Part 33 (2/2)

The day pa.s.sed all too quickly. The hour for Mr. Rayner's return and the evening drive had arrived, when a shabby bandy was driven up to the verandah steps. Two visitors descended from it and were shown to the drawing-room by the butler. Hester, on going to receive them, at once recognised one of them as the haughty-looking girl who had mysteriously presented herself at the ”Friendly” and in her verandah. It was, however, the older woman, unknown to her, who took the lead. She rose from the comfortable chair in which she had seated herself and addressed Hester with a broad smile on her face.

”Maybe you'll not know me. I'm Mistress Rouat from Chandrychoke, Calcutta, on a visit to my sister-in-law--this young lady's mother in Vepery.”

”I'm glad to see you, Mrs. Rouat,” said Hester, deciding that at last the wilful niece had been brought as a prospective member of the Girls'

Club by this benevolent-looking aunt, though on glancing at the girl she was obliged to admit that her haughty demeanour was not hopeful. She made no response to Hester's friendly outstretched hand, but stood quite still, then with a nod to her aunt she resumed her seat.

Mrs. Rouat leaned back in her chair and fixed her eyes on Hester.

”Though you don't know me, my dear, and maybe your husband won't either, seeing he was but a babee when he last saw me, yet believe me, Mrs.

Rayner, I am a veree old friend of the family! Your husband's dead mother, Rosina Castro, and me was veree chief when we lived next door in Chandrychoke--thatt's the Eurasian quarter--or one of them, in Calcutta, in case you don't know, bein', as I hear, new from England. Also Mr.

David Morpeth, your husband's father, was well known to me. In fact I had the pleasure of calling for him the other day----”

”Mr. Morpeth! I don't quite understand,” faltered Hester. ”I think you are making some mistake. Mr. Morpeth is in no way related to my husband.”

”Ain't he just,” said Leila, with a harsh laugh.

”It's you thatt's makin' the mistake, ladee,” Mrs. Rouat went on.

”Alfred Rayner is David Morpeth's veree own son, born in lawful wedlock, I do a.s.sure you, and there's others can vouch for thatt as well as me.

The good man himself will not deny it if you was puttin' it to him, he was always a truth-lovin' man was David, veree different from his late wife, Rosina.”

Mrs. Rouat glanced uneasily at Hester, and reminded herself that she must keep in mind the close relations.h.i.+p of the ”parties.”

”Your information is incorrect,” said Hester firmly. ”Unfortunately my husband has no relatives in India or anywhere else. His father and mother both died when he was a child,” she added placidly, never doubting the truth of her a.s.sertion.

”Tell thatt to your grandmother,” interjected Leila, with a rude laugh.

”It's easy to see, Aunt Tilly, she's been taken in by Alfred's lies same as I was till he jilted me,” ended the girl, with a spiteful glance on the paling face of the woman she hated.

Hester rose from her chair, folded her hands, and said in a restrained voice:

”I must ask you to excuse me! Boy, call the carriage,” she added, calling the butler. Then she pa.s.sed out of the room, leaving the aunt and niece staring at each other with discomforted air.

”Perhaps I acted a little suddenly,” murmured Hester to herself, as she climbed the stair to her room. ”But Alfred may be here at any time, and if he found these two Eurasians seated in the drawing-room, I really could not answer for the consequences! I suppose their extraordinary tale has been manufactured by that fat person. It does seem very odd--and what was that the girl said about Alfred having jilted her?

Perhaps she is under some hallucination, but I dare not mention it to Alfred. One of these terrible fits of temper would be sure to follow, and just when we are going to try to be happy and throw off all our worries on the Blue Mountains.”

But the longer Hester's thoughts dwelt on the visitors' tale, the more uncomfortable she felt. She recalled how the woman had mentioned Mr.

Morpeth, and decided that her husband's aversion to the good Eurasian must be known to the community.

”There was evident malice in it all. What a cruel plot to spring upon us all of a sudden!” she said to herself, as she busied herself with preparations for the coming journey, finding relief from her troubled thoughts.

Soon, however, she began to wonder why her husband was delaying his return. The landau had been waiting for some time for the evening drive, but at length she dismissed it to the stables, not being inclined for a solitary drive. The hour for dinner arrived and still he did not appear, nor was there any message from him which surprised her, since he had been unfailingly punctual of late. After her lonely dinner she betook herself to her home-letters for the outgoing mail on the following day, eager to share with her dear ones the great news that she was to exchange the hot winds and red dust for the breezy Neilgherry Hills.

It was not till nearly midnight that she began to grow really anxious about her husband's non-appearance. All was silent about the house. The butler had gone for the night to his own home in one of the villages near. The other servants had retired to their G.o.downs, and the maty-boy in charge lay on his mat in deep slumber in a back verandah. Even the ayah had retired to her corner in the room next to her mistress's, having first paid one or two visits to see whether ”Dosani” was not thinking of going to bed. Still Hester sat in the verandah, looking out on the vivid dark blue of the cloudless sky, inhaling the penetrating scents of the aromatic shrubs which bounded the gravel sweep. Sometimes she fancied she caught the sound of an approaching footfall, but decided it was only a stirring among the ghost-like trees. Once or twice she dozed, to awaken with a start as if someone was whispering her name, but only the mingling eerie sounds of the Indian night fell on her listening ear.

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