JEDWOOD JUSTICE.

Evening Star, Issue 8969, 31 October 1892, Page 4

JEDWOOD JUSTICE.

By AlWy Dk FoNßUNtjoa, Author of 'A 'Tangled Skein* and 'Col Adrift,'

{ This tale was commenced fa WW kstib '<s Monday, Qetokr&frj

CHAPTER VII. v taXftV maewn's hbadaohb. It was an open seoret that Sir Claude's stud groom, Mr Stephen Spaulding, and my lady'a own maid (officially known as Mrs Martin) were engaged to be married, and theie did not appear to be any just cause or impediment why they should not be joined together in matrimony. Spaulding was more than willing, and he had his master's consent. Mary hesitated for her lady's sake. She was the only servant Who slept in the house (oGoopybg a room ttefct to that of Lady Gault), and.Wis some sort of protection to he*. All the rest of the household lived in the wing, which had been built over the rear part of the moat, and so were out of sight, and almost of sound, of anything that might happen. Poor France* had declared that she would die of fright if foft &Tcn> at her husband's mercy fn that great Silent grange, and Mary—who WM honestly atTiched to her—consented to remain sing's fdr a while,

Spaulding W quarters in the stableyard quite ftood enough for a married man, His salary was high, and his pickings numerous. He had saved money and did not see the use of wasting time te ttffigle blessedness. I cannot say that he was deeply in love—perhaps he Was only uncomfortable; or it may ta that he had lately seen things which made him regard a partnership with the blue-eyed lady's maid as likely to be a profitable one.

He took his meals in tuß housekeeper's room, over whtth Mrs Goodlake presided with benertcenfe despotism. She has already giVe/cVir opinion of servants prying into things which her old-fashioned wisdom led her to think did not concern them; and therefore you may bo sure there was no flavoring of soandal to the good things with which her fellow (upper) servants were regaled, But the whole house was full of it. A row of unusual severity, even in that unhappy menage, had convulsed it on Monday night, and thrown a deep shadow over the following days. Monday, be it remembered, was the date of Diok's exodus frtom Wadehurst. On that night, after ail the Servants had retired to their quarters in the north Winfc of the Manor House, screams had been heard, and the scuffling of feet, and the slamming of doors, and Martin had been seen rushing frantically to the stables, whence she returned with Spaulding; and the pair had gone round by the front, and then disappeared together, Neither master nor mistress appe&Tbd during all the next day, and Martin only came down once towards tfeo evening. Sir Claude and Lady Gault went to town on Wednesday morning, unattended—a most unusual thing. The thick veil worn by my lady as she passed through the hall Ooold net hide the fact that she was weeping, and she appeared very reluctant to go. In fact, as we know, they nearly missed the train. Martin had come down to breakfast in the housekeeper's room as usual, her head and part of her.fnee wrapped in a lace nubia. She ate nothing, and appeared to be in a highly nervous state. Now, Mary Martfn was not given up to nerves. She was usually—as Sir Claude had found out—a remarkably strong-minded and resolute young woman. As she left ihe table she said :

"I have got a fearful headache, dear Mrs Goodlake, and my lady has excused me. I'm going to have a good rest, so please don't let me be disturbed all day." Mrs Goodlake, not being entirely pleased with the conduct of the lady's maid, replied dryly: "Just as you please," and Mary retired, not to appear again. "If she wants anything," said the housekeeper to herself, "she can send for it. I'm not going to put myself about for that disrespectful hussy. Later on in the day a telegram arrived from Sir Claude, saying that her ladyship had arranged to remain in London for the present. This was all that was known. What was suspected would fill this book. Mr Spaulding alone took a light-hearted View of it.

" Why, bless your heart,'' he said, "it's the old game. What's the good of making a fusß about it nov; ' He," meaning his master, "got drunk and abated her," meaning his mistress. " Nothing new about that, is there? Then Miss Mary gots off her side and jumps in, and he abuses her. Next, they send for me, and I have to hold him till he sobers down. It's all over—for this time. Yes, Misß Mary did get hurt, and you may take your oath I didn't hold the beggar like a new-born babe after that." With Mrs Goodlake he had to fight the battle of his sweetheart.

