King of the Castle

“Fight for your interests, and mine. That woman’s my wife, come down after me, and I’m going to take her home. See?”

“Not quite.”

“Then stop blind. Be off, quick.”

This hurried colloquy took place in the boat by the rough granite stairs, the attention of those about being taken up by the two half-drowned people on the pier, the excited talk making the words inaudible save to those concerned.

“Now, then,” whispered Gellow, “you’ll leave it to me?”

“Yes,” said Glyddyr, hesitating.

“Carte blanche?”

“You’ll do nothing – ”

He did not finish the sentence.

“Carte blanche?” said Gellow again.

“Well, yes.”

“Right; and every lie I tell goes down to your account, dear boy. Bye-bye. Off you go,” he said aloud, as he sprang on the stones. “I’m very sorry, Glyddyr; I apologise. If I had known she would follow me, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Give way,” said Glyddyr, thrusting the boat from the steps; and he sank down in the stern, heedless of the dripping seat, and thinking deeply as the pier seemed to slip away from him, and with it the woman who had for years been, as he styled it, his curse.

He only glanced back once, and saw that Chris Lisle was being helped up into a sitting position, but the little crowd closed round him, and he saw no more, but sat staring hard at his yacht, and seeing only the face of the woman just drawn from the sea.

Then he seemed to see Chris recovering, and taking advantage of his absence to ruin all his hopes with Claude.

“If these two, Claude and Denise, should meet and talk,” he thought.

“If Gartram should learn everything. If Denise should not recover. Hah!”

Glyddyr uttered a low expiration of the breath, as he recalled how closely Gellow’s interests were mixed up with his own.

“And I have given him carte blanche,” he thought; “and he will say or do anything to throw them off the scent – or do anything,” he repeated, after a pause. “No, he dare do no harm; he is too fond of his own neck.”

He had come to this point when he reached the side of his long, graceful-looking yacht, and as soon as he was aboard he gave his orders; the mooring ropes were cast off, and the sails hoisted. Then, fetching a glass from the cabin, Glyddyr carefully scanned the pier and shore, but could see nothing but little knots of people standing about discussing the adventure, while the largest knots hung about the door of the hotel.

Almost at the same moment, Gellow was using the telescope in the hotel hall.

“Right,” he said to himself, as he closed it, upon seeing that the sails of the yacht were being hoisted. “Good boy; but you’ll have to pay for it. Well, doctor, how is she?”

Doctor Asher had just come down from one of the