T H E D I S S EM B L ER S
BY
T H O M AS
CI O B B‘
‘
T H E B O D L E Y H E AD
H
A
N
L
N
E
O
J
!
LO N D O N
AN D
1 90 1
N EW
Y O RK
THE DISS EMB LERS
CHAPTER I
LES LI E M U N RO E had be en advised to have
nothing more to do with Mrs Farington
after she finally separated from her husband
I t w a s true that he had no desire fo r an
entanglement o f any kind and he would
have admitted that Esther s character showed
many weak points but he was a m a n o f
lenient judgment whilst a s well as being an
agreeab le companion Mrs Farington seemed
interesting as an object fo r study Moreover
she had ha d a great deal to endure fo r som e
time past and on the whole Leslie could
not see his way to cut her at that crisis o f
her li fe
The consequence was that during the
ensuing eighteen months he dri fted into the
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habit o f calling rather frequently at her
house in South Audley Street
I t was a small house admirably furnished
in its way
But Mrs Fari n gton appe ared
to entertain an objection to stron g lights !
the windows were heavily curtained ; the
b linds were seldom drawn up as fa r as
they would go ; the lamps were subdued
with crimson shades ; the carpets were all
into which one s feet seemed to
o f so ft pile
sink and the prevailing colours were warm
and dark
Esther s dresses were fashioned o f so ft
materials that clung to her shape her poses
were lan guorous ; and she disliked any kind
o f exertion
Althou gh she could hardly be
described as a beauti ful woman she n everthe
less possessed considerable feminine attractive
ness ! she always had a long queue o f admirers
Lo oking about twenty fi ve years o f age
she must have b een a little older If her
features were somewhat irregular she could
claim a pair o f wonderfully expressive dark
eyes a profusion o f black hair a remarkably
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clear white skin a seductive figure and a
fund o f animation and vivacity
Calling at the house one aftern oo n in
January Leslie found Esther alone and in
Seated before
unusual ly despo ndent spirits
the fire wi th her chin o n her palms she
was staring moodily at the coloure d fla mes
Perhaps she did n ot alter her
o f t he log
position until he had been a few moments
in the room
You look im m ensely com fortable in here
he said flicking o n e o r tw o snowflakes fro m
hi s coat
It s bitter weather outside
I haven t been o ut to day she ans wered
but I assure yo u I don t feel in the l east
com fortab le
I s anything the matter ? he asked sittin g
down with the manner o f one quite at
home
I have received a lette r from Sir Gordon
Darnley she exclaimed
I dare say yo u
have never heard hi s name but hi s brother
—
married my hal f sister a rather complicated
relationship isn t it ?
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TH E DI SSEM BLERS
I s that the sister who died just b efore
Christmas ?
My only one
O f course she was several
years my senior and we had seen very little
But Esther ex
o f each other
for years
plained she le ft a daughter ; Sir Gordon is
her trustee and guardian He coolly suggests
that I shall have the girl here
Permanently ? asked Leslie
Pray don t suggest anything so dread ful !
she cried
O f course I should not entert a in
that idea fo r a moment Sir Gordon Writes
—
from Calcutta he is in the I ndian Civil
Service yo u know No he only asks me to
l ook after her until he can come home ; that
will be amply sufli c i e n t
How old is Miss Darnley ?
I suppose Penelope is a bout eig hte en
The last time I saw her was
said Esther
three years ago in Paris She look ed about
She and her mother
fourteen or fi fteen then
lived in Paris some time
You did not see her at Mrs D a rn ley s
funeral then ? Leslie suggested
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I didn t go ; I wrote to her You think
I ought to have gone ? she exclaimed
fixing her eyes on his face
I merely wondered
She was your
sister
My hal f sister I con fess I have a natural
shrinking from that kind o f thing Besides
we had never been what you would call
chums She did not approve o f o ur father s
s econd marriage I believe and as I was the
poor result I am afraid she never quite
approved o f me
What do you intend to do ? he asked
I don t exactly know I haven t decided
I wish I could tell how long Sir Gordon
intends me to k eep her You must advise
me she said though I shall not promise to
follow your advice
Sir Gordon asks me to
cable my decisio n to Calcutta then to write
to Penelope
Where is she ? he inquired
I n lodgings at Brighton where her mothe r
died
Alone ?
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There were friends staying
I believe so
with her at the time she answered my letter
but I suppose they must have returned to
Paris by this time
Then my advice and your duty are plain
he said in his most decided tones
Duty generally is plain even ugly she
exclaimed
Leslie rose and thrusting his hands in his
pockets stood with o n e foot o n the fender
looking down into Esther s face
Still he urged you can t possi bly leave a
girl o f that age alone in a Brighton lodging
house
It will be an immense nuisance to have her
here she said
I shall have to alter all my
”
h a bits She w ould call me Aunt Esther ! it
would be hateful She would always be in
the way I really don t think I could endure
it
I f yo u re fuse to receive her he returned
you will feel extremely uncom fortable I am
sure yo u will be sorry afterwards
I don t think I should she cried
Besides
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Sir Gordon can t have the least idea about
a bout my husband I f he knew he probably
wouldn t wi sh Penelope to come to me You
know the way o f the world I f a woman is
living apart from her husband n o matter what
the cause o f course there must be something
wrong about her ! she is a person to be
avoided
You can t complain that people avoid yo u
said Leslie
—
Some kinds o f people o h yes dozens ;
your sister fo r o n e She has not been to see
me since I saw R eggie yesterday she added
quietly
Did you S peak to him ?
Thank Heaven ! he didn t see me she
answered
But he has b ecome a terri ble
wreck ! He must be killing himsel f I t seems
impossible to realise that he was here only
eighteen months ago What a li fe it was ! I
seem to have become a di fferent woman she
murmured and her eyes rested almost c a ress
i n gly on Leslie s face
He took his hat and his departure a little
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abruptly without hearing what Mrs Farington
intended to do concerning her niece
Not without cause Leslie Munroe was re
garded as an extremely fortunate man He
had met with such early success as falls to few
men in a generation ! Thrown young upon
his own resources he declined the pro ffered
assistance o f his married sister Mrs Cheshire
worked his passage out and spent the next
few years knocking about the Colonies always
roughing it and o ften hard pushed fo r a meal
or tobacco
There were fe w countries which he had not
visited few seas on which he had not sailed
all without b ecoming a penny the richer !
without b ecoming a penny the richer but
with a large store o f out o f the way e x peri
ence and a considerable kno w ledge o f men
and especially o f the seamier side o f li fe
One day in Sydney he picked up a novel
story o f adventure that had run throu gh
a
several editions The notion possessed him
t hat he also could do the trick and perhaps
go o n e better Leslie chanced on a period
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TH E
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when the British public was eager fo r all
kinds o f in formation about its possessions
whereas no body could be more capable o f
enlightening it than Munroe He passed from
success to success until now he was not only
earning a very ample income but his name
was perhaps as widely known as that o f any
man in these islands
His years o f wandering left their mark o n
him and whilst there was nothing in his
dress to distinguish him from the average
Englishman o f his generation in some peculiar
way the impression was created that he had
been bred ab road
His m anner was a little impassive and
though his intellect was sufli c i e n tly alert his
emotion s were under exceptional control I f
he seldom laughed he seemed gen e rally cheer
ful ; his fa ce was rather long and spare with
lines already visible above the mouth He
had somewhat high cheek bones and a strong
jaw his mouth being especially well formed
as the absence o f a moustache enabled o n e
to observe Leslie was tall and o f a slim
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angular figure with dark hair and brown
eyes ; his age was thirty two years
During that evening and the following day
he thou ght once o r twice o f Esther wonder
ing at what deci sion she had arrived con
cerning her niece and meeting her at the
house o f a common friend the night a fter she
had asked his advice o n the subject he
learned that she had cabled to Sir Gordon
and sent an invitation to Penelope at Brighton
1 am glad you have done that said Leslie
My dear man that was why I did it
she answered
because I saw you wished it
I t will prove an aw ful bother to me but i f
an y harm come o f it I
shall hold you t e
sponsible
Di ffi cult to see what harm can possibly
come o f it he retorted
Anyhow I have told her to be here on
Wednesday afternoon at about four o clock
You will be at Lady Stapleton s he
suggested
Oh yes b ut my m aid can receive Penelope
she answered carelessly
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DISSEM BLERS
TH E
next day Leslie went out o f London fo r
a day or two he did not see Esther again until
the Monday after her niece s arrival in South
Audley Street
Has your protegée arrived ? he ask ed when
they met that night
—
She came o n W ednesday the day I named
you remember She is rather commonplace
—a fair haired pink c hec ked blue eyed girl ;
nice looking in a way I suppose but a cold
passionless way
One hardly cares fo r passion in a girl o f
eightee n said Leslie
Oh o f course a good many persons s eem
to deprecate it in a woman o f any age she
returned
I t s a matter o f taste and we re as
Go d made us
With the fi n ishing touches added by o ur
s elves
She see m s to have a will o f her o w n Mrs
F arington con ti nued and also a lover
Has she brought him with her ?
Well she an swered with a laugh he ca me
very soon afterwa rds
I believe he has been
The
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15
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TH E D I S S EJI B L ER S
it
w as
M r P i lcher
ca lle d o n
ll y b eli eve
ra
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ex
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he
There
S he
so m est
It
aftern o o n , a n d
m e
en ga ge d
them
to lea ve
to b e m
I
a rri ed,
ask ed
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see m s
bo y I
to be
J a ck !
hi m
calls
S un day
e
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Are t hey form a lly
then ?
L o n do n , tho ugh
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n o thi n g
I
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co n f s
fo r
fo rm al a b o ut t he
so m e
he i s t he han d
ti m
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Lesl i e fo un d a n o p
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M
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Pen elope Darn le y Calli n g a t the house o n e
a ftern oo n
he hea rd that M rs Fa ri n gton w as
n o t a t ho m e but t he se rva nt havi ng her ord ers
hin ted tha t Esther would shortly re turn so
tha t Leslie w en t ups tairs to the draw i n g roo m
I t w as between d a ylight an d dusk but the
blinds had n o t been d ra w n dow n as they
wo uld ha ve been i f Est her were a t ho me nor
By o n e o f t he
ha d the la mps been l i ghted
windows Penelope was sta ndi n g and i f she
w as n o t
lo ng b efo re
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TH E
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had not been weeping tears were very near
her eyes
She stood with o n e hand o n t he crimson
pl ush curtain the other hanging by her side ;
her neck was slightly bent and o f her eyes
he could see only the dark lashes Her figure
was womanly fo r her age ; her very fair hair
grew low over her forehead so that her crown
appeared more than usually arched and Leslie
noticed the perfection o f its curve
Perceiving that someone had entered the
room she seemed t o draw her tall fi gure more
erect to set back her slim shoulders whilst
she looked frankly into his face He received
an instant impression o f pure sincerity o f
supreme single mindedness He assured him
sel f that here was a n utter lack o f weakness
or dependency a natural antagonism to all
that was paltry o r mean ; and yet he recog
n i sed n o ne o f that
coldness o n which Mrs
Farington had insisted
The servant n o t knowing that Penelope was
in the room which she believed to be un
occupied did not announce him
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TH E D I S S EM B L ER S
I heard that Mrs Farington would not be
long said Leslie so I ventured to come
upstairs
She has only gone to her dressmaker s was
t he answer ; I expect her home immediately
I am speaking
O f course he suggested
to Miss Darnley
And I t o Mr Munroe she exclaimed with
a smile
Now how did yo u know my name ? he
asked
Shall I ring fo r the lamps ? she said
crossing the room towards the fireplace
I think this light is delight ful he answered
it makes fo r c o n fi de n ces and reminiscences
don t you think ?
I am not sure that reminiscences are very
delightful cried Penelope
Well it s a question o f age and at your
age one naturally pre fers to look forward
It isn t that I don t look back o ften she
said rather wist fully
I can t avoid doing
that But it is the most pain ful thing in the
world
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guessed yo u m ust be an intimate friend o f
my aunt s
You are staying here some time
he
s uggested
Oh I hope n o t
she cried impulsively
I mean she added with some embarrassment
tha t I am longing to go to India and I am
only waiting until my uncle can come t o
He may walk in at any moment
fetch me
she continued
I should not be at all sur
—
prised
Last time he came home about
—
five years ago he turned up at our house
in Paris when we thought he was thousands
o f mil es away in Calcutta
He had n o t given
us the slightest warning
You know Paris well ? Leslie asked
Far better than London O f course I am
almost a stranger here Most o f my friends
are in France My mother s mother was a
Frenchwoman
So you have not many friends in London ?
Only Jack—Mr Pilcher she said
Did Mr Pilcher live in Paris ?
He didn t live there but we knew his
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TH E D I S S EM B L ER S
people very well and he o ften came to stay
at our house fo r weeks at a time
As Penelope was speaking the door quietly
O pened and Esther entered the room Seeing
Leslie by the dim fi reli ght she advanced
towards him with her gloved hand o ut
stretched
Sorry I was out she excl aimed
Why
are you all in the dark ? Penelope yo u may
as well ring fo r the lamps
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21
C H A P T ER I I
W H I LS T Esther and Penelope sat at their not
very early break fast a few mornings later the
servant entered with a telegram fo r which as
a matter o f course Mrs Farington held forth
her hand
Fo r M i ss D a rnley said the servant
I suppose it s from Jack
cried Penelope
taking the envelope from the salver
What can Mr Pilcher find o f su fficient
importance to wire to yo u about ? demanded
Esther
Oh Jack is rather fond o f telegrams said
Penelope
It is only to as k me to be ready at
eleven —not that he will be here until hal f past
Jack is the most unpunctual bo y in the world
He wants me to go o ut with him she explai ned
O f course yo u will n o t dream o f doing any
thing o f the kind
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22
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Oh I think I shall go said Penelope ;
there s nothing else to do and it is a glorious
m orning
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Surely Esther answered it isn t necessary
fo r me to tell yo u it is unusual fo r a girl o f your
age to walk about with a man like Mr Pilcher
I always used to go o ut with Jack when
my mother w as alive said P e nelope flushing
pain fully
You see I am responsible fo r yo u now
Oh no not responsible I cried Penelope
One is ha rdly responsible for the a ctions o f
one s guests
Only a very extraordinary guest would do
as yo u propose Esther retorted
At that Penelope rose from her ch air and
left the room Esther supposing that she would
send Jack an answer declining his peculiar
invitation At about hal f past eleven however
the young m an arrived and to Esther s annoy
ance she saw Penelope soon afterwards leave
the hous e with him
They might easily have been taken fo r
brother and sister though it cannot be said
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TH E
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that Jack s regard fo r his companion was in
the remotest degree fraternal
They bot h
belonged to the same fair Saxon type ! Jack s
hair was a little darker than Penelope s his
eyes were grey instead o f blue but i f she had
—
been a boy and there was perhaps something
—
rather boyish in her manner she might have
looked just such another
Jack ought to have been at Woolwich or
Sandhurst o r failing that at o n e o f the uni
versi ti es
But he had an eccentric grand father
a man w ho had carved o ut his fortune from
humble beginnings and w ho looked fo r sel f
help from his descendants No man however
could be less inclined to help himsel f than
Jack Pilcher Yet he could hardly be described
as an idle youth since he was extremely
energetic over cricket in the summer and
football in the winter
He was not quite
twenty o n e tall broad shouldered with a
handsome sun tanned face This morning he
wore as us ual a thick rough tweed suit o f
a noticeable drab check pattern w ith a cloth
cap o f another colour
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He was in receipt o f an allowance o f two
hundred pounds a year and he moved about
as the fancy possessed him from o n e place
and o n e lodging house to another
At the
time o f Mrs D a rn ley s death he had been
staying near her rooms in Brighton where
he remained until Penelope came to London
when he settled close to Tottenham Court
His chie f interest this morning seemed
Road
to be in the prospects o f skating and he
suggested a walk to the Serpentine to ascertain
the condition o f the ice
What sort o f Johnny is Farington ? he
asked as they crossed Hyde Park
I didn t
see him when I was there yo u know
I do n t know said Penelope ; I haven t
seen him either He doesn t live with my aunt
I t was a little embarrassing ! I asked whether
he was out o f town ; then she explained that
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her husband had left her eighteen months
ago
Then you two are alone ?
—
Not very o ften at least she is not ; she s
o ut somewhere almost every night
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25
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DISSEM BLERS
Jolly dull fo r you cried Jack
It is a little dull she admitted ; though
there are generally a lot o f m en about the
—
house
There s only o n e I rather like M r
Munroe the author y o u know But I am not
encouraged in the drawing room Mr Munroe
is o ften there
—
Then said Jack Mrs Farington well she
rather likes him too !
Some o f the others seem so utterly foolish
e xclaimed Penelope
especially one man Mr
Cusack who never speaks and always stares
at my aunt I believe he s jealous o f Mr
Munroe because when he says anything to
make us smile Mr Cusack always scowls
By this time they had reached the Serpentine
and Jack perceived that the ice would n o t
bear for some days
Penelope suggested
returning to Sou th Audley Street and as she
ascended the stairs Esther called her sharply
into the drawing room
she said
you treated me
Y o u know
abominably this morning and I m n o t accus
D o you imagine
to m ed to that sort o f thing
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26
C H A P TER
111
afternoon during the first week in March
Mrs Farington spoke to Leslie about a matter
which really was beginning to cause her some
anxiety
I am at my wit s end she said
These
young people are always together ; a day
never passes without a letter or a telegram
or a meeting or all three ! They are o ften
away together fo r hours at a time Y o u
know I am n o t a prude but still a line
must be drawn somewhere
Marriage lines Leslie suggested
Well that is my fear she said
It s ex
trem e ly unselfish o f me because I should be
more thank ful than I can tell you to get
rid o f the girl I have nothing to say a gainst
—
Jack you see she added I am falling into
—
Penelope s habit but his income is next to
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DI SSEM BLERS
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nothing and I don t know whether I told you
that Penelope is quite an heiress
I didn t know said Leslie
What do you imagine Sir Gordon would
say i f I allowed her to marry such a bo y ?
You believe Miss Darnley intends to marry
him then ?
her conduct is simply
I f she doesn t
atrocious
—
You think she is well that she is in love
with Pilcher ?
What she calls love
Not what you would call it he suggested
Penelope said Esther is one o f these
—
passionless persons oh ! she is sure to marry
Mr Pilcher and to live happily ever after
wards and to die without having learnt what
love means
I t doesn t follow there s no fire because
she consumes her o w n smoke he retorted ;
and we use smokeless powder nowadays you
know
I wish you would tell me how to act she
cried
It s n o use to speak to Penelope
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Then I
should tackle Pilcher said Leslie
This Mrs Farington determined to do with
out any further delay
To ascertain his
present address was an easy matter since
one o r t w o o f his letters were generally lying
about in Penelope s bedroom A fe w days
later Jack was surprised to receive a note
from Esther asking him to call at South
Audley Street at noon to morrow
Penelope is not here she exclaimed as he
darted an expectant glance around the
She ha s gone
drawing room on entering
I
to the British Museum with my maid
sent her out because I want to speak to you
privately You know my dear Mr Pilcher
this kind o f thing really will not do
Jack sat looking a t her with a solemn face
his cloth cap doubled up in his hands
What
kind o f thing ? he asked with an ingenuous air
Don t be a tiresome b o y ! she cried
You
understand per fectly what I mean You see
far too much o f Penelope
That s impossible answered Jack
I don t
see hal f as much o f her as I should like
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It isn t at all usual she insisted and he
looked too big and fresh and handsome fo r
Esther to feel very angry with him
It s aw fully jolly anyhow he exclaim ed
As you gain experience she retorted
you will find the jolliest things are generally
unlaw ful Now what do you imagine is to
be the end o f this sort o f thing ?
Oh well there isn t much doubt abo ut
that said Jack in a significant tone
Pray speak plainly she urged
Pen and I will
O f course he answered
be married some day
At all events she said you will have to
wait until Sir Gordon comes home He is
Penelope s guardian and he may have some
thing to say to you It really doesn t matter
to me what Penelope does then so that she
behaves properly while I am responsible for
her N o w she continu ed I want yo u to
promise me not to meet her away from this
house but I shall be quite pleased to see
o
u
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ab
ut
once
eve
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TH E
Oh thanks very much ! mumbled Jack and
he rose from his chair
I t is understood I have your promise ? she
suggested
You see said Jack I can t do anything o f
that kind I f Penelope cares to see me why
why I m all there you know
But although he went away without giving
Mrs Farington the desired promise fo r a tim e
Jack did not seem to be so o ften as usual in
Penelope s society March ended and April
May came in like a lion and o n the second
Monday in that month a blusterous afternoon
Leslie arriving at South Audley S t reet about
four o clock saw Jack o n the doorstep in the
act o f bidding Penelope good bye
He had not found an opportunity for a
second ti te d téta and whilst he had sometimes
spent hal f an hour in the same room it had
generally been amongst a crowd o f other
persons Yet there seemed a kind o f sympathy
between the two ; her hand Leslie fancied
would linger a moment longer than was a b so
lutely necessary in his ; a glance might assure
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TH E D I SSEM B LER S
her that he had not forgotten that talk be fore
the lamps were lighted
As the group stood on the doorstep Penelope
o ffered her hand to Jack
Good bye she said
—
At hal f past eleven on Wednesday the day
after to morrow he answered
I t is not I who am generally late she cried
I shall be Up to time he said
Hal f past
eleven sharp and with that Jack li fted his
cap and walked away
Well remarked Leslie are you becoming
more reconciled to London ?
I can t tell you ho w I am looking forward
to leaving it she said
But still yo u have no idea o f leaving just
yet he suggested
Don t you think it s rather cold standing
here ? she asked with a smile
I make a rule o f cultivating patience he
answered
Everything comes to him w ho
w aits you kno w
Oh w ell she retorted the gods help those
w ho
help themselves And in the present
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case it might prove help ful
C
33
to
ring the bell
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DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
Upon my word he exclaimed I entirely
forgot the bell
He pressed the white button and a few
moments later the door was opened
Good bye said Penelope entering the
carpeted hall
Aren t yo u coming upstairs
he asked
Not at present she answered and a little
reluctantly Leslie went to the drawing room
alone
I thought I heard you talking to som eone
outside said Mrs Farington
Yes I met Miss Darnley
And Jack Pilcher o f course she continued
Penelope is the greatest nuisance o f my li fe
I suppose B y the
a penance fo r my sins
bye she said a moment later have you
anything to do o n Wednesday morning ?
I have always something to do he re
turned and I can usually leave it undone
Ah yo u are the most fortunate man in the
world she cried
I want to go to the
Ac a demy—i f you care to come
He promised to call fo r Esther at eleven
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TH E
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that she said quietly yet with a good deal
o f suppressed feeling
I consented to receive you at the greatest
inconvenience Esther continued and I have
never regretted anything so much in my li fe !
Un fortunately my hands a re tied
I am
compelled to put up with it But I shall be
thank ful when the day comes to get rid o f you
With that Mrs Farington le ft the room
She did not mean all she said ; she was
apt in moments o f irritation to make rather
cutting speeches ; but although she thought
she had excellent reason fo r annoyance with
Penelope her o w n wrath was quite di spro
f
f
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to
the
e
ect
her
words
her
o
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o
f
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p
niece
When Penelope was alone all her
calmness forsook her ; she seemed suddenly
to droop a n d bowing her head she shed
some very bitter tears R ecovering presently
she went upstairs to the drawing room and
she was still staring o ut o f the window when
the door opened and Leslie Munroe entered
You are not coming with us to the
Academy ? he said as he took her hand
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TH E
No she answered
O f course he continued I hea rd you make
an a ppo i htm en t with Pilcher but I hoped that
you might have been persuaded to accompany
us fo r once
Shall I tell my a u nt you are here ? she
asked eager for any excuse to get away
Leslie stepped forward to open the door but
o n the threshold
a fter a moment s hesitation
she stoppe d impulsively holding forth her
hand
Good bye Mr Munroe she exclaimed
looking into his eyes in her frank way
I s anything the matter ? he asked suddenly
Good bye she repeated and Penelope
hastened away passi n g Esther o n the land
ing
A few minutes later Mrs Farington set forth
with Leslie who seemed however rather
heavy in hand this morning
He did not
prove nearly so agreeable a companion as
usual and he had very few criticisms to make
upon the pictures
A fter an hour and a hal f at Burlington
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House it was Mrs Farington who suggested
that they should lunch at a restaurant and
at the end o f a somewhat silent meal he saw
her driven away in a hansom before setting
forth towards his flat near Marylebone R oad
I t w as a quarter past two when Es ther
alighted at her own door On being admitted
she went at once to the dining room where
she was surprised to see that the cloth had
n o t been disturbed
Esther had given Pene
lope to understand that she was never to w ait
fo r a meal with the result that her niece had
a great many luncheons alo n e A little a n
noyed to see tha t her instructions had been
disregarded to day Mrs Farington rang the
bell
Why hasn t Miss Darnley had luncheon ?
she demanded when the servant entered the
room
Sarah was a tall slender young woman with
flu ffy brown hair distinctly nice looking in her
becoming cap and apron
Miss Darnley hasn t come home she
answered
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TH E
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\Io t
come home ! What time did she go
out ? cried Esther
I didn t look at the clock said Sarah
but
I should say it was about twelve o r a little
past
Did she go alone inquired Mrs Farington
quite unnecessarily as she knew
N o m m Mr Pilcher went with her
Did Miss Darnley say at what time she
should return ?
