June 9, 2025 • 26 mins
Delve into an enchanting world of romance and mystery with Late Tenant. This early masterpiece by esteemed British journalist and author Louis Tracy, penning as Gordon Holmes, is sure to captivate you. Known for his thrilling mysteries such as The Albert Gate Mystery and The Postmaster’s Daughter, Tracy dabbles in the romantic genre with a touch of the supernatural. The story weaves together two intense love narratives - one heart-wrenching, the other just beginning - amidst a puzzling mystery. Find a dash of classic British humor and a hint of the supernatural in this engaging tale. - Summary by Kirsten Wever.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seventeen of The Late Tenant by Gordon Holmes. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. David, more than
Regain's lost ground, Harcourt was now in the position of
a man who thinks he has invented a flying machine.
(00:20):
Enthusiasm became stronger than knowledge. Belief was made to do
service as evidence. To meet Violet, to look again into
those sweet eyes of hers. That was the great thing,
he promised himself next morning. Indeed, it is to be feared.
He deliberately surrendered himself to dreams of such a meeting
(00:43):
while he smoked pipe after pipe in his lonesome flat,
rather than set himself to an orderly review of his
forces for the approaching trial of strength with Van Hupfeldt.
No sooner was he well clear of Van Upfeldt's house,
then he knew that he was safe from active interference
(01:05):
by the law. The man whom he now looked on
as his rival, the subtle adversary whom he had scorned
to crush when appealed to for mercy on the score
of physical inferiority, would never dare to seek the aid
of authority, nursing that fact ready enough to welcome the
(01:27):
prospect of an unaided combat. David did not stop to
consider that an older head in council would not be
a bad thing. There was Dibbin, for instance, Dibbin, whose
ideas were cramped within ledgers and schedules, had, nevertheless, as
(01:48):
he said himself, been young once. Surely David could have
sufficiently oxygenized the agent's thin blood. With the story told
by the hapless Gwendolen that the man should hie with
him to Rigsworth and there be confronted with the veritable Strauss.
(02:08):
Dibbon was a precise man. It would have been hard
for van Hupfeldt to flout Dibbon. But no, David smoked
and dreamed and saw a living violet in the chalk
portrait of the dead Gwendolen, and said so many nice
words to the presentiment thus created that he came to
(02:30):
believe them. And so he consigned Dibbon to his own
musty office. Nor even gave heed to the existence of
such a credible witness as Sarah Gissing poor Gwendolen's maid.
He left a penciled note on his table that the
charwoman was to call him when she came at eight,
(02:52):
For in such wise does London conquer Wyoming. And with
the rattle of her knuckles on the door, he was
out of bed, blithe as a lark, with his heart
singing greetings to a sunny morning, the manner of dress,
the shade of a tie, the exact degree of whiteness
(03:13):
of linen, or affairs of moment. Just then, alack, here
was our erstwhile rounder up of steers, stopping his handsom
on the way to the station in order to buy
a smart pair of doe skin gloves, while he gazed
lovingly at a buttonniere of violets. But forebore it was
(03:38):
noon ere he reached Rigsworth, and inquiry showed that the
Mordaunce house was situated at the farther end of the
small village. He walked through the street of scattered houses
and attracted some attention by the sure fact that he
was a stranger. At any rate, that was how he
regarded the discreete screw to which he was subjected. A
(04:03):
big house with the lodge gate just past the church
on the left were the station master's directions, and David
had no difficulty in finding his way. His heart fell
a little when he saw the style of the place.
The lodge was a pretty villa in itself. Its garden
(04:24):
would be of great worth within the London suburban area.
Behind it stretched the park of Dale Manor and the
turrets of a mansion among many lordly elms. Seemed to
put Violet on a somewhat inaccessible pinnacle. David did not
know that people of moderate means can maintain a good
(04:45):
sporting estate by letting the shooting that he had learned
in the free air of the States to rate a
man on a different level to parks. If a half
bred rascal like Van Hupfeldt was able to enter this
citadel like a thief for one daughter of the house,
why should not an honest man storm it for the
(05:07):
sake of another. At the lodge, however, he met with
a decided rebuff no visitors admitted, was the curt response
of a gamekeeper sort of person who was lurking in
a doorway when David tried to open the locked gate.
