The Mystery of Lincoln's Inn Page 7

  CHAPTER VII

  The day on which Harry Bennet wired that he had drawn on Eversleigh,Silwood and Eversleigh, for two thousand pounds, was the first day ofthe Goodwood meeting.

  Bennet was a man who lost and won large sums on the turf, and it was notin the least unusual for him to wager several thousands on a singleevent, especially if it were one of the greater races. With him bettingwas a disease, a mania, so strong and uncontrolled ran the gamblingfever in his blood.

  His love for Kitty Thornton was genuine, but it had to take a secondplace to this appalling madness.

  When he saw her and Helen and Gilbert Eversleigh in the punt on theriver, he told himself as he rowed up-stream that he must lose no timein declaring himself to the girl. He cursed Gilbert in his thoughts, butbelieved his chance was at least as good as his rival's. And if it hadnot been for some racing business he was compelled to attend to thatevening, he would have gone to Ivydene. If he had, the probability isthat Kitty and Gilbert would not have been left alone that night underthe white magic of the moon, and their engagement would not have takenplace--at least, not at that particular time.

  If he had gone to Ivydene that evening it is more than possible that thelife-current of their lives would have changed its course.

  In any case, that evening of fate passed, and next day, being theopening at Goodwood, saw Harry on the course plunging wildly and losingheavily. Nor had he any luck that afternoon--hence the draft for twothousand on the solicitors, after he had exhausted his ready money.

  The second day at Goodwood brought him a little better fortune, and hecame out of it without positive disaster. It was not necessary to callfor more funds.

  In the first race on the third day his own horse, Go Nap, ran. It wasknown that the animal had done fairly well in its trials, and there wasa good deal of outside money on it. Harry, of course, backed it. Go Napwon handsomely, and from that moment Harry's luck changed. Plunging morerecklessly than ever, he more than succeeded in recovering himself. Atthe end of the day he was a heavy winner.

  He made his biggest coup on a horse which lost. Harry had laid againstit, although it was a hot favourite. It should have won on its formquite easily, everybody said, and there were rumours of foul play. Aninvestigation was talked of and eventually was held, but nothing came ofit. The impression, however, was that there had been some "crooked work"in the matter. None was more forward in denying it than Bennet.Fortunately for him, it was not known that he had won a large sum, orthere might have been suspicions of his good faith. And presently thedisputings, the angry arguments, the murmurings, the bickerings, diedaway, but what had happened was not forgotten.

  On the fourth day of the meeting Bennet was again a winner, though thetotal of his gains was not so great as that of the day before. Takenaltogether, however, it had been an excellent Goodwood for him, and hewas correspondingly elated.

  His home was at Hampton Court, and he returned to it in high feather.The first thing he did next morning was to go to Ivydene. He had made uphis mind to speak to Kitty of his passion, and to ask her to be hiswife. Being away at the races he had not heard of her engagement, andintoxicated with his success at Goodwood he felt himself a conqueringhero, who had only to come, and be seen, to triumph instantly.

  He found Kitty at home and alone, nor did the maiden seem displeased tosee him. She had no suspicion, however, of the nature of his errand.

  He was so full of his good fortune at the races, that, as soon as thecustomary greetings were over, he forthwith launched out into the storyof his four days' campaign. Kitty had a pretty natural gift of listeningsympathetically, and the young man was greatly pleased with the interestshe manifested in his narrative--so much so that his spirit glowedwithin him. And, of course, Kitty congratulated him on the victory ofhis horse, Go Nap, and on his other successes.

  As he looked at the beautiful girl, a strong desire came upon him tospeak to her at once of his passion, but a certain novel bashfulness,arising from the very reality of the love he felt for her, restrainedhim at the moment. Instead of going to the point at once, he began byasking in the most banal fashion if she had any news.

  Now, Kitty had two great pieces of news--one of them a very great pieceof news indeed; one was the coming of her father, the other herengagement to Gilbert Eversleigh. It was of the first she chose tospeak.

  "News? Yes," said Kitty, eagerly, "great news. Have you heard that myfather is expected here from Canada next week?--but, perhaps, you haveheard of it."

  "No, I have not heard of it. Rather sudden, is it not?" asked Bennet."You did not know of it, I think, Miss Kitty, when I saw you some daysago."

  "I had a letter from my father the very next morning."

  "He arrives next week, you say? On what day do you look for him?"

  "That I can't tell you, for he has not mentioned any fixed day; but hewill be here very soon. And, oh! I shall be glad to see him!"

  "Yes. It will be a great pleasure to you to see him again."

  "It will make me very happy," said Kitty, simply, who was now countingthe days and finding them somewhat long.

  While the girl was speaking, Bennet was thinking that it would be betterfor him to declare himself before the arrival of her father. Did he putit off till afterwards, it was probable that Morris Thornton would makesome inquiries about him--in which case his infatuation for betting andhorse-racing would be bound to come out, and Thornton might take asevere view of his conduct. But the matter would appear in a differentlight if he were engaged to Kitty before her father's appearance on thescene.

  They had been sitting in the drawing-room of Ivydene quite near eachother. Suddenly, to Kitty's surprise, Bennet rose, and with outstretchedhands stood in front of her. He gave her no time to check him--his wordsflowed like a torrent.