—
N no said Sarah but she
For goodness sake speak o ut ! exclaimed
Esther impatiently
She didn t say a word about coming back
Sarah answered
and I don t think Miss
D arn ley s coming back at all
What can have put such an absurd notion
into your head ? Esther demanded
Because she took her box m m
For a momen t Esther stood staring a little
ludicrously into Sarah s face She was taken
completely by surprise Then she stepped i m
s
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h
i
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v
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to
e
door
and
running
upstairs
t
p
y
more quickly than she had done for many
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months entered Penelope s bedroom Esther
hoped that she might find a letter to explain
the girl s abrupt departure She searched the
dressing table she looked in every place where
it seemed possible a letter could have been
le ft but without see ing anything to afford a
clue to her niece s destination
The room showed signs o f hurried prepara
tions ; one o r two drawers an d a wardrobe
door were le ft open ; some o f their contents
lay scattered over the bed Penelope s second
trunk still stood in its usual corner so that
it appeared that she had taken only w hat w as
necessary fo r her present need s R eturning
to the dining room Esther rang again fo r
Sarah
Did Mi ss Darnley pack her trunk before
Mr Pilcher arrived
she inquired
Yes m m said S arah ; she was up in her
room fro m the time you left the house till he
came She asked me to tell her directly
What time did he arrive
I should say it was about a quarter to
twelve answered Sarah
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TH E
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asked Esther with an anxious ex
pression they did n o t start at once ?
Oh n o m m Mr Pilcher must have been
he re twenty minutes o r more and then the
—
bell rang and he asked me to fetch a c ab a
four wheeler
I t was Mr Pilcher who asked you to fetch
the cab ?
Yes said Sarah I thi n k that was most
likely cause Miss Darnley had been crying
Me and cook carried down the box whe n the
cab came and then they drove o ff together
Did you hear Miss Darnley say where she
was going ? asked Esther
Sarah s face gre w crimson
I f you listened cried Esther sharply
you
may as well say so at once
I didn t listen said Sarah rather pertly
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but I did happen to hear
What did you hear ?
W ell m m I heard Miss Darnley say some
thing about Paris
Fetch me the time table exclaimed Mrs
Farington i m tuo usly and until the servant
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TH E
DISSEM BLERS
return ed with it she stood drumming the carpet
wi th her shoe Then she sat down and stoop
ing over Bradsha w turned with shaky hands
to the Dover trains If Penelope had really
sta rted fo r Paris it might just be possible to
overtake her before she could become Jack s
wi fe Annoyed by what had passed that morn
ing Mrs Farington did not doubt that Penelope
had at last decided to take the irrevocable step
but still it might be possi ble to prevent her
There was a train to Dover which seemed
to be the most likely route at four thirty and
Esthe r determined no matter at what i n co n
v e n i en c e to travel by that trai n
On reaching
Dover she would inquire at all the chief hotels
in the hope that Penelope might not cross the
Channel that day Even in London it was
very windy ; at Dover it would n o doubt be
much more rough whereas Penelope had
always a d read o f the sea O f course i f she
had travelled through to Paris Mrs Farington
would follow he r thither but in that e vent it
might prove rather di fli cult to find he r Esther
summoned her maid and gave instructions fo r
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4
C H A P T ER I V
L ES LI E on parting from Mrs Farington strolled
home at a leisurely p ace and having re a ched
his flat took o ff his hat and lighted a pipe
The room in which he S pent the most o f his
time was small and rather barely furnished ;
a good many books la y about—o u the floor
o n chairs on the writing table where his type
writer stood A few engravings hung on the
walls a number o f invitation cards were arrayed
on his m a n telshel£ His material needs were
attended to by Mr and Mrs Bullock super
intended to their extreme discontent by Mrs
Cheshire
Hilma Cheshire was a very devoted sister
She was only a yea r o r two older than Leslie
but she had married young and was now the
happy mother o f two boys and a girl There
was a strong likeness and a stronger sympathy
between the two Hilma seldom driving near
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TH E
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the flat without visiting her brother She was
still very good looking and while usually o f a
kindly and tolerant disposition she had o n e
N o w on e o f these
o r two strong antipathies
was Mrs Farington
Soon after Leslie s return this afternoon
Hilma happened to call and she had n o t long
been seated be fore she learned how her brother
had passed the morning
I wish yo u would follow m y advice and have
less to do with Mrs Farington she said
Y ou
place yoursel f in a very equivocal position and
people are beginning to couple your names O f
course she added I know they can have no
justification but still
She is the only woman yo u have ever bee n
R emember what
hard upon Leslie retorted
a li fe she has led I f her husband had tu rned
o ut di fferently o r i f her children had lived
As he spoke Mrs Bullock an immensely stout
woman whose face always looked as i f she had
just le ft the fire entered the room with a letter
Talk o f angels l cried Leslie as he broke the
seal
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Well said Mrs Cheshire with a
smile however I am n o t quite sure
You don t mean
w hat I w as doing
Mrs Farington has written to you ?
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kindly
that is
to say
she de
m a n ded
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Why shouldn t she
he asked
I understood you had only just parted from
.
her
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I suppose something fresh has tu rned up
he said
Anyhow she wants me to go to
South Audley Street at once
Scarcely doubting that the something which
had happened concerned Penelope he took his
hat and accompanied by Hilma went down
stairs at once Parting from his sister at the
street door Leslie hailed a hansom and finally
reached South Audley Street about a quarter
to four
Esther greeted him with quite unusual ex
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c i tem en t.
I thought yo u would never come
she
It seems an age since I sent to
exclaimed
you I
Is anything the matter ? he demanded
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DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
m ost annoying thing has happened
I don t think I eve r felt so bothered in my
li fe though I can t pretend to be surprised
Can I help you in any way ? he suggested
Why o f course she answered i f you only
will ! that is why I sent fo r you The fact is
Penelope has gone away
Mrs Farington
glanced anxiously at her watch
She has
taken the most o f her clothes I have no doubt
she has gone fo r good and un fortunately she
has not gone a lone
You mean she has gone with Pilcher
said Leslie with misleading calmness
Yes cried Esther walking excitedly about
the room
You remember that I have
always b een a fraid o f something o f the sort
—
Mr Pilcher came at noon while we were at
They were driven away
Burlington House
in a cab together And now to make things
worse i f anything could make them worse
a telegram has come from Sir Gordon
Darnley
From Calcutta
asked Leslie
Oh pray don t tantalise me ! she ex
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TH E
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claimed
How I wish he were in I ndia or
anywhere else a few thousand miles away
But un fortunately he has come home
He
wired to Penelope from Southampton ; he is
—
on his way here to this house—and she
won t be he re to receive him
Have you any idea where she has gone
to ? asked Leslie
She has gone to Paris I suppose Sarah
played the eavesdropper as se rvants will do
Anyhow she insists they talked o f Paris
—
I had decided to follow them I had ordered
my things to be packed ; then this miserable
—
telegram came and I must I absolutely
—
must b e at home to receive Sir Gordon
though what I am to say to him I can t
imagine
Well said Leslie you will have to make
a clean breast o f it There s no getting out
You m ust tell him the simple truth
o f that
I ca n t she cried in a high sta te o f ex
c i te m e n t
I dare not tell him the truth I
haven t the courage According to Penelope
Sir Gordon is absurdly devoted to her How
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TH E
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can I greet him with the news that she has
le ft m y house with a man and that I don t
know even whether they are marri ed o r not ?
It won t be an agreeable task o f course
Leslie admitted
I have just one hope she continued
a
forlorn one at the best
Still it is within the
bo unds o f possibility that they may not
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cross the Channel to night especially i f there s
a gale o n the coast ! that is my only hope
Penelope has a horror o f the sea She may
insist on spending the night at Dover
Leslie sta red thought fully into Esther s
face fo r a fe w mom e nts but his expression
did not seem t o show that he regarded
this alternative with anything approaching
satis faction
I f you have decided not to follow them
he said I don t see that it will make the
slightest di fleren ce
Dart ing impulsively to his side Mrs Fa ring
ton rested a hand on his sleeve Her usually
pale face was flushed with excitement Per
ce i vi n g that she had lost fa r too much valu
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49
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
able time already she began to speak more
hurriedly
I can t go mysel f she said
I have
—
shown you that I can t i t is e n tirely i m
possible
I dare not be absent on Sir
Gordon s arrival
I can t leave merely a
written explanation ! the man would go
mad ! I must be here to account fo r her
absence in some way
Now she added I
wa n t you to do me the greatest favour in
the world
I want you to oblige me by
going to Dover
Oh but I m a fraid I can t do that ! Leslie
exclaimed obviously a little aghast at the
suggestion but Esther interrupted his ex
postulation impatiently
You must oblige me in this she insisted
you really m ust Leslie
Again she laid
her hand on his sleeve and raised her eyes
imploringly to his own
Don t refuse me
she pleaded
he answered
I am ready
O f course
enou gh to serve you in any way only you
see
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DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
Dover as it is so windy here I am trusting
there may be a gale ! I f there is—i i they
are only staying at Dover—there is nothing
to prevent your bringing Penelope back
to night
But upon my word he remonstrated I
don t feel in the least drawn to the job
We have wasted to o m u ch time already
she urged looking at her watch again
The
train I want you to travel by start s at hal f
past four
It s four o clock now ! he exclaimed
So that yo u must not lose another moment !
You have not a second to spare I t is o f
the u tmost importance to catch that train
Every hour is precious
There wouldn t be time to go to my
rooms I Leslie suggested
There is barely time to
O f course not
reach Victoria
Besides you don t want to
go to your rooms
Leslie glanced down at his rather thin frock
coat
Still he said i f I am going through
to Paris to night it would be distinctly an
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advantage to have an ulster coat and a so ft
hat
You have barely hal f an hour
she ex
claimed and taking his hat and stick from the
table she sto o d holding them out towards him
Suppose t hat I should happen to come up
with her said Leslie what—w hat the deuce
am I to do ?
How can you ask such a question ? There
is surely only one thing to do ; you will bring
the w retched girl back o f course What else
are you going fo r ?
he answered but
Tha t s all very well
suppose she refuses to come back which is
the most likely—suppose she insists o n going
t o Paris with Pilcher ?
Nonsense ! you must compel her to come
Yes but how ? he demanded
It is
di ffi cult to use compulsion towards a young
l a dy o f eighteen
Oh why will you stand here discussing it
as i f you had the whole day be fore you I she
Y ou must appeal to the
cried reproachfully
girl s reason
Besides i f you say that Sir
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TH E
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Gordon is in England that m u st bring her to
her senses i f anything will
She may not have gone by way o f Dover
a fter all he suggested
—
Anyhow you are to go to Dover i f you
will only catch the train ! she exclaimed
When you leave the station you will go to
every decent hotel in the town I t is in order
that you may have time fo r that be fore the
mail starts that I want you to travel by the
—
four thirty i f you would only sta rt !
I t seems to me just as likely she has go n e
by way o f Folkestone said Leslie
But
O f course it is Esther admitted
you can t go to both places
I wish you
could You a re to call at all the likely hotels
in Dover and inquire fo r Penelope and Jack
Pilcher I f you don t hear o f them in Dover
take the night boa t to Calais and go throu gh
I f th ey a r e not married already
to Paris
they will probably try to accomplish it at the
Embassy You must use your own judgment
—only for Heaven s sake prevent the wedding
Be sure to send me a
i f it s not too late
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TH E
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telegram from Dover she continued
Let
me hear either i f you find her or i f you don t
I magine my situation with Sir Gordo n l
Well m u tte red Leslie at last showin g some
sign s o f starting at best it seems a rathe r
hopeless quest doesn t it ?
Do you imagine I don t see all the
di ffi culti es ?
Mrs Farington retorted
Of
course they may have gone by way o f Folke
stone or i f it comes t o that they may not
have gone to Paris at all
But I must be
able to tell Sir Gordon I have made some
effort
I don t know how to face the man
as it is But there s just the one hope
I
shall make the m ost o f that she said as
Leslie opened the drawing room doo r ; it
seems j ust possible they may be staying until
to morrow a t Dover I n that event you will
bring Penelope back here to night
I am afraid that hardly follows he answered
but anyhow I shall d o my b est
You think you can catch the train ? she
asked in an anxious voice as she followed him
downsta irs to the hall
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55
,
TH E D I S 5 EM B LER S
He Opened the street d oor as she was still
speaking and stopped a passing hansom
Oh yes I shall catch the train he assured
her and having seen him driven swi ftly away
from her door Esther reascended the stairs
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C H A P T ER
!
M RS FA R I N GTO N went to her bedroom and
took a dose
sal volatile which she felt she
sorely needed then she sm oothed he r hair
and added the most delicate tinge o f rouge
to her chee k s Presently she returned to the
drawin g room to aw ait with very unenviable
feelings the arrival o f Sir Gordo n Darnley
She sincerely wished she knew fo r certain
whether Penelope and Jac k Pilcher had travelled
by the Dover o r by the Fol k estone route
She placed the utmost confidence in Leslie
Munroe ; i f any man could find Penelope and
—
induce her to return i f indeed she was not
—
already married i t was Leslie
But it was
vexatious to realise that his best e fforts might
easily be wasted and that whilst he was search
ing fo r the girl at Dover she might be well
out o f his way ten miles distant
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57
TH E D I S S EM B LER S
Amidst her reflection s the bell rang and
rising excitedly Esther ran to o n e o f the
wi ndows ; she was however too late to obtain
a glimpse o f the visitor and so she stood in
the middle o f the room expecting each moment
t o see Sir Gordon enter Instead o f Sir Gordon
the servant announced
Mr Cusack
He was a man o f middle height about thi rty
years o f age not overburdened with intellect
but the possessor o f a large income and o f
well developed muscles He had a flat good
humoured face wi th irregular features and a
bristly red moustache His legs being short
and somewhat bowed imparted an apparent
clumsiness to his gait
How extremely fortunate ! exclaimed Esther
receiving him with unwonted cordiality and
seizing her opportunity at once
You are the
very man in all the world I most wanted to
see It s not o ften that fate is quite so obliging
I m most aw fully glad o f that don t you
know said Cusack looking a little ridiculous
in his contentment
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8
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TH E
DISS EM B LERS
a moment to waste in explanations
Now
try to grasp the elementary facts You have
seen my niece here ?
The tall girl with a rather nice figure and
fair hair
Well she has behaved disgrace fully She
has run away with that wretched boy Jack
Pilcher
I really forget whether you know
him
Looks about eighteen said Cusack
He is older than that but his age doesn t
matter
I believe they have gone t o Paris
I am in the most dread ful distress ; you
really must help me R upert
She looked pleadingly into his face and
because ! as Mrs Farington probably was
aware! she called him R upert he would
have been willing to go t o the ends o f the
earth to serve her
I ll help yo u right enough he a n swered
I ll go anywhere you like You ve only to
give me the route
Oh thank you most aw fully ! she a n
Now please pay attention and
sw ere d
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60
TH E
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I ll tell you exactly what I want you to do
You a re t o tak e the n ext train to Folkestone
and as soon as you arrive I want you to go
to every decent hotel in the town You must
inquire fo r Mr Pilcher and Penelope I f you
—
don t find her well you will simply tak e the
first train home again
Suppose I d o find her ? he asked a little
alarmed
You will explain that her uncle
Sir
—
Gordon Darnley has returned from I ndia
When she
That will be quite su ffi cient
hears that you will have n o further di fii culty ;
she will come back w ith you without a murmur
What about Pilcher ? Cusack suggested
How d o you w ish me to deal with him ?
She curled her upper lip a little scorn fully
Surely it can t be necessary to tell you
she retorted
I suppose you re sure it is Pilcher he
said as he walked towards the door
Of
course I don t k no w but he didn t look that
sort o f bounder
Seem ed a decent sort o f
boy to me yo u know
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61
TH E
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Pray don t stay to argue the point she
urged or yo u will miss the train
I know
nothing fo r certain except that Penelope and
—
Mr Pilcher left this house together that is
quite enough ! No w yo u really understand
what yo u have to d o
she added
Find Miss Darnley an d bring her back
he said with a confident air
I f y o u do that cried Esther
I shall be
grate ful t o yo u as long as I live
Well that s what I should like he a n
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sw e red
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ambassador fa
r from
He was
ideal
it ; but the mission seemed so simple that
even Cusack could hardly make a mess o f
it
She had not complicated matters by
telling him o f Leslie Munroe s expedition
to Dover ! the two journeys were entirely
separate and distinct ; besides Mrs Farington
had felt so hurried and excited fearing Sir
Gordon might arrive at any moment that
she scarcely knew what she had told Cusack
or what she had left untold
She had by no means recovered her o r dinary
n ot an
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62
TH E D I SSEM BLERS
sel f possession when the door opened again
and this time Sarah announced
Sir Gordon Darnley
Though he was the brother o f the man
who had married her hal f sister Esther had
never seen very m u ch o f him and in e ffect
they were alm ost strangers
At the time o f
Mrs D arn ley s death however he had turned
to Esther as the only woman he had ever
heard o f who bore the slightest relationship to
Penelope
The younger brother o f Penelope s father
Sir Gordon was about forty fi ve years o f
age slightly belo w the average height broad
shouldered rather short necked with a brisk
vigorous manner His head was almost bald
he wor e a short grizzled beard a n d a large
prominent aggressive loo k i n g moustache which
projected s o me distance beyond his cheek s
His appearance generally was that o f a
shrewd energetic man o f a ffairs ; he was well
dressed his frock coat bei n g buttoned tightly
at his increasing waist and his overcoat ! fo r
the May day felt cold ! trimm ed with fur
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Esther perceived that he was likely t o be
impatient at contradiction or opposition a l
though like many men o f his energetic dis
position she had heard he was fond o f
children O f course Sir Gordon realised the
physical n ecessity that Penelope m u st have
developed considerably since he last saw he r
in Paris a child o f about thirteen He realised
that she m u st have grown and that in fact
she had arrived at what was usually regarded
as a marriageable age
But he did not fo r
a moment imagine that her relation to himsel f
had become di fferent He had been u sed to
pet and pamper her after the manner o f
bachelor uncles wh o escape the results o f
such treatment
She had taken it all very
sweetly and he was prepared to make m u ch
he had loo k ed fo rward to
o f the child n o w ;
seeing her and to being amused by he r com
n
s
h
i
an
i
o
never
supposing
that
she
could
p
p
possess a will o f her own
It seems a great many years since we met
he said tak ing Mrs Fa ri n gto n s hand
I
am not sure I should have known yo u i f
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64
THE
DISS EM B LERS
had seen yo u away from your o w n
house
I wonder whether that is a compliment ?
she answered with an attempt at a smile
Yes she continued it was a long long time
ago Not that you have m uch changed
Instinctively he glanced in the mirror at
his bald head
H o w is Pen ?
he asked
She s quite well I hope ?
Oh yes she ans wered P en elope is al ways
well Nobody could have better health
I s Farington all right ? he asked
I n her e m barrassm ent Esther forgot Penelope
fo r the moment
Sir Gordon looked grave as
he listened t o her brie f explanation ! it was
quite true that i f he had been forewarned he
would not have asked her to receive his niece
Pen had my telegram
he ask ed abruptly
—
She she wasn t at home when it arrived
said Mrs Farington
It didn t co me until
—
a bout yes it must have been about three I
O pened it in her absence
The n Pen was out to luncheon
That was
un fortunate he returned
I hoped to give
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65
TH E
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her a pleasant little surprise A nuisan ce she
should be o ut
When d o you expect her
home
Mrs Farington knew that her voice quavered
I —I don t quite know she answered
It
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—it s
a little uncertai n
Don t you think he persisted you might
send fo r her in the circumstances ? I daresay
her friends would excuse it
She shook her head in the m ost hopeless
manner
Oh she exclaimed I really don t
know how to tell you
—
To tell me to tell me what ? he demanded
irritably
You re not going to say there s
anything wrong with Pen ! You said she was
quite well
She is perfectly well said Esther
—
Then what the what is it ? he demanded
Upon my soul you make me imagine all kinds
o f things
You are not likely to imagine an ything
much worse than the fact c ried Esther w ith
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a sigh
Where is she ? he asked
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TH E
DISSEM BLERS
’
hands o f some in fern al scoundrel ! he ex
claimed
I don t think scoundrel exactly describes
him she answered and pitying his distress
she at once began to give Sir Gordon an idea
She d w elt upon
o f the actu a l circu m stances
Jack s youth and his frequent meetings with
Penelope ; upon her o w n fears now un fo r
she explained how she had
tun a tely justified
first heard o f the elopement and the mea sures
she had adopted to have Penelope pursued
and i f possible brought back to London be fore
any irrevocable step had been taken
The partial relie f which he felt as the con
sequence o f this explanation seemed to unman
Sir Gordon e ven more than his worst imagin
ings
he cried yo u really believe
Then
Pilcher will marry the girl ? That s the only
thing to hope fo r now Even i f she should
return to night as you suggest there s nothing
else to be done She ll have to marry him
Y o u think there s no doubt o f his willingness
No doubt whatever she assured him
Thank God fo r that
he murmured with
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68
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TH E
DISS EM B LERS
a sigh o f intense relie f Then Sir Gordon
began to button his overcoat
I shall go to
Paris to night he exclaimed
I hope you won t d o anything o f the kind
urged Esther
I am sure to have a telegram
It will be m uc h wiser to
fro m Mr Munroe
wait fo r that Suppose yo u have started fo r
Paris and Mr Munroe wires to say that he
is bringi n g Penelope home again ? Take my
advice she a d ded a n d try to w ait patiently
until the telegram arrive s
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C H A P T ER V I
one particular Mrs Fa ri n gto n s wish was ful
—
!
filled a gale was blowing at Dover n o t with
su ffi cient severity t o prevent the boats from
crossin g but quite fiercely enough to deter a
b ad sailor
On leaving the platform Leslie
Munroe buttoned his rather thin coat and
shivered slightly as he pressed his hat more
firmly on his head
He could not regard the adventure with any
thing approaching satis faction an d whilst not
unwilling to se rve Mrs Farington he wished
she had put him to a di fferent kind o f test
Although he did not doubt that Pilch er ought
to be kicked he would n o t have chosen to
I f Penelope should be
perform the o fli ce
found in Dover ho w o n ea rth was she to be
induced to return to London against her will ?
More than on c e during the journey Leslie had
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TH E
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asked himsel f what he was doing in that
galley
His feeli n gs were complicated also by a dis
tinct personal intere st He remembered her
peculiar man n er o n biddi n g him good bye only
that morning when indeed he had suspected
that something must be amiss
The eveni n g had begun to darken early and
little daylight remained when he set forth o n
his not very promising quest He intended to
carry out Mrs Fa ri n gto n s instruction s to the
—
letter to pay a visit to every decent hotel in
the town and i f Penelope were n o t to be heard
o f to travel to Paris by the night mail tho ugh
ho w he was to continue his search when he
reached that city he had n ot yet deter
mined
He made his way in the first place to the
hotel w hich seemed to promise the best and
e nterin g the vestibule approached the bureau
on his right On aski n g fo r Pilcher however
he learned that no o n e o f that name happened
to be staying there
asked Leslie
No r M iss Darnley
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71
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TH E
DISS EM B LERS
Yes sir Miss Darnley is staying here said
the man in the bure au
Alone cried Leslie
uite
alone
sir
!
Leslie ass u med that Jack Pilcher had had the
delicacy to take a room fo r himsel f at some
other hostelry a discretion which he heartily
commended
I should like to speak to Miss Darnley he
said a n d when the man had se nt a page upstairs
with hi s name Leslie secured the use o f a dis
engaged sitti n g room It was a bare uninviting
room but he had not to wait many minutes
in it be fore Penelope came with an expres
sion o f surprise o n her face her eyebrows
slightly uplifted
he r eyes very widely
O pen
There was nothing o f embarrassment in her
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manner and Leslie thought she certainly carried
N o on e could look
o ff the situation admirably
less ashamed o f hersel f than Penelope as she
first closed the door then advanced valiantly to
meet him As usual he was struck by the
perfect frankness o f her manner and this
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72
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
evening she seemed to regard him with a hal f
challenging glance
I suppose he began I need n o t explain
why I am here
Oh well she retorted
I think your
presence almost needs an explanation
I am Mrs Fari n gto n s ambassador he said
S he hea rd from one o f her servants I believe
that your destination w a s Paris and she hoped
that the weat he r might prevent yo u from cross
ing to night
Ah ! I ought t o have been more careful
she answered
I think you ou ght
She looked frankly into his face
You think
I have acted badly she excl a imed
I t is never too late t o m end you know
The important question which w e have to
decide is whether we shall retu rn to London
be fore dinner or a fter
Nei ther be fore nor a fter she insisted
Le slie shi fted the position o f a chair and
suggested that she should sit down b u t
Penelope seemed to pre fer to stand
Suppose
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73
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
we try to discuss the matter rationally ? he
said
I have not the slightest desire to discuss it
she retorted
Well said Leslie 1 am bou nd to discuss it
with somebody Have you any objection t o
tell me where I c an find Pilcher ?
D o yo u want to see him
she asked chang
ing her mind and sitting down
Why yes
What about she asked
You can t guess ?
I haven t the remotest idea she answered ;
but i f you really wish to see Jack I should
advise you to take the next t rain back t o
London
But Pilcher le ft London this morning
O f course
With you he suggested in a significant tone
Yes she admitted without a blush o f
course he left London with me
Yet he is n o t in Dover now ? asked Leslie
with a short laugh
How can he be in Dover ? she cried
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74
TH E
DI SSEM BLER S
joice that you didn t I t s just a s well to clear
the misunderstanding at the earliest
up
mom ent
Misunderstanding l she exclaim ed
It was almost inevitable in the c irc u m
sta nces said Leslie
O f course Mrs Faring
—
sumed
that
you
well that you had
o
n
t
as
That I had done what
she demanded
seeing that he looked a little embarrassed
—
Well that you had how shall I put it
eloped with Pilcher
R ising impulsively Penelope stood with one
hand resting on the back o f her chair Her
face was flushed from the hair which grew low
over her forehead to the neckband o f her black
dress
Her eyes shone wi th indign ation o f
which Leslie felt uncom fortably he was the
immediate object
My aunt could not have believed that l she
exclaimed
I am afraid she does believe it
And yo u ? she demanded with a fine con
Y o u actually thou ght that I—o h she
tempt
cried this is shameful
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TH E
DI SSEM BLER S
You m u st remember he urged that it was
stated to me as a matter o f fact Mrs Faring
ton seemed t o have no manner o f d ou bt about
it Besides the circumstances looked not a
little suspicious You took your trunk you
left the house with Pilcher
I o ften leave the house w ith Jack she
said
Why yes that seemed to be a sort o f con
fi rm ati o n
Leslie insisted
Y o u must admit
there was so m ething unusual in the arrange
men t
Unusual ! yes cried Penelope with a good
deal o f feeling
My provocation was unusual
too
Leslie had begun t o regard his expedition
in a quite new light At first it had seemed
by no means an enviable experience bu t now
that Jack Pilcher was eliminated ! at all events
fo r the present !
it appeared an entirely
agreeable adventure
Now he said why did yo u leave London
so suddenly and so mysteriously ?
