Placed Seals On The Escritoire And Doors Of The

Study Immediately After The Body Had Been Transferred To The Bedchamber,

And Wrote To Ralph Coleman,  As The Only Male Relation Of The Late

Baronet,  Acquainting Him With What Had Occurred,  And It Was Not Long

Before That Gentleman Presented Himself At Vellenaux.