  "Miss Kitty, your father will make you happy; will you not make me happytoo? You can make me the happiest of men. I love you, you darling Kitty!Tell me that you do not regard me with indifference! Tell me that youwill not refuse my love, Kitty! Do not send me away from your sweetpresence. I love you, I adore you for your beauty, for your sweetness,for yourself. Kitty, do you love me? I will do anything and everything aman can to show you I love you. Kitty, dearest, tell me----"

  Springing a step forward, he tried to clasp her in his arms, but sheretreated and then waved him back.

  Bennet had spoken well, and with a rough sincerity which the girl couldnot but feel. She tried to stop him, but he would not be stopped. As hehad gone on, her face had paled and her eyes had grown full of troubleand distress. She now blamed herself for not putting her second piece ofnews before the other. Trouble and distress also showed themselves inthe agitation with which she replied to him.

  "Harry, I'm so sorry. What you ask is impossible!"

  "Impossible! You don't mean it, Kitty, surely," exclaimed Bennet. "Oh,say you don't mean it!"

  He was so cocksure of himself and of her that he could not believe shewas in earnest. His self-confidence was so great that it blinded him,otherwise he must have seen that she had no such answer to give him ashe wished.

  "Yes, it is impossible," she said, quietly and firmly. "I am very sorryto pain you, Harry, very sorry indeed; you may be quite sure of that."

  The young man's eyes filled with an angry light while the hot colourflushed his cheeks.

  "It is your love I want, not your sorrow," he said roughly.

  "That I cannot give you," said Kitty. "Wait a moment, Harry. A fewminutes ago you asked me if I had any news. Well, I did not tell you allthe news. There was one piece of news I felt a certain reticence about.I wish now I had mentioned it to you. For, if I had done so you wouldnot have said--what you have said. It is that I am engaged to bemarried."

  "Oh, Kitty!" cried Bennet, in a voice that seemed to ask her how shedared become engaged to any one but himself. "You are engaged! This isnews indeed ... I wish I had known ... engaged!" And Bennet, who was notable to contain his rage and mortification, glowered at the girl, asthese words
came brokenly from him. Then he looked at her for someseconds in silence, and his look was not pleasant.

  "I am sorry," said Kitty once more, but her accent was cold. She thoughthe was not behaving prettily, and that it was time for him to go.

  "May I ask who is the lucky man?" he inquired, his face dark withwrath; but in his heart he had already guessed that Gilbert Eversleighwas his successful rival.

  "I do not know that you have any right to address me as you are doing,"said Kitty with dignity. "You asked a question and you have had youranswer." But as she looked at Bennet she relented a little. "I am sorryto disappoint you, Harry," she went on, "but there is nothing more to besaid."

  "I suppose it is Gilbert," said Bennet.

  Kitty nodded assent.

  Bennet gazed at her gloomily; there was something threatening in theblack gleams he shot at her.

  "Have you no good wishes for me?" she asked, making an effort to remindhim that he should at least try to play the part of a gentleman.

  But Bennet only glared at her speechlessly.

  At length, muttering some words so incoherently that the girl could notcatch them, he turned and left the room abruptly.

  And he kept muttering the same words over and over again as he returnedto his home; they made an infernal chorus in his thoughts, the burden ofwhich was, "She shall never marry you, Master Gilbert, never, never, ifI can prevent her. She shall marry me, me, me, nobody but me." And yet,even while he kept on saying this to himself, he could not conceal fromhis innermost soul that he was powerless. Kitty and Gilbert wereengaged; there was the bitter fact. Still, he whispered in his heart,they were not married, and until Kitty was actually united to Gilbertthere was always room for a little hope.

  Of Gilbert Eversleigh he thought with burning hatred, and longed for anopportunity of doing him an injury. In his first rage he had an ideathat he would withdraw all his business from Eversleigh, Silwood andEversleigh, but after he had somewhat cooled he came to the conclusionnot to do so. The firm, he argued, was far too big and well-establishedand wealthy to be hurt much by the loss of a single client like him.Bennet's opinion of the standing of the firm was the same as that heldby everybody else. Besides, there was another reason for continuing withthe Lincoln's Inn solicitors. He told himself that if he placed hisaffairs in the hands of other lawyers, Francis Eversleigh wouldinevitably be displeased, and this would lead to a coolness between themwhich would make it impossible for him to visit at Ivydene. But whileKitty remained beneath the roof of Francis Eversleigh, Bennet had nodesire to cut himself off from seeing her there. And he meant to go onseeing her. For, so long as she was unmarried he did not altogetherdespair. He said to himself that he would wait and see if chance did notthrow something in his way.

  As for Kitty, she thought it best to say not a word to Gilbert of HarryBennet's proposal, but she took an opportunity of cautioning her loverto beware of him.

  To say that Kitty was amazed and dismayed at the presumptuousness, theboorishness, the bad manners Bennet had exhibited, would give but afaint indication of what she felt. She considered his behaviour, withits unconcealed menace, little short of an outrage. Yet, at the sametime, an alarmed instinct in her apprised her that the man wasdangerous, and that vigilance was necessary in dealing with him.

  Gilbert was rather inclined gently to laugh down the warning Kitty gavehim; in his abounding happiness he smiled at her fears, but she insistednone the less that Bennet was a man to be watched.

  "You must always be on your guard with him," she said.

  "What can he do, my darling?" asked Gilbert. "Nothing," he said, withreassuring caresses.