I have the right to come and go as I
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77
DISSEM BLER S
TH E
please she retorted and she held back her
head disdain fully
I shall not dispute that proposition said
Leslie ; bu t wou ldn t it have been just as
well to warn Mrs Farington o f your i n ten
tions ?
Ah she admitted with a charming change
from independence to humility
I was wrong
the re Yes I ought to have told her what I
intended to do
Well you haven t told me why you did i t
he s u ggested
I don t think it is necessary to tell you I
do n t think we will discuss it
In other words said Leslie it is no b u si
ness o f mine
It isn t is it ? she asked with a smile
You forget one important fact he insisted
I am armed with Mrs Fa ri n gto n s brie f
authority
Which I never admitted she cried
And
at least I have shaken it o ff n o w
O f course
But why ? demanded Leslie
you are entirely right it is no business o f
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78
DISS EM B LERS
TH E
mine none whatever bu t still I hope yo u will
grati fy my curiosity
That is rather di fli c ult
she answered
—
u
r
f
f
beca se you a e a riend o my aunt s a
very intimate friend she added
I hope that i s no reason why o n e shou ld
not be a friend o f yours he suggested a little
hastily
Oh she cried it is quite impossible to
make yo u understand I daresay I have been
to blame
I am not going to attempt t o
de fend mysel f But she has t o ld me more
—
than once that I was in her way
a n en cum
—
brance and that she wished she could get
r id o f me I could not end u re that I made
up my mind that the next time she said i t
should be the last
She repeated it this
morning so I c ame away
I want yo u to return with me to night he
said
Nothing will induce me t o return she
answered nothing in the world I am o n
my way to Paris yo u know that I lived
I have
t here with my dear m o ther fo r years
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79
TH E
DIS SEM B LERS
many fri ends the re I shall be sure o f a
welcome and some o f them will put me in
the way o f getting t o my uncle in C alc u tta
Sir Gordon Darnley is n o t in Calcutta
sai d Leslie
Then where is he ? she exclaimed
At this moment he is probably at South
Audley Street
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Uncle Gordon has co me home ! she cried
her eyes dancing with pleasure and as Le slie
thought making her look mor e charming than
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He sent you a telegram from Southampton
Leslie explained
But fo r his return you
would have seen Mrs Farington instead o f
me
Oh she murmured with a sudden revulsion
o f feeling
ho w I wish I had known ! H o w I
wish I had n ot come ! My aunt will never
tell him she suddenly exclaimed she will
—
n ever dare to tell my u ncle what she she
told you
I am a fraid she will be sure t o tell him he
said
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80
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
Penelope sank into the chair which Leslie
had placed for her some time ago and bowing
her head c o vered her face with he r hands An
hour ago nothing could have made her believe
she could ever regret her depart ure from
London
Now she already regretted it sin
c ere ly
She could picture Sir Gordon s arrival
his eager expectancy his disappointment o n
hearing she was gone his consternation and
grie f at Mrs Fa ri n gto n s explanation
Now said Leslie t o return to the original
proposition and he came to her side shall
we travel be fore dinner or a fter ? By hasten
ing we can no d ou bt catc h the earlier train
but what I propose is t o send Mrs Farington
a telegram at once ; that will effectually un
dec ei ve her Meanwhile you can make your
preparations and then we can dine c o m
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I have not the least desire to dine
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we travel by the earlier train he urged
you will arrive in the most dilapidated c o n
dition
There s an othe r at nine fi fty three
Now he added since Penelope o ffered no
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TH E
further
DISSEM BLER S
objection I shall send my wire and
u
a
the
bill
whilst
you
lock
your
tr
nk
We
p y
will have it brought down and put on a fly
during dinner
Pen elope went upstairs and restored t o her
trunk the few articles she had taken from it
she put on her hat so as t o be ready to set
forth directly after dinner and carrying her
jacket on her arm descended again to the
vestibu le where Leslie awaited her
Beside the bureau a door with its upper
hal f o f glass admitted to the co ffee room
which was no longer quite so full as it had
been hal f an hour ago Entering with Le slie
Penelope sat down at one o f the disengaged
tables
S o yo u feel pleased that Sir Gordon has
come home ? he asked as the soup was
brought
I mmensely pleased on the whole But
well I shall be happier when I have bee n
scolded and forgiven—I know he won t be
long in forgiving me O f course there is really
nothing to forgive she insisted
but m y
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82
TH E
DISS EM BLERS
Fo r whom ,
then ?
For my a u nt o f course she s ai d
The dinner went o n in sile n ce awhile a n d
the room gradually bec ame emptier
Les lie
sat dawdling over his dessert until Penelope
asked
How much longer ha ve we
Oh there s plenty o f time he assured her
Because it would be dread ful to miss that
train
No fear o f that said Leslie and yo u will
find it more com fortable to wait here than o n
the plat form We can reach the station in
less than five minutes
S o P enelope was induced to stay yet a little
longer whilst Leslie did his u tmost to make
the time pass pleasantly They talked o f books
and he was able to tell her many thi n gs which
were new ! to her at least! abou t their writers
Penelope became interested and almost fo r
o t the ordeal thro u gh which she w ould have to
g
pass be fore she laid her head on the pillow
She leaned back in her chair a little weary
after her day s a dven tures whilst Lesli e lean ed
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34
TH E
forward i n
DISS EM BLERS
his and it might have been obviou s
to the most casual observer that they were
o n the very best t e rms with eac h other
In
fact taking into consideration the locality the
hotel the circumstance that they were alone
together at this hour o f the evening one might
easily have mistaken them fo r a couple who
had been joined fo r be tter fo r worse that
day
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C H A P T ER V I I
C US ACK se t forth on his quest fa r
more willingly than Leslie had started on the
same errand He accounted it a pri vilege to
s erve Mrs Farington even at some i n co n
I t was a little inconvenient since
ven i en ce
he had come out w ithout m u ch money in
his pocket Ho w ever he booked third class
to Fo lk esto n e and as he stood looking fo r a
smoking compartment he saw a man whom
he had known fo r some time though n o t very
intimately
This was Philip Talbot who explained
that he was going to Folkestone fo r a few
days to recruit his health Talbot was a
journalist about twenty fi ve years old short
in stat u re bearded spectacled and looking
so p allid that the short change o f air co u ld
not be considered unnecessary
He had
R U P ERT
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TH E
DISSEM BLERS
written one or two novels without winning
either fame or profit but his ambition was
to become a successful journalist and the
chi e f aim o f his li fe seemed to be to startle
the British public He pursued his calling
—
in and out o f season nobody could be keener
—
after news and no doubt he would have sold
his best friend to gain a bubble reputation
The two men found an empty compartment
and began to smoke ; then Talbot with whom
curiosity had bec o me a fine art inquired what
took Cusack without luggage to the sea
A peculiar sort o f errand I m bound on
said Cusack
I m going to try to recover an
erring young woman
A suitable man fo r the purpose answered
Talbot
drily
Who is she in Heaven s
name ?
You don t know Mrs Farington ?
—
o
f
I ve heard o f her
course who hasn t ?
said Talbot ; 1 have never met her
She s a ripping sort cried Cusack
Im
after a niece o f hers—orphan and that sort o f
thing
Mrs Farington had to give the girl
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87
.
TH E
DISS EM BLER S
houseroom and n o w she s taken the bit
betwee n her teeth and bolted
What s the girl s name ? Talbot i n quired
Darnley—Penelope Darnley said Cusack
and his c ompanion made a mental note o f
the fact
Who s the man
he asked ; o f course
there s a man ?
A youngster named Pilcher—a t least that s
what Mrs Farington said but Cusack added
she packed me o ff in such a con founded
hurry that I hadn t much time to look into
things Anyhow all I ve got to do is to find
Miss Darnley and take her back to London
Suppose she won t come ? Talbot suggested
Oh she s got to c o me answered Cusack in
a significant tone ; and as to Pilcher or who
ever the fellow may be he must look o ut fo r
himsel f
They con tinued to discuss the chances o f
finding Penelope at Fo lkesto n e until the train
stopped at their destination when Tal bot
suggested that Cusack should accompany him
in a fly to the hotel where he purposed stay
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88
TH E
DISSEM BLER S
ing fo r a few days and make his first inquiries
the re These o f course proved entirely vain
and having deposited his portmanteau Talbot
o ffered to go with Cusack on his round They
were driven from one hotel to another until
at last it seemed plain that Miss Darnley
would not be found at Fo lkesto n e Then it
w as that
Talbot made a suggestion which
might not have occurred to Cusack s unaided
imagination
Why not have a shot at Dover ? he ex
c laimed
that is i f you really want to find
the girl We can get there in no time in this
fly and i f you like I ll go with you
Having made a bargain with the driver they
took their seats and were soon o n their way
to Dover where still at Talbot s suggestion
Cusack decided to try first the hotel where
Penelope was at the moment listening to
Leslie Munroe s after dinner conversation On
reaching the door they dismissed the fly and
e ntered the hotel
I s a man named Pilcher staying here ?
a sked Cusack at the bure a u
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89
DIS SEM BL ERS
TH E
’
N o sir
Miss Darnley suggested Talbot
Miss Darnley is in the co flee room was
the answer and the next instant Cusack
stepped towards the glazed door There he
stood staring at the few remaining occupants
o f the tables
By Jove ! he exclaimed it isn t young
Pilcher after all
I told Mrs Farington it
didn t seem very lik ely
Who is it then ? demanded Talbot
Leslie Munroe said Cusack with obvious
excitement
For some time he had felt extremely jealous
He
o f Leslie s influence ov er Mrs Farington
rejoiced to realise that Leslie had irrevocably
spoiled himsel f
Moreover he experienced
the greatest satis factio n from the fact that
his rival had been thus delivered into his
hands But even Cusack was perhaps less
i n terested in this new development than Talbot
Pilcher from his point o f view was a person o f
no account ; Miss Darnley also was unknown
his clients the public would take no interes t
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9
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
’
Anyhow she d o n t leave my sight till she s
back in South Audley Street
Munroe s an
in fernal scoundrel and you may trust me to
deal with him
Cusack was n ot a diplomatist n o r did it
seem the time for diplomacy
He rather
prided himsel f on the straightforw ard char
acter o f his methods and as Leslie came forth
from the hotel la u ghing and talking with
Pen elope at his side Cusack placed hi msel f
immediately in his path
Hallo Cusack
exclaimed Le slie a ssum
ing that it was a casual i f an inconvenient
encounter whilst Penelope wondering what
Cusack m u st im a gine to see her with Leslie
in such circumstances distantly bo wed
What
are you d oing here ? asked Leslie since Cusack
stood his ground
I have come t o take Miss Darnley b ack to
London s a id Cusack
I thi n k I can d o that Leslie returned with
a glance at Penelope
As you see we are o n
our way to the station
Penelope stood by his side with the most
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92
DIS SEM BLERS
TH E
unenvi able feelings Already she had su ffered
an immense indignity that day bu t now she
was afraid to imagine what might be about to
happen Cusack s manner appeared antagon
i sti c while she co u ld not suppo se that Leslie
was the man to accept an a ffront meekly
That be hanged for a tale ! cried Cusack
rather noisily I know all about it I t won t
d o Munroe
Out o f the way l said Leslie and stepping
forward he shouldered Cusack unceremoniously
ou t o f his path Cusack at once returned to
the attack ; he sent his right fist into Leslie s
face striking him full on the lips and fo r a few
moments there was a set to between them
W hilst Talbot watched from the background
so me waiters attracted by thef racas came forth
Several blows had been ex
from the hotel
changed and a few opprobrious epithets when
Penelope stepped towards the fly opened its
d o or and entered only desirous o f hiding her
fa ce from the spectators
I n the me an time some lovers o f peace had
thrown themselves between the combatants
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93
TH E
DISS EM BLERS
stood glaring at each other in a
more o r less dishevelled condition Above all
things Leslie d esired to save Penelope as much
annoyance as possible an d the best way t o do
this seemed to be to follow her into the carriage
At least he wished n o t to miss the train
Hands
he cried shaking himsel f free
from the three waiters who held him and
stooping to pick up his hat he followed Pene
lope into the fly
No yo u d on t ! shouted Cusack and step
ping forward he put his head inside the carriage
M iss Darnl ey doesn t go a yard
window
without me he said
Look sharp and jump in then answered
Leslie and don t be an in fernal idiot
Cusack entered the fly shut the door and
sank into a seat as the horse started Whilst
Penelope leaned back shrinking ashamed in
her corner more than hal f afraid that she might
miss the train Leslie leaned forward and gave
Cusack a whispered acc ou nt o f the facts At
first he met with nothing but scepticism and it
was not fo r some time after they had started o n
w ho
n ow
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94
TH E
DIS S EM BLERS
the journey t o London that Cusack be c ame
convinced he had made a fool o f himsel f thanks
to Talbot but fo r whose suggestion he wo u ld
not have dreamed o f c oming to Dover
I n another carriage in the same train in a
third class smoking compartment with a pipe
in his mouth and a note book in his hand
travelled Talbot
He had witnessed the struggle and seeing
Cusack subsequently driven away from the
hotel wi th Leslie and Penelope he never
doubted that the runaways were being taken
back to London against their will Threatened
with Cusack s company wh ether they liked it
o r not Munroe had made discretion the better
art
o
f
valour
p
Such an opportunity seemed fa r too goo d to
be lost Talbot perceived that he was the so le
—
f
osses
or
o
excellent
copy
c
which
not
s
o
py
p
e very one would care fo r perhaps though he
He
e xperienced no uneasiness on that s c ore
ha d an intimate friend who was assistant editor
o f a new and to o enterprising daily paper
The thing which in those days ! it has died
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95
TH E
DI SSE M BLERS
long since! the M orn i ng R eporter chiefly desired
was bo ld advertisement Even an action fo r
libel would be by n o means an unmixed evil
but to the best o f Talbot s judgment no action
would lie in the present case The facts were
indisp u table
He himsel f had see n Munroe
with Penelope at the hotel he had witnessed
the struggle with Cusack there c ould be no
manner o f doubt as t o the facts o f the case
whereas Munroe s name in such a connection
would sell the paper like wildfire As soon as
the fly was driven from the door o f the hotel
He deter mined to
Talbot set forth at a run
return to London fo r the night in order to
secure the insertion o f his M orn i ng R eporter
Special in to morrow s issue
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C H A P T ER
!
III
his message to Esther Farington Leslie
had n o t practised the customary telegraphic
economy o f words
He found it eminently
satis factory to remove from her mind at the
earliest possible moment all misconception c o n
cerning Mr Pilcher
Nothing could have surprised or embarrassed
her more It had not seemed necessary to tell
Sir Gordon about her several disagreements
with Penelope I n order to pass the time and
to facilitate his departure fo r Paris i f that
should bec o me necessary she had ordered
dinner earlier than usual and it was i m m edi
ately after his return to the drawing room that
the telegram arrived
Seeing Sir Gordon s intense impatience and
anxiety to learn the truth Esther handed
him the envelope unopened
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97
TH E
DI S SEM BLERS
Well she asked as he glanced at the co n
tents has Leslie Munroe come u p with them
Sir Gordon s face was flushed with excite
ment his eyes looked watery his hands
Thank
trembled as he held the telegram
Heaven ! he muttered Pen is w ith him at
Dover But he added the next instant you
must have made a mistake S he was quite
alone ; Pilcher is not there
They certainly le ft this house together
she insisted with eve ry indication of astonish
ment
Yes yes said Sir Gordon glancing again
at the telegram Pilcher accompanied Pen to
Dover but he did not stay She was merely
o n her way to her friends in Paris
Upon
my so ul l he cried it s the best news I have
had fo r a long time I ought to have known
the child better than to believe such a thing
fo r an instant
But he demanded why o n
earth didn t she tell you what she was doing
I f it comes to that why did she w an t t o
leave London ? I don t understand it I he
exclaimed
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9
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
with Mr Pilcher But there had been some
unpleasantness
not by any means for the
first time
I really don t remember what I
—
said to her I never try t o recollect things
o f that kind
She is en ou gh to make a saint
lose her temper and I am not a saint Still
she ad d ed it s rather hard to be taken j u st
at one s worst
A fter all that sort o f thing
happened only n o w and then
It was my
positive d u ty t o speak
There s a way o f doing things he answered
I t is not so much what you say as the way
you say it
Well said Esther I daresay I lost my
temper You k n ow how it is one says more
than one mea n s Now o f course I m sorry
It isn t pleasant to be regarded as a kind o f
ogress
Anyhow he cried with a sigh o f extreme
relie f Pen is all right that is the chie f
thing
An immense weight o ff my mind I
can assure you
I should have seen that
Pilcher married her a n d then have washed
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Now thank Heaven it s
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I OO
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TH E D I S S EM B LER S
all a mistake She will be able to come with
me to India
Meantime said Esther trying to smile
again it will be late before she arrives to
night and the wisest thing yo u can d o will
be t o let me order a room to be prepared
fo r yo u here
Thank you he answered
b u t to morrow
I shall take Pen away
I can assure you she retorted I shall
not attempt to dissuade you
Sir Gordon now began t o wait ve ry i m
patiently fo r Penelope s return He felt that
he had done the girl an injustice in imagin
ing her fo r a m o ment capable o f acting as
Mrs Farington had suggested
I n his t evul
sion o f feeling in her favour he thought far
less than he otherwise would have done o f
her flight from South Audley Street I f the
question of her elopement had never been
raised he wou ld n o doubt have been ex
tre m ely annoyed i n asmuch as she had quitted
the home which he had been at trouble to
provide fo r her
As it was however this
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TH E D ISSEM B LERS
appeared a minor evil especially since he was
prepared to form an indi fferent opinion o f
Mrs Farington a woman who lived apart
from her husband and whom he could eas ily
believe had a very short temper
S o that
Sir Gordon instead o f meeting her with re
ro a ches
f
elt
disposed
to
receive
Penelope
p
with open arms and when a little after
midnight he heard a cab sto p o utside he
strode to the door ran downstairs and reached
the hall a moment a fter she had hi dden
goo d bye to Le slie and in fear and trembling
entered the house H is smile o f welcome w a s
an immense relie f to her ; she uttered a cry
and going towards him flung her arms i m
l
l
u
s
i
e
round
his
neck
believing
that
now
v
y
p
all her small troubles were at an end
Bless my soul ! ho w the child has grown !
he excl a imed
I should ha rdly have known
you Pen
1 should have known you anywhere she
answered and oh I can t tell yo u ho w glad
—
—
I am to see yo u
1
1 have been so so
miserable
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I 02
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
He c ame because you da red to tell him
—
that I oh it was shame ful ! cried Penelope
You told him I had eloped with Jack Mr
Cusack came t o the hotel and saw me and
Mr Munroe I suppose she continued with a
c rimson face he thought we had run away
together
How utterly ridiculous ! He could scarcely
have bee n absurd enough to think that said
Esther thoroughly annoyed
Did Mr Cusack
travel home with you she asked
The first thing he did was to strike Mr
Munroe
There was a f ra cas outside the
hotel and I had to stand by Penelope ex
plained with a good deal o f feeling
I had
to listen w hilst Mr Cusack accused him o f
o f b ringing me away
Some o f the hotel people
separated them and then Mr Cusack would
not let us leave without him I t was dread ful !
I t was my own fault fo r trusting him !
exclaimed Esther
I t seems to me said Sir Gordon
that
one way and another you have made a nice
mess o f things
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1 04
TH E
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DISSEM BLERS
I would n o t have subjected Mr Munroe to
such unpleasantness fo r any consideration
Mrs Farington murmured
I t w as not ve ry pleasant for—fo r anybo dy
said Penelope
She rose be ing tired out a fter her day s
adventures bu t she did not o ffer Mrs Far ing
Sir Gordon however kissed
to n her hand
her a ffectionately and on the whole Penelope
went to bed with the bri ghtest hopes for her
immediate future whatever she had to regret
in the past
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1 05
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C H A P T ER I X
L ES L I E M U N R O E felt rather disinclined fo r
work the morning after his expedition to
Dover and being in the happy position o f
one who needed not to write unless he felt
so disposed he put o n his hat a bo ut eleven
o clock and set forth to his cl u b
His first impulse was to call at South Audley
Street but this he resisted For o ne reason
he felt a disinclination somewhat un acco un t
ably to see Mrs Farington who all allowances
being made seemed t o have treated Penelope
less than well
I ns t ead o f going to So uth
Audley Street he turned in the direction o f
Pall Mall an d he had n o t walked fa r be fore
he saw an o pen ca rriage which contained no
less a personage than the Bishop o f War
chester and his wi fe a woman fo r whom Leslie
entertained the greatest admiration and respect
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1 06
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
swollen where they had come into conta ct
with Cusack s fist this d id not seem suffi
cient to account fo r the attention he was
attracting
On entering the club reading room a little
later he obser ved one or two pairs o f eyes
fixed curiously o n his face ; feeling sel f con
scious and u ncom fortable he turned from
these older mem bers and made his way to
the smoking room
Hullo Munroe ! cried a short dapper fair
haired man whose name was Browne looking
up from the cigar he was in the act o f lighting
so yo u ve got back from Dover ?
I didn t see you there said Leslie
Oh well a nswered Browne with a smile
tha t Leslie found rather irritating i f it comes
to that I didn t see you
Then how the devil did yo u know ?
I know what everybody else knows
What on earth is that ? deman d ed Leslie
As Leslie asked this question another m a n
entered the smoking room a stout man o f
thirty w ith an immense clean shaven in fantile
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1 08
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TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
Johnny s le ft his mark by J ove !
he remarked with his usual drawl
Nasty cut
that isn t it Browne
—
f
Who told you ellows anything anything
about it cried Leslie
Well draw led Wetherby we ve got eyes
see
o
u
y
Upon my word I don t see Leslie returned
I m quite in the dark
Ah said Browne then you haven t looked
at the M orn i ng R eporter to day ?
Good Lord no !
You should look at it said Wetherby ;
yes you should certainly look at it
Let s go to the reading room c ried Browne
briskly you ll be immensely pleased
Beginning to feel distinctly uncom fortable
and n o t a little con fused Leslie accompanied
the two men t o the room which he had just
le ft and standi n g before the fireplace he wai ted
until Browne o fli ci o usly brought the newspaper
and t urned up the page which he desired him
to read Taking the sheet care fully folded fo r
his convenience he read Mr Talbot s e ffusion
face
The
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TH E
DISSEM BLERS
from
the first word to the last
was headed in leaded type
The
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col umn
,
‘
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A FAS H I O N A B L E ELO P EM EN T,
and the writer went o n to describe how Miss
Penelope Darnley the niece o f Mrs Farington
an d an heiress in her own right had recently
left her aunt s house in South Audley Street
with Leslie Munroe the well known author
He explained that the eloping pair had been
traced to an hotel at Dover by Mr Cusack who
arrived in time t o interrupt a contemplated
journey to Paris Mr Munroe the writer con
ti n ued had resisted Cusack s interference where
u p o n he had received a severe castigation and
had been ignominiously taken back to London
All this and a great deal more Leslie read with
intense indign ation until presently he raised
his eyes to meet those o f the amused spec
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The most in fernal lie e ve r printed l
he
exclaimed
That s a la rge order said Browne with an
irritating chuckle
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1 1o
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DISSEM BLERS
TH E
some time he had pac ed angrily about the
roo m striving hard to convince himsel f that
although Leslie had been concerned in this
matter he was in no sense to blame fo r it
Sir Gordon wanted a vent fo r his indignation ;
he was in an excited and generally aggressive
mood
Sorry you ve had to wait said Leslie
For a few rather embarrassing moments Sir
Gordon stood with his hands o n his hips
scrutinising Leslie s face
I should have
waited until the Day o f Judgment he ex
claimed though there s nothing o n earth I
detest so much
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course you have seen that con founded
newspaper Leslie s u ggeste d
Yes I have seen it was the answer still in
antagonistic tones
I went to my club early
this morning expecting to have the pleasure
o f meeting some old friends whom I had not
seen fo r years I nstead o f that I found that
in fernal paper on the table took it up and
u p o n my soul you might have knocked me
down wi th a feather ! I need not tell yo u what
Of
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1 12
,
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
a disastrous thing it is fo r my niece A man
—
o
f
may live that sort
thing down a woman
n ever l
I suppose said Leslie you have heard the
actual circumstances
They seem ha rd ly to affect the case Sir
Gordon rejoined
Y o u are a man o f the world ;
yo u know as well as I d o that hundreds
—
thousands 0 f people will read the accusation
who won t see the contradiction—w ho won t
wish to see the contradiction
That s the
way o f the world I f I bring an action
Penelope wil l still be the talk o f the town
—
I t maddens me i t actually maddens me
—
Munroe to imagine the things that are
being said about that dea r child and the
sort o f men who are saying them
I assure you I deplore it as deeply as you
can
said Leslie and I am willing to do what
ever you suggest
Nobody will receive her Sir Gordon con
She can t show her face in any
ti n ued
decent society I intended to take her back
with me to I ndia But how can I take her
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DISSEM BLERS
TH E
now ? This abominable story will precede her
there ; she would be cut by the best people
—
the only people I want her to know and she
would fall into the hands o f those I wish her
t o avoid
Upon my word said Le slie quietly i f you
will allow me to say so I think you are
inclined to exaggerate the mischie f Though
he added I am fa r from wanting to belittle
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Exaggerate
it ! cried Sir Gordon i n di g
n a n tly
I am the last man to exaggerate
anything especially anything o f this nature
Besides it is impossible t o exaggerate it
I understand
O f course Leslie answered
it is an extremely ann oying thing fo r Mis s
Darnley b u t still
Annoying ! exclaimed Sir Gordon co n
It is ruinous ! I t is disastrous !
tem ptuo usly
There is only o n e way o f sal vation and he
looked straight into Leslie s face
Which is that ? asked Leslie For a few
moments Sir Gordon di d n ot answer and the
two men stood regarding each other in preg
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1 14
TH E D ISSEM BLERS
—
T o marry a man who is almost well who
,
is practically a stranger ?