"It seems," said the housekeeper, "that after fifty-five years' service in this family I am to be treated as though I was a nobody, and a ohit of twenty is to take on aa though she were in my place. She," meaning, of course, Mary Martin, " should have come to me."

"My dear Mrs Goodlake," expostulated the stud groom, "what could you have done ?"

"Given my orders, sir," replied the old lady with dignity. Spaulding bit his lip. "Have you ever seen master when hois crazy drnnk ?" he asked.

Wild horses could not have torn an admission in the affirmative from this faithful old servant, and, alas 1 she could not say nay. She dodged. " That is no business of yours, Mr Spaulding," was her reply; "and it hasn't anything to do with what I'm talking about now. Here's a young unmarried girl, who runs out of a house where I am at midnight, and goes to a young unmarried man with whom she's keeping company, and brings him baok with her; and they remain upstairs, doing God knows what, till morning." "In oompany of their master and mistress. Don't forget that, Mrs Goodlake. This young man and this young woman were acting all the time under orders from their mistress, and for the benefit of their master. Of course you'd have liked to have a finger in the pie, but it was for my lady to say if you should or you shouldn't." This was intended as a clincher, but it did not clinch.

" It is probable," said the old housekeeper, stiflly, " that my lady did not know what she was about."

"Why, there you've hit it," said Spaulding, with a dry laugh. "I don't think any of ua knew much what we were about. Come, come, don't you try to make things worse than they are. If Miss Mary had your head on her shoulders, she might have aoted different. She did her best, and, let me tell yon, she's a game one." "It is not a question of what you call gamenesa, Mr Spaulding, but of propriety; and now I think about it, I'm not at all sure that my lady sent her out for you," The good old housekeeper was nettled at the insinuation that she was not wanted, and the flattering alluvion to her " head" was thrown away. " Ladles," she added somewhat spitefully, "donot generally send to the stables for assistance.

An evil flash came into Spanlding's little grey eyes. He knew he was getting the worst of it, and mattered:

"Ladies do a heap of things nowadays that you don't understand. Yon'ie on the quafrel, so it's no use talking. Only don't you go and set yourself up against Mary Martin, or you'll get the worst of it." Mrs Goodlake tossed her handsome grey head in scorn. Such a warning to her seemed below notice, but the time came when she remembered it to her sorrow.

I have seen figure-heads on several German nut-crackers which might be taken as portraits of Mr Spaulding. His features were wooden and hard, his eyes were cold steel-grey, his lips were thin; yet he was by no means an ill-looking man. His olothes fitted him to perfection, and were not " horsey." He was. never hot or cold or in a hurry, and gave you the idea that you might hit jhim with a brick anywhere without leaving a mark or causing him to wince.

After his encounter with Mrs Goodlake he

returned to the stables and ordered his own particular dog Oart. "Pnt Mdmut to," he told the groom. "I've got to get to Maidstone ,and back before night. Want to see a man nbotil those herttfe" ¥ . thM ho ill a oigar, went op to hta room, and helped himself to a glass—a big one—of brandy,

" old oat!" he muttered, "We shonld have had her in it. She'd go through fire and water for him. And, Lord 1 how she might help us to-night," He was baok in time for supper, and greeted the housekeeper as though he had never thought of her in connection with any oat, old or yottng, "I've made a good deal to-day," he observed. "Sold three of the five horses master don't want to keep—sold themWelh'' "Ain't he going to hunt any more?" asked the butler,

" Why, bless you ! yes; but those weeds are not up to his weight. Bow's Miss Mary?" This question Was addressed to Mrs Goodlake, who had not spoken dujrlng the report. "I cannot tell yon. Mr spauldfog," she replied. Mary gave oW&s this morning; that abb Was not to be disturbed. 1 have ttot disturbed her, and have taken dare that no one else should, I always obey orders, Mr Spaulding." , . The shadow of a smile pissed over his face,

" So you must ask for yourself, or, if you please, I Will send one of the maids up to inquire."

