第45章

Asitwillthenbetoolate，andtheinstrumentsarealreadypreparedforthelittleoperationwhichhergraceiseagerlyanticipating，itwould，perhaps，beaswell，afterall，thatyoushouldgivemeintocharge。Youwouldhavesavedyourfivehundredpounds，andyouwould，atanyrate，havesomethinginexchangeforhergrace’smutilatedlimb。Ah，hereistheconstable！Officer！“ Thestrangerspokewithsuchapleasantlittleairofeasygenialitythatitwasimpossibletotellifhewereinjestorinearnest。Thisfactimpressedthedukemuchmorethanifhehadgoneinforaliberalindulgenceofthe——underthecircumstances—— orthodoxmelodramaticscowling。And，indeed，inthefaceofhisowncommonsense，itimpressedMr。IvorDacretoo。 Thiswell-bred，well-groomedyouthwasjustthebeingtorealize—— auxboutsdesongles——amoderntypeofthedevil，thetypewhichdepictshimasaperfectgentleman，whokeepssmilingallthetime。 Theconstablewhomthisaudaciousroguehadsignaledapproachedthelittlegroup。Headdressedthestranger: “Doyouwantme，sir？“ “No，Idonotwantyou。IthinkitistheDukeofDatchet。“ Theconstable，whoknewthedukeverywellbysight，salutedhimasheturnedtoreceiveinstructions。 Thedukelookedwhite，evensavage。Therewasnotapleasantlookinhiseyesandabouthislips。Heappearedtobeendeavoringtoputagreatrestraintuponhimself。Therewasamomentarysilence。 Mr。Dacremadeamovementasiftointerpose。Thedukecaughthimbythearm。 Hespoke:“No，constable，Idonotwantyou。Thispersonismistaken。“ Theconstablelookedasifhecouldnotquitemakeouthowsuchamistakecouldhavearisen，hesitated，then，withanothersalute，hemovedaway。 Thestrangerwasstillholdinghiswatchinhishand。 “Onlyeightminutes，“hesaid。 Thedukeseemedtoexperiencesomedifficultyingivingutterancetowhathehadtosay。 “IfIgiveyouthisfivehundredpounds，you——you——“ Asthedukepaused，asifatalossforlanguagewhichwasstrongenoughtoconveyhismeaning，thestrangerlaughed。 “Letustaketheadjectivesforgranted。Besides，itisonlyboyswhocalleachothernames——mendothings。Ifyougivemethefivehundredsovereigns，whichyouhaveinthatbag，atonce——infiveminutesitwillbetoolate——Iwillpromise——Iwillnotswear；ifyoudonotcreditmysimplepromise，youwillnotbelievemysolemnaffirmation——Iwillpromisethat，possiblywithinanhour，certainlywithinanhourandahalf，theDuchessofDatchetshallreturntoyouabsolutelyuninjured——except，ofcourse，asyouarealreadyaware，withregardtoafewofthehairsofherhead。I willpromisethisontheunderstandingthatyoudonotyourselfattempttoseewhereIgo，andthatyouwillallownooneelsetodoso。“ThiswithaglanceatIvorDacre。“IshallknowatonceifIamfollowed。Ifyouentertainsuchintentions，youhadbetter，onallaccounts，remaininpossessionofyourfivehundredpounds。“ Thedukeeyedhimverygrimly。 “Ientertainnosuchintentions——untiltheduchessreturns。“ Againthestrangerindulgedinthatmusicallaughofhis。 “Ah，untiltheduchessreturns！Ofcourse，thenthebargain’satanend。Whenyouareoncemoreintheenjoymentofhergrace’ssociety，youwillbeatlibertytosetallthedogsinEuropeatmyheels。IassureyouIfullyexpectthatyouwilldoso——whynot？“ Thedukeraisedthecanvasbag。“Mydearduke，tenthousandthanks！