My business is important, urged David quietly, though his face
(05:31):
flushed a little at the man's impudent manner. So's my orders,
said velveteens. But I must see either Missus Mordaunt or
miss Violet. You can't see either absolute orders. Your name's Harcourt,
isn't it. Then David knew that Van Heppfeldt had overreached
(05:51):
him by the telegraph, and the shattering of his dream
castle caused such lightnings to gleam from within that the
surly gamekeeper whistled to a retriever dog and ostensibly revealed
a double barreled gun, which lay in the corner of
the porch. David was likely to have his own way
(06:12):
with clod hoppers, even in the hour of tribulation. Yes,
he said, my name is Harcourt, and yours minds no
matter very well, no matter you are obeying orders, I
have no doubt, but you must be taught civility. I
give you notice, no matter that a little later I
(06:36):
shall lick you good plenty, and if you don't take
it like a man, you will probably be fired into
the bargain. The keeper was for abusing him, but David
turned away. And now he was not the well dressed, gloved,
spick and span Londoner, but the Indian of the prairie,
(06:57):
with a heart from which the glow had gone, with
eyes that saw and ears that heard, and a brain
that recorded everything. He was instantly aware that the country
policeman who had lolled through the village behind him was
a fore worn spy. He knew that this functionary watched
(07:17):
his return to the railway station, from which, as David
happened to remember, the time table had shown a train
London Words at one o'clock. The station master was affable
enough gave him some bread and meat and a glass
of milk, and refused any payment. When the train came in,
(07:38):
David sourly, smiling, saw the constable loll onto the platform.
He could not resist the temptation to lean out of
the carriage window. Good Bye p. C. One ninety eight,
he said. Now he was traveling first class, and in
England even a villain demands respect under that circumstance. Good Bye, sir,
(08:03):
said the man, surprised. You will know me again? Eh? Oh, yes, sir,
I am glad of that. Tell that chap at the
gate of dale Manor that I shall keep my fixture
with him soon p. C. One ninety eight. Scratched his head.
Funny affair, he muttered, as the train moved off. Looks
(08:26):
and talks more of a gentleman than van. What's his damee?
Any day? At the next station, four miles away, David
slipped out of his carriage quickly and waited in a
shed until the train had gone again. Then he interviewed
the station master and somewhat astonished the official by tendering
(08:47):
a return ticket from Rigsworth to London. Can't break your journey,
said the regulations. But I've done it, said David. It's irregular,
complained the other. And the train is half a mile distant. Well,
if you pay the fare, David meant to forfeit his ticket.
(09:08):
This was a new light. He paid a few pence,
took a receipt and promised himself some fun At Rigsworth.
He asked for no information from the train. He had
noted a line of telegraph posts in the distance, and
he stepped out smartly along a by road until he
gained the main thoroughfare. Then, being alone, he ran and
(09:32):
the newly bought gloves burst their seams, so he flung
them off. When less than a mile from Rigsworth, he
heard the whistle of a train springing to a high bank.
He made out the sinuous snakelike curling of an engine
and coaches. Beyond the hedgerows a train coming from London.
(09:55):
Van Hupfeldt is in it. Of course, he decided, I
must make sure it needed a fine spirit, aided by
the exercise of quick judgment. When he neared Dale Manor,
but he was hidden in a brake of brambles in
the park. As Van huppfelt exceedingly pallid this glorious day
(10:15):
of spring, walked up the drive, accompanied by the gamekeeper,
dog and gun. The dog came near to undoing David,
but a rabbit, already disturbed, ran out of the thicket,
and a sharp command from the keeper brought the retriever
to heel. Green and brown buds, almost bursting into leaf,
(10:38):
were already enriching the shrubs and trees of Dale Manner,
especially in a sheltered hollow on the left front of
the house, where nestled a pretty lake. There the cover
was good. The hunter instinct sent him that way. That
Dutchman will make violet bolt. Just as the dog struck
(11:00):
the rabbit, thought David, and he took a circuitous route
to reach a summer house on the most distant side
of the ornamental water. Whence he fancied he could command
a fair view of the house and grounds. He waited
with stubborn patience two long hours. At last he saw
(11:22):
a man arrive in a doggart, and it was the
coming of this person which apparently drove violent forth, as
five minutes after the newcomer was admitted, a tall, graceful
figure in black, a girl wearing a large black hat
and draping a white shawl elegantly round her shoulders, stepped
(11:43):
out of a French window to the smooth lawn and
looked straight at the sheet of water, beyond which David
lay ensconced no need to tell him who this was.
His heart did not beat now. He was glad, and
something warmed his whole body, for it was chill waiting
there in the shade after his run. But neither man
(12:07):
nor water could interpose further barrier between him and his Violet,
so he was calm and confident. The girl glanced back
once towards the rooms she had quitted, and then strolled
on ever, coming nearer the glistening lake and the summer house.
She crossed the fine stretch of turf and stood for
(12:29):
an instant near a marble statue which guarded a fountain.