Marriage said Sir Gordon sententiously
is always m ore o r less a lottery
I n this case Leslie suggested it might be
—
regarded as a certainty its results I mean
At least I fear Miss Darnley will think so
She appears to be a young lad y with a will
of
her o w n ; fo r example take yes terday s
escapade
It is true there seems to be an un fortunate
incompatibility o f tempe r betwee n Penelope
and Mrs Farington was the answer
But
with me it is entirely di fferent Confidence
is everything and as I have said she knows
I have o n ly her wel fare at heart
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Still said Leslie it would be interesting
to hear how she receives yo ur suggestion
You must admit it is rather a sta rtling one
Has she seen the newspaper yet ? he asked
Not yet unless Mrs Farington happens to
take it The fact is cried Sir Gordon I
dread to tell the child
I dread t o tell
her
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1 16
TH E
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DI SSEM BLERS
I fancy she will treat y our proposed remedy
a little scorn fully said Leslie
Pen w ill treat no suggestion o f mine scorn
fully Sir Gordon insisted
I shou l d be very
much surprised i f she d id I shall point o ut
the unpleasantness in store fo r he r in any
case
Whethe r she agrees to marry me or n o t !
crie d Leslie wi th a smile which seemed ou t
o f place to S i r Gordon
1 shall be able t o deal with m y niece when
the time comes w a s the answer
At present
I have to discuss the matter with you I ca n
d o only o ne thing a t a time I have no wish
to act hastily o r under the stress o f excite
ment thou gh I con fess my blood boils when
I think o f that newspaper My position is a
very di ffi cult one I assure you it is not my
practice to ask favours o f any man and
a fter all Miss Darnley is an extremely a ttrac
tive girl
S he has no warmer admirer than mysel f
sai d Leslie
Ve ry well then Sir Gordon returned with
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1 17
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
an air o f relie f
I may tell you she is also
rich
I think we may as well leave that o ut o f
it said Leslie rather curtly
I beg your pardon Munroe I o u ght n o t
to have mentioned it as an inducement I n
my desire to convin c e yo u I admit th a t I am
tempted to employ almost any inducement
whatever but I beg y our pardon I appeal to
your sense o f honour
Leslie looked thought fully into Sir Gordon s
Upon my word he exclaimed a
face
moment later
I can sca rcely admit that
honour has any thing t o do with it I fail to
see t hat honour compels me to marry Miss
Darnley
With a disappointed expression Sir Gordon
bega n t o bu tton his coat
Then notwithstanding all I have said you
decline to entertain my proposal he ex
claimed
N o said Leslie
Then what the devil do you mean ? Sir
Gordon irritably demanded
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1 18
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
aging
rooms
at
som
e
quiet
hotel
I
thought
g
Brook Street i f they can
o f H a rtoc k s in
take us in Perhaps you won t mind calling
at Mrs Fari n gto n s o n your way I will leave
the address wherever it may be
At five o clock then said Leslie and Sir
Gordon went away
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1 20
,
C HAP
T ER
!
S IR
GO R D O N was driven from Leslie s flat to
Broo k Street thence to South Audley Street
where he arrived long before he was expected
He at once inquired fo r Mrs Farington an d
when she joined him he took a copy o f the
M orn i ng R eporter from his pocket insisting
that she should read Talbot s lamentable e ffu
sion
Her first feeling was o ne o f complete b e
wilderment ; she started violently as her eyes
fell on the leaded head line then clutching
the paper tightly and bending over it she
read every wo rd o f the column And as she
read her indignation increased until she cou ld
find n o adequate words to express it ; but
with the paper in her right hand she stood
glaring at Sir Gordon whose reawakened
wrath almost equalled her own
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TH E
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Did you ever read s u ch a n —an in fernal
production in your li fe ? he demanded
Atrocious
she m ur m u red
And i f you
had only given us proper notice o f you r return
nothing o f the sort wou ld have happened
Nonsense ! he retorted bluntly ; i f you
had not l o st you r temper with Pen
Well she said beginning to recover her
sel f possession I don t want to lose it again
n o w ; the r e is no
earthly use in recrimina
tions The question is how are we to act ?
Have you taken steps to have this shame
ful libel contradicted ?
Because you ought
not to lose a moment
M unroe will see to that
Sir Gordon
answered
I shall leave that to him
She looked into his face with a good deal
You have already seen Mr
o f surprise
Munroe about it ! she exclaimed
I went to him at o nce I di d not waste
time That is n o t my custom I am nothing
i f not prompt
H o w did you kno w where he lived ? she
demanded
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1 22
TH E D I S S EM B LERS
Whatever we do the dear child s character
must su ffer There s o nly one way to save
it and that I have been discussing with
Munroe this morn ing
What d o you propose ? she asked
I am surprised it doesn t occur to you
he answered
I sh ou ld have thought it
wou ld have o c cu rred to anybody Pen must
marry the man at once
Mrs Farin gton stood regarding Sir Gordon
as i f she c ou ld not quite grasp his meaning
I t was perfectly certain th a t she stood no
chance o f marrying Leslie hersel f b u t this
fact did not in the least reconcile her to his
union with any other woman especially w ith
Penelope
Marry Mr Munroe ! exclaimed Esther
You must have taken leave o f your senses
before you could propose such a thing
Then he said yo u don t approve o f my
s uggestion ?
Approve o f it ! she cried contemptuously
Wh a t alternative d o you propose ? he
asked
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1 24
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
I have noth i ng to propose
she returned
But because I can suggest n o remedy fo r
a disease it does not follo w yo u should
administer poison
I t is withou t exception
the most outrageous thing I ever hea rd o f
An immense pity y o u d id not consult me
be fore you bothered Mr Munroe about it
You must remember she continued
that
althou gh Penelope did not actually elope
with Jack Pilcher yesterday there can be
no doubt whatever she is extremely fond o f
him
You feel c o nfident o f that ? he asked
Per fectly
per fectly confident
He has
known her all his li fe and he told me he
intended to mar ry her At present it is true
he is as poor as a chu rch mouse but his grand
And Esther
father s death will alter all that
added what m u st you think o f Penelope ?
I think she s the sweetest girl I ve ever
seen said S ir Gordon
Yet you assume she will be willing to throw
hersel f into the arms o f a stranger in this bare
Besides she added
I know
faced way !
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1 25
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TH E
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Leslie Munroe as well as anybody and I can
assure you he is the last man in the world
to entertain the idea
You re wrong there anyhow exclaimed
Sir Gordon
Munroe certainly promised to
consider it
Ah yes said Esther as he might promise
to c o nsider any importunate prO po sa l Mr
Munroe s manner is rather apt to mislead
those who do n t know him well she insisted
Well Sir Gordon retorted I shall be able
to tell you more about i t later in the day
I have an appointment with Munroe at five
—
B y the bye
this afternoon
he added
I
have engaged rooms at H arto c k s Hotel in
Brook Street and I thought o f taking pos
session o f them ea rly this afternoo n I asked
Munroe to call here fo r the address
At this point P enel o pe all unsuspicious o f
what was in store fo r her entered the room
S he had passed the morning not disagreeably
i n preparing fo r her fin a l departure from
South Audley Street Sir Gordon had spoken
very gently to her a fter break fast and she had
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1 26
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
Un fortunately it isn t done with was the
answer
It s only just beginning Now don t
be frightened Pen he a d ded
I want yo u
to read this and Sir Gordon handed her the
newspaper which Mrs Farington had recently
read
Here it is in black and white ; you
can see fo r yoursel f
Penelope s surprise as she read was only
equalled by her indignation bu t finally both
were surpassed by overwhelming shame
It
had been bad enough to know that her aunt
and even Leslie Munroe could suspect her o f
running away with Jack bu t now the whole
worl d as it seemed was told that she had left
home with Mr Munroe ! Perhaps few girls
were constituted to feel s u ch a slander more
Her face grew crimson as she read
a cutely
then it turned deadly white as she still stood
holding the paper be fore her face long after
she had ceased reading
When at last it
d ropped to the floor at her side her cheeks
l ooked ashen and Sir Gordon feared a collapse
Does Mr Munroe know about this ? were
her fi rst words
Have—have yo u seen him ?
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1 28
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
Yes said Sir Gordon 1 called at his
rooms this morning
What di d he say ? she faltered
That is just wh a t I want to talk to you
about he answered
Sit down sit down
As she took the nearest ch a ir Sir Gordon
conti n ued ! You know I am not the man
to mak e the worst o f thin gs I alw a ys try
—
t o l oo k at the bri ghtest side i f there is one
you kn ow Pen B ut this is the very deuce
it s no ear thly use disguising i t—it s the very
deu ce ! Whatever you do wherever you go
this st o ry will a lways stick to you
Every
decen t woman w ill give you the cold shoulder
Nobody will have anything to do with you
I do n t want to frighte n yo u but upon
m y
soul there s only one thing to be
do ne
—
What what is that ? she fa ltered fo r
S i r Gordon had s u cceede d in reducing her
stock o f courage alm ost to zero
I know it may sound just a little startling
he said b u t there s no help fo r it ; you must
be married a t once !
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1 29
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
Married ? she exclaimed starting to her
feet
I mmediately It is the only way to save
your goo d name Pen
But I
We won t argu e about it he u rged ; I assure
I
have
thought
the
matter
over
an
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u
o
y
can see n o alternative You and Munroe
—
I and and Mr Munroe ! she cried as her
face t u rn ed suddenly crimson again
I and
and Mr Munroe !
You m u st be married at o nce said Sir
Gordon
As I said the suggestion may seem
a little startling at first b ut yo u will soon
grow accustomed to the idea I have looked
at the matter from every point o f view
Not from mine I she c ried staring rather
defiantly into his face
You know I am o nly thinking o f your
wel fare Pen
I t is a matter no one c a n decide but m y
sel f she retorted
Surely you don t imagine
I c ou l d d o anything so utterly foolish ?
The fact is he said controlling his temper
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1 30
DI SSEM BLER S
TH E
She will see the re is n o alternative said
Sir Gordon as soon as she has had time fo r
calm reflection And i f n ot he added she
will consent to be guided by me Pen will
come round
Esther lau ghed a little irritatingly a n d as
soon as the meal ended she went to Penelope s
room where fo r once in her li fe her niece felt
almost pleased t o see her A very fe w words
s uffi ced to assure Penelope that Mrs Faringto n
was entirely sympathetic
O f course said Esther it is the most un
fortunate a ffair and I blame mysel f severely
fo r having trusted Mr Cusack farther than
I could see him I ought to have known
better As fo r Sir Gordon Darnley she con
tin n ed the man must be sta rk staring mad
Anyhow I hope you a re going to prove you
are still in possession o f yo u r senses
I have not the least intention t o follow
his advice Pen elope answered ; I told him
so as plainly as I could speak
You have sca rc ely succeeded in convincing
him said Esther
Besides you will find
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1 32
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
that what you call his advice will become an
order
Not eve n Uncle Gordon has the right to
give me an order ! cried Pen elope
Ah well I am not going to discuss the
right or wrong o f the matter bu t that is what
it will come to —Sir Gordon will order y ou
t o marry Mr Munroe
Then I shall disobey him she said
But
he has always been very very kind to
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I t s easy en ough to be kind to a child who
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never c rosses one s will
Mrs Farington
retorted
The fact is Sir Gordon would
deceive the wises t person
He looks s o
sensible so thoroughly practical that any
o n e would feel inclin e d to respect his opi n ion
and yet he can suggest a ridiculous scheme
o f this kind
He does not seem t o realise
But o f course he
ho w he is humiliating you
has practically o ffered you to Leslie Munroe
or worse than that I have no doubt he has
entreated him to take you o ut o f compassion
I assure you sai d Penelope with a tin gling
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33
TH E
face,
DISSEM BLERS
I intend to have a voice in my
‘
ow n
disposal
It will not really come to a crisis cried
I am only anxious to save your sel f
Esther
respec t I know Leslie Munroe pretty inti
mately and he is the very last man in the
world to do an impulsive thing o f that kind
He would listen to all you and Sir Gordon
might have to say then with one o r two cold
words he would let you down
I think it is time I put o n my hat said
Penelope quietly
Well you can t say I haven t warned you
e x claime d Esther
No said Penelope in a curi ou s tone I
can t say that
Mrs Farington stared into her face fo r an
in stant then she went downstairs and shortly
afterwards a cab was called the tru n ks were
placed atop whilst Penelope stood by Sir
Gordon s side in readiness to leave the house
You will give Munroe the address when
he calls he said
Oh is that necessary ? asked Esther
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1 34
C H A P T ER X I
J AC K P I LC H ER had retu rned from D o ver the
previous day in somewhat dismal spirits He
pe rceived that many years might el a pse
be fore he saw Penelope again and as lon g as
he could remember she had been the person
whom he the most desired to see On reaching
his rooms however he tried to pull himsel f
together and soon began to take a slightly
more hopeful view o f the situation
As s oo n as his grand father departed this
li fe and Jack inherited the fortune on which
he had always based his hopes he wou l d fo ll o w
Penelope to I n d ia where he never doubted he
sh ou ld find her patiently waiting fo r him
I n the m ean t ime he bethought himsel f o f the
necessity to dine and presently set forth to
the economical restauran t which he frequented
The following morning his first thought was
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1 36
TH E
DI SS EM BLERS
the blank th a t Penelope s a b sence would
create in his li fe and it seemed di ffi cult to
imagine how he sh ou ld p a ss the day without
her accustomed society He came to break fast
with a goo d appetite nevertheless a n d a fter
w ards sent his landlady s son fo r a copy o f
the M orn i ng R eporter a paper which Jack
had taken o f late on acc o unt o f the piquantly
person a l cha racte r o f its contents
When his eyes rested o n the head line A
Fashionable Elopement
he l a id the paper
aside This w a s the sort o f thi n g which J a ck
enjoyed reading and in o rder to ob tain the fu ll
zest o f the a rticle he ligh ted his pipe be fo re
proceeding A casu al gl a nce then showed him
Leslie Munroe s n a me
He ha d met Leslie once o r twice at South
A ud ley S tree t and indeed ha d spoken o f
M u n roe as a pe rsonal friend there by seeming
to add to his o w n importance He s ettled
himsel f more com fortably in his chair but
recognising Penelope s name the next moment
he started to his feet in the most co m plete
astonishment He looked at the page again
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TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
only the more bewildered The re could
be no mistake ! there it was in black and white
Miss Penelope Darnley the ni ece o f Mrs
Farington Nothing could be plainer than
that Yet Jack could not understand it in
the least
Penelope had assured him she was on the
way to Paris thence sooner or later to India
Was it possible she had deceived him ? He
recollected that she had seeme d not a little
eager to get rid o f him that she had insisted on
seei n g him o ff by the train Was it po s
sible that she had an assignation with Munroe ?
Then Jack put this notion aside as unworthy
o f both himsel f and Penelope
I n truth he believed he had the very best
reason to assu me that she was fond o f him ;
she had always appeared as eager fo r his
society as he had been fo r hers
Yet Jack
could n o t imagine how Leslie had come upon
the scene after his o w n departure from Dover
still less how Cusack could have supposed
they were a pai r o f eloping lovers
Abo ve
all how had the report found its way into
to feel
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1 38
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
Esther ; I know no more about that than
d
o
I
daresay
I
shall
hear
when
I
see
o
u
y
Mr Cusack she added in a sign ificant tone
I o nly wish I had stayed at Dover muttered
Jack then this wretched thing would never
have happe n ed The fact is he continued
more confidentially I was almost stump ed I
had n t five bob in my pocket That s what
has always spoiled me You see I ve always
been too particular That s wha t has bee n
the matter with me
I shouldn t have suspected it
Esther
retorted
And at a n yrate S ir Gordon doesn t
share your weakness
How s that ? asked Jack
He coolly s u ggests that Penelope shall
marry Leslie Munroe—marry him at once
Pen marry Munroe ! cried Jack rising
impulsi vely from his chai r
Oh he ad de d the
next moment bu t she never will do that
you k now
I should hope not she answered
I have
not such a poor opinion o f her
Never fear said Jack
Why she d have
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1 40
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DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
married me any time I had seen my way to
ask her S he d have married me at Brighton
just a fter Mrs D a rn ley s death o r when she
was staying here But the mischief o f it was
I couldn t ask her don t you k no w O f c ou rse
Pen had plenty o f money and Sir Gordon
always let her d o pretty well as she liked
with it only it didn t seem quite the thing
somehow to ask a gi r l to marry me be fore
I d come int o my own I f I d k n own what
was goin g t o happen I d have asked her like
a shot Here I a m Jack add ed with a note
o f boyish ill humour
wi th all this going on
and my han d s tied Still Pen will never marry
Munroe that s a dead cert
Nor said Esther is t here the slightest
possibility that Mr Munroe will dream o f
marrying her Still it is extremely annoyin g
to think S i r Gordon should have suggested
such a thing You have only yoursel f to thank
fo r all this she continued as Jack showed signs
o f departing
I f you ha d taken my advice a n d
stayed aw a y from Penelope there would have
b een no need fo r me to remonstrate with her
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TH E
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and she would not have d reamed o f leavi ng
here
Wi th this unconsoling reflection Jack le ft
S o u th A u dley Street assuring himsel f that
he had no cause fo r anxiety yet feeling not
a little anxious all the same Stopping out
side the door he hesitated whether to go to
see Penelope at H a rtoc k s Hotel o r to de fer
his visit fo r the present
I n the end he decided that it might be
better not to see k an interview with Penelope
at the moment especially as this would entail
a meeting with her uncle who might not
prove so sympathetic as she had always been
I t was about hal f past four when Le slie
Munroe entered Mrs Fa ri n gto n s drawing
room with his u su al calm sel f possession She
rose wi th unaccustomed excitement and o ffered
her right hand
I am really quite ashamed to see you !
she ex claimed
I don t know what to say to
you
Oh n o t at all said Leslie easily
I would have done anything—I would not
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1 42
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DISSEM BLERS
TH E
about the r idic u l ous proposal he had made
But Penelope is more sensible than he r u ncle
fo r once
She insists that anything o f the
k ind is entirely out o f the question
Miss Darnley said that ?
Es the r leaned back in her c hai r and n o one
would have supposed from her m a nner that
she took more than a casu al interest in the
a ffair
What d id you imagine she would say ?
she asked quietly
Surely you did not fo r
a moment suppose she would agree to such
an atrocious suggestion ?
Well said Leslie Sir Gordon seemed
rathe r confident that she would not o ffer any
very strenuous resistance He insisted that
his authority
I can assure you nobody po ssesses the
slightest authority over Penelope Besides in
the present case he r rebellion is lawful
There may come a time when resistance is
one s bounden duty you kn ow I believe Sir
Gordon wo u ld like her to marry you to
morrow
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I 44
TH E D I S S EM B L ER S
No doubt to morrow would be somewhat
soon Leslie admi tted
Yes I think it would
At the same time Leslie continued you
must remember that Miss Darnley stands in
a very diffi cult positi on I admit S ir Gordon
is inclined to exaggerate the evil but at the
best it is bad en ou gh
The greater re ason w hy you s ho u ld not
d o anythi n g foolish she insis ted a n d yo u
must see that Sir Gordon is proposi n g to
make matters infinitely worse But she ex
claimed
I can t discuss it gravely ; it is
to o absurd
You really think it would make matters
worse ? he asked
Es ther stared at him
with un feigned
surprise
Y o u can t ask me s u ch a question
seriously ? she exclaimed
Y o u haven t given me S ir Gordon s address
he reminded her
I don t see the slightest u se in your going
to him Mrs Farington persisted
I am
anxious only to save Penelope further un
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1 45
TH E DI S 5 EM B L ERS
pleasantness she continued ; she is punished
enough fo r her sins—though I am not i n
N ow
t o underrate them
she cried
c li n ed
i f you ring the bell I will give yo u some
tea
I am afrai d I m u stn t stay
what in the name
Then she demanded
ridiculous do yo u propose to
o f all t hat s
do ?
1 have some kind
Well sai d Leslie
idea o f falling in with Sir Gordon s
of
wishes
Oh yo u can t be serious Leslie ! Esther
answered and she rose and came to his
side
I was never more serious in my li fe he
assured her
I have thought the matter over
as I promised and o n the whole it seems
the best way o ut o f the diffi culty
The surest way into di ffi culties compared
to which
she said earnestly the present is
only a trifle
I think I shall take the risk he returned
The n said Mrs Faringt on struggling wi th
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1 46
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DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
that required a single grain o f common
sense
Anyhow he rejoined I was only anxious
to do the best I could
The best you could ! my dear man I am
not blaming yo u for an instant
Y o u did
your best I know you did only anyone
else s worst would have been so much
more desirable
she
said
white wi th
anger
Oh come yo u know
O f course you have not seen the M orn i ng
R eporter this morning ? said Esther
Only the P i n k Un he answered
Then you haven t heard the full extent
have done Mrs Far
o f the mischie f you
and she told him with
i n gto n e xc laimed
considerable animation all that had been
happening C u sack s fa ce seemed to len gthen
as he listened and by the time Esther had
finished he looked extremely hot and un
com fortable
I t s that con founded Talbot he muttered
Who is Talbot ? she demanded
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1 48
DISSEM BLER S
TH E
A Johnny I met in the train ; he w rites
a bit you know
Then do you mean to say yo u told him
why you we re going to Folkestone ? she
demanded rising
You took him round
with you t o see the sport I suppose ?
Well you know said Cusack looking
exceedingly crestfallen i f it hadn t been fo r
Talbot I should never have gone to Dover
at all
Will you kindly ring the bell ? she asked
more tolerantly
Until Sarah entered the
room Esther stood with her back towards
him the n she tu rned to the servant
I f ever
Mr Cusack shou ld c all again she said I
am n o t at home
Without another word he left the room
and the house
He walked home by back
streets and entering a pu b lic house called for
—
whisky neat
On reaching his own house
he stayed only long enough to thrust a few
articles into a portmanteau and to select a
riding whip
He then took a c ab to the
railway station bought a copy o f the M orn
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I 49
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DI SSEM BLERS
and travelled by the next train
to Fo lkesto n e when he w as driven to the
hotel where Talbo t had deposited his luggage
last night
I nquiry proved that Talbot had
returned to Fo lkesto n e that afternoon that
he had finished his dinner about three
quarters of an hour ago and gone out to
the Lees to smoke
C u sack also lost no time in going to the
Lees ; it was a pleasant b ree z y May evening
There were very fe w
and almost da r k
persons about but a fter walking a short dis
tance in the direction o f S an d gate Cusack
was rewa rded by seeing Tal bot comin g to
wards him His felt hat was pressed down
on
his head on account o f the breeze he
swu ng his stick and he whistled a tune As
Cusack gripped his whip more tightly Talbot
recognised him
Hullo C usack ! he c r ied
Back again ?
Who is it this time ?
Well it s you
said Cusack grimly
What the devil d id you mean by it ?
By what ?
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5
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
Cusack havi n g waited to see him set forth
lost no time in making his way to an other
hotel where in spite o f his lingering vexa
tion w hen he thought o f his recent visit
to South A u dley Street he enjoyed an ex
celle n t though belated dinner
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2
5
C H A P T ER X I I
H ALF AN H O UR a fter his arrival at H arto c k s
Hotel Sir Gordon Darnley was pacing his
sitting room and waitin g impatiently fo r
Penelope to whom he had just sent a
message by the cham bermaid
I t seemed
absolutely necessary that his niece should be
brought to a proper frame o f mind before
five o clock when Leslie Munroe had pro
m i se d to come
The room was rather to o large to be com
fo rt ab le fo r two persons whilst its scheme o f
decoration appeared a little ornate On the
white watered paper an elaborate design in
gold extended fro m floor to window ; in the
middle o f each o f the four walls was a large
looking glass wi th a wide gilded frame and a
projecting slab o f cold looking marble b e
neath Each o f the two windows w as furnished
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DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
with a heavy gilded cornice from which hung
a crimson fringe
The fur n iture was up
holstered in light red and the carpet had
fad ed to a pale drab
Penelope entered the room a little hesi
tautly ; she was beginning to feel a dread
that Sir Gordon had an iron hand beneath
his velvet glove and that he was on the
point o f making her feel it Moreover his
suggestion fo r the improvement o f her cir
c um stan c es appeared so utterly unpractical and
extraordinary that she became bewildered
when she thought o f it and she could not
think o f anything else
S it down Pen he said as she closed the
door
We may as well sett le this business
at once I am afraid you don t realise what
a scandal you ve caused
I have caused ! she exclaimed
Well well it could never have happened
i f you had stayed at Mrs Fa ri n gto n s till I
arrived
I don t want to dwell on that I
mak e a practice o f never bothering about
what s done—the thing is to find the reme d y
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S4
TH E
DISSEM BLER S
Besides she said as i f it were the co n
c lusi o n
t o an unuttered train o f thought
whatever I might be willing to do Mr
Munroe would never consent t o such a thing
I am not sure o f that was the answer ;
I am inclined to think he will consent At
he p romised to think about my
a n yra te
suggestion
Why should he ? Penelope demanded
S imply bec a u se he is a man o f honour
He sees the terrible position you re placed
in He knows you will never be able to hold
u p your head again unless
Unless he takes pity on me ! she cried
with an expression o f contempt
There is no need to put the a ffair in the
worst li ght he returned
Heaven knows it
is bad enough without being exaggerated
I don t think there is any need to talk about
it at a ll said Penelope because nothing in
the world will induce me to dream o f con
senting to su ch a thing Oh Uncle Gordon !
o
u
must see it is a thing no girl cou ld
y
consent to
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TH E
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DISS EM B LERS
I t is a matter you are not competent to
decide upon S ir Gordon insisted and he was
by way o f losing hi s temper
Sir Gordon had long been accustomed to
control a ffairs o f national importance
He
had met with considerable success and this
had been acknowled ged in high places
In
his own department he was n o doubt a cap
able pu blic servant ; but he had never until
now been called u pon to manage a woman
He exaggerated the e ffects o f the libel in
the M orn i ng R eporter in the first place ; he
believed that Penelope s li fe was irretrievably
ru ined unless she married the man with whom
report insisted she had run away from home
Having hit upon the only remedy fo r the
evil he could not understand how any
reasonable person could disag ree with himsel f
as to its advantages Since Penelope could
not be convinced by any ordinary process o f
reason she must be compelled fo r her own
good to act according to his j udgment
Y o u m u st remember he said that I have
always been extremely indulgent to you
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S7
DI SSEMBLERS
TH E
I have allowed
to do as yo u pleased
hitherto
I have let you practically control
your o w n income
in fact I haven t inter
fet ed with your wishes in any respect b ut
he added I assure yo u I c an be extremely
nasty i f I like and S ir Gordon looked very
fierce indeed
D o yo u mean she asked
that you are
going to try to force me into marryin g Mr
Munroe ?