YoushallseehergraceatDatchetHouse，’ponmyhonor，probablywithinthehour。“ “Well，“commentedIvorDacre，whenthestrangerhadvanished，withthebag，intoPiccadilly，andasthedukeandhimselfmovedtowardBurlingtonGardens，“ifagentlemanistoberobbed，itisaswellthatheshouldhaveanothergentlemanrobhim。“ III Mr。Dacreeyedhiscompanioncovertlyastheyprogressed。HisGraceofDatchetappearedtohavesomefreshcauseforuneasiness。 Allatoncehegaveitutterance，inatoneofvoicewhichwasextremelysomber: “Ivor，doyouthinkthatscoundrelwilldaretoplaymefalse？“ “Ithink，“murmuredMr。Dacre，“thathehasdaredtoplayyouprettyfalsealready。“ “Idon’tmeanthat。ButImeanhowamItoknow，nowthathehashismoney，thathewillstillnotkeepMabelinhisclutches？“ TherecameanechofromMr。Dacre。 “Justso——howareyoutoknow？“ “IbelievethatsomethingofthissorthasbeendoneintheStates。“ “Ithoughtthattheretheywerecontenttokidnapthemaftertheyweredead。Iwasnotawarethattheyhad，asyet，gotquitesofarastheliving。“ “IbelievethatIhaveheardofsomethingjustlikethis。“ “Possibly；theyaregiantsoverthere。“ “Andinthatcasethescoundrels，whentheirdemandsweremet，refusedtokeeptotheletteroftheirbargainandaskedformore。“ Thedukestoodstill。Heclinchedhisfists，andswore: “Ivor，ifthat——villaindoesn’tkeephisword，andMabelisn’thomewithinthehour，by——Ishallgomad！“ “MydearDatchet“——Mr。Dacrelovedstronglanguageaslittleashelovedascene——“letustrusttotimeand，alittle，toyourwhite- hattedandgardenia-buttonholedfriend’swordofhonor。Youshouldhavethoughtofpossibleeventualitiesbeforeyoushowedyourconfidence——really。Suppose，insteadofgoingmad，wefirstofallgohome？“ AhansomstoodwaitingforafareattheendoftheArcade。Mr。 Dacrehadhandedthedukeintoitbeforehisgracehadquiterealizedthatthevehiclewasthere。 “Tellthefellowtodrivefaster。“Thatwaswhatthedukesaidwhenthecabhadstarted。 “MydearDatchet，theman’salreadydrivinghisgeerageoffitslegs。Ifabobbycatchessightofhimhe’lltakehisnumber。“ Amomentlater，amurmurfromtheduke: “Idon’tknowifyou’reawarethattheprinceiscomingtodinner？“ “Iamperfectlyawareofit。“ “Youtakeituncommonlycool。Howeasyitistobearourbrother’sburdens！Ivor，ifMabeldoesn’tturnupIshallfeellikemurder。“ “Isympathizewithyou，Datchet，withallmyheart，though，Imayobserve，parenthetically，thatIveryfarfromrealizethesituationevenyet。Takemyadvice。Iftheduchessdoesnotshowquiteassoonaswebothofusdesire，don’tmakeascene；justletmeseewhatIcando。“ Judgingfromtheexpressionofhiscountenance，thedukewasconsciousofnooverwhelmingdesiretowitnessanexhibitionofMr。 Dacre’sprowess。 WhenthecabreachedDatchetHousehisgracedashedupthestepsthreeatatime。Thedoorflewopen。 “Hastheduchessreturned？“ “Hereward！“ Avoicefloateddownwardfromabove。Someonecamerunningdownthestairs。ItwasherGraceofDatchet。 “Mabel！“ Sheactuallyrushedintotheduke’sextendedarms。Andhekissedher，andshekissedhim——beforetheservants。 “Soyou’renotquitedead？“shecried。 “Iamalmost，“hesaid。 Shedrewherselfalittleawayfromhim。 “Hereward，wereyouseriouslyhurt？“ “DoyousupposethatIcouldhavebeenotherwisethanseriouslyhurt？“ “Mydarling！