The Girls of St. Wode's
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“The box, child? What box?”
“Belle’s wooden box.”
“What! that wooden box that Belle keeps full of coins?”
“Yes, the same. I saved it; it is in the hall. I – I feel a little faint.”
“Poor child, no wonder! What a terrible scare you have had! Who would have supposed that burglars would come to us? Well, dear, if the box had been stolen, how disappointed they would have been to find only ordinary coins. But come upstairs, Annie; I must get you some sal-volatile at once.”
Mrs. Acheson dragged Annie upstairs, then went to the servants, awoke them, and sent two of them off immediately to the nearest police-station. She questioned Annie still further with regard to the burglary; but could get little or nothing out of her, and concluded that she was stunned by the sudden shock. It was not until the widow had gone back to her room that she remembered how very strange it was that Annie should have locked the drawing-room door, how still stranger it was for Annie to be in the drawing-room at all. She was not naturally suspicious: but these circumstances did cause her a little serious thought.
When the morning dawned she went to her daughter’s bedroom.
Belle had heard nothing of the adventures of the previous night, and was considerably annoyed when her mother rattled the handle of the locked door, and asked for admission. Belle opened the door, and then stood somewhat crossly waiting for Mrs. Acheson to speak.
“What is the matter?” she asked.
The widow related what had occurred; said that she had found Annie in the drawing-room with the door locked, and Belle’s wooden box of coins at the other side.
“My coins! my treasures!” said Belle, color and animation rushing into her face. “How brave of dear Annie: how splendid of her! I know why she did it; it is unnecessary to explain the matter to you just at present, mother. I can only say that the box was full of valuables, and dear, brave little Annie has rescued them. Oh, she and I must indeed be one after this, all during the remainder of our lives. How queer, mother; it was only last night Mr. Colchester said something about burglars. He seemed to think we were in danger with the drawing-room window so close to the ground and looking into the garden; but I explained to him the ingenious way in which the windows were fastened, and then he seemed to think we were absolutely safe. I must go at once now to dear Annie, and thank her.”
“I wish you would, Belle; she was very sad last night, poor child. But, my dear, I never knew there were valuables in the box. You only spoke of coins.”
“Coins of the realm,” said Belle with a laugh; “very nearly one hundred pounds, money I have saved from my college expenses for a noble purpose. Don’t question me now, mother; I will tell you by and by.”
Belle put on her dressing-gown and ran across the landing to Annie’s door. She knocked; there was no answer. She turned the handle and entered, Annie’s bed was empty – Annie herself had disappeared.
CHAPTER XXXIII – CONFESSION
Yes, Annie Colchester had made up her mind. There was only one thing to be done; she must see Mr. Parker without a moment’s delay, make full confession, and fling herself upon his mercy.
“Even prison would be better than this present agony,” thought the poor girl. “Whatever happens, I cannot face the Achesons again without their knowing the truth.”
With the first dawn she rose and dressed, and then wrote a little note to Mrs. Acheson.
“You will think badly of me, and no wonder,” wrote Annie. “The man who tried to steal the wooden box last night was my brother Rupert. Yes, he was my brother. He cut the square of glass out of the window, and entered your house as a common burglar. Pray, don’t do anything until you hear from me again. I am going to Mr. Parker.”
Belle found this note, read its contents, flushed slowly all over, rubbed her forehead in a distracted way, and then, hiding the note in the pocket of her dressing-gown, returned to her own room.
“Poor Annie has gone out of her mind,” she said to herself. “Mr. Colchester, that charming, scholarly, delightful man enter the house in order to take my box of money – impossible! I should not believe it if a thousand Annie Colchesters swore to it. This note is my property, and I refuse to divulge its contents for the present.”
Meanwhile Annie wandered about the streets until it was time for Mr. Parker to appear at his office. He had been called unexpectedly out of town on the previous day, or events would have come to an issue before now. On his arrival this morning he looked eagerly through his correspondence, and had just taken up the letter from the expert and was reading its contents when his clerk entered, said that Miss Colchester had called, that she looked in serious trouble, and wished to see Mr. Parker without delay.