I intend yo u t o marry the man he
answered and I intend yo u to marry him
at once
And suppo se I refuse
cried Penelope
Then I shall hav e to consider what is to
be done I shall not take you with me to
I ndia ; I shall place you under strict sur
v ei llan c e in England
and yo u may take it
fo r granted there will be n o risk o f your
running away a sec o nd time
Whatever you do she insisted I shall
please mysel f with regard to Mr Munroe
S he opened the door be fore Sir Gordon
could answer and went upsta irs to her bed
u
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8
5
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
until I have discussed the matter with
her
This was ve ry tantalising to Sir Gordon ; he
perceived that Leslie was in a mood to yield
i f Penelope would only consent to meet him
hal fway
Without saying a word about her
obstinacy her blindness to her o w n advantage
he went upstairs to her room with the intention
o f using eve ry inducement to b ring he r into
Munroe s presence Still he felt only the faintest
hO pe o f success and it came u pon him as an
intense surprise when Penelope yielded wi thout
a murmur She o ffered n o objection whatever
to seeing Leslie so that Sir Gordon co n gra tu
lated himsel f on the success o f his methods
I t is astonishing what o n e can do with a
little j udicious coercion ! he said to himsel f as
he sa w Penelope descend the stairs
Her courage decreased as she neared the
room where Leslie awaited her and she almost
wished she had not come I ndeed she scarcely
knew why she had come only that it seemed
that necessarily after what had happened this
would probably be their last meeting
She
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1 6o
TH E DI S S EM B LERS
stayed a few moments outside the door then
s u ddenly turned the handle and entered the
room with a firm step a lthough he r cheeks
tingled a little pain fully
When she o ffered her right hand Leslie hel d
it a fe w moments looking down whimsically
into her face
Now how am I to begin what
I have to say ? he said and Penelope with
drew her hand
I suppose he continued
we may take it fo r granted that you are
placed in a very embarrassing situation ?
Oh it is dread ful ! exclaimed Penelope
with a shudder
When I saw S ir Gordon this morning he
said you had not read that article ; by this
time I daresay you have mastered it
Y e s faltered Penelope
I think I ought to tell you it is the talk o f
the town Leslie conti n ued
Men are discuss
ing it at every clu b wom en chatter about it in
many drawing rooms Each person who reads
it tells someone else and always the evil is
exaggerated
That is scar cely possible ! she cried
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1 61
THE DI S S EM B LER S
‘
I dwell
on
this
’
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he said
‘
,
bec au se I want
you to grasp the actual state o f a ffairs I
am not trying to frighten yo u into a remedy
which may seem worse than the disease
—
I I am not easily frightened she answered
No doubt somethi n g can he done said
Leslie ; in any case I will see that an apology
is published and I might bring an action fo r
libel But at the best I am afraid yo u would
have to put up with a great deal o f un pleas
an tn ess
unless you can see your way to
tolerate your uncle s suggestion
O f course you know she exclaimed i m
that
is
entirely
t
f
the
question
o
e
t
o
u
o
u
s
l
u
p
y
I f I had n o t trusted you would know that
that yo u would know it beyond all dispute
I shoul d not have consented to see you
again
Still he returned in his quiet way I hope
you won t mind my discussing the pros and
cons
Oh they are all cons she retorted with the
ghost o f a smile however ; nothing could he
more o utrageously impossible
I think my
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1 62
TH E
la n tly,
DISSEM BLERS
to see how I have gained the respect
o f anyone
I have done nothing to deserve
respect
I t is not what you have done he s a id
q uite solemnly hut what yo u are capable o f
doing
I am certainly not capable o f doing any
thi n g o f t hi s kind she rejoined
Then said Leslie
we are agreed so fa r
Sir Gordon s remed y is too drastic We set
aside the notion o f an immediate marriage
O f marriage altogether
Don t let us he too hasty he urged
Let
me tell you what I should like to do
I
want to go to the editor when I leave here
and convince him we were both in London
yesterday morning I want to do more th a n
that Leslie calmly continued
wan t to tell
him that we are engaged to be married
Oh b ut we are not en gaged to be married
said Penelope and a portion o f the cloud
seemed to have cleared from her face since
she came into the room
That is what I wan t to b e in a position
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1 64
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
to tell him said Les lie that we are en gaged
to be married and w ere merely spending a
few hours at Dover as an engaged couple
might do you know
I f you tell the editor that i t won t be
t ru e she protested
But it is in your power t o make it true
after the fact as it were Unless the explana
ti on which appears in to morrow s issue is
convincing it is useless
You and I were
seen dining together at Dover said Leslie
That is the di fli c ulty I have to get over
N ow my plan would get over it and in the
meantime we shall be a fli a n c ed
Oh but
I should perhaps say we shall be nominally
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N 0 m i n a lly l she e x claimed
Yes said Leslie
1—1 am a fraid I don t quite u n derstand
what you mean Penelope retorted
Let me explain he answered
To the
outside world we shall appear as an engaged
—
couple as two persons who intend sooner
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1 65
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
later to be marrie d and to live happily
ever after
One couldn t expect to live very happily
she said quietly
No w why not ? asked Leslie
Oh well it hardly matters sin c e the ex
i
n
n
r
is
going
to
be
tried
Penelope
m
t
o
t
e
e
p
rejoined
No no o f course n o t ; we are not discussing
—
marriage b ut only a a nominal engagement
—a very di fferent thing you know You would
retain your per fect liberty in every way
Penelope looked u p scrutinisingly into his
You seem very willing t o pa rt with
face
yours she exclaimed
I think he said leani n g forward towards
her it is the best way out o f a di ffi cult situation
You must understand that without something
o f the kind you cannot escape a good deal
o f unpleasantness
Oh I am becoming convinced o f that she
cried
On the other hand beyond enduring a
—
o
certain amount f my society woul d that
or
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1 66
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
with a good deal o f feeling yo u are very
magnanimous
There is nothing o f m a gnanimity about it
he assured her
I n fact it would be a very
simple affair altogether
In the presence o f
others we should appear as an orthodox en
gaged couple ; but when we are alone we
should drop back into the relation o f acquaint
—
a n ces
perh aps Leslie added I might say
friends
Oh yes she answered gravely
There ought to be o n e trifling condition
he continued
you mustn t throw me over
after a few days ; that would de feat our end
You must make u p your mind to give me a
fa ir trial
Penelope glanced a little wist fully into his
face
What would be the end o f i t all ?
she asked
S uffi c i en t unto the day is the evil thereo f
Oh quite she assented
One thing further he added ; you must
allow me to say although I ho pe it is un
necessary t hat yo u need have no fear I
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1 68
‘
TH E D I S S EM B L ER S
should take advantage o f the situation
Now he urged you must admit my plan
possesses certain adva ntages
A n d many disadvantages
S till
I can
O f course she said as he paused
see th a t it would put an end to a gre a t de a l
o f annoyance
Only
You are a fraid it would set u p a fresh
source on its own account
Oh surely you can understand my position !
she ex c laimed
H ow can I possibly agree to
such a thing ? How could any girl ? And yet
fo r people to think what—w h a t they must be
—
thinking oh it is hate ful !
Sir Gordon is very eager that you should
consent said Leslie
1 cannot imagine what has happened to
change my u ncle she murmured
Then she
added there is Mrs Farington what would she
say about it ?
I am not subject t o Mrs Farington he
i n sisted
I used t o think you were she said
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1 69
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TH E
DISSEM BLERS
Certainly not he answered quickly ; and
as fo r you yo u have thrown o ff your allegiance
Ah i f I had done nothing o f the kind all
this annoyance would have been spared
No w he said I don t wish to hasten so
momentous a decision but still the sooner we
settle things the better
A fter all said Penelope it is not very
momentous I mean she explained the road
I should be taking would be like a side turning
which o n e runs down to avoid some temporary
danger without the slightest intention to follow
it up I s that quite understood ?
I t is quite understood that you are a free
agent in every way
I f I were a free agent she retorted I
should never consent to anything o f the kind
Anyhow you have no responsibility as fa r
as I am concerned Fo r instance your uncle
will sooner or later be going to I ndia Y ou
will be at perfect liberty to leave me in the
lurch and to accompany him
O f course
she answered in her most
decided manner that is what I shoul d do
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1 70
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
said Leslie
How am I to address yo u ? 1
”
can t very well call you Miss Darnley and
it will never do fo r you to call me Mr
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I sha n t call you anything she answered
with an air o f decision
But when you talk about me
I shall never talk about you she re
to t ted
My thoughts will be too deep fo r
words
I fear you won t be able to avoid it
altogether he urged
What can yo u say ?
”
Mr M u n roe to your friends will never do
”
My fi a n cee
I don t much like that Our
language seems to contain no suitable word
—
my s w eetheart m y young man
Oh I shall never be able to carry it
through Penelope exclaimed
I think you will he answered
You must
speak o f me to Sir Gordon fo r instance as
”
Leslie and you must really allow me to
address you as
Her face was crimson and his had flushed
sli ghtly
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1 72
,
TH E
Of
DI SSEM BLERS
course she said that will be only
when others are present
And now he suggested shall I ask these
people to summon Sir Gordon ?
He rang the
bell and told the waiter to fetch Sir Gordo n
Penelope waiting fo r her uncle s appearance on
the scene in a state o f mani fest nervousness
He entered the room a few moments later shut
the door in his d eli be rate way then darted a
scrutinising glance at the pair A fter his
recent interview with Penelope he scarcely
dared t o h ope that she had yielded Leslie
took a few paces forward to meet him
Penelope has done me the great honour to
promise to become my wi fe
—
Oh oh she murmured a little aghast at
hearing the case stated in this plain way She
marvelled too at Leslie s histri onic skill fo r he
could not have appeared more satisfied even i f
he had gained his heart s desire I t pro ved an
immense relief to Sir Gordon Taking both
her hands he pressed them cordially
I t is the most sensible course he cried
It
is by fa r the best thing you can do I am
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I 73
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
delighted to hear it I hO pe you will both be
very happy and really he added I don t see
any reason why yo u should not be happy
No w
he d eman d ed when is it to take
place ?
What ? cried Penelope with a startled air
Why the wedding o f cou rse That is the
head and front o f the a ffair In order to take
the wind o ut o f these con founded people s
sails you m u st get married at once
We don t intend to do that said Leslie
No Penelope added
I am going to the o ffice o f the M orn i ng
R epor ter direc t from here Leslie explained
I
shall tell the editor that Penelope is engaged
to be married to me and that the trip to Dover
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j u st a casual visit
I think that will
answer every purpose The real diffi culty w as
to account satis factorily fo r o ur presence there
together
I t seems to me said Sir Gordon that
unless yo u get married at once there is not
the slightest object in the engagement
That is o f vital importance Leslie answered
w as
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74
C H A P T ER
!
III
B EFO R E L eslie Mu n roe had finished smoking
his a fter break fast pipe the following morning
he received a visit from his sister
Hilma Cheshire had not seen t he libellous
article in the M orn i ng R eporter until an hour
ago She would not have been likely to see
it at all i f some damne d good nat ured friend
ha d not sent her a cutting o f the column
As
she had parted from Leslie at about hal f pa st
three on the d ay in question the result o f a
perusal o f the c utting was somewhat mysti fying
and at her hu sban d s suggestion Hilma first
sent fo r a copy o f that morni n g s paper then
set forth to Leslie s flat
The apology including as it d i d an a n
brother s engagement to
n o un ce m en t o f her
be ma rried w a s almost more st artling than
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1 76
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
t he earlier report which m u st be false on the
,
it Hilma arrived at his flat in a state
and Leslie could hardly
o f hi gh excitement
ind u ce her to sit down whilst he entered on
an explanation o f the whole a ffair
Of
course Hilma formed her own conclusion at
once
You are doing it to save the girl s face
she insisted
I f you had contemplated any
thing o f the kind yesterday you would have
t o ld me ; yo u would have introduced me to
her
Well said Leslie co olly there will be
plenty o f time fo r that
R ising imp u lsively Hilma laid a hand o n
Leslie s arm
Oh why have you d o ne such
a foolish thing
she asked almost tear
fully
I am prepared to maintai n it is n o t a
foolish thing he returned
Why have you done it ? she murmured
Because because I love her ! he ex
claimed
Should you have asked her to marry you
face
of
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1 77
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
’
if
that awful report had not been printed ?
she cried
I l ove her he said
And Miss Darnley
has she show n the
same impetuosity ? asked Hilma
What do you mean by that ?
Would she have ac c epted you i f n othing
o f this kind had happened
Leslie ?
Why no I don t imagine she would he
admitted
So that in effect you have taken advan
tage o f the situation to force the girl into an
engagement
I con fess he said it had not occurred to
me in that light before But look here Hilma
you m u st call o n Penelope Once you have
seen her yo u will congratulate me readily
enough !
Hilma went away only hal f satisfied and
then Leslie began to make ready fo r a visit
to Brook Street As it would be his first
visit since they had come to an u nderstand
ing he anticipated a little embarrassment ; he
wondered how Penelope would receive him
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1 78
TH E DI SSEM BLER S
’
What ? Leslie asked
Well to come here at all
I s that quite sincere
he demanded
Per fectly sincere Why do yo u suggest
that it isn t ?
Do you think there is a man living who
could regard it as a nuisance to come to see
you ? said Leslie
Pe nelope walked to o n e o f the windows
turning her back towards him as she spoke
I t is scarcely necessary to adopt that tone
when we are alone she sai d and Leslie hi t
his lip as he stared at her There was nothing
he desired more than to penetrate her exact
motives in yielding to his prO po sa l As fo r
himsel f there was no manner o f dou b t I t
had indeed occurred to him that he had
found a way out o f the di fli culty a way a t
once to soothe Sir Gordon s feelings and to
account satis factorily fo r Penelope s presence
at Dover in somewhat suspicious circum
stan c es
But i f he had not had an ulterior design he
would certainly have kept his own counsel
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1 80
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
I n short his purpose was to marry Penelope
,
this were possible In the ordinary course
o f events he would have found a means o f
introducing himsel f to Sir Gordon i n the hope
o f gainin g his end be fore her u n c le s departure
from En gland
But after the publication o f
if
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t he libel Leslie perceived that he could not
,
meet Penelope again u ntil Darnley made
what must doubtless be regarded as his wild
suggestion Leslie s own course was suffi ci
ently clear but c o ncerning Penelope there
a ppeared
plenty o f room fo r speculation
Why had she consented ? Was it o nly fo r
—
the superficial reason to appease Sir Gordon
and to save he r reputation ? C ou ld she or
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any woman have assented
that reason
fo r
alone ? Or was it possible that she like
himsel f regretted that their intercourse slight
as this had been should cease ?
O f course b e perceived that she would
have re fused point blank to marry him at
once as Sir Gordon suggested b ut yet it
seemed she perhaps felt an incipient regard
which with their present opportunities might
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1 81
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
develop into love He could only watch and
hope If he w as doomed to disappointment
little harm would have been done whereas
the ostensible purpose would have been
served Leslie would have felt greater con
fi den ce i f no such pe rson as Jack Pilcher
e xisted
Mrs Farington at least believed
that Penelope cared fo r Jack and no d ou bt
the crux would be when old Mr Pilcher died
and his grandson attained a position which
would justi fy him in asking Penelope to be
his wi fe
I am speaking as I should speak to any
youn g lady like you said Leslie i f there is
another like you
I beg your pardon she cried with a laugh
I did not know your custom an d she ad d ed
I don t suppose t here is another like me
—who would have acted as I have
done
I suppose Sir Gordon showed you the
paper this morning ? he asked
Oh yes ; it is dread ful !
What is dread ful !
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182
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TH E D I S S EM B L ERS
A bsolutely necessary he insisted
Now
in all your experience did yo u ever hear o f
an engaged young lad y
I am not—not en gaged she said
The essence o f our contract is that
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we shall keep u p appearances
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Leslie
re
to rted
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Oh how ve ry thorough yo u are !
We should give ourselves away c o mpletely
i f yo u did not wear a ring he continued
All your friends will ask yo u to show it to
—
—
them they always do you know and where
would you be i f yo u did not possess one ?
I really think you are bou n d to let m e give
you a ring
Even i f I must wear one she persisted
there is n o reason why yo u should give it
to me I should pre fer to bu y it mysel f
You mustn t look back since yo u have put
your han d to the plough
I almost wish I had le ft it alone But
anyhow she exclai m ed i f I let you bu y me
a ring I shall only wear it when people are
present
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1 84
TH E D I S S EM B L ER S
She went t o prepare to go out with him
a nd a fter a short absence she returned with
her hat an d jacket on Setting forth together
they soon reached the jeweller s shop where
Leslie asked to see some rings No w Pene
lope had not a mind above s u ch t ri fles and
her eyes shone as tray after tray was pro
S he felt anxious
duc ed fo r her inspection
not to choose an expensive j ewel while
Leslie s desire seeme d to be only to lavish
his money upon her Moreover he became
stran gely impatient dissuadin g her from a
ring which she actually would have selected
merely becau se its size required a little alter
ation Finally a hal f hoop o f d iamonds was
chosen
Shall I pu t it on now ? she asked be fore
they le ft the shop
B ette r to let me carry it answered Leslie
and having paid the bill he pu t the small
case in his pocket On reaching Brook Street
agai n they stopped outside the hotel and
Penelope seemed to become su ddenly em
harrassed
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1 85
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
—
I I don t know whether my uncle has
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com e home yet she said
Suppose we go upstairs to see replied
Leslie whereupon she led the way ind oors
The sitting ro om was untenanted and placing
his hat and stick o n the table Leslie to ok
the ring from his pocket
I believe the
proper thing is fo r me to put it on he
s u ggested
Oh cried Penelope rather timidly the
proper thing seems to be the last we think
o f doing
Still it s never too late to mend said
Leslie
Would you mind taking o ff your
glove ?
Again he wondered what her hesitation
meant as she stood staring at the carpet
—
Which which hand ? she asked a few
moments later
Don t you know ? he said with a smile as
he opened the case
Oh I suppose it ought to be the le ft mur
mured Penelope and she unb uttoned her glove
When it w as hal f o ff she looked up into his
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1 86
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
a moment there seems a certain i n complete
ness ab ou t the perform ance
One piece o f
advice he added ! Pray do n t remove the
ring as you threatened
I t must be removed some day she re
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Still let it stay where I have placed it
fo r the present he said
Then he held forth
his hand and left the hotel He had not said
when he should come again but Penelope con
cluded that he considered he was privileged
to visit her as o ften as he pleased
Leslie
had not been gone long be fore Sir Gordon
returned
Well he cried blithely have you seen
Munroe ?
Yes she answered
he came quite
early
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I hope you have ha d a pleasant
morning
Oh very pleasant indeed said Penelope ;
then she bl u shed fo r i f she had thought about
it she was not sure whe ther she should have
said it had been pleasant or the reverse Mr
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88
TH E
DISS EM B LER S
Munroe gave me this she added holding
o ut her le ft hand to show the ring
Mr Munroe ! he exclaimed reprovingly
Oh well —Leslie then she said
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1 89
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CHAP
TER
XIV
TH E
announcement o f Leslie s engagement
came as a shock to Mrs Farin gton
Although she had seen ! to her infinite sur
prise ! that Munroe wavered she had still
counted o n Penelope s firmness But now it
appeared from the paragraph in the M orn i ng
R eporter that Pe n elope in spite o f all her
protestations had yielded u nder Sir Gordon s
pressure For that Penelope was in love with
Jack Pilcher Esther entertained no manner o f
doubt
S he w as constrained to admit that her
niece possessed a certain kind o f attractive
ness and she began to wonder whether L eslie
had fallen a prey to this or had me rely
become a tool in the hands o f a man o f
stronger will than himsel f Or o n the other
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1 90
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DISSEM BLERS
TH E
paper this morning ! she exclaimed as she
took his han d though Jack s face gave su ffi
cient indication that he had seen it
Oh I ve seen it said Jack with the mo st
dejected air
I c an t make it out It beats
me hollow I came to ask you about it
My dear man she returned I know no
more about it than you do I o nly know
what the newspaper tells
Surely that is
eno ugh !
But I have kno w n Pen all my li fe said
—
Jack
I can swear she well she likes me
Besides he added with a sudden transition
my grand father is most aw fully queer
I
had a letter abou t him this morning He s
sure to leave me a pot o f money and then
I shall b e ab le t o do as I please
Hardly—i n the present circumstances
Well cried Jack I know what I shall do
I shall go to see Penelope and just ask what
it means
Oh the re is very little di fli culty in under
standing what it means Es the r answered ;
that m u st be evident to the hu mblest capacity
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192
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
only Sir Gordon had le ft things to take
their course ! I t is not as i f anyone knew
Penelope
Eve rything would have blown
over and there would have been none o f this
absurdity
On leaving S ou th Audley Street Jack lost
no time in making his way to H a rto c k s Hotel
where he was fortunate en ou gh to find Penelope
alone Sir Gordon felt no scruple in leaving
her his time being occupied in renewing forme r
friendships the more satis factorily since he was
in a position to annou nce Penelope s engage
ment
She rose to meet Jack with an expression o f
ind ubitab le pleasure bu t he felt surprised and
deeply disappointed to observe that her face
showed no signs o f sorrow He c o u ld only
t ru st that she had that within which passes
show S he greeted him with her u s u al cor
di ali ty and in fact looked as she fel t very
glad to see him
W hat an immense time it seems since we
were at Dover ! she exclaimed
I only wish yo u had never seen the plac e
If
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I 93
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
answered Jack dole fully
I say Pen he con
tin n ed what does it all mean ?
Do s it down Jack she said
How do yo u
like our room ; a little ornate isn t it ? What
does w ha t mean ? she asked
You re not really engaged to be married
to the Johnny ! Jack retorted
I t s t ru e I
read it in that con founded paper only I can t
take it in somehow
Dangerous to believe anything you read
there she cried with a smile as she looked
into his solemn handsome boyish face
Upon my word I can t understand how
you can laugh about that sort o f thing he
muttered
Jack she said I don t think I ever saw
you look so wretched before
Well I know I never felt so beastly he
insisted
Loo k here Pen I want to know
whether it s true
Oh I don t know she answered
You m u st know he returned
Why no she said after a momentary hesi
—
ta ti o n
it isn t tru e a t least
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1 94
TH E
‘
DISSEM B LERS
’
I don t u nders tand even the least bit
said
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Jack
Oh well she answered flushing deeply
Leslie and I quite u nderstand each othe r
that s the most important thing He thought
i f we gave it out that w e were engaged to be
married it w ould prevent persons fro m talking
—silence the voice o f scandal you know
the
Then said Jack brightening a little
truth is the whole thing s a fraud l
Penelope rega rded him rather p rovokingly
A rose by any other name will smell as
sweet she exclaimed
I t will al w ays be odious in my nostrils
s aid Jack ; I used to think I u nders t o od
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women
Oh Jack you re deli ghtful l Penelope cried
leaning bac k in her chair with a merry peal
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laughter
I can t u nderstand how any decent girl can
pretend to be engaged to a man said Jac k
with a good deal o f irritation whom she
doesn t care a rap fo r especially when she
knows that he cares fo r someone else Is that
of
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1 96
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
a new r ing ? he demanded as Penelope raised
her le ft hand to her forehead with a nervous
gesture whilst Jack was speaking
Do you admire it ? she said holding forth
her hand to enable him to see it more easily
I can j u dge better i f you take it o ff he
answered grasping her hand as i f to remove
the ring S he withdrew it at once
No she insisted I don t wish to take it
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I suppose Munroe gave you that ? Jack
grumbled
Yes
And you let him ! You actually accepted
i t ! exclaimed Jack w rath fully
Obviously otherw ise I sho u ldn t be wearing
—
it you kno w Jack
Leslie insisted merely
fo r t he sake o f appearances
You seem to do a great deal fo r the sake
o f appearances Pen
Why yes eve ryone is bo u nd to you know
she ret u rned
Still Jack persisted you re not going to
mar ry the chap
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I 97
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TH E
DISS EM B LERS
Her tone bec ame a little impatient
Now
haven t I told you that marriage was men
ti o n ed bet w een us only to be barred
she
exclaimed
!