WasitaPickford’svan？“ Thedukestared。 “APickford’svan？Idon’tunderstand。Butcomeinhere。Comealong，Ivor。Mabel，youdon’tseeIvor。“ “Howdoyoudo，Mr。Dacre？“ Thenthetriowithdrewintoalittleanteroom；itwasreallytime。 EventhenthepairconductedthemselvesasifMr。Dacrehadbeennothingandnoone。Theduketookthelady’stwohandsinhis。Heeyedherfondly。 “Soyouareuninjured，withtheexceptionofthatlockofhair。 Wheredidthevillaintakeitfrom？“ Theladylookedalittlepuzzled。 “Whatlockofhair？“ Fromanenvelopewhichhetookfromhispocketthedukeproducedashiningtress。Itwasthelockofhairwhichhadarrivedinthefirstcommunication。“Iwillhaveitframed。“ “Youwillhavewhatframed？“Theduchessglancedatwhatthedukewassotenderlycaressing，almost，asitseemed，alittledubiously。“Whateverisityouhavethere？“ “Itisthelockofhairwhichthatscoundrelsentme。“Somethinginthelady’sfacecausedhimtoaskaquestion: “Didn’thetellyouhehadsentittome？“ “Hereward！“ “Didthebrutetellyouthathemeanttocutoffyourlittlefinger？“ Averycuriouslookcameintothelady’sface。Sheglancedatthedukeasifshe，allatonce，washalfafraidofhim。ShecastatMr。Dacrewhatreallyseemedtobealookofinquiry。Hervoicewastremulouslyanxious。 “Hereward，did——didtheaccidentaffectyoumentally？“ “Howcoulditnothaveaffectedmementally？Doyouthinkthatmymentalorganizationisofsteel？“ “Butyoulooksowell。“ “OfcourseIlookwell，nowthatIhaveyoubackagain。Tellme，darling，didthathoundactuallythreatenyouwithcuttingoffyourarm？Ifhedid，Ishallfeelhalfinclinedtokillhimyet。“ Theduchessseemedpositivelytoshrinkfromherbetterhalf’snearneighborhood。 “Hereward，wasitaPickford’svan？“ Thedukeseemedpuzzled。Wellhemightbe。 “WaswhataPickford’svan？“ TheladyturnedtoMr。Dacre。Inhervoicetherewasaringofanguish。 “Mr。Dacre，tellme，wasitaPickford’svan？“Ivorcouldonlyimitatehisrelative’srepetitionofherinquiry。 “Idon’tquitecatchyou——waswhataPickford’svan？“ Theduchessclaspedherhandsinfrontofher。 “Whatisityouarekeepingfromme？Whatisityouaretryingtohide？Iimploreyoutotellmetheworst，whateveritmaybe！Donotkeepmeanylongerinsuspense；youdonotknowwhatIalreadyhaveendured。Mr。Dacre，ismyhusbandmad？“ Oneneedscarcelyobservethatthelady’samazingappealtoMr。 Dacreastoherhusband’ssanitywasreceivedwithsomethinglikesurprise。Asthedukecontinuedtostareather，adreadfulfearbegantoloominhisbrain。 “Mydarling，yourbrainisunhinged！“ Headvancedtotakehertwohandsagaininhis；but，tohisunmistakabledistress，sheshrankawayfromhim。 “Hereward——don’ttouchme。HowisitthatImissedyou？WhydidyounotwaituntilIcame？“ “Waituntilyoucame？“ Theduke’sbewildermentincreased。 “Surely，ifyourinjuriesturnedout，afterall，tobeslight，thatwasallthemorereasonwhyyoushouldhavewaited，aftersendingformelikethat。“ “Isentforyou——I？“Theduke’stonewasgrave。“Mydarling，perhapsyouhadbettercomeupstairs。“ “Notuntilwehavehadanexplanation。YoumusthaveknownthatI shouldcome。Whydidyounotwaitformeafteryouhadsentmethat？“ Theduchessheldoutsomethingtotheduke。Hetookit。Itwasacard——hisownvisitingcard。Somethingwaswrittenonthebackofit。Hereadaloudwhatwaswritten。