“Ask Miss Colchester into my waiting-room, and say I will send for her presently,” was the reply.
The clerk withdrew. Mr. Parker continued to read the expert’s letter.
“I thought so,” he said to himself; “he says the writings are not identical, that they have not been written by the same person. Miss Annie little knows what a trap she has got into. She is just here in the nick of time. Yes, I will see her; I will get the whole naked truth out of her. Guilty! of course she is guilty. After she has made her confession she shall come with me to the Gilroys. What an old, blind fool I have been. How could I ever doubt a girl with a face like Leslie’s?”
He stood up as he spoke. The expert’s letter had pleased him; but he could not but own that he felt nearly as puzzled as ever.
“Bless me if I know what it means even now,” he said anxiously to himself.
The puzzled man was standing on his hearth. His hair was wildly rubbed over his head, and his eyes looked fiercer than Annie had ever seen them when she entered the room.
“Well, Miss Colchester,” he said, “may I ask what is the meaning of this visit? It so happens that I am anxious to see you, and should have called upon you if you had not come to me. But, as a rule, I do not see people on private business in my office.”
“I have come to speak to you about Leslie Gilroy,” said Annie. “You are fond of Leslie?”
“It does not matter to you whether I care for her or not. What have you got to say about her?”
“Only that she is quite innocent,” said Annie. “She never wrote that letter.”
Mr. Parker’s face wore an ugly sneer.
“I wonder now,” he said, coming a step or two forward, “if you have been following me about on the sly for the last day or two? Do you happen to know that I had taken that letter and also the writing Leslie Gilroy left here the other day to Essex the expert? You are sharp enough to know most things. Did you find out about that?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“My meaning is plain enough. It is better to make confession before open detection, is it not?”
“I don’t know anything,” continued Annie; “I have never heard of Mr. Essex before. I am the most wretched, miserable girl in the world. I came to you to confess, not knowing that you were able to expose me. It does not matter now in the very least whether you expose me or not, for I am going to expose myself. I did write that letter. I knew at the time that it was forgery; but I was desperate. Rupert wanted sixty pounds. He said that if he did not get the money he would be locked up; the police were already after him. He owed the money for a debt of such a nature that if he did not pay it he would be locked up.”
“Well, all this is coming to the point with a vengeance,” said Mr. Parker.
Annie clutched hold of the nearest chair to steady herself.
“I am miserable, and I know that I deserve imprisonment, or anything you like to give me,” she said.
“We will leave out the question about your deservings for the present,” said the merchant. “What I want is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
“Well, I did it,” said Annie; “I did commit forgery. I was nearly mad. I have always loved Rupert better than I ought. He was my only brother, and I – I could never turn from him. It was idolatry, and I am punished.”
“Go on with your story,” said Mr. Parker.
“I am doing so; only you must give me time. Rupert wanted the money, and I was distracted. Leslie and I were roomfellows; she was always good to me.”
“A nice return you have made for her kindness.”
“I know that well; but you cannot understand the temptation. There, I don’t mean to excuse myself. On the very evening when I saw Rupert, and found out all about his trouble, Leslie talked about you. I was so startled to find that she also knew you. She told me what you were doing for her, how liberal you were with your money, how very kind. She said that her father had been your greatest friend, and that you had made a sort of promise to help his children. As she spoke, a desperate idea came into my head. I was always very clever at imitating handwriting, and there was plenty of Leslie’s about. The idea of making her appear to write to you for money came into my brain, and would not go away again. I thought of it all night, and the scheme seemed almost impossible to be detected, and was my last and only resource. I rose very early, got hold of some of Leslie’s handwriting, copied it carefully, wrote the letter which I brought to you, got permission to go to London from Miss Lauderdale, and saw you that afternoon. You gave me the money. I took it back. I gave it to Rupert.”