The distance was not great, and David thought his eyes
were deceiving him when he saw that the white marble
and the black garbed girl were singularly alike in feature.
It was not surprising, since the sculptor had taken Violet's
(12:50):
great grandmother, a noted beauty of early Georgian days, as
his model for the face of the dryad, and it
was one of the honored traditions of dale Manor that
this figure should be promptly shielded from inclement weather, even
from the dew. Just then. David was not inclined to
(13:12):
cavil at any discovery of fresh charms inviolent, But he
set aside this fanciful idea as he deemed it, and
bent his mind on attracting her attention without causing a
flutter either to her or to the other occupants of
the house. But she came on again, reached the lake
(13:33):
side path, and made him hope for a moment that
she would pass by the door of his retreat. If
that were so, he would reveal himself to her soon
enough to save her from being unduly alarmed by the
unexpected apparition of a man in that secluded place. Now
she actually passed abreast of him, with the lake between,
(13:57):
and soon she would round the curve of the water
and face him again. Her figure was mirrored in the
silver and blue of the reflected sky. So light was
her step that the living, moving body seemed to be
as impalpable as its spirit image. Then David's heart did
(14:18):
jump of a sudden, for a faint hail of vi
twice repeated, caught his ears, and he saw Missus Mordaunt
outside the French window, calling to her daughter. The girl
turned facing David. Almost he made up his mind, without
a moment's hesitation. Violet, he said, softly but clearly, Violet,
(14:43):
don't go come here. It is I David the cheek
of him, as miss ermine Lestrange would have put it, Violet, David,
what next? Violet was bewitched for a second or two.
She looked wildly toward the house and at him, for
(15:05):
he stood so that she might see him plainly, though
to her mother he was invisible. Please come, he pleaded,
I am here for your sake, for Gwen's sake too,
And they have kept us apart so long by lies.
That the girl was greatly excited was obvious. She pressed
(15:25):
her hands together on her bosom, though the action might
pass as a simple adjustment of her shawl. I must go,
she murmured brokenly. They want me there to to sign
some documents, and I cannot meet you. Violet, sign nothing
until you have heard my story. I appeal to you
(15:47):
for a hearing. If you refuse, I shall come with
you to the house. But hear me first make some excuse.
There was, ever that in David's voice, which one belief
some men bring true some false. David had in him
the clear sound of metal without flaw. And no woman
(16:09):
is worth her salt who cannot act more than a little.
Give me ten minutes, mother shrilled Violet excitedly, Only ten minutes,
then I shall be with you. David, peeping through the
rustic timber work, noted with satisfaction that Missus Mordaunt waved
a hand of agreement and re entered the house. What
(16:33):
then of Devil's work was Van Hupfelt plotting in that
drawing room that Violet should be wanted to sign documents,
and that the girl's mother should recognize the need of
her daughter being allowed some few minutes of grace if
she so desired. But here came Violet, all rosy now
(16:53):
with wonder, for her blood was racing, though in her eyes,
which reflected her thoughts, was an anger which David missed
in his joy. She stood framed in the narrow doorway
of the summer house, and half turned as though to
leave it quickly. Now, what have you to say to me?
(17:14):
She breathed hurriedly. David, who thought he was shy with women,
soon found winged words to pierce the armor of a
disdain he did not yet understand. If I obeyed my heart, Violet,
he said, and she thrilled a little under the shock
of hearing her Christian name so glib on his lips.
(17:38):
I would begin by telling you that I love you,
and so throw to the winds all other considerations. She
turned and faced him, palpitating with a certain dearlike readiness
to fly. How dare you? I am not daring? Daring
springs from the heart, you know. Moreover, though the knowledge
(18:02):
of my love is old to me, old as weary
days and sleepless nights can make it, it may be
new to you unless somehow my love has bridged the
void and made you responsive to my passion. Ah, don't
be afraid now, for David thought she shrank from him,
(18:23):
though in very truth this maiden's soul was all acquiver
with the conviction that not so had Van Hupfelt spoken,
not so had his ardor shaken her. I am not
here to day as your lover, as your avowed lover,
I would rather say, but only as your self appointed guardian,
(18:45):
as one who would save you from a fate worse
than death. Listen now and believe me, for I can
prove the truth. Van Upfeldt, who would marry you is
none other than Strauss, the man who married your sister.
Violet's eyes dilated, her lips parted as if to utter
(19:07):
a shriek. David caught her by the wrist and drew
her gently towards him. Before either of them knew what
was happening. His arms were about her. Be brave, there's
a dear girl, he whispered, Be brave and silent. Can
you listen? Tell me you are not afraid to listen again?