The dear old dame was relenting. It served the saucy chit right, she thought, to be taken at her word and left alone with her headache, and not even a cup of tea to comfort her all day long ; but now ■ Further reflection was cut short by the appearance of Mary herself, and it seemed as though she had overheard part at least of the preceding conversation, for her first words were:

"No occasion, dear Mrs Goodlake. Here I am to answer for myßelf, and, thanks to your so kind attention to my request, I have had a long, long Bleep. Oh, I'm all right now. Are you not going to give me a chair, Mr Spaulding ?" Mr Spaulding returned to his own quarters, where he found the head gardener waiting for him—as often happened—to have a chat about things in general over a pipe and glass of " Scotch " before going to bed. But this time there was something in particular to talk about, and for its origin we must go back some few hours. As soon as Mr Barbour had left the lodge good Mrs Pell deranged a certain garment of her first-born, and', in tho language of the poet: i Cruel only to be kind, To bis excessive dolor, Gave him several slaps behind.

This was for his saying anything against Mr Dick, and was only an instalment of what might be administered if what he told should turn out to Be false. So his father—a massive Scotohman, without a shade of guile in his big head—told Spaulding all abont Mr Barbour's visit, and the result of inquiries it had caused him (at his wife's suggestion) to make at the Crown. This latter subject interested Spaulding greatly, and he went back and baok again to it. " Looks odd, don't it, now ?" he asked, " that old Wadehurst shouldn't know where Mr Diok is, and his son so bad. Looks like as though there had been a row."

"Butwus he in the shroobery Monday nioht ?" queried the Scot, coming back to his point. " Maybe he was, he's been there before. Maybe he wasn't. He don't come every night, I suppose ?"

" Were ye in the shroobery yersel' Mon day nioht ?"

•' Well, now, Pell, look here. When you were courting, didn't you ever take a walk with your sweetheart of a fine night ?" " Monday was no' a fine nicht." Spaulding laughed. " It's never mind the weather when sweethearts are together,"he rejoined. "I knew a man who did all his courting under an umbrella. How do you know that they were sending telegrams after Mr Dick all yesterday ?" " Sin' the lord came speering to the Crown; every auld wife in the toon has been clacking aboot it."

"I was away —at Maidstone, selling horses," Spaulding observed. " I only got back in time for a upper." " Aweel, now—anent the shroobery-—" " What was your boy doing there ?" " He was just poaobiog—the re-probate !" replied Pell, with a grin. "I gard him show rao his wire 3." "Then he told the truth?"

" lie did—he did. I'll no blame the bairn for the rabbits. It's a fad o* my laddie's to see the wee brown beasties skirling aboot; and they're just de-vastation to me pinks and carnations ; but I'd no like to think that Willie tould a lee."

"Oh, Willie's a good boy—rabbiting and all. And look here. Pell, his mother spanked him for not minding his business. Don't you think, considering all this fuss about Mr Dick, that it would be a good thing for all of us to mind our own business ? Wc might get a spanking (so to speak) if we don't."

" Ye've a long head, Spaulding," said the Scot, rubbing bia own. " I'll no say that you're wrang."

"Have another tot," replied the stud groom, pushing the whisky bottle to his visitor.

Left alone, Mr Spaulding took a London newspaper of that day out of the pocket of the overcoat in whioh he had returned from his horse-dealing journey, and looked it over carefully. " Yes—here it 1b !" he Bald ; and this was what he found :

We regret to announce the sudden and serious Illness of the Hon. Frank Blrkett, only son and heir of Lord Wadehurst.

"They were like brothers," the reader mused. "That should fetch him, wherever he may be." Early on the day following a thunderbolt fell out of a yellow envelope addressed to Mrs Goodlake, and signed " Claude Gault":

You will pay Maty Martin the wages due to her up to thiß day, and discharge her from my service at once.

To the old housekeeper's utter surprise and indignation, Mr Spanlding ordered Lady Gault's own brougham to take the discharged lady's maid to the station, and went up to London with her himself. (To be continued.)