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Yes, I understand.''Well, lay it on strong. And tell 'em if I hear a word outside, they'll go outside with it.'The butler just stared at his master for a moment before turning and hurrying out of the room.William, seemingly now, had to drag him-377self over to see to Douglas, who was standing by the side of his chair, his hand still holding the towel to his throat, but when his help was brushed aside by Douglas, saying, Tm all right. I'm going to the closet, but I'll be back presently,' his father said, 'Go to bed. I think you should go to bed, son. We'll talk about this in the morning.'Douglas came back with a growl, 'We'll ot talk about this in the morning, Father,e'll talk about this tonight. I have an ulti-atum to offer my brother, and he's not gong to like either way. But he'll take one or he other, and I'll see that he does, and this very night . . . now! He's not going to get the chance to wriggle out of it by scooting in the morning, because-' Looking now from his father's face to the white but blazing countenance of his brother, he said, Td have hunted you down. Do you hear? Hunted you down.'The quietness that immediately descended on the room became eerie, and in it he turned from them and went out.Lionel, now pulling himself to the edge of the chair and looking at his father, said, 'It's a pity I didn't do for him.'

378'God in heaven! I cannot believe my ears.' William's words were now hissing through his teeth. 'You admit then . . . ? But what am I talking about? I've seen the evidence. You killed that fellow. Why, in the name of God!''He was blackmailing me. He was going to tell that stiff bitch that I was the father of the child just born. His brother had apparently married her to save her face/'Well, why in the name of God!

didn't you pay up?''Because I hadn't the money.' The words came out like grit through Lionel's teeth.

'Remember, we were penniless; couldn't even pay for hay.'It was characteristic, his father thought, that at this moment, he should think of his horse and its feed.'There was two thousand pounds a year at stake.

You yourself welcomed it, jumped at it, grabbed at it. Was I to lose that? What would you have said?

Pay the bugger. That's what you would have said. Keep him quiet. Again I say, with what? And anyway-' his face twisted into a grimace and he put his hand to the side of his head before adding, 379'He was scum, and his brother, too, the one that went. They were all scum, else why should he take her? Yes, why? I've asked myself, and the answer is, I'm sure, both of them had it planned to squeeze me, one or the other.'His father stared at him. His spirit-befuddled mind was working clearer at this moment than it had done for many a long day. And this showed itself when he said, 'Then why did the man who was hanged not split when he was cross-examined? That would have given his counsel another lead. And, as I see it now, the lead would have been easy to follow. God! I never thought I would say this to my first born, but I regret the night that I put you into your mother. I do indeed. There's been a weakness in you and a nastiness that I wouldn't recognize. I've despised your brother, aye, I have, but if his character had been in your body, you would have been a man. And even now I could say that I wouldn't have been ashamed of you if it had been one of your own class you had killed, and in fair fight.

But no; you had to sink so low as to cut the throat of one of the lower orders just for two thousand pounds/

380Lionel was on his feet and it looked as if the nails of the hand that was still pressed against the side of his head were penetrating his skull, for the knuckles were standing up white as he cried, Two thousand a year, Father, and five hundred of her own! Two thousand, five hundred! Father, a year!'William Filmore's nose was actually wrinkling when the door opened and he turned towards it to see Douglas coming back into the room. He had changed his shirt and coat and round his neck was a white scarf, and he now approached his father, saying, 'Will you come into the library, Father? There's a desk there, and there's some writing to be done.'William said nothing, but just stared into Douglas's face for a moment before turning to Lionel and saying, 'Come along.'It was full thirty seconds before Lionel put a foot forward to follow his father and brother, half-turned and waiting at the door, out of the room and into the library.Beyond the long table and under the tall window, which was covered now by the heavy faded embroidered curtains, stood a davenport and, on it, sheets of paper, a brass inkwell, and an ornamental boot made out of

381the skin of a deer from which were protruding a number of steel pens.Douglas walked towards the desk, stopped within a yard of it and, pointing to it, said, 'Sit down and write.'Til be damned if I will!'Douglas seemed to leave the ground as he swung round and cried, 'Listen to me! and I mean every word of this: you'll write what I dictate, else I'll not wait until tomorrow morning but I'll ride into town and tell the authorities that they made a mistake in hanging Joe Skinner. And don't think that you'll be able to stop me in any way, for, let me tell you, if anything happens to me unexpectedly they'll come for you quicker than you could shoot a gun, because I've put it in writing. Oh, yes'-now he turned to his father-'what I lack in my body I've got in my brain. In this house nobody seemed to recognize that. But knowing what that skunk'- he thumbed towards his brother-'is capable of doing, I was taking no risks.