(19:29):
Violet was conscious that the touch of David Harcourt's arms
was a different thing to the impetuous embrace of Van Upfeldt.
A sob came from her. She seemed to lose a
little of her fine statue. She was becoming smaller, more
timidly womanlike. So near this masterful man he married your sister,
(19:54):
went on, David. He married Gwen in his own name
of van Hupfeldt, and the birth of their child is
registered in that name. I wrote and told you of
the certificates being in existence. He obtained them by bribery
and a trick that is nothing. Even if they are destroyed,
(20:15):
they can be replaced by the proper authorities. I know
where the child is living. I can take you to it.
I can bring Dibbon, the agent here, to face Van Hupfeldt,
and prove that he is none other than Strauss, your
sister's husband and slayer. I can bring Sarah Gissing, your
(20:36):
sister's servant, to identify him as the man whom poor
Gwen loved as her husband and the father of her child.
Were it not for my own folly, I could have
brought you her diary. Her diary? Has it been found?
Gasped Violet, lifting up her eyes to his in sheer amazement. Yes,
(20:58):
I found it, But and how it was fastened into
the back of a picture. A mezzo tint of turners
in the back of a picture. She murmured with a
certain strange dejection, which David found adorable. Nor should it
be forgotten that the only time David possessed absolute and
(21:20):
undeniable evidence of the presence of some unseen person in
his flat, he had shot at and wounded a man. Yes, dear,
may I call you dear, and you have it? No? No,
he felt a spasm of doubt in her very shoulders,
(21:41):
a slight withdrawing from him, for Violet was ever being
denied proof, the actual tangible proof, which alone can banish
suspicion from a sorely tried nature. Van Upfeldt stole it
from the flat during my absence. How could that be?
He has duplicate keys, I suppose once before I have
(22:04):
reason to believe he was there. We struggled together, one
on each side of a door. It was in the dark,
and he managed to dodge past me. But I fired
at him and drew blood. I think when was that?
She demanded, with a quickness which did not escape him.
On the morning of the day you were to have
(22:26):
met me at the cemetery, but sent such a bitter
little note instead, a bitter little note, and thus were
the words said, which pursued for another sentence, must have
unmasked Van hupfelt wholly. But they were both so excited,
so carried out of all bounds of reasoned thought, that
(22:49):
Violet flew off at a tangent, and David doubled after her.
So delightful was it to hear the words coming from
her lips, to watch her eyes telegraph their secret meetings.
He was lame that day, she whispered. He is not
quite free from stiffness in his walk yet ah, I
(23:12):
hit him then, and David smiled a different kind of
smile to that which Violet was learning to like. But
if all that you say is true, the man is
a monster, she cried, in a sudden rage. I am
coming to think that he is not in his right mind,
said David, a surprising charity springing up in him. And
(23:36):
do you know what they are waiting for now, she
asked vehemently. I cannot tell save that it is for you.
They want me to sign a marriage settlement. Oh what
a vile world. Not a vile world, dear, Nor are
its humans altogether bad? Even this van Hupfeldt or Strauss
(24:00):
seems to have loved your sister, and she did love him.
Poor girl. She meant to kill herself on his account,
owing to some secret. He revealed to her something about
another woman who had adopted him as her son that
was not clear in her story. She purposely kept the
(24:20):
definite things out of her diary. The girl's mind was
driven back, with quick rebound to the memory of her
sister's fate. The mere mention of the name Strauss touched
a poignant chord. She wrenched herself free and sprang toward
the door. Do you swear that you are telling me
(24:40):
the truth? She cried, I swear it. Then I go
now to meet him and his lawyer and my mother.
Poor mother, how she will suffer. Shall I come with you?
She blushed. She began to remember more vividly each instant
how long she had been there in his arms, almost
(25:02):
clinging to him. Better not, she said, I shall drive
him away, and when mother and I have cried together,
we shall see you. Are you staying in the village, Yes,
at the inn the feathers I think it's called. Then
I shall send for you to night, or perhaps tomorrow morning.
(25:23):
Make it to night if possible. Tell your mother I
will not add to her sorrows, and it is Beth
she should know all. Good Bye, then, Violet, good bye David.
He held out his hand so frankly that she placed
her white fingers within the grasp of his strong ones.
He was tempted to draw her nearer, but her color
(25:46):
rose again, her eyes dropped, and she tore herself away,
breaking almost into a run. David, careless whether he was
seen or not, walked off towards the lodge, glancing renow,
and then over his shoulder to watch Violet hastening to
the house. Once, when crossing the lawn, she looked around
(26:08):
and waved a hand to him, he replied. Then she vanished,
and David walked on. The happiest man in England. What
a pity it is that ignorance should so often be
an essential part of bliss. David should either have gone
with Violet, or, failing that, he should have let Van
(26:31):
Hupfelt believe that he was well on his way to London.
