Part 88 (1/2)

Thomas G.o.dolphin received him kindly, his manner and words had all the repose of quiet confidence. He believed Mr. Hurde to be completely mistaken, to have erred through zeal, and he intimated as much to Mr.

Layton. He might not have personally entered on the topic with him, but that Layton had heard that he had been accused to him.

Layton's heart opened to his master. He was a well-disposed man when not exasperated. He frankly volunteered to Mr. G.o.dolphin the amount of his wife's income and its source; he stated that he was not living up to one penny more than he could afford; and he distinctly denied being a betting man, either by practice or inclination--except for the one bet of a pound, which he had made incidentally. Altogether, his explanation was perfectly satisfactory to Mr. G.o.dolphin.

”Understand me, Mr. Layton, I did not, myself, cast the slightest doubt upon you. To do so, never occurred to me.”

”I hope not, sir,” was Layton's reply. ”Mr. Hurde has his crotchets, and we, who are under him, must put up with them. His bark is worse than his bite: that much may be said for him.”

”Yes,” said Thomas G.o.dolphin. ”You might fare worse, in that respect, than you do under Mr. Hurde. What was the meaning of the words you spoke relative to Mr. George G.o.dolphin?”

Layton felt that his face was on fire. He muttered, in his confusion, something to the effect that it was a ”slip of the tongue.”

”But you must be aware that such slips are quite unjustifiable.

Something must have induced you to say it. What may it have been?”

”The truth is, I was in a pa.s.sion when I said it,” replied Layton, compelled to speak. ”I am very sorry.”

”You are evading my question,” quietly replied Thomas G.o.dolphin. ”I ask you what could have induced you to say it? There must have been something to lead to the remark.”

”I did not mean anything, I declare, sir, Mr. Hurde vexed me by casting suspicion upon me; and in the moment's anger, I retorted that he might as well cast it upon Mr. George G.o.dolphin.”

Thomas G.o.dolphin pressed the question. In Layton's voice when he had uttered it, distorted though it was with pa.s.sion, his ears had detected a strange meaning. ”But why upon Mr. George G.o.dolphin? Why more upon him than any other?--upon myself, for instance; or Mr. Hurde?”

Layton was silent. Thomas G.o.dolphin waited, his serene countenance fixed upon, the clerk's.

”I suppose I must have had in my head a remark I heard yesterday, sir,”

he slowly rejoined. ”Heaven knows, though, I gave no heed to it; and how I came to forget myself in my anger, I don't know. I am sure I thought nothing of it, afterwards, until Mr. Hurde spoke to me this morning.”

”What was the remark?” asked Mr. G.o.dolphin.

”Sir, it was that sporting man, Jolly, who said it. He fastened himself on me last evening in going from here, and I could not get rid of him until ten at night. We were talking about different things: the great discount houses in London and one thing or another; and he said, incidentally, that Mr. George G.o.dolphin had a good deal of paper in the market.”

Thomas G.o.dolphin paused. ”Did he a.s.sert that he knew this?”

”He pretended to a.s.sert many things, as of his own knowledge. I asked him how he knew it, and he replied a friend of his had seen it--meaning the paper. It was all he said; and how I came to repeat such a thing after him, I cannot tell. I hope you will excuse it, sir.”

”I cannot help excusing it,” replied Mr. G.o.dolphin. ”You said the thing, and you cannot unsay it. It was very wrong. Take care that you do not give utterance to it again.”

Layton withdrew, inwardly vowing that he never would. In point of fact, he had not attached much weight to the information; and could now have bitten his tongue out for repeating it. He wondered whether they could prosecute him for slander: or whether, if it came to the ears of Mr.

George, _he_ would. Mr. G.o.dolphin had met it with the considerate generosity ever characteristic of him; but Mr. George was different from his brother. If ever a man in this world lived up to the Divine command, ”Do as ye would be done by,” that man was Thomas G.o.dolphin.

But the words, nevertheless, grated on Thomas G.o.dolphin's ears. That George was needlessly lavish in expenditure, he knew: but not more so than his income allowed, if he chose to spend it all--unless he had secret sources of expense. A change came over Thomas G.o.dolphin's face as the idea suggested itself to his mind. Once in the train of thought he could not stop it. _Had_ George private channels for expenditure, of which the world knew nothing? Could he have been using the Bank's money?--could it be he who had taken Lord Averil's deeds? Like unto Isaac Hastings, the red flush of shame dyed Thomas's brow at the thought--shame for his own obtrusive imagination that could conjure up such a fancy against his brother. Thomas had never conjured it up, but for the suggestion gratuitously imparted to him by Layton.

But he could not drive it down. No; like the vision which had been gratuitously presented to the Reverend Mr. Hastings, and which he had been unable to dismiss, Thomas G.o.dolphin could not drive it away. In a sort of panic--a panic caused by his own thoughts--he called for certain of the books to be brought to him.

Some of those wanted were in George G.o.dolphin's room. It was Isaac Hastings who was sent in there for them.

”The books!” exclaimed George, looking at Isaac.

”Mr. G.o.dolphin wants them, sir.”