“But even now I do not understand,” said Mr. Parker. “I came down to Wingfield the next day. I was very much disturbed, I can tell you. That letter, which seemed to be Leslie’s, shook my faith. I always considered her the finest, sweetest girl I had ever come across, like, very like, one whom I have lost; but no matter, you are unworthy to hear that name. I came to Wingfield, and I saw Leslie, and she knew all about it; she did not deny anything.”
“That is because she was noble. I was obliged to tell her the truth, and she resolved to screen me and take the consequences.”
“’Pon my word! I never heard anything like this in the whole course of my life,” said Mr. Parker. “Noble! I should think she was; but what were you made of? You allowed her! Think what she suffered. I distrusted her, and you allowed her to screen you.”
“I did, for Rupert’s sake. I know I was bad, but I was not wholly bad. She knew that if it were discovered I should be expelled from St. Wode’s, and my chance in life would be over, so she agreed to screen me. I didn’t guess at the time how much she would suffer, and what it would mean to her. Leslie saw Rupert and told him that if he would leave the country, and never return, she would keep his secret and mine. Rupert promised to go away. He went, and I thought I should never see him again. Then I lost my interest in my work. I found I could not study; and when I passed my exam. I only took an ordinary, and my prospects were more or less ruined. I was terribly poor, for the little money that I had saved I had already given to my brother. When my own money was nearly gone I went to Leslie; that was a few days ago. I heard that you wanted a secretary, and I begged and implored of her to ask you to give me the post. Leslie did not like asking you. She said you were terribly changed to her; but at last she consented. She came here with me. You told her that if she told the real truth about the money you would give me the post. How could she tell you the truth without ruining me? We both knew it was all up then, although she implored me at the eleventh hour to make confession; but I could not – how could I without ruining Rupert?”
“You conscience has become very tender since then,” said Mr. Parker. “How is it you are here this morning?”
“I will tell you. Because Rupert himself has opened my eyes. Oh, I love him still; yes, I love him still; but my heart is broken. I don’t care what happens to me. Friends of mine of the name of Acheson asked me to stay with them for a week. I had only fourteen shillings in the world, and I thought I would go. Mrs. Acheson was very kind – she was like a mother to me; but on the very day I went, on the day I saw you last, I met my brother. He had never gone away; he had broken his word to Leslie; he had got into fresh, awful trouble. He wanted more and more money; and, oh, Mr. Parker, last night he broke into the very house where I was staying, in order to steal some money which was in the drawing-room. What am I to do? Oh, if I might only die!”
The miserable girl fell on her knees, burying her face in a chair near by; her faint sobs sounded through the room.
Mr. Parker stood still for a moment, the color in his face was coming and going. What was he to do? He hated Annie Colchester, and yet from the bottom of his soul he pitied her. Before he could decide anything, there came a knock at the door.
“Particularly engaged just now,” he called out.
“It’s Miss Gilroy, sir. She wants to see you as soon as possible.”
“Miss Gilroy! Bless my soul! what can she have come about?”
“Oh, do let her in. I know she will plead for me. She will ask you not to be too bitterly hard,” said poor Annie.
Mr. Parker opened the door.
“Come right in, Leslie,” he said. His manner had changed; there was a tremble in his deep voice.
Leslie came eagerly forward.
“I have come to ask you if you know anything about Annie Colchester,” she began. “We are in dreadful trouble about her; she has disappeared, and – Why, what is it? You seem to know something. What is wrong?”
“Only that I have learned the truth at last, Leslie. Annie Colchester is here; she has confessed everything. Stand up, Annie, and speak this moment.”
But Annie was past this, her head was buried in her hands, and sobs shook her frame. Leslie gave one glance from Mr. Parker to Annie, and then sprang forward.
She fell on her knees by Annie’s side, and put her arms round her.
“Oh, poor, poor Annie; have you really confessed?” said Leslie. “It was brave of you, dear; it was brave.” She put her arms round Annie’s neck and began to kiss her.
“Oh, you don’t know how she has been tried and tempted,” she continued, turning to the merchant. “You cannot be angry with her any longer. Even the worst sinner ought to be forgiven when he confesses; and Annie is sorry, so sorry.”