Now, you have a choice'-he had turned back towards Lionel again-'and I'm not going to bargain or parley with you. You sit down now!' He had bawled the word, and his father cried, 382Tor God's sake! Doug, keep your voice down. Please! If you must have retribution, all right, have it, but it'll be no use if this spreads through the house. I could trust Bright, but not one of the other lot, inside or out.''Well then, the quicker he sits down and starts writing the better ... for him/William now looked at Lionel, then pointed to the desk. But before Lionel stepped towards it his head drooped onto his chest and his free hand doubled into a fist. Then he was sitting in the round-back swivel chair, and, his hand grabbing up a steel pen, he thrust it into the ink, then held it poised over the paper. But such was his grip on it that the ink dropped in a blob onto the sheet; and his father, who was now standing by his side, whipped it aside before turning and looking towards Douglas.'Dear Mr Kemp-' Douglas waited a moment, then went on, 'This is to inform you as from this day, the 12th day of October 1884, I wish you to discontinue the allowance agreed upon on my marrying Miss Victoria Mordaunt.*'No, begod!'

Lionel's fist crashed on to the

I 383paper and his body was bent far over the desk as if he were about to collapse,As he slowly raised himself up, his father, who had turned and was staring at Douglas, muttered, 'No. No, Doug; don't go that far. Think what it means.'Tve thought what it means, Father. He has a choice.'Lionel's back was straight now; the pen once again in his hand. He waited; Douglas began to dictate again: 'My circumstances have changed and I am now in such a position that I do not require further help. I am, sir, yours truly.'The scratching noise of the steel nib on the paper seemed to get louder as Lionel wrote down the last few words, rising even higher as he signed his name. But when he rose from the chair and turned from the desk it was impossible to describe the expression on his face. His father turned from it and to Douglas, who was saying, 'I'll be leaving here tomorrow, Father. I can no longer stay under this roof.*As William was about to speak, both he and Douglas turned to glance towards the door and the sound of muttered voices; then

384Bright's voice came clearly, saying, 'No! madam.'The door was thrust open and there, standing within its frame was Victoria. She was dressed in a blue satin dressing gown. Her hair was hanging about her shoulders. She looked a beautiful picture. She moved up the room now, saying, They . . . they were talking on the landing. I was coming out of ... I understood you had been quarrel . . .' She had been approaching her husband and when she saw the condition of his face she ran to him, crying, *Oh! my dear. My dear! What has happened? Who has done this?' She now turned to Douglas, saying, 'What is all this about? Why have you been fighting? You are the most disagreeable person these days, Douglas.

You are . . .''Shut up! woman.'Her eyes widened, her lips trembled as she looked at her father-in-law, but when Douglas went on, 'You had better get yourself back to bed, madam,' she dared to say, 'I ... I won't. I won't! I'm not a child, sir. I want to know what all this is about.''What it is about, madam, has nothing to do with you.'

385'Ev . . . everything that happens to my husband has something to do with me.'As she went to catch hold of Lionel's arm he thrust her aside and, glaring at Douglas, cried loudly to him, 'Go on! Finish your job. Tell her.''No! No!9 William thrust out an arm towards Douglas as if to stop him; but what Douglas said was, 'It's a matter of money, Victoria, just money.''Money?' She was now looking at Lionel. 'What do they mean, a matter of money?'Lionel looked down into the face of which he had become tired, not only of the face, but of the whole woman, considering her a stupid, empty-headed individual, and blaming her for deceiving him into thinking she was a rich young lady. And oh, he was sure in his mind she had known all along the real situation. And of late he had actually come to hate her, especially during these last few days in Carlisle where, he had told himself, if he had only waited he would have definitely met up with Mrs Daisy Barnett, who was as enamoured of him now as he was of her and who had been the means of getting him a post in the company, which would