Well said Jack all I can say i s that it
seems the ru mmiest kind o f arrangement I
ever heard o f
And you think Leslie—that he cares for
somebody else she asked rather nervously
I am certain of that
Because I didn t know you had enjoyed
many opportunities o f judging she su ggested
in a c as u al tone
Why do you imagine he is al w ays at South
Audley S t reet ? Jack demanded
Oh I understand You think he is in love
wi th my aunt al though you know she has a
h u sband
I don t see what di fference that makes to
his being in love with her answered Jack
That s the worst o f it
A fellow c an t help
himsel f
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What a man
she retorted
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of
the world you are Jack
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Because it ought to make a
1 98
TH E
DISS EM B LERS
him each ti me they m et
a
c
k
te
en
o
f
n
J
c ountered Leslie i n Brook St re et and b e per
c ei ved that
the meetings afforded as little
satisfacti on to Munroe as they did to himsel f
Penelope however and thi s was the great
thing treated hi m with even more than her
usual friendliness
She n o t only welcomed
him at the hotel but more tha n once allowed
Jack could never forget
hi m to take her out
that he alone was her confidant a fact which
seem ed to gather importance as the days
passed On the whole though often cruelly
tantalised he began t o look upon the exist
ing state o f a ffairs as merely tempora ry and
once more his hopes gained something like
their former strength
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200
C H A P T ER X V
O NE
Penelope s c hie f em barrassments was
Leslie s apparent un w illingness to let a day
pass with ou t o ffering her a present o f some
kind
Already she possessed quite a fair
libra ry and some of her pleasantest hours
we re spent discussing its contents with
Leslie
For some reason she felt less di fficulty in
accepting books bu t when he brought her
jewellery she always demurred although she
had hitherto ended invariably by yielding
But a morning came when she determined
to be firmer He arrived a little be fore noon
and he had not been many min u tes in her
presen ce when he took from his po c ket a
small b ut costly brooch
of
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! OI
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
I t is very pretty she said and o f course
i t i s kind o f you bu t I—I would far sooner
n o t accept it
Why not ? as ked Leslie still holding the
brooch in its o pen case
Surely it goes wi thout saying that I don t
care to be constantly acc epting presents
from J
From ? he suggested as she pau sed
I t is n o t as i f I ever gave yo u anything
she exclai med
Y o u have given me yoursel f Pen
—
N o no she answered
I nd eed I have
done nothing o f the kind Y o u really know
better than that only you seem inclined to
forget the conditions
There is little chance o f that he said
You keep me conscious o f my limitations
You take excellent care they shall not be
forgotten
I hope he added you are n o t
beginning to regret
I never pass a day without regret she
murmured
Still Leslie urged on the whole don t
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2 02
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TH E
DISSEM BLER S
thing w as on ly fo r the edi fi ca ti on
o f strangers
You are too abs u rdly thorough
you never cease to act
Or I never begin said Leslie
Well he
c ontinued
I shall fling it in the road i f yo u
won t have anything to do with it
It would be positively wicked to throw it
a way she murmured
I fee l I sho u ld like to do something wi c ked
Oh well she answered I suppose I must
save you from you rsel f
S he took the brooch and as i f determined
to do nothing by halves walked to one o f the
gilt framed looking glasses where she stood
fastening it in her neck band
So that Leslie
as usual had his way and despite his chronic
fear o f Jack Pilcher s rival ry he le ft the house
in excellent spirits On his way home it
chanced that he met Mrs Farington whom he
had not seen since the afternoon when he
called at South Audley S treet fo r Sir Gordon s
address
What a stranger you are l she said as he
walked by her side
I suppose you have never
thi s so rt
of
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204
DIS SEM BLERS
TH E
forgiven
me and I am scarcely surprised fo r
I can t forgive mysel f When do you imagine
she asked unable to c u rb
this farce will end
her tongue
Su ppo se we say on my wedding day he
answered
Surely she c ried you will never allow
yoursel f to be driven so fa r as that l
I f there has been any driving said Leslie
it has been by me
I assure yo u I had
the greatest di fficulty to ind u ce Penelope to
yield
The game seems hardly worth the candle
she retorted
And she added more in her
usual tone I gave yo u credit fo r sel f sacri fi ce
N o w it seems that yo u have been as selfi sh
well as most m en
My chief desire from the first has bee n to
make Penelope my wi fe Leslie admitted
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Although she has not the least desire to
marry you
I live in the hope that we shall be married
be fore Darnley returns to I ndia he insisted
that depends o n circum
Ah she said
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20 5
.
DISS EM B L ER S
TH E
stan ces beyond your con trol I n Lancashi re
—
an o ld man lies very ill Jack Pilcher s gra nd
He can t possibly live m a ny weeks
father
and at his death yo u will probably be saved
i n spite o f yoursel f
Although her rem a rk made Leslie exc eedingly
uncom fortable he did not feel able to discuss
the question ; he said goo d bye a little ab ru ptly
and c ontinued his way towards Marylebone
R oad
On reaching the hotel in Brook Street the
next morning Leslie saw Penelope in the ac t
o f coming out with Jack who had bee n m u ch
in his mind since the previous day
She
stopped o ffering her hand cordially enough
How un fortunate she said ; bu t it seemed
to be s uch a lovely morning I thought I wou ld
go ou t early
May I come with you asked Leslie where
upon she see med to show signs o f embarrass
O f course i f you would sooner I did
ment
n o t come
he muttered and li fting his hat he
had the annoyance o f seeing her walk away
with Jack
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206
,
DIS SEM BLERS
TH E
ggri eved ton e
Upon my word P en you re
B esides it begins
a bit rough o n a fellow
to look as i f things were growing serious
he
Y o u don t m ean to marry the Johnny
sa id
Haven t I told yo u again and a gain that
Leslie has n o t asked me to marry him ? she
retorted
N o b ut he may ask you fo r all yo u c an
tell
Do yo u really think so ? she demanded
with radiant cheeks
Well said Jack you re going the way to
mak e him think yo u wish it
Penelope turned an indignant crimson face
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towards him
l
d
are
you
say
that
J
she c ried
Well then said Jack I shouldn t give hi m
the thing i f I were you
I must she answered ; Uncle Gordon i n
sists on it He o ffered to pay fo r i t
That s all right cried Jack
But o f course I would not let him do that
said Penelope
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208
TH E D IS S EM B LERS
She shook hands with Jack at the door and
going to the sitting room began to wonder
when she should find an O pportunity o f p resent
ing the scarf pin to Leslie As the afternoon
passed with no sign of him she wondered
whether he had been annoyed at her refusal
f
or
it
amounted
almost
to
that
to
allow
him
!
!
to accompany her that morning Sir Gordon
w a s dining out and Penelope found her solitary
meal a little miserable At nine o clock how
ever Leslie arrived and fo r about the first
time within her experience he looked less than
pleased on greeting her
You know he said presently I don t think
you played the game this mornin g Y o u
distinctly gave me the cold shoulder and it was
in the p resen ce o f a witness
Only Jack she answ ered
Jack is di fferent
from everybody else
Besides she added
surely I may go o ut fo r an innocent
walk with him
Y o u remind me o f Mrs
Farington
I t is di fli cult to bring one s mind into focus
sometimes said Leslie
But yes o f course
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209
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THE DIS S EM B LERS
ha ve
pe rfect right to go out with Pil
cher or anyone else
Only I don t wish to go with anyon e else
she rejoin ed
I don t think yo u a re very
nice to night I am not sure I shall do what
I was going to do
What were yo u goi n g to do
S he thrust her hand into the pocket o f her
dress and brou ght forth the scarf pin
—
Only only to give yo u this she said and
Leslie was somew hat c arried away by a re
vulsi o n o f feeling
Pen 1 he cried Pen ! Instead o f taking
the pin he seized the hand which held it at
the sam e time lea ning forward until his fac e
was rather close to hers
Y o u forget
she m u rm u red withdrawing
her hand and rising impetuously
Sometimes said Leslie it becomes a little
hard to remember But anyhow he added
it was immensely kind o f yo u to think o f
me
I didn t she returned
I t was my u n c le
He insisted o n my giving
w ho suggested it
o
u
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2 IO
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TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
Penelope a quarter o f an hour Hilma was a
convert The first result o f the visit was an
invitation to a small and early party to which
P enelope somewhat to Leslie s surprise readily
consented to go
I wish to stand well with your sister she
s aid
No w why ? he asked
Because I like her she answered
Hitherto she had persistently refused to allow
Leslie to take her o u t in this way and Sir
Gordon was as pleased by her consent as
Munroe himsel f N o t so Jack however Jack
in these days was a little apt to cavil The
situation must be admitted to have be en some
what trying for him I t was not that Penelope
had changed towards him unless indeed her
treatment had be come more c onsiderate more
gentle than formerly
O f course said Jack yo u will be intro
duced as his fi a n cee and all that sort o f thi n g
It will make it ever so m uc h more di fficult to
back out And he added it s a bit rough o n
Munroe
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2 2
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
How very considerate yo u are gro w ing !
she e x claimed
He sees you going ahead o f your ow n free
will said Jack and no wonder i f he should
—
think you well that you re coming round don t
o
know
Anyhow
he
c
ontin
u
ed
you
ll
u
y
soon have to make up your mind
My mind is made up she retorted
Well gru mbled J ack the more y o u go in
fo r this kind o f thing the harder it will be to
—
break o ff i f yo u really intend to break with
him
I f I do she said lightly
I shall have to
pretend to quarrel yo u know Jack
Pretend
Yes o f course she answered
Why should
I quarrel with Leslie in earnest ?
I f I were you he exclaimed I d do what
ever you mean to do before the pace be comes
I had another letter this morning
too fast
he said ab ru ptly
The poor o ld chap is o n
his last legs
Penelope looked rather thou ghtfu l for some
time after Jack le ft her then rising with a sigh
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21 3
,
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
she set forth to try on her ball dress She
had the sati s faction o f knowing that thi s suited
her perfectly and when the evening o f H i lm a s
dance arri ved she stood i n the middle o f the
sitting room whilst Sir Gordon walked round
her confirming her o w n impression Leslie
however who had not seen Penelope in an
evening frock be fore stood strangely silent
She would have thou ght he was ra ther pained
than pl eased by her appearan ce and he placed
the white man tle over her shoulders without
uttering a word
I s anything the matter
she asked when
they were being driven in the carriage towards
H i lm a s house
Nothing whatever
Because you said you intended to en
joy yoursel f to night she contin u ed
and
o
u
d o n t seem to have begu n very
y
well
The fact is I have s een a vision
he
said
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A pleasant vision ? she asked with a smile
which he could not see
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2 14
TH E D I S S EM B L ER S
met wi th congratulations everywhere she
danc ed every dance a great many with Leslie
an d finally she was d riven home with him in
the highest spirits a fter perhaps the most
enjoyable night o f her li fe
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216
C H A P TER X V I
afternoon a few days later Leslie arrived
at the hotel a little unexpectedly
He had
hinted at a visit ! the second that day! after
dinner and Penelope had certainly not looked
fo r him this a fternoon
I have come he explained to ask you
to excuse me to night
The fa c t is I have
had a rather melan c h oly letter from Mrs
Farington
S he is not up to the mark she
says
You are not a doctor said Penelope a
little impatiently
I won t go i f you would sooner I stayed
away he ans w ered
O NE
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What nonsense she cried
Why should
I care one way or the other ?
I think I have been a little negle ct fu l
s aid Leslie
I haven t entered her house
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217
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
since the day yo u le ft it She writes in very
lo w spirits
By all m ean s go to raise them she returned
At o n e time as you know he continued
1 use d to see a good d eal o f your aunt
Oh yes I know she answered in a rather
significant ton e
Leslie s tayed hal f an hour
without any furthe r reference to Mrs Farington
and after he had gone Penelope seemed to
contentment wi th
e njoy less than her usual
the world in gen eral
S he thought a good
dea l o f Esther Farington d u ring the even ing ;
she had n o t seen her aunt since she quitted
South A u dley Street and fo r that matter
she felt n o particular desire to see her again
But Penelope s th ou ghts went back to her
first days in Lo ndon ! she remembered Leslie s
frequent visits to the house and her own
girlish opinion o f their ! almost! impropriety
There could in those days have been n o
c onceivable attraction b ut Mrs Farington and
yet Leslie had quite s u ddenly discontin ued
his visits and le ft Es ther to hersel f
This
evening as s u ddenly he had be gu n to renew
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218
TH E D IS SEM BLER S
occ a sions fo r in sta nc e
O n the other han d
she re minded h erse lf o f hi s former friends hip
f
o
r
M
rs
r
the
l
ea
st
F
i
n
ton
f
sa
a
o
an
d
o
t
!
g
!
y
the ve ry slight k n owl edge he po ssesse d o f
hersel f at the time o f their extraordinary
c ompa ct
B ut the co n side rati on which vexed her the
most sorely i n rare moments o f depression
such as the present w as that her o w n conduct
might have caused him to think less than well
Sometim es it seemed that n o con
o f her
c ei va b le e x c u se could be su fficient to justi fy
what she had done and although Leslie had
n o t ventured on the slightest familiarity ! save
speech perhaps ! she o ften felt utterly
of
ashamed when she realised her situation
An d in these humours she felt capable o f
almost a n y extrem e to expiate her lapse from
decorum ; her thoughts would turn to Jack
—
n
fi
n
da t to
w ho happened to be her only c o
a certain limited degree
Whilst Pen elope was tormenting hersel f at
home Leslie was spending a not very cheerful
hour at South A u dley S treet
A glance at
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220
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
’
Esther s face proved suffi cient to convince
him that she was in one o f her most emotional
moods Her pallor was more noticeable than
usual an d there were dark patches beneath
her eyes which served to in c rease their
brilliancy
Weariness seemed to intensi fy
her customary languor thou gh at the moment
o f his arrival she started imp u lsively from her
chair coming to greet him with both arms
extended
H o w good o f you to sacrifice an evening
B ut as I told you
to me ! she exclaimed
in my note I felt so miserabl e that I was
bound to talk to somebody o r perish
And
she added there is n o o n e else
Oh y ou m u stn t speak as i f you hadn t a
friend in the world he answered sitting down
rather close to her side
I haven t many she cried
Oh o f course
I kno w dozens o f people
I go to their
houses they come here yet there is n o t o n e
to whom I can S peak without restraint
Leslie looked into her face with a smile
S till he hinted there has been a certa in
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22 1
TH E
free dom
then
DIS SEM BLERS
yo u r
in
intercourse
and
n ow
’
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Y
kno w wha t a creatu re o f moods I
am
she continued
Perhaps this is only a
mood too though I fee l as i f I should never
s mile again
What has been happen ing
Leslie a sked
I ha ve se en my husband she answered
Thre e days ago a doctor came to me
He
said that he believed R eggie was dying He
was unconscious The doctor had heard o f
my existence a n d he thought I ought to he
told
O f course you went
I hesitated she said
but in the end
yes I went I stayed by his side u ntil this
morning I have not slept fo r three nights
I waited there expecting each moment to be
hi s last
Is he
Last night he took a tu rn fo r the better
she explain ed
This mo rning the doctor
told me he would recover
Are yo u return ing ? asked Leslie
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2 22
TH E D I S S EM BL ERS
en
—
h
tly
o
w hy
B ut
a lly
,
I feel tha t I loathe
he
a
sk e d
,
m
l
f
se
y
!
’
she
lea ni n g
to wards her
.
Be ca use
sea red
m
I
y
c
on sci en ce
is
n ot
enti rely
uppose
el f
Y o u know sa id Leslie
thi s sort o f s
condem n ation i s a goo d dea l worse tha n
bl o wi n g one s o w n t ru mpet
Y o u thi n k she an swere d
that I a m j us t
o verwrought—
little hysterical
Isn t tha t
a
ra ther materialistic
I fee l li k e a
o f yo u
The
drunkard i n a n interval o f so briety
usu a l ex citem ent is lull ed
I am able to
l oo k ab out me to rea lise the creature I have
beco m e I torm ent mysel f with the fea r that
as I sat watching fo r R eggie to die
I actually
—
wished for his death that I s ank to that !
H o w c ould I be o ther than —than pleased at
the prospect o f freedom
Mrs Farington continued in the s ame s train
fo r some time longer and Leslie spared n o
e ffort to co n sol e her I t was by no means
the firs t time he had seen her in a similar
e
t
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22 4
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
mood and now the friendly intimacy which
had previously existed between them seemed
to be reawaken ed
It had struck hal f past
eleven when he left South Audley Street
One res u lt o f the evening was that Esther
b ecame more antagonistic than ever to the
idea o f his marriage to Penelope She hoped
vainly that Leslie would come again b u t
her only visitor a week later was Jack
Pilcher
Jack looked greatly changed since she had
seen him last Not only w as he much bette r
dressed in the very deepest mourning wear
ing a frock coat and ca rry in g a glossy silk
hat with a deep band in his hand bu t he
seemed to have put on also an air o f i n creased
importance His voice to o sounded deeper
th ou gh he strove in vain to look as solemn
as the occasion demanded
I suppose you saw the announcement o f
my poo r o ld grand father s death in the
papers
said Jack o fleri n g his right hand
to Esther
No I haven t seen a n ew spaper fo r days
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22 5
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
she answ ered
Am I to congratulate you
she asked
Four thousand a year said Jack on ly
every farthing o f it is tied up
I can t
handle a shilling without the consent o f my
t rustees
That is an additional s u bject fo r congratula
tion Mrs Fa rington answered
Otherw ise it
wouldn t take you long to get rid o f it
would it
I m not quite such a fool as people think
Every
said Jack with a c on fid ent m anner
dog has his day they say —well mine has
come at last I have go t a chance and I
don t intend to lose any time
Your confidence is a d mi rable she ex
claimed
But you must remembe r that
Leslie Munroe has a kind o f energy o f
position
I t may be these two began in
jest ; still that s no reason why they shouldn t
end in earnest
Oh o f course Munroe s in earnest said
There s not the slightest d ou bt about
Jack
him
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2 26
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
confidence was so immense that it became
diffi cult not to be a ffected by it
Do yo u
mean to tell me she demanded that they
have been simply—simply making foo ls o f u s
all this time ?
he answered
though
That s about it
mind yo u i t s been precious rough o n
me
Penelope could actually allow Leslie to go
backward and forw ard to Brook Street to
take her o ut and introduce her to people
who told you this ? she cried
Why Pen o f course he cried glee fully
—
Nobody else could have told me nobody
e lse knew
She let it out the very ne x t day
I am the only one who had a glimmering o f
an idea
Odd to select you fo r her confidant said
Esther thought fully
Yes wasn t it ? asked Jack with a broad
grin
Still Mrs Farington exclaimed the sit u a
tion m u st be full o f pit falls
Munroe has t u mbled in and Pen hasn t
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228
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
Jack insisted
If
‘
.
she had
fallen
in
she
,
would scarcely have told me would she ?
S he told you some time ago
You cannot
tell what has happened to he r since
Oh yes I can was the confident answer
because I see her two or three times a week
and she o ften talks abou t thi n gs
What things ? asked Esther
Well sometimes I have thou ght she was
letting the fellow go a little too fa r you see
I j ust warned he r Women look at that kind
I have given Pen one
o f thing so di fferently
o r two hints and it was only the o ther week
we w ere discussing how she should bring
about the end
S he talked to yo u about tha t ?
W hy o f course
Oh she must have been playi n g w ith you !
S he was answering a fool according t o his
folly
You have been egregiously imposed
upon !
No t I
he insisted with the confidence
which nothing seemed capable o f impairing
to day
She said she should pretend to
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2 29
.
TH E DISSEM BLERS
get up a quarrel and sett le M unro e that
way
I shall fee l c urious to he ar how yo u get
along she sa id when J a ck rose and after he
had le ft the house she spe culated wist fully
con cerning all he had told her
At least it
must be true that Leslie and Penelope ha d
arrived at some private understa nding ! there
seemed to b e n o dou b t about that
U n l ess
he had been already in love wi th her niece
how ever Mrs Farington could n o t understand
his entering into the intrigue w hilst Penelope s
conduct entirely perplexed her assuming that
Jack Pilcher s confidence was not misplaced
I f Penelope cared fo r Jack how o n eart h
could she have acted as she had d one
B ut whatever success Jack might m ee t w ith
Esther perceived a chan c e o f putti ng an end
to the existing state o f a ffai rs
The deceit
had been practised upon every b ody w i th the
exception o f Jack ; bu t especially o n Sir
Gordon Darnley the last man in the world
to tolerate such an imposture
Esther remembered Sir Gordon s eagerness
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2 30
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
this did not happen Jack was egregiously
mistaken whereas Es the r s o w n observation
had se rved to convince her that Penelope
intended to mar ry Pilcher sooner o r late r
And a powerful argument in Jack s favour
was the fact that she had told him and him
only o f the real state o f a ffairs
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2 32
C H A P T ER
!
!
II
J ACK P I LC H ER had not enlightened Mrs
Farington as to the method he intended to
employ to pu t an end to the present situation
He had in fact n o t as yet dec ided how to
act ; nor d id he come to a decision until a fter
dinner the same evenin g
I t was exceedingly pleasant to be able to
dine where o n e liked to be driven to the
restaurant in a hansom and to order wine
without regard to its cost
N obody could
have appreciated the improved circum stances
more thoroughly than Jack who revelled in
hi s new affluence and felt that the world lay
at his feet
By the time he had dined sumptuously
drunk an unaccustomed bottle o f wine and
smoked a cigar he had made u p his mind
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2 33
TH E
His
DISSEM BLERS
heme appeared audacio us but he liked
i t no ne the l ess o n tha t ac co u n t
He w as
f
f
d
r
haps
little
ar
i
d
way
a
little
pu
e
c
r
a
e
e
a
p
up by his rec ent good fort un e and he may
have been w ha t schoolboys describe as some
wha t too fast
I n spite o f an occasional temptation to w i sh
that Leslie Munro e had never been born J ack
held a high opinion o f him
Once bri n g home
to hi s min d all the fa cts o f the c ase an d the
matter would be practically decided
Jack
conclud ed tha t i f Leslie were convinced that
Penelope desired to m a rry the lover o f her
childho od he would immediately w ithdraw his
o w n false claim
J a ck set fo rth soon after brea k fast the
following morning and with a sel f c o n fi den ce
that was almost bruta l m ad e hi s way to Leslie s
flat Having pressed the b utton o f the electric
hell he was con fronted by Mrs Bullock who
said that Mr M u n roe did n o t see anybody i n
the morning Jack persisted that his business
being o f the most urgent and important nature
Mr Munroe would be sure to make an ex cep
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2 34
TH E
I hope I am
DISSEM BLERS
disturbing yo u Munro e
said Jack i n his n ew a n d mo re lordly manner
Oh well answered Lesli e 1 don t usually
let anyone in at this time bu t I think yo u said
your business was important
Yes it is e xclaimed Jack placing his hat
The
o n the ta ble beside Le slie s type w riter
fact is I wan t to speak to you about a
rather delicate matter
about Penelope yo u
know
I m n o t sure I care to discuss Penelope with
o
r
u
o
anyone
said
Leslie
Sit
down
he
y
added and as Jack took a chair Leslie hal f sat
upo n hal f leaned a gainst the writing tabl e
Oh it s all rot to say yo u won t disc u ss
Penelope with me ! cried Jack with a shake o f
the head which seemed a little contemptuous
becau se I ve known all about it from the first
Pen told me
What did she tell you ? asked Leslie w ith
diffi culty disguising his consternation
Why that the w hole thing was a fraud o f
course She said neither o f you intended any
—
thing anything serious by it and that it was
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2 36
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
to come to an end be fore Darnley went back
to Calcutta
It was a complete surprise fo r Le slie and
somewhat o f a disillusioning He had believe d
that the secret was between themselves j u st as
he had hoped it might never become necessary
to pu blish it hoped that this false engagement
would become a real one as certain counter
fei ted diseases have a tendency to a fflict the
actors in earnest That Penelope should have
confided in Pilcher seem ed ominous and Leslie
failed at the moment to realise that she might
’
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have spoken impulsively to regret he r cand our
a fterwards
He did not take ac cou nt o f the
fact that since Mrs D a rn ley s death Jack had
been Penelope s most intimate friend and
especially Leslie forgot that she was a gi rl
o f eighteen who might on occasion easily act
in consistently o r even unwisely
When did Penelope tell yo u that ? he
demanded
—
The first time we met a fter the day a fter
fixed
the
thing
up
said
Jack
I
can
tell
u
o
y
you that it s been in fernally rough on me he
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2 37
DISSEM BLER S
TH E
contin ued
but I daresay yo u know ho w
handicapped I ve been
Until just lately I
was devilish h ard up Come to that I always
—
e
hav bee n h a rd up ever since I le ft school
But anyhow I have come into four thousand a
year and I n eedn t tell yo u that makes all the
di fference
To me
a sked Leslie
Why yes
H o w is that ?
Y o u see said Jack thrusting his hands
deep in his trouse rs pockets and sprawli n g
o ut his legs
I ve known Pen almost all my
li fe only as I say my hands have bee n so
Y o u remember when she
con fo u ndedly tied
was staying wi th your friend Mrs Farington
Mrs Farington w as always rowing her Well
that was abo ut me She wanted me to promise
n o t to meet Pen till Sir Go rdon came home
b ut o f course I wasn t going to give mysel f
away like that Then she tackled Pen and
asked her to cold shoulder me but P en
wouldn t do that either
That s why she
bolted yo u know because Mrs Farington
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23 8
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
words b u t she s said enough to tell me that
she ll be most aw fully pleased to get the thing
settled
Still she does n o t know you have come
here this mo rning ?
Not this morning said Jack fully intending
to keep precisely to the facts o f the case ;
‘
believing indeed that these were amply sufli
cient fo r his purpose
Y o u see he continued
I didn t want to say a word be fore things
were arranged
I ve go t Sir Gordon to think
of
I f he hadn t made matters unpleasant she
would never have entered into that arran ge
ment with you
S he told me that I f she
throws yo u over now she will still get into
hot water We don t wish that eithe r o f us
What I propose is that you shall back o ut
said Jack regarding Leslie with all the coolness
in the world
I see answered Leslie
And when I shall
have backed out what is to be the next
step
Why then I shall come forward Anyhow
it will only anticipate things a few weeks ;
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2 40
,
TH E D I S S EM EL ERS
Penelope intends to pick a quarrel with yo u
be fore Darnley starts to I n d ia
Did she tell you she in tende d to pick a
quarrel with me ? asked Leslie
Yes she told me that said Jack ; but
he added conscientiously you mustn t think
she really wants to have a row only she said
that would be the best way to b ri n g matters
to a climax
As eve rything has evidently been cut and
dried between you Leslie e x claime d I don t
quite see the necessity fo r this trouble on
your part ! why not have le ft Penelope to
—
e
take th initiative to pick a quarrel with me
in fact ?