Leslie’s kisses fell on Annie’s hot cheeks like rain. After a time Annie slightly moved her position, and stole one arm softly round Leslie’s neck.
Mr. Parker looked at the two.
“Bless my soul! this will upset me,” he muttered to himself. “Never met a girl like Leslie; it makes one believe in Christianity; that it does.”
He suddenly left the room. An hour later he came back.
Annie was now quite collected and calm. She had told Leslie everything. Leslie went straight up to Mr. Parker, and took his hand.
“You have got to do something for me,” she said.
“I’ll do anything for you, Leslie; I feel fit to die when I think how I mistrusted you.”
“You had good reasons to mistrust me, and I am not the least surprised. You need not reproach yourself in the very least. Now, if you will do something, if you will grant me a great, great favor, I shall be the happiest of girls; I shall gladly rejoice in the thought of my past suffering if it can help Annie now.”
“You want a favor for her?”
“I do; and I know you will grant it.”
“It would be difficult for me to refuse you anything; but what is it?”
“I want you to do this. I don’t wish Rupert Colchester, bad as he is, to be locked up. I want him to leave the country; I want you to see that he goes. He must be seen off, for Annie is not to be persecuted by him any longer. When he is away I want Annie to become your secretary. I will be responsible for her conduct, for her probity and honesty; she shall come and live at my mother’s, and she shall work for you. Annie must be saved. Oh, I love her, Mr. Parker; I love her, notwithstanding her sin. She was terribly tempted. You and I do not know anything of such temptation; but now we will save her, won’t we? Will you do this for my sake?”
“I declare I’d do anything in the world for you; but it’s rather a big order. I shan’t mind helping that poor girl; but the brother! is he to go off scot-free?”
“For Annie’s sake, yes. It would hurt her too terribly if he were punished. Give him one last chance, Mr. Parker; he may be saved even at the eleventh hour. Oh, you are the best man I know; prove it now.”
“And this would make you quite happy, my dear?”
“It would make me so happy I should scarcely know how to contain myself. Oh say ‘Yes,’ here and now.”
“Then here is my hand on it; I say it here and now.”
Mr. Parker was as good as his word. He was not a man to do things by half-measures, and he did not lose an hour in taking means to discover Rupert Colchester’s whereabouts. He found that young man hiding from the police, gave him such a talking to that even he felt a little ashamed; and finally, securing a berth for him on board a vessel which was bound for Australia, saw him off himself on the following day. The curtain drops forever on Rupert as far as this story is concerned.
Annie is happy at last, notwithstanding her great trials. She is very busy, and has little time to think. She makes an excellent secretary; is painstaking, persevering, clever, and affectionate. Mr. Parker does not like to own it; but he is really getting very fond of her, and actually asks her advice on several matters in the most unwarrantable and unbusinesslike manner. Annie lives with Mrs. Gilroy, who is as kind as kind can be to the motherless girl.
As to the other girls, whose opening lives have been so briefly sketched in these pages, they are some of them still undergraduates at St. Wode’s, and some are starting in the real battle of life; but they are all without exception doing well.
Lettie has given up her collegiate training, has entered society, making Mrs. Chetwynd very happy by so doing, and is much liked for her cheerful and taking manners and her pretty face.
Eileen has quite recovered her health and strength. She and Marjorie are still at St. Wode’s, and Marjorie never forgets that time when God answered her prayer and spared Eileen’s life.
Leslie is more beautiful and more beloved than ever by all those who know her. Mr. Parker openly talks of her as his adopted daughter, and her love for the old man is the sunshine of his declining years.
Belle hopes to open her hostel within a year at the latest. There is a change for the better in Belle, and she is less arrogant than formerly, although she still firmly believes that the true aim of a woman’s life is to delve in the rich soil of past literature and not to trouble herself much about the future.
One and all in their different ways are going forward to a goal. Each has an ideal which will never be quite realized on earth; but each with strength and courage has learned to take her part bravely in life’s battle. To each has been accorded a strength higher than her own, which enables her to refuse the evil and choose the good.