386have promised a bright future ahead, if only he had been unfettered by this silly creature who had been governed by that bitch of a woman. And it was not as much to hit at the bitch as at her that he cried, 'Yes, my dear, as my brother said, it's all a matter of money, because, you see, and prepare yourself for a blow, my dear one, when I discovered just before we were married that you were not the rich young lady you pretended to be, even though saying you were a poor little girl, I was for letting you remain a poor little girl. But the real rich young lady, dear Miss Bridget, bribed me by offering me two thousand a year to marry you. And as I was very hard up at the time, what could I do? But now that I have a position which provides me with a salary of a thousand pounds a year, my dear brother there thought . . . well, it was only right that I refuse the payment I have been receiving for putting up with your presence. So, when he suggested that I should write to Mr Kemp to this effect, we, as you see, had more than words.''You cruel swine!'It was only his father's two arms being thrust out that kept Douglas from springingIn

387IpWUP*forward and renewing the fight. The old man cried, 'Enough! Enough!' but now turned to Victoria and said in a much softer voice, 'As for you, my dear, these things happen, these things ... Oh my God!'Both he and Douglas rushed forward as Victoria crumpled slowly into a heap, and when Lionel made no move in any direction, Douglas knelt down and lifted Victoria's head. Then looking up at his father, he said, 'Water, a glass of water.'The old man looked at Lionel, but when he still didn't move he himself hurried as quickly as his cumbersome overweight body allowed and went out of the room. Once the door closed on his father Lionel, looking down on his brother, who was cradling Victoria's head and shoulders in his arms, said in a strangely quiet voice, Til never forgive you, to my dying day. And there'll come the day when you'll be sorry that you ever created this situation. This is a promise, dear brother.'

And with this he turned and walked away down the room, there to meet his father coming in, a glass of water in one hand and a decanter in the other. And his father, in a voice that held a plea, said to 388him, 'Stay and see to your wife, man, because no matter what you do, you can't get over that you married her and she is your wife.'Lionel stared at his father for a moment, then went on past him, and the old man shambled up the room, his body bent.As he handed the glass of water to Douglas, Victoria opened her eyes, gave a small shake of her head, turned and looked into Douglas's face, then turned sharply away again. And when Douglas said, 'Here, take a drink of water,' she slowly pushed it aside.

Then, her palms on the floor on each side of her, she pressed herself from him, got on to her knees, then pulled herself upright. And there she stood a moment looking at her father-in-law before she turned and walked quite steadily down the room.Left alone, the old man and the young man looked at each other.

And it was William who said, 'Well, son, you have unveiled something tonight that is likely to have repercussions for years to come, and you'll have to ask yourself, was it worth it? Aye, that's what you'll have to do, son, ask your-389self, was it worth it?' And forthwith, he, too, left the room, leaving Douglas, his hand to his throat again, asking himself the same question. Was it worth it?

6Bridget stood in the bare drawing-room of Milton Place, bare but for the drapes and the carpets which still remained. The house had been sold but the new owners weren't due to take over legally until January 5th, 1885, There was no seating except on the window sills, and so she paced the room while awaiting Victoria's arrival. In the note she had written to her asking for this meeting she had stated eleven o'clock; now it was almost twenty past.She was not only worried but somewhat bewildered by the letter she had received from Mr Kemp indicating that he had received instructions from Mr Lionel Filmore to stop the payments as from the date of the letter. And knowing something of the character of Lionel Filmore she could not imag-391ine him rejecting the two thousand a year when it was only because of her offering that sum that he had agreed to go ahead with the marriage.She had gone to Mr Kemp's office to see if he could throw any light on the matter, but what he had said was merely in line with her own thinking. Lionel Filmore wasn't the kind of man to throw aside two thousand a year even if he had now found employment that was bringing him a reasonable salary. A man such as he, Mr Kemp had assured her, could never earn enough money to meet his needs.She had phrased her letter diplomatically to Victoria, saying she would be visiting the factories and, while she was this way, she would like to have a word with her as it was some time since they had met.Hearing the trap on the gravel drive, she hurried across the empty room and equally empty hall to the front door, and opened it to see her cousin throwing the reins of the horse over the iron horse-post. Victoria had her back to her, but when she turned and made for the front door the change in the beautiful face acted as a shock on Bridget, 392and she stepped over the threshold to meet her while holding out her hand, saying, 'You look cold,'