For one reason said Jack without a blush
I m anxious there sha n t be any more delay
You can understand that ; you must see how
I feel about it And then i f she threw you
—
over now that I ve come into my coin well
it wo uld be just as goo d as inviting me to
come forward
Upon my word cried Leslie that seems
scarcely necessary
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24 1
Still said Jack crossing hi s legs yo u
kn ow what w omen are
I don t make the least p rete n ce to under
stand them Leslie answered
S o he added
to come to the poi n t you wish me to t ake
immediate steps to se t Penelope at liberty
and yo u believe she is pining to be free ?
I c a n tak e my oath o f that
Well said Leslie standing u p right I shall
think over what you say
Jack rose slowly and stood staring full into
Leslie s face
I do n t see what the re is to think over
he exclaimed
I have told yo u e x ac t ly ho w
things stand You know that Pen has been
well that she has cared fo r me ever so long
i
f
know
that
she
hadn
t
she
would
never
o
u
y
have left South Audley Street and then this
wretched arrangement o f yours would never
have been proposed Upon my word he said
in an aggrieved tone I should have thought
that would have been enough fo r any man
I shall think about it Leslie repeated and
as he spoke he opened the door
A jol ly
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24 2
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
Farington always insisted ! he had perhaps
not don e well in trying to divert her a ffec
tion
But as a matt er o f fact Leslie had
not attempted to do this ; and i f he had
been quite convinced that she had bestowed
her heart upon Pilcher he would n o t have
ente red into what that young man must
regard as a sort o f conspiracy
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Notwithstanding his bitter disappointment
Leslie s supreme consideration w as to ex
t ri ca te P enelope from a di ffi cult sit uation a s
painlessly as possible
A fter all this w as
merely the a t n onnzen t o f which Mrs Faring
ton had frequently warned him
I t was
indeed the end which Leslie had ofte n
dreaded o f late Although he had endeavoured
not to be lieve that Penelope r egarded Jack
other than as a friend he had never perfectly
succeeded and he had looked forward a ppre
he n si vely to t he day ! which n o w had come !
when Pilcher s tongue as he said should be
loosened
Though at times Le slie could have sworn
that Penelope was b eginning to entertain a
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2 44
,
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TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
more than me rely friendly regard fo r himsel f
at other times she showe d a di fferent face
She had frequently nipped in the bu d his
tentative ad vances
Disposed by the de
spo n den t mood in which Jack had le ft him
to see every piece o f evidence at its worst
Leslie could not resist the conclusion that
his experiment had proved a failure and
t hat after all he could not do m u ch bette r
t han Pilcher had suggested and back out
But he did n o t wish to act impulsively at
this crisis
As he smoked his second pipe
he seriously tried to arrive at the most
sensible line o f action and t he result was
that he decided to do n othing hastily
A
few days more or less coul d make no vital
di ffe rence
He would humour himsel f as fa r
as to go two or three times more to Har
toc k s Hotel he would obser ve Penelope
closely an d the n he would determine ho w
to act
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24 5
C H A P T ER
!
!
III
H A! I N G made up her mind to O pen Sir
Gordon D arn ley s eyes as soon as possi ble
t he only thing tha t remained fo r Esther to
do was to find an opportunity
She ha d
Ha t tock s Hotel as ye t but she
n o t visited
might have d o ne so to day i f she had not
felt s u re that Penelo pe would be at home
and in her niece s pre sence he r sel f imposed
task was obviously di fli c ult o f fulfilment
I t occurred to he r that she had heard which
clu b Sir Gordon the most frequented and
accordingly ! about the time Jack was leaving
Leslie s flat ! Mrs Fari n gton set forth to walk
in that direction
She passed the building
t w ice however without seeing him and finally
retu rned to South Audley Street with her
purpose still unaccomplished A fter luncheon
—
the same direction again i t was
she took
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2 46
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
ied Sir Go rdon as they walked down Pall
M a ll together
A little tact go es a long
way
On the whole Mrs Faringt on retorted
she displayed more tact than I gave her
credit fo r
She was placed in a di ffi cult
position
As I tried to impress upon yo u
she had been in love with Jack Pilcher b e fore
she le ft o ff pinafores and yo u insisted she
should marry another man fo r whom she
d id n o t care a straw
No doubt they have
played their cards extremely well because I
imagine yo u have kept your eyes open yet
you have never suspected they were lau ghing
at yo u all the time
1 permit n o one to laugh at me said Sir
Gordon a little fussily
Nobody likes to he laughed
O f course n o t
at i f he can prevent it
But it must have
been extremely amusing fo r them
Then Esther thought she might having
care fully prepared the gro und tell the t ale
she had been leading u p to
At first S i r
Gordon re fused to believe that any su ch
cr
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2 48
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
duplicity could be possi ble where Penelope
was concerned He insisted that Mrs Faring
ton was making a mistake whereupon she
admitted a human liability to error bu t
suggested that Sir Gordon should make a
point o f asking those most concerned whether
she had told him the t ruth or not
That you may be quite certain I shall
do he exclaimed and Mrs Farington shook
hands with him and took a hansom home
well satisfied with he r day s work
Fortune
seemed to favour her to d ay fo r on alighting
at her own door she saw Leslie approaching
the house not with any intentio n to enter it
A single glance at his face told Esther that
something unto w ard had be fallen and she
wondered whether Jack had already got to
work and i f so in what direction
Come in and let me give you some tea
she said as he stopped
she cried
No w
”
don t say n o
I see the word on your
lips You need not stay five minutes Take
compassion o n my loneliness Leslie
Come
she ad ded leading the way into the hall
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2 49
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
she continued when t hey were in the
drawing room and a fternoon tea had been
—
—
brought in the cou rse o f shall I say
true
love isn t running smoothly
Oh you nee d
n ot
deny it I can read your face like a
book
Still sympathy is necessary to understand
ing he answered
No no Leslie she said quickly I have
never been unsympathetic to any interest o f
—
yours I never could be But o n e can t blin d
one s sel f I think she continued it is one
o f the most di ffi cult things in this world
What is ? he asked
To see o n e—o ne s friend with whom o n e
wishes to be pleasant and encouraging and
sympathetic bent on a pursuit which can
only end in his undoing How o ften have I
not wa rned you that as soon as Jack Pilcher
was in a position to marry Penelope would
j ump at the chance o f becoming his wi fe ?
I s that what has been happe ning ? she asked
Leslie turned a haggard face towards her
an d o ffered his right han d in farewell without
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2 5o
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
u
o
.
y
a
c o me
W o n t the plo t
w ith a smil e
’
sked
ight
r
she
.
No , he
’
the w ho l e t hi ng s
’
a n sw ered,
o
it
as w r n g as
co
be
uld
ab o ut
’
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I ha ve j ust been rejoici n g wi t h o n e w ho
rej o iced
sa id Pen elope
an d I a m qui te pre
o
n e w ho m ou rn s
r
d
mou
n
with
re
t
o
a
p
Y o u ha ve b een rej o ic i ng w i t h Pilche r
L eslie excla imed a n d he co uld n o t help
won dering w hether Jack ha d told her a bout
Whilst Pene
hi s i nterview o f t hat morning
lope co ntinu ed to spea k the questi on w as
buzzing in his mind ! Did she know wha t
Jack had said to him
Had they talked the
matter over toge ther so that Penelope was
waiting fo r him to speak the word which
would set her free
Why yes she said Jack has been raise d
—
f
at a bound rom well I might almost say
‘
fro m poverty to a fllue n ce
He is the proud
—the ve ry proud—possessor o f four thousand
pound s a year you know
Enough to e n a ble him to grati fy every
desire answered Leslie
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252
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
Then
he must
young man
tun a te
be an e x tremely fo r
c ried Penelope flu shing
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warmly
Leslie had come with the intention o f o h
serving Penelope coolly o f watching fo r any
indication in favour o f Pilche r or himsel f ; b ut
he had perhaps never been less capable o f
acting deliberately in his li fe
I hope he said rising and coming to
Penelope s side that the last m onth has n o t
been entirely disagreeable t o you
Oh not en tirely
A little disagreeable then ?
I suppose it has been rather mixed she
answe red like most m on ths
And fo r you
she added after a slight hesitation has it
been a good time fo r you ?
I shall always
The ve ry best I ever spent
look back upon it as the b rightest spot in
my li fe
Why the brightest ? she demanded
You
can t tell ho w many bette r months and years
may be in store fo r you
My imagination won t soar so high he re
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253
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
turned and standing w ith o n e hand o n the
back o f her chair fo r som e m o ments Leslie
remained
silent
Penelope too seemed to
have n othing to say
She recognise d the
unusual note o f melancholy in his voice and
it was di ffi cult not to s u spec t that somethin g
ou t o f the common way was about to happen
She perceived that a day must come when
Leslie would either ask her in all seriousness
to be his wi fe o r whe n he would bid her
farewell
She hoped as she believed that he
would ask her to bec ome his wi fe but she
could n o t tell fo r certain The dou bt slight
as it might be made her unusually sel f co n
scious her chief desire being to pay him in
I f he loved her w hy in that
his o w n coin
case there w as a wealth o f love fo r him in
return ; but i f he intended to shake han ds
and to withdraw then she would say farewell
with a smiling face whateve r the e ffort might
cost her
S o the tw o were silent fo r what appeared
a long time Penelope leaning bac k in her
c hair Leslie s hand o n its rail when presently
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2 54
,
TH E DIS SEM B LERS
making a fool o f me all this tim e That i s
a thing I never allow anybo dy to do with
impunity
I am n ot aware that !you have been m a de
a fool o f said Leslie
I understand Sir Gordon returned tha t
there has been a private understanding b e
twee n yo u
Why yes said Leslie there usually is o ne
in o ur circ umsta nces
That while I have been looking forwa rd to
the day when yo u would be married you have
b oth been agreed that nothing o f the kin d
was ever to take place
Penelope not by any means fo r the fi r st
time bitterly regretted that she had confided
the secret to Jack
She rightly supposed
that he had told Mrs Farington and that
Esther had maliciously in formed Sir Gordon
But n o t imaginin g fo r a m o ment that Jack
had spoken to Leslie o n the s u bject she
assumed that he hea rd n o w fo r the first time
o f what he might regard as a positive breach
o f faith
She loo k ed fo r an expression fro m
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256
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
him o f at the least surprise ; but his face
appeared quite impassive
It is impossible to deny that something o f
the kind is the fact he said slowly
Sir Gordon turned angrily to his niece
What have yo u to say about this ? he de
m a n ded
I pres u me you have s o me explana
tion I have been treated shamefully I learnt
the truth only by the me rest chance and why
o
u
s
r
sh
ou
ld
have
kept
me
in
ignorance
u
y
passes my power o f imagination
Still Leslie s face told Penelope nothing
She glanced from it to her uncle s and per
ce i ve d that the crisis o f he r li fe had come
She reminded hersel f that she required all her
courage and sel f possession all her strength
to conquer the agitation which threatened to
overwhelm her Each word seemed weighted
with extraordinary import to her future con
cerning which even now she could feel nothing
approaching certainty
I s anything to be gained by going into
all this ? asked Leslie He felt not a little
at a loss in conseq uence o f the t ur n events
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257
THE
had ta ken
an d
DI S S EMB LERS
S i r Gordon ha d forced hi s ha n d,
.
i n the
p resent circum stan ces he must di s
h
n
se
w
it
h
that
t
lk
w
i
t
h
P
n
e
lo
whic
e
e
a
e
p
p
w as to clea r the a i r an d preven t an y possi
b i li ty o f misunderstan di n g o r cro ss purpo ses
I f he had had o n ly him se l f to co n sider he
w ould quickly have se ttl ed the questi o n b ut
he ha d to think o f P en elo pe
I a m n o t the man to si t do w n qui et l y
under an i nj u ry sa id Sir Gordo n
Y o u have
come here daily fo r a m onth or longer yo u
have take n a dvan tage o f the si tu a ti on
No n o c ried Le slie 1 ha ve done no thi n g
o f the kin d I
Y o u ha ve degraded my niece
N o t fo r an instan t !
Y o u have be en a musing yourse l f a t her
expe n se
Y o u knew that i f I had had t he
slightest inkling o f your purpo se I should n o t
have permitted yo u r vi sits for a single
day
A fter all said Leslie w e carried ou t yo ur
wi shes in the only possible way Y o u could
scarcely expec t P enelope to con sent to m ar ry
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2 58
TH E
DIS SEM BLERS
these c irc u mstances Whilst he had hardly a
doubt o n the s u bject and Jack s assertion
was confi rmed by hi s o w n fears Leslie per
c e i ved
that he might be mistaken ye t
Althou gh be regarded the matter as almost
certain still there se emed to be j u st a l oop
hole ! a ve ry narrow one! fo r hope
Don t you thin k he said that the question
should rather be put to Penelope
and he
turn ed towards her with a smile which seemed
cruelly inappropriate
Y o u would shi ft the blame to the woman !
exclaimed Sir Gordon
I t is n o t a matter fo r blame answered
Leslie
Your primary object was not so
m uch to find a h u sband fo r Pen elope as to
That you ll admit w e
silence the scandal
accomplished
I have n o desi re t o discuss the question
Sir Gordon impatiently retorted ;
I have
asked you a plain question and I wish fo r
an equally plain a nswer
I s it your i n ten
—
—
a
t
tion to marry Penelope now
once as
soo n as arrangements can be m ade ?
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26o
DISS EM B L ER S
TH E
Leslie looked at Penelope as she stoo d pal
i
i
n
f
as
as
he
could
judge
it
might
t
a
t
a
r
;
p
g
Neve r
be with anger shame o r anxiety
had she seemed so desirable as now
He
felt t hat it was beyond him to gi ve her up
without going to the bo tto m o f the question
Before he withdrew he would remove eve ry
chance o f misunderstanding He would state
his case from the o u tset and i f there was
the slightest hope fo r him she would be
enabled to give him some word or sign He
would explain to Sir Gordon that in the b e
ginning the re had been indeed n o intention
o f marriage o n Penelope s side at the least
and in continuing he would so formulate his
words that she should know beyo nd a dou bt
n o t only that he was willing t o make her his
wi fe b u t that his entire future happiness de
pended upon that result And now it had
come to the point Leslie was almost disposed
to run the risk o f betraying the state o f his
feelings to S ir Gordon rather than allow the
chance o f misunderstanding
There has been as you suggested he began
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26 1
,
TH E
DIS SEM BLER S
this priva te u n d e rstan ding between us a n d
e
n
r
p
h
a
o
t
quite
succe
ded
in
e
t
w
e
s
e
h
a
v
e
y
p
u n de rsta nding ea ch other
I t w as ce rta inly
agreed i n the begi n n i n g tha t there was to be
n o i dea o f o ur m a rriage
Th a t has a lwa ys b een understood cried
Penelo pe her only desire at that moment
be ing to show an i n di fference equal to what
she beli eved to b e his own
I t w as the most critical m oment o f her li fe
H er w o rst fe ar w as realis ed
With pe rfect
ca lm n ess Leslie was able to explai n away
any serious intention That his words had
this mean ing Penelope n ever dou b ted and
her intense wish was to bear hersel f valiantly
and o n n o account whatever to allow hi m to
su spect
that she regarded the affair m ore
seriously than he did
Leslie looked into he r face fo r a moment
as she stood with her head th rown back her
eyes dan gerously b right ; he drew in his upper
lip between his teeth a n d told himsel f that
it would be quite unnecessary to continue his
explanation He took his cue from her
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2 62
TH E
No w , he
DISSEM BLERS
aid qu i te i n hi s usual m an ne r
w h a t do yo u imag i ne I am
to do w ith a ll
this rubbi sh
S he lau ghe d a litt l e c o n
strai n edly a n d whi lst b o th had b een di sse m
bli n g for so m e wee k s past their behavio ur
had nev er b een so completely misl ea ding as
’
s
,
,
,
,
Leslie held forth hi s hand and she gav e
him hers lon gi n g to put an en d to this te rr ibl e
a nti climax lest her strength should give w a y
first
Good bye he said
—
Good bye I think I ought to thank yo u
What have yo u to thank me fo r ?
—
f
I can t orget however deeply I may reg ret
all that has happen ed —I can t forget that yo u
entered i nto it enti rely fo r my sake
Well said Leslie quietly
that s true
enough
On the whole yo u must think o f
me as kindly as yo u can Good bye Pen
Good bye she faltered and with a wo rd
As
to Sir Gordon Leslie le ft the room
the door closed Pen elope hastened to the
window a n d sitting down behind o n e o f the
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2 64
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
flimsy cu rtains remained staring into the street
She was still in this attitude when Sir Gordon
came to her side
Mind yo u Pen he said I d o n t think
you ve acted well but she rose silencing him
with a hasty gesture
Oh please don t begin to lecture me now !
she cried
I have as m u ch as I can end u re
fo r o n e day !
And with that she hastened
t o the door whilst Sir Gordon stared a fter
her with an intensely bewildered expression
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265
C H A P T ER X I X
L ES LI E le ft H arto ck s Hotel without a d o u bt
’
concerning the state o f Penelope s heart The
a ctual farewell had
indeed been not without
a certain kind o f emotion and he would n o t
have denied that she entertain ed a mitigated
regard fo r him I f J a ck Pilcher had n o t been
the first in the field she might have grown to
love him ; as it was she pro b ably looked upo n
him as o n e o f her friends
But her manner when she interrupted wha t
he had intended to b e a long an d c o mplete
explanation o f his wishes left him no room to
doubt that she had taken him exactly at his
word that she had rega rd ed the engagement
as a purely temporary arrangement to b e
en d ed a t he r pleasure
Well the world seemed s u ddenly to have
become a very desolate place and his first
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2 66
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
their uncle goo d bye and hersel f sa i d
Les lie had de
farewel l with many tea rs
term i n ed that Hilma should be the only pe rso n
to be favoured wi th a personal intervie w b ut
as he walked away from her house early o n
the afternoon following his interview with
Penelope he remembe red Mrs Faringto n A fte r
a little hesitati o n he cha nged his mind a n d
tu rned his steps towards Sou th Audley Street
Esther had been looking eagerly fo r news
how
as to the progres s o f events expecting
ever that this would come from Jack H er
initial satis faction at r eceiving another v isit
from Leslie so soon a fter the last put ting he r
i n mind o f o ld times as she exclaimed w as
quickly mitigated by the unemotional a n
n o un ce m en t o f his i mpe nding departure
H is
manner was su ffi cient to convince he r that he
had broken with Penelope though she deemed
it wise to make only the ba rest re ference
to he r niece
I did n o t like to go without saying
good bye he said
I should imagin e not she exclaimed som e
bi d
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2 68
TH E D I S S EM B L ER S
what e x citedly fo r his departure signified a
great d e al to her and she realised that she
had in some way de feated her o w n object
I should never have forgiven you ! When
do you start ? she ask ed
To morrow morning at eleven he answe red
I have o n e or two things to do I mustn t
stay I came only t o say goo d bye
The most horrid word in the language !
she retorted
I wish you need not go
Leslie ! Doesn t it seem a little extreme
—
she added w ith a rather forced smile to to
fly becau se a woman s fai r ?
Because she i s n o t fair to me he said
Well I am n o t sure she has been Esther
answered
No w
she added
suppose I
should pay you a surprise visit whereve r yo u
may be some fine day
I t would certainly be a surprise he ex
claimed
That doesn t sound very encouraging o r
h ospitable she continued
Anyhow I hope
o
will
writ
me
And
she
said
eagerly
o
u
e
t
y
I want you to grant me o n e favour be fore
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2 69
,
TH E
DIS SEM BLERS
go
I wa nt yo u to dine w ith m e to
night
Oh I am afraid
Y o u m u st dine somewhere she insisted ;
why n o t here ? I shall be quite alone You
may leave at what time yo u like and come
just as yo u are Why make the wors t o f
—
s
u
thing
well I w ould
Yo
are going away
hinder you i f I could ; b u t at a ll ev ents
let u s have a pleasant evening fo r the l as t
Leslie s privat e O pinion w as that he w a s
never likely to spend a pleasant evening a gain
as long as he lived bu t a fter persisting i n hi s
refusal fo r some time he le ft Sou th A u dley
S t reet with a promise to return at eight
o clock to dinner
It was abo u t the same time that J ac k
Pilcher reached Hat to ck s Hotel and ins te ad
as usual asked fo r
o f inquiring fo r Penelope
Sir Gordon Darnley
Without c i rcum lo c u
tion and with perfect confidence Jack e x
plained the purpose o f his v isit and in a nswe r
to Sir Gordon s qu estions expatiated o n the
recent improvement in his affairs
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2 70
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
Oh she ll see me right en ough cried
Jack and Sir Gordon w ent to Pen elope s
ro om where howeve r he found co n siderable
di ffi culty i n persuading her to c ome dow n
stairs
I say Pen ! exclaimed Jack as she e n tered
w
f
the sitting roo m
lo
k
most
a
ully
o
u
o
y
seedy
Is anything the matter ? he a sked
anxiously
Do
Oh I m all right she answered
li t tl e
a
sit
down
Jack
she
added
wearily
I have just been having a talk w i th Sir
Gordon he said ; I thought that see med
the right thing to do yo u know O f co urse
it won t be so very long before he s o ff to
I ndia and I thought it would be rathe r j olly
i f we could be married fi rst
Oh I couldn t think o f anyt hing o f that
kin d she answered quietly
I t isn t as i f we had an ything to wait fo r
Jack continued ;
but o f course i f yo u d
—
sooner put it o ff a little longer though he
added rising in his eagerness it see ms to
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27 2
TH E
DISS EM BLERS
me I ve done nothing else bu t wait fo r you
all my li fe Pen !
Poor Jack ! she murmured
Well he admitted I haven t had a par
ti c ula rly lively time the last month or 5 0
Neither have you i f it comes to that I can t
tell yo u how I ve felt to see M un roe hanging
about O f course I knew it was all humbug
he blundered on bu t it nearly drove me
wild I couldn t do anything except grin
—
and bear i t it s been a p retty bad spell on
the whole When I got my money I wasn t
going to stand it any longer so I just told
him
Y o u—
you told him ! cried Penelope wi th
a s u dden ru sh o f colour to her face yo u
told him
Yes rather
What did you tell him ? she demanded
Well said Jack observing th at a smile
flickered about he r lips I told him yo u and
I had known each other all our lives and that
sort o f thing and I suggested that he should
back out as soon as possible
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273
TH E D IS S EM BLERS
dared to sa y that l e xc l a imed P e n elope
as a di ffe re nt a spe ct o f the case appe a red to
her fo r at first she cou ld o n ly rea l i se that
she ha d found a po ssible exp lan a tion o f L eslie s
s!
n
u
c onduct
o
d
a
r
e
d
t
o
int
e
r
f
ere
b
e
t
w
e
e
u
y
she cried
Y o u see Pen yo u told m e you di d n ot
inten d to marry the chap ; yo u sai d i t w as
a ll a sh a m
H o w fo olish I w as to tell you anythi n g !
she excla imed
J ack s face w as begi n ni n g to wear a n ex
pression o f grave a nxiety
P en dear he urged
you don t mea n to
say
But she interrupted him im p etu
Y
ou
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o usly
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I sha ll never attempt to tell yo u anythi ng
a gai n I she said ;
I shall n o t make ano ther
mistake o f that kin d Oh Jack 1 she c ri ed
wist fully ho w could yo u interfere
H ow
could you have the the e ffrontery to d o
su ch a thing
Tell me what yo u said t o
Leslie
Only what I have told yo u was the
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2 74
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
do ubted
day
meant
u
o
y
marry
to
me
o ne
’
.
No ,
’
she retu rned quietly I could n ev er
have married yo u Jack I have alway s l ik ed
—
t
o
b
u
t
you immensely
marry you n o I c o uld
never have done that
He sa t w ith his head drooping forward the
picture o f dejection Her re fusal had knoc k ed
o f him
and he scar c ely
o ut
a ll the pluck
attempted to disguise his chagrin Presen tly
he rose and coming to her side looked d o wn
hungrily into her face
Isn t it any goo d ?
he whispered
I sn t the re anything I c a n
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do ?
’
Nothing she said
Only I wish y o u
hadn t interfered
For what seemed a long time he sto od
beside her chair u nable to urge any fre s h
arguments yet at the same time reluctant to
admit his de feat by a retirement She bega n
fo r the first time in her li fe to feel hi s
presence an embarrassment and she wish e d
he would go away At last he shook himse l f
together and began to bu tton his coat
I ve
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2 76
DISSEM B LERS
TH E
making a pretty considerable fool o f
mysel f he muttered b u t I want to ask you
one question Pen
What is it ? she said
Should you have married Munroe
Oh ho w can I answer a question o f that
kind ? she exclaimed ; but the next moment
w i th a sudden boldness she looked u p into
his face
Yes she said
I should have
married him i f he had asked me
Jack did not seem capable o f another
word ; he walked to the door without even
saying goo d bye and fo r the first few minutes
after his departure he w a s the chie f occupant
She had more than
o f Penelope s thoughts
suspected o f late how it was with him ; hence
the misleading kindliness o f he r treatment
But Jack see med so young ! it w a s ridiculous
to imagine his dying o f a broke n heart o r
living in misery She felt extremely sorry
fo r him and wished he had been sensible
enough to regard her only in the friendly
manner in which she had always thought o f
him He was fa r too much o f a boy to dream
be en
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277
THE
DIS5 EM B LERS
’
marriage ! He ought instead to spend
three o r four years a t o n e o f the u ni versities
Sympathetic as she was
towa rds Jack
Penelope really found it diffi cult to ta ke a
very tragic view o f his condition Presently
she rose and began to walk blithely about
the ro om a smile on her lips a n ew glad
ness in her eyes
Fo r now Le slie s conduct seemed c ompre
hen si b le
There could remain scarcely a doubt
that his renunciation had been influenced by hi s
interview with Jack She spe culated as to the
method o f his enlightenment ; fo r there were
limits to the cruelty o f fate and circumstances
Indeed she would have protested that fate w as
ever kindly since she might hope again that
Le slie loved her She could scarcely fail to
meet him ! surely two persons could not live
in London without meeting especially i f o n e
of
the tw o ard ently desired to mee t the
other
I n the midst o f her jubilation Sir Go rdon
ente red the room shutting the door behind hi m
then turning expectantly to look into Penelope s
of
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2 78
TH E
Then
DIS SEM BLERS
I ca n sa y is that yo u have the m o st
ex trao rdinary w a y o f showing so rrow that I
ever witn esse d in my li fe sai d Sir Gordo n
D o yo u m ean to tell me you ve refus ed t o
marry the fellow
Why o f cou rse
I don t un dersta nd y o u
P o n my s o ul
Pen
Why should yo u imagine I should m arry
—Jack she excl a imed a littl e con te m ptu
all
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o usly.