As it was, Van Hupfeldt saw him crossing the park.
And such a man forewarned is fore armed. End of
Chapter seventeen,
Chapter seventeen of The Late Tenant by Gordon Holmes. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. David, more than
Regain's lost ground, Harcourt was now in the position of
a man who thinks he has invented a flying machine.
(00:20):
Enthusiasm became stronger than knowledge. Belief was made to do
service as evidence. To meet Violet, to look again into
those sweet eyes of hers. That was the great thing,
he promised himself next morning. Indeed, it is to be feared.
He deliberately surrendered himself to dreams of such a meeting
(00:43):
while he smoked pipe after pipe in his lonesome flat,
rather than set himself to an orderly review of his
forces for the approaching trial of strength with Van Hupfeldt.
No sooner was he well clear of Van Upfeldt's house,
then he knew that he was safe from active interference
(01:05):
by the law. The man whom he now looked on
as his rival, the subtle adversary whom he had scorned
to crush when appealed to for mercy on the score
of physical inferiority, would never dare to seek the aid
of authority, nursing that fact ready enough to welcome the
(01:27):
prospect of an unaided combat. David did not stop to
consider that an older head in council would not be
a bad thing. There was Dibbin, for instance, Dibbin, whose
ideas were cramped within ledgers and schedules, had, nevertheless, as
(01:48):
he said himself, been young once. Surely David could have
sufficiently oxygenized the agent's thin blood. With the story told
by the hapless Gwendolen that the man should hie with
him to Rigsworth and there be confronted with the veritable Strauss.
(02:08):
Dibbon was a precise man. It would have been hard
for van Hupfeldt to flout Dibbon. But no, David smoked
and dreamed and saw a living violet in the chalk
portrait of the dead Gwendolen, and said so many nice
words to the presentiment thus created that he came to
(02:30):
believe them. And so he consigned Dibbon to his own
musty office. Nor even gave heed to the existence of
such a credible witness as Sarah Gissing poor Gwendolen's maid.
He left a penciled note on his table that the
charwoman was to call him when she came at eight,
(02:52):
For in such wise does London conquer Wyoming. And with
the rattle of her knuckles on the door, he was
out of bed, blithe as a lark, with his heart
singing greetings to a sunny morning, the manner of dress,
the shade of a tie, the exact degree of whiteness
(03:13):
of linen, or affairs of moment. Just then, alack, here
was our erstwhile rounder up of steers, stopping his handsom
on the way to the station in order to buy
a smart pair of doe skin gloves, while he gazed
lovingly at a buttonniere of violets. But forebore it was
(03:38):
noon ere he reached Rigsworth, and inquiry showed that the
Mordaunce house was situated at the farther end of the
small village. He walked through the street of scattered houses
and attracted some attention by the sure fact that he
was a stranger. At any rate, that was how he
regarded the discreete screw to which he was subjected. A
(04:03):
big house with the lodge gate just past the church
on the left were the station master's directions, and David
had no difficulty in finding his way. His heart fell
a little when he saw the style of the place.
The lodge was a pretty villa in itself. Its garden
(04:24):
would be of great worth within the London suburban area.
Behind it stretched the park of Dale Manor and the
turrets of a mansion among many lordly elms. Seemed to
put Violet on a somewhat inaccessible pinnacle. David did not
know that people of moderate means can maintain a good
(04:45):
sporting estate by letting the shooting that he had learned
in the free air of the States to rate a
man on a different level to parks. If a half
bred rascal like Van Hupfeldt was able to enter this
citadel like a thief for one daughter of the house,
why should not an honest man storm it for the
(05:07):
sake of another. At the lodge, however, he met with
a decided rebuff no visitors admitted, was the curt response
of a gamekeeper sort of person who was lurking in
a doorway when David tried to open the locked gate.
My business is important, urged David quietly, though his face
(05:31):
flushed a little at the man's impudent manner. So's my orders,
said velveteens. But I must see either Missus Mordaunt or
miss Violet. You can't see either absolute orders. Your name's Harcourt,
isn't it. Then David knew that Van Heppfeldt had overreached
(05:51):
him by the telegraph, and the shattering of his dream
castle caused such lightnings to gleam from within that the
surly gamekeeper whistled to a retriever dog and ostensibly revealed
a double barreled gun, which lay in the corner of
the porch. David was likely to have his own way
(06:12):
with clod hoppers, even in the hour of tribulation. Yes,
he said, my name is Harcourt, and yours minds no
matter very well, no matter you are obeying orders, I
have no doubt, but you must be taught civility. I
give you notice, no matter that a little later I
(06:36):
shall lick you good plenty, and if you don't take
it like a man, you will probably be fired into
the bargain. The keeper was for abusing him, but David
turned away. And now he was not the well dressed, gloved,
spick and span Londoner, but the Indian of the prairie,
(06:57):
with a heart from which the glow had gone, with
eyes that saw and ears that heard, and a brain
that recorded everything. He was instantly aware that the country
policeman who had lolled through the village behind him was
a fore worn spy. He knew that this functionary watched
(07:17):
his return to the railway station, from which, as David
happened to remember, the time table had shown a train
London Words at one o'clock. The station master was affable
enough gave him some bread and meat and a glass
of milk, and refused any payment. When the train came in,
(07:38):
David sourly, smiling, saw the constable loll onto the platform.
He could not resist the temptation to lean out of
the carriage window. Good Bye p. C. One ninety eight,
he said. Now he was traveling first class, and in
England even a villain demands respect under that circumstance. Good Bye, sir,
(08:03):
said the man, surprised. You will know me again? Eh? Oh, yes, sir,
I am glad of that. Tell that chap at the
gate of dale Manor that I shall keep my fixture
with him soon p. C. One ninety eight. Scratched his head.
Funny affair, he muttered, as the train moved off. Looks
(08:26):
and talks more of a gentleman than van. What's his damee?
Any day? At the next station, four miles away, David
slipped out of his carriage quickly and waited in a
shed until the train had gone again. Then he interviewed
the station master and somewhat astonished the official by tendering
(08:47):
a return ticket from Rigsworth to London. Can't break your journey,
said the regulations. But I've done it, said David. It's irregular,
complained the other. And the train is half a mile distant. Well,
if you pay the fare, David meant to forfeit his ticket.
(09:08):
This was a new light. He paid a few pence,
took a receipt and promised himself some fun At Rigsworth.
He asked for no information from the train. He had
noted a line of telegraph posts in the distance, and
he stepped out smartly along a by road until he
gained the main thoroughfare. Then, being alone, he ran and
(09:32):
the newly bought gloves burst their seams, so he flung
them off. When less than a mile from Rigsworth, he
heard the whistle of a train springing to a high bank.
He made out the sinuous snakelike curling of an engine
and coaches. Beyond the hedgerows a train coming from London.
(09:55):
Van Hupfeldt is in it. Of course, he decided, I
must make sure it needed a fine spirit, aided by
the exercise of quick judgment. When he neared Dale Manor,
but he was hidden in a brake of brambles in
the park. As Van huppfelt exceedingly pallid this glorious day
(10:15):
of spring, walked up the drive, accompanied by the gamekeeper,
dog and gun. The dog came near to undoing David,
but a rabbit, already disturbed, ran out of the thicket,
and a sharp command from the keeper brought the retriever
to heel. Green and brown buds, almost bursting into leaf,
(10:38):
were already enriching the shrubs and trees of Dale Manner,
especially in a sheltered hollow on the left front of
the house, where nestled a pretty lake. There the cover
was good. The hunter instinct sent him that way. That
Dutchman will make violet bolt. Just as the dog struck
(11:00):
the rabbit, thought David, and he took a circuitous route
to reach a summer house on the most distant side
of the ornamental water. Whence he fancied he could command
a fair view of the house and grounds. He waited
with stubborn patience two long hours. At last he saw
(11:22):
a man arrive in a doggart, and it was the
coming of this person which apparently drove violent forth, as
five minutes after the newcomer was admitted, a tall, graceful
figure in black, a girl wearing a large black hat
and draping a white shawl elegantly round her shoulders, stepped
(11:43):
out of a French window to the smooth lawn and
looked straight at the sheet of water, beyond which David
lay ensconced no need to tell him who this was.
His heart did not beat now. He was glad, and
something warmed his whole body, for it was chill waiting
there in the shade after his run. But neither man
(12:07):
nor water could interpose further barrier between him and his Violet,
so he was calm and confident. The girl glanced back
once towards the rooms she had quitted, and then strolled
on ever, coming nearer the glistening lake and the summer house.
She crossed the fine stretch of turf and stood for
(12:29):
an instant near a marble statue which guarded a fountain.
The distance was not great, and David thought his eyes
were deceiving him when he saw that the white marble
and the black garbed girl were singularly alike in feature.
It was not surprising, since the sculptor had taken Violet's
(12:50):
great grandmother, a noted beauty of early Georgian days, as
his model for the face of the dryad, and it
was one of the honored traditions of dale Manor that
this figure should be promptly shielded from inclement weather, even
from the dew. Just then. David was not inclined to
(13:12):
cavil at any discovery of fresh charms inviolent, But he
set aside this fanciful idea as he deemed it, and
bent his mind on attracting her attention without causing a
flutter either to her or to the other occupants of
the house. But she came on again, reached the lake
(13:33):
side path, and made him hope for a moment that
she would pass by the door of his retreat. If
that were so, he would reveal himself to her soon
enough to save her from being unduly alarmed by the
unexpected apparition of a man in that secluded place. Now
she actually passed abreast of him, with the lake between,
(13:57):
and soon she would round the curve of the water
and face him again. Her figure was mirrored in the
silver and blue of the reflected sky. So light was
her step that the living, moving body seemed to be
as impalpable as its spirit image. Then David's heart did
(14:18):
jump of a sudden, for a faint hail of vi
twice repeated, caught his ears, and he saw Missus Mordaunt
outside the French window, calling to her daughter. The girl
turned facing David. Almost he made up his mind, without
a moment's hesitation. Violet, he said, softly but clearly, Violet,
(14:43):
don't go come here. It is I David the cheek
of him, as miss ermine Lestrange would have put it, Violet, David,
what next? Violet was bewitched for a second or two.
She looked wildly toward the house and at him, for
(15:05):
he stood so that she might see him plainly, though
to her mother he was invisible. Please come, he pleaded,
I am here for your sake, for Gwen's sake too,
And they have kept us apart so long by lies.
That the girl was greatly excited was obvious. She pressed
(15:25):
her hands together on her bosom, though the action might
pass as a simple adjustment of her shawl. I must go,
she murmured brokenly. They want me there to to sign
some documents, and I cannot meet you. Violet, sign nothing
until you have heard my story. I appeal to you
(15:47):
for a hearing. If you refuse, I shall come with
you to the house. But hear me first make some excuse.
There was, ever that in David's voice, which one belief
some men bring true some false. David had in him
the clear sound of metal without flaw. And no woman
(16:09):
is worth her salt who cannot act more than a little.
Give me ten minutes, mother shrilled Violet excitedly, Only ten minutes,
then I shall be with you. David, peeping through the
rustic timber work, noted with satisfaction that Missus Mordaunt waved
a hand of agreement and re entered the house. What
(16:33):
then of Devil's work was Van Hupfelt plotting in that
drawing room that Violet should be wanted to sign documents,
and that the girl's mother should recognize the need of
her daughter being allowed some few minutes of grace if
she so desired. But here came Violet, all rosy now
(16:53):
with wonder, for her blood was racing, though in her eyes,
which reflected her thoughts, was an anger which David missed
in his joy. She stood framed in the narrow doorway
of the summer house, and half turned as though to
leave it quickly. Now, what have you to say to me?
(17:14):
She breathed hurriedly. David, who thought he was shy with women,
soon found winged words to pierce the armor of a
disdain he did not yet understand. If I obeyed my heart, Violet,
he said, and she thrilled a little under the shock
of hearing her Christian name so glib on his lips.
(17:38):
I would begin by telling you that I love you,
and so throw to the winds all other considerations. She
turned and faced him, palpitating with a certain dearlike readiness
to fly. How dare you? I am not daring? Daring
springs from the heart, you know. Moreover, though the knowledge
(18:02):
of my love is old to me, old as weary
days and sleepless nights can make it, it may be
new to you unless somehow my love has bridged the
void and made you responsive to my passion. Ah, don't
be afraid now, for David thought she shrank from him,
(18:23):
though in very truth this maiden's soul was all acquiver
with the conviction that not so had Van Hupfelt spoken,
not so had his ardor shaken her. I am not
here to day as your lover, as your avowed lover,
I would rather say, but only as your self appointed guardian,
(18:45):
as one who would save you from a fate worse
than death. Listen now and believe me, for I can
prove the truth. Van Upfeldt, who would marry you is
none other than Strauss, the man who married your sister.
Violet's eyes dilated, her lips parted as if to utter
(19:07):
a shriek. David caught her by the wrist and drew
her gently towards him. Before either of them knew what
was happening. His arms were about her. Be brave, there's
a dear girl, he whispered, Be brave and silent. Can
you listen? Tell me you are not afraid to listen again?
(19:29):
Violet was conscious that the touch of David Harcourt's arms
was a different thing to the impetuous embrace of Van Upfeldt.
A sob came from her. She seemed to lose a
little of her fine statue. She was becoming smaller, more
timidly womanlike. So near this masterful man he married your sister,
(19:54):
went on, David. He married Gwen in his own name
of van Hupfeldt, and the birth of their child is
registered in that name. I wrote and told you of
the certificates being in existence. He obtained them by bribery
and a trick that is nothing. Even if they are destroyed,
(20:15):
they can be replaced by the proper authorities. I know
where the child is living. I can take you to it.
I can bring Dibbon, the agent here, to face Van Hupfeldt,
and prove that he is none other than Strauss, your
sister's husband and slayer. I can bring Sarah Gissing, your
(20:36):
sister's servant, to identify him as the man whom poor
Gwen loved as her husband and the father of her child.
Were it not for my own folly, I could have
brought you her diary. Her diary? Has it been found?
Gasped Violet, lifting up her eyes to his in sheer amazement. Yes,
(20:58):
I found it, But and how it was fastened into
the back of a picture. A mezzo tint of turners
in the back of a picture. She murmured with a
certain strange dejection, which David found adorable. Nor should it
be forgotten that the only time David possessed absolute and
(21:20):
undeniable evidence of the presence of some unseen person in
his flat, he had shot at and wounded a man. Yes, dear,
may I call you dear, and you have it? No? No,
he felt a spasm of doubt in her very shoulders,
(21:41):
a slight withdrawing from him, for Violet was ever being
denied proof, the actual tangible proof, which alone can banish
suspicion from a sorely tried nature. Van Upfeldt stole it
from the flat during my absence. How could that be?
He has duplicate keys, I suppose once before I have
(22:04):
reason to believe he was there. We struggled together, one
on each side of a door. It was in the dark,
and he managed to dodge past me. But I fired
at him and drew blood. I think when was that?
She demanded, with a quickness which did not escape him.
On the morning of the day you were to have
(22:26):
met me at the cemetery, but sent such a bitter
little note instead, a bitter little note, and thus were
the words said, which pursued for another sentence, must have
unmasked Van hupfelt wholly. But they were both so excited,
so carried out of all bounds of reasoned thought, that
(22:49):
Violet flew off at a tangent, and David doubled after her.
So delightful was it to hear the words coming from
her lips, to watch her eyes telegraph their secret meetings.
He was lame that day, she whispered. He is not
quite free from stiffness in his walk yet ah, I
(23:12):
hit him then, and David smiled a different kind of
smile to that which Violet was learning to like. But
if all that you say is true, the man is
a monster, she cried, in a sudden rage. I am
coming to think that he is not in his right mind,
said David, a surprising charity springing up in him. And
(23:36):
do you know what they are waiting for now, she
asked vehemently. I cannot tell save that it is for you.
They want me to sign a marriage settlement. Oh what
a vile world. Not a vile world, dear, Nor are
its humans altogether bad? Even this van Hupfeldt or Strauss
(24:00):
seems to have loved your sister, and she did love him.
Poor girl. She meant to kill herself on his account,
owing to some secret. He revealed to her something about
another woman who had adopted him as her son that
was not clear in her story. She purposely kept the
(24:20):
definite things out of her diary. The girl's mind was
driven back, with quick rebound to the memory of her
sister's fate. The mere mention of the name Strauss touched
a poignant chord. She wrenched herself free and sprang toward
the door. Do you swear that you are telling me
(24:40):
the truth? She cried, I swear it. Then I go
now to meet him and his lawyer and my mother.
Poor mother, how she will suffer. Shall I come with you?
She blushed. She began to remember more vividly each instant
how long she had been there in his arms, almost
(25:02):
clinging to him. Better not, she said, I shall drive
him away, and when mother and I have cried together,
we shall see you. Are you staying in the village, Yes,
at the inn the feathers I think it's called. Then
I shall send for you to night, or perhaps tomorrow morning.
(25:23):
Make it to night if possible. Tell your mother I
will not add to her sorrows, and it is Beth
she should know all. Good Bye, then, Violet, good bye David.
He held out his hand so frankly that she placed
her white fingers within the grasp of his strong ones.
He was tempted to draw her nearer, but her color
(25:46):
rose again, her eyes dropped, and she tore herself away,
breaking almost into a run. David, careless whether he was
seen or not, walked off towards the lodge, glancing renow,
and then over his shoulder to watch Violet hastening to
the house. Once, when crossing the lawn, she looked around
(26:08):
and waved a hand to him, he replied. Then she vanished,
and David walked on. The happiest man in England. What
a pity it is that ignorance should so often be
an essential part of bliss. David should either have gone
with Violet, or, failing that, he should have let Van
(26:31):
Hupfelt believe that he was well on his way to London.
As it was, Van Hupfeldt saw him crossing the park.
And such a man forewarned is fore armed. End of
Chapter seventeen,
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