He seemed to think so anyhow sai d S i r
D o y o u mean he demanded i n a
Gordon
disappointed tone yo u n ever i ntended to
marry him
Never !
The n what the deuce were yo u goi n g o n
in that way fo r ?
R umpling your collar and all ? she c rie d
gaily
Pen sa id Sir Gordon regarding her w ith
the utmost gravity what is the matter wi t h
f
o
u
i
a
v
th
s
a
ternoon
never
I
s
o
u
a
w
e
y
y
in this way be fore I s your head better ?
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280
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
Was it ever bad ? she asked wi th a
laugh
You made enough fuss abou t it Y o u re
fused to eat any luncheon
There must be
something wrong i f a girl can t eat You made
enough fuss fo r a score o f headaches Now
he insisted we won t have any more o f this
nonsense ! what does it all mean ?
What does what mean ?
—
All this tom foolery child s play I call it
You re not acti n g lik e a reasonable being
now what does it mean ?
S he shook her head and laughed again in a
manner which to Sir Gordon seemed quite
imbecile though Leslie Munroe fo r instance
might have thought it charming
I went to your room Sir Gordon continued
I found yo u in tears You came downstairs
and refused an excellent o ffer o f marriage t hen
I find yo u hal f m a d—let me feel your pulse
Pen he cried a happy thought suddenly
That s
occurring to him
You re feverish
what it is ; you re j u st a little delirious
Pen
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28 1
TH E
An d i t
m ay
ha ve
bes ide herse l f, b ut
ta k e her
the d oo r
,
DI S S EM B LER S
been that
as
she w as a
S i r Go rdo n
i t she e l uded
m ad e her esca pe
a
li ttle
dva n ced
to
wrs
28 2
to her
ow n
roo m
.
DIS SEM BL ERS
TH E
ld n o t yet ad m i t she ha d been dec ei v ed from
the time o f P e nel o pe s arrival in Lo n don
S he
w as i n clined to ins i st that the
ed
irl
had
c
hang
g
si n c e he r en ga gemen t to Leslie a n d that i f Jack
ha d bee n in a position to ask her to m arry
hi m si x wee ks ago she would have c on se nted
w ithout hesitati on
And now she de m an ded what do you
intend to do ? A fter all it s not m uch u se cry
i n g over spilt milk
O n e has to set about mopping it up said
J a ck with a lugubrious ai r
I f yo u leave it alon e it wi ll dry by i tsel f
she insisted
I wish to goo dness I hadn t go n e to
Munroe he muttered because you see I
told him
Only what you believed to be the t ruth
she interrupted
You need not blame your
sel f fo r that
I f I had n o t put my oar in Jack answered
doggedly M unroe wo u ld never have backed
co u
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It doesn t
’
follow
that he is willing
2 84
to
DISSEM BLERS
TH E
m arry her beca u se she would marry him
said Mrs Farington with a kind o f s u pp ressed
eagerness
Anyhow Jack retorted that s no business
o f mine
I misled the fellow and I ve got
to set him right thou gh I would give a
year s income to get out o f it
Well she replied o f course you m u st
do as you please Only Leslie she added
significantly is leaving En gland to morrow
morning He will be away at the least a year
Now doesn t it seem a great pity to
interfere ?
For God s sake don t tempt a chap ! ex
claimed Jack excitedly
My dear man I don t want to tempt you
On the contrary I sho u ld like to assist you
How should yo u she added loweri n g her
eyes whilst her pale chee k s became suddenly
crimson how sho u ld you like me to take
the task o ff your hands ?
S h ou l d n t yo u mind ? he cried eagerly
The fact is she continued Leslie will
be here at eight o cloc k He is dining with
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2 85
TH E
me
to - night
like I
I f yo u
.
m essa ge
DISS EM BLERS
fo r yo u
,
w
ill give
hi m
a
’
.
Jack seiz ed the o fler wi th the ut m ost
rea di n ess
That Leslie should b e undec e ived
a
fact about w hich he had n e ver
w as
hesitated but he fel t extremely grateful to
Mrs Farington fo r o fleri n g to take the t a sk
o ff his hands
S he pa id unusual attention to her to ilet t e
that evening
Her dark dress suited her
admirably ; her sk in look ed dazzlingly wh i te
save the slight tin ge o f ro uge on her chee k s
She came to the drawing room a few min utes
before Leslie was d u e and sitting do w n fell
into a brown study S he was in a wavering
mood to night and without having actually
de c ided to sen d Leslie away ignorant o f what
i t was o f supreme importance fo r him to
know she tried to realise the result o f he r
silence He would leave to morrow ; in a fe w
months at the outside Penelope would go to
—
I ndia c ould it be d ou bted that each would
find forgetfulness be fore Leslie s return ?
Then he arrived and she rose brightly to
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2 86
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
My d ear Leslie
’
I didn t say it w as any
a
n
od
s
t
i
ll
o
n
e
does
it
now
n
d
t
he
o
;
g
I t s as futil e as grumbling a t the we a ther
he continu ed
and that you see is excellent
fo r o n e c rop whilst it is disastrous fo r an o ther
We find in loss a gain to match said
Esther and she see med to have an under
current o f thought to night ; Jack s m e ssage
was ever in her mind whatever she said
whatever she did
1 sh ou ld
Naturally
answered Leslie
prefer the gain to be mine and the loss
some other man s i f one could only arrange
things that way
According to your theo ry o f li fe
I haven t a theory o f li fe he exclaimed
or only a working theory which won t hear
examination Li fe is too complex I can t
admit more than a hope
She laughed quietly as she watched his
fac e
No w
she said hope is ju st what I
should say you lacked to night But i f one
thing is as good as another
I don t think I said that
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288
TH E
DIS S EM BLERS
Well she continued i f you are philo
S ophical enough to recognise that what injures
one person must be accepted because it
benefits another it doesn t seem that you can
care very m u ch about anything
The bearing o f it lies in the
he said
It depends to a great e x tent o n
which person you happen to be And in any
case it s o nly possible to take what c omes
and pass o n
The re is always a certain moderation to
be observed Mrs Farington insisted
What
I complain o f is that you pass on too far
When things go
No w I am not so patient
wrong with me as they generally do I rail
at my fate
D o you find that has any advantage ?
asked L eslie
Oh not the least bu t it is an immense
satisfaction 1 she exclaimed and rising a h
she walked across the room to the
ruptly
piano forte
Shall I sing to yo u ? she asked
Without waiting fo r an answer she sat
down whilst Leslie le ft to himsel f lean ed
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2 89
DI S SEM B L ERS
TH E
ba c k
ha ir his c i ga r be ing quite
o ut
hi s face ha gga rd an d worn loo king his
An d
ea rs
e n ti rely
dea f to Esther s m usic
or
played whethe r her
sa ng
w he th e r she
eyes were o n the bo ok or she turn e d to
glan ce a t Le sli e s p ro file the sa m e thou ght
w as c o nsta ntly present w i th her
S he co uld n o t avoid a feeling o f scorn at
the idea o f sil e nce concern ing Jack Pilcher s
message ; she perceived that reti cence woul d
be dasta rdly and she told hersel f she w as
n o t capabl e o f i t fo r a n y consideration w ha t
soev er
And yet she felt that she cou ld not
speak ; she felt incapable o f utteri ng the w ord
which must reunite Leslie to Penelope She
better end ure to part from hi m to
c ould
morrow with the prospect o f a yea r o r
two s separation than see him marri e d to
her niece whereas she held the man s fate
in her hands
I f she allowe d him to go
away to morrow he could not return to
England until a fter Penelope s depart ure
and once she was in I ndia she was certain
to stay the re fo r the usual four o r five ye ars
hi s
in
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2 90
TH E
DISSEM BLERS
solemn face as she held it
He seemed to
be leaving her whilst she was still i n dou b t
as to her course and as he quitted the
ro om it seemed almost as i f she were be in g
hurried and hustled into a shameful course
She stoo d aghast at the thing she had done ;
then hastening to the door she crossed the
landing a n d in frantic excitement leaned
over the balusters calling Leslie ! Leslie !
several times
As he reascended the stairs
she retu rned to the drawing room and stand
ing before the loo k ing glass smoothed he r
black hair as i f that must have becom e
disordered in the agitation o f her min d
Thoughts seemed to hail upon her brai n
She must tell him the truth about Jack a n d
Penelope
she du rst not let him go i n
i gn oran ce o f what had happened Then a s
she heard his approaching footsteps she per
cei ved that
to tell him now would be to
convict hersel f o f an intention not to tel l
him at all
He would begin by wonderin g
why she had kept back the in formation unti l
the latest moment and he would end b y
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29 2
TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
seeing t he ugliness
her mind in all its
of
nakedness
Did you want me ? he was saying at the
t hresh o l d
Yes I
she faltered hesitating still until
a fresh notion occurred to he r
S he w ould
tell him there should he no doubt about
that only she would put it o ff until a more
con venient season
Suppose I come to see
you o ff to morrow mornin g ? she suggested
I t will be fa r too early
At what time do you start ?
My train leaves C har ing Cross at eleven
But said Leslie it is a pity to give
fi ve
you so m u ch trouble
Let me come to see the last o f you she
pleaded so that he went away with the ex
i
n o f seeing her again be for e he le ft
a
o
e
c
t
t
p
London to morrow
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29 3
C H A P T ER X X I
Mrs Faringto n perceived she
would be able to deliver Jack s message
without awak en ing a suspicion that she ha d
k ept it ba c k fo r an instant
Leslie need
not kno w that she had been possessed o f
the in formation when she parted from him
overnight
Esther went to bed assuring
hersel f that she would in fallibly speak the
next morning a n d when she rose afte r
lying sleepless many hours she still remained
firm in what she thought w as her intention
S he set forth early arriving at Charin g
Cross before Leslie
S he saw him alight
from a ca b and was able to congratulate
him on the limited dimension s o f his
l uggage
How fa r do you travel to day
she as k ed
as he entered the terminus
To MO R R OW ,
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TH E
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the train started she waved her hand in
fare w ell and the most lonely portion o f her
li fe had begun
She le ft the sta tio n wi th her head bowed
disgu sted wi th hersel f yet at the s a me time
conscious o f a sense o f poor triumph
On
he r way home it was close to Picca dilly
Circus she saw Sir Gordon Darnley and she
could not resist the temptation to speak to
him
I have just been seeing Mr Munroe o ff
by the train she said
and now I am
e nvying him
Where has b e gone ? asked Sir Gordon
from ci vility rather than the sli ghtest interest
in Leslie
Oh I believe he intends to p u t a girdle
round the earth
He will t ake longer over
—
i t than P u ck he intends to stay away a
year or two at the least
At luncheon that day Sir Gordon repeated
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the in formation fo r t he benefit o f Penelope
who was still in the aggressively high spirits
which had bewilde red her u ncle yesterday
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296
DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
She had been amusing hersel f by planning
all manner o f schemes fo r Leslie s enlighten
ment ; i f she did not chance to meet him
soon she knew what she should do She
still r etained possession o f the books that
he had given her
She would make them
into a neat parcel send them to his flat and
at the same time enclose a note requesting
him to bring back the pin she had given to
—
him and she determined that the word
bring should be underlined
I met Mrs Farington this morning Sir
Gordon remar ked
Did you ?
asked Penelope cheerfully
I suppose A u nt Es ther is all right ?
She had been seeing M u n roe o ff at Char
ing Cross
The association o f names annoyed Penelope
fo r the moment b u t a minute later she asked
Has Leslie gone out o f town ?
Out o f England
He is to be absent a
couple o f years said Sir Gordon casually
For a few seconds Penelope stared blankly
into his face ; then she pu shed back her
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29 7
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DISSEM BLERS
TH E
cha ir fro m the table rose abruptly and
wa lked to the door
But before she could
reac h
it a sob brok e from her and Sir
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Go rdon begi n ning to suspect also rose and
rev
e
ent
d her leaving the room
p
Pen
he e xclaimed what o n earth is
the matter ?
I hate anything subterranean !
Fo r God s sake tell me what is wrong
I t can t be true ! she said turning a tearful
face towards him ; it can t possibly be tru e
What can t be true ? he demanded
Leslie can t have gone
Didn t you want the man to go then ?
cried Sir Gordon
I t s n o use making that
noise Pen he added irritably
All the
They
peo ple in the hotel will hear you
will be coming to see what s u p
They ll
think I am ill treating you
I I can t help it she sobbed a n d Sir
Gordon began to fume abo ut the room
There the re don t make a fuss he said
After the way the man treated yo u I
should think a girl o f any spirit wou ldn t
care i f he went to the d evil
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DISS EM B LERS
TH E
and it seemed probable that she would never
see Leslie s face agai n
But Pen elope reckoned without Jac k He
had not doubted fo r an instan t that Mrs
Farington would faithfully fulfil her promise
b ut he wanted to hear how Munroe had
tak en the in form a tion
With the o bject o f
grati fying his curiosity he made his way to
Sou th A u dley Street that afternoon and the
servant having received no orde r s to the
contrary i n vited him to walk upstairs to the
drawing room as usual to Mrs Fa ri n gto n s
i n tense indign a tio n
Jack Pilcher was the
very last pe rso n she desired to see and i f
she had fo r a moment imagined that he
would have called ag a in so soon she would
have take n precautions accordingly
I hope yo u won t think me a nuisance
said Jac k perceiving no sign o f a welcome
in her face bu t I felt most awfully curious
to hear how M unroe took it you know
At all events she answered n o t a little
emb a rrassed
he went away as he had
arranged I saw him o ff this morning
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TH E
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—
Then yo u you didn t tell him !
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Jack
blurted out
I wa rne d yo u it did not follow because
Penelope car ed fo r him that he should n eces
sa ri ly ca r e fo r her
retorted Jack bluntly I remembe r
Y es
your saying that bu t I did not believe it
all the same
I think you forget yoursel f Esther re
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to rted
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by Jove ! exclaimed Jack
it was
—
you who forgot anyhow you omitted to
deliver my message
S he had shrun k from making a deliberate
misstatement bu t now there seemed n o help
What right have you to assume I
fo r it
did not deliver your m essage ? she deman d ed
I f yo u had done so said Jack obstinately
Munroe wouldn t have gone away this
morn ing I can swear to that !
Well she answered i f I didn t tell him
I saved yo u from doing an extremely foolish
thing
You have made me seem to do an i m
No,
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TH E
DISS EM B LER S
habby one ! he c rie d
It did n t
occur to me to do u bt your promise b ut as
soo n as I cam e this a fternoo n
I saw w hat
had happe ned
No o n e can go through li fe without a l ittle
oc casional subterfuge she said
Where has Munroe gone ? Jack deman ded
Y o u are n o t going to w rite to hi m ?
she exclaim ed regarding Jack with a star tled
expression
No I am n o t going to write—I in tend to
follow him
Fo r heaven s sake don t do anything so
ridic ulous !
Can yo u tell me where he has gon e ?
Jack insisted wi t h a quite new air o f mas ter
fulness
No I shall have nothing more to do
with the matter she answered
Ve ry well said J a ck then I m ust fi n d
fo r mysel f and perhaps he derived a
o ut
certain gl oomy satis faction from the necessity
o f this sel f denying ordinance
As soon as he was gone Esther leaned
m e n se ly
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TH E
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him still as a friend but even this she feared
Jack might render impossible
At the fla t Jack saw Mrs Bullock who
m a de n o di ffi culty o ver Leslie s address She
told him that Munroe w as to sta y fo r a few
days at the Hotel de l Euro pe B russels wi th
the consequence that Jac k travelled by that
night s mail
R eaching hi s desti nation early
the ne x t morning he w as d riven at o n ce to
the hotel where Leslie sta yed then wen t to
bed fo r a few hours Tired after his jou rney
it was late r than he had intended when Jack
came forth and o n inquiring fo r Leslie he
learn ed that he would n o t he at home un til
Unti l hal f past four
four o r five o cloc k
Jack walked about the ci ty surprised t hat
he could feel an interest in what he saw
returning to the Hotel de l Euro pe a few
min utes be fore Leslie entered the vestibule
Leslie certainly looked surprised to see
him
I should like t o have a few words w ith
you sai d Jack and a little later he w a s
accompanying M u n roe upstairs to his bed
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TH E D I SSEM BLERS
room
I daresay you wo nde r what the
deuce I want Jack continued when they
had entered the room and closed the door
but plunging into the midst o f things the
fa ct is I made a mistake
About Penelope ? demanded Leslie with
the greatest eagerness
—
see
I
to
ld
you
she
was
going
going
Y ou
to marry me
Then she is n o t going to marry yo u I
I t was just a mistake o f mine I thought
I ought t o tell yo u said Jack stolidly
B ut why on earth d idn t you tell me
be fore I started
demanded Leslie
For a
fe w moments Jack hesitated ;
he did not
regard Mrs Farington very leniently but
still he said
H o w was I t o know you intended t o go
away
Suddenly Leslie darted towards a n O pe n
portmanteau and began to stu ff one or two
articles into it
I suppose you ll —you ll go b a ck at once
Jack suggested
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TH E DI SSEM BLERS
By to night s mail was the answer
Wh a t
are you doi n g ?
I may as well stay where I am fo r a few
days said Jack rather drearily
Well then I must say good bye cried
Leslie and he grip ped Jack warmly by the
hand
Pilcher le ft Leslie s room with some kind
o f intention to drown his g r i e f in dissipation
bu t in a manner it had been b etter fo r him
to have loved and l o st than never to have
loved at all
The recollection o f Penelope
eve n at this juncture proved his salvation
After travelling soberly abo ut Europe awhi le
he began fo r the fi rst time in his li fe to feel
a desire to do something He was barely
twenty o ne ; he deci d ed to go to Ox ford so
that his career may be considered as scarcely
yet to have begun
Leslie reaching London in the small hours
astonished Mr and Mrs B ullock by ringing
them up and requesting t hem as i f his
s udden return was the most ordinary event
to prepare a bed
Though he presently lay
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DI SSEM BL ERS
TH E
place his hands clasped behind him cal mly
listening to each word that was said
I n the first place
Leslie explained
he had told me yo u inten d ed to marry
him
Nothing could be more absurd ! Penelope
H o w could you believe s u ch a
answered
thing ? Besides she said I was engaged to
be married to you at that time
I d on t suppo se I should have believed
the story i f you had not insisted to him that
our engageme n t was well said Leslie with
a smile
that it was a merely nomin al
arrangement
Oh it was very foolish o f me to tell Jack
anything abou t it she admitted ; b u t I had
been used to tell him things and it was t he
day after it all came about
I felt h a l f
regretful
Only hal f regret ful ?
s a id Leslie with
another glance at Sir Gordon who still stood
his ground
Besides Leslie continued you
told Pilcher how you intended to get rid o f
me be fore you started to I ndia
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DI SSEM BLERS
TH E
Oh yo u don t u nde r stand ! she cried ; y ou
don t u nde r stand
I f Munroe does understan d it s more than
I do e x claimed Sir Gordon
Our engagement went on she said with
considerable embarrassment yet with a de
termination to allow no more room fo r mis
conception a n d you said nothing abou t our
marriage ; besides it was decided we were
never to be married
S urely you know said Leslie ignoring
Sir Gordon s presence since he could not get
r id o f him
surely yo u know that from the
beginning there was n othing I desired so
m u ch as to make you my wi fe
Then why o n earth demanded Sir Gordon
didn t you say so and have done wi th
it ?
What a deal o f trou b le it would have
saved !
1 was compelled to diplomatise was the
answer
My own wish was definite enough
Wi t h Penelope it w as di fferent Eve rything
had to be done
I was rathe r afraid o f
alar ming her
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TH E
DISSEM BLERS
I n my opinion
said Sir Gordon
girls
are not so easily alarmed I think you have
been t o blame Munroe
You should have
followed my advice
D epend upon it Pen
would n ot have held out
Oh bu t indeed
rem a rked Leslie
Y o u must remember
that i n the fi rst place Penelope did not
consent to the arrangement fo r love o f me
Why did she consent to it then
Sir
Gordon demanded
From fear o f you Y o u ha d threa tened
her with all sort o f pains and penalties a n d
beyond those we had the libel to deal
with
—
I t i t was not only that said Penelope
with an obvious e ffort
Ah c ried Sir Gordon facin g Leslie with
a triumphant expression what did I tell
you ?
I was frightened a little o f Uncle Gordon
she c o ntin u ed her hands pressed to her
bosom he r eyes fi x ed wist fully o n Leslie s
face
And that dread ful report d rove me
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TH E
DISS EM B LERS
t i n ct ly
to understa nd Sir Gordon continued
I shall have no more shilly shally
I am
prompt in all I undertake
N 0 trait could be more admirable Le slie
ad m itted
I have n o desire to raise an obstacle Sir
Gordon continued
bu t i f yo u tw o young
people intend to be married you must set
abo ut it at once I re fuse to accept any
more risks
D o yo u think there is any risk Pen ?
asked Leslie
1 don t think so she answered
Then it is understood between us
no
more time will be wasted
What do yo u
say to that ? S i r Gordon demanded turning
abruptly to face Penelope
S he looked at Leslie hal f smiling hal f
ashamed b u t she said nothing at all
She
hel d forth her right hand however placing
it in his Then Leslie d rew Penelope to his
b reast and ki ssed her fo r the second time S i r
Gordon stared at them a few minutes in ten t
in fact
o n pursui n g the s u bject further and
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TH E
DI SSEM BLERS
d eter mined to fix the day fo r the wedding
at once ; but on second thoughts he
turned away and walki n g to t he door
left Leslie and Penelope alone with their
happiness
,
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T H E EN D
1
3
3
C A R P ET C O U RTS H I P
TH O MAS
BY
Crown
COBB
8 vo , 3 s 6d
”
WM
M
Ca rpet Courtshi p i s a pretty p”i ece
of com edy devel o ped i n the m a n n er o f
D olly D i a l ogues
Academ y
This l i ttle book has a mu sed us so thoroughly tha t
w e sha ll l oo k ea erl
a y wri te i n the fu ture
r a n th i n
f
h
m
o
e
y
g y
g
The work man i s so ski l ful an d del i ca te tha t the book will be a
deli ght Mr Cobb owes so methi n g to An thon y H ope—the
”
Do lly D i a l ogues
earli er an d better An thon y H ope o f the
It must be sai d tha t Mr Cobb has lea rn t i t well a n d a dds a
deftn ess i n the wea vin g of a story from tri fles whi ch i s qui te
.
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hi s o w n
M
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an d
Mr Cobb con ti n u es i n the sa me
becom e a worthy successor of Mr H ope
Whi t e
bi ds fair to
If
.
l
sty e,
’
he
.
M R P AS S I N G H A M
T HOMAS
BY
Crown
COBB
8 y o , 3 s 6d
.
.
P ermi t the B a ron to recomm en d
Mr P assi n gha m
The
i s an a so r i n gly i n teresti n g sto ry, a dmi ra ly told
characters speak fo r themse lves an d an n common ly good
a cco n t th ey gi ve o f themse lves t
c lever story
Da lly Nm
The d ra ma ti c soen es follow
From the fi rst
i tho t a flag i n the mo vemen t
ea ch other
’
page to the last very pleasan t to read
”
P un ch
It
b b
u
w
A
u
u
b
.
.
.
.
It i s a real
W estm i n st er Gaz et ta
.
h men t
re fres
to
come a cross
hi n g so de ft an d da i n ty as Mr Cobb s Mr Passi n gham
A delecta ble com edy It i s n o t every week tha t
Dally H ai l
o n e comes u po n a story so bri gh tly wri tten an d so fu ll o f
”
Mr Passi n gha m
na tura l an d cl ever d i al ogue as
I t i s n o t often t hat w e get a story the workm an shi
S peak er
p
M r P a ssi n gha m
o f wh i ch i s so a dmi ra bl e as i s tha t o f
H ere w e m ust lea ve the story con ten ti n g ou sel es
wi th a word o f stron g prai se o f the a dm i ra ble w ay i n whi ch
M r Cobb ha s told i t
M r P assi n gham
con ta i n s some cleve r sketch es
Stan dard
o f cha ra c ter a n d a sti ll more cl ever si t ua ti on
”
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a n yt
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r
,
v
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H
O
N
J
LAN E, P UB LIS H ER , LO N DO N
AN D
N EW Y O R K
N EW
N O ! EL S
S ENA TO R NO R T H
T
.
TH TO
ER N ,
B y G ER R UD E A
’
’
a wk ,
The a fo rn i an s,
’
rown 8 vo
H s an ds, etc
h
C li
ub
.
C
Autho
Am i can
r
Pa tien ce S pa r
W ives an d Engli sh
of
er
P ri ce 65
.
.
S E! E R A N C E
Carpet
B y TH O M AS C O B B Au th o r o f Mr P assi n gham
Courtshi p
The Judgmen t o f H elen
S cruples etc
Crown 8vo Price 65
.
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A Y EA R OF LI F E
f Fou H u mo ists f the
B y W S L I LLY Au th o
C tu y Th G eat E igm
An ci t Religi o
P i ce 68
M ode Th ought etc C ow 8
.
r o
,
.
.
’
‘
r
r
’
n
an d
J US T A N D T H E UNJ US T
f A Rom n Mystery
B y R I C H AR D B A GOT Auth o
e tc.
en
r
n
r
e
,
’
rn
r
.
,
a,
en
vo .
n
r
.
TH E
.
Crown
TH E
By
r o
,
8 v0
P ri ce 65
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COLUMN
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Mr P assi ngha m
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Third Editi o n
Mrs Ge rtrude Atherton has gi ven
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The Ca liforn i a n s, by Gertrude Atherton
3 1 1m
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Mrs Atherton i s i n o ur j udgm en t the abl est
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P AT I EN C E S P A R H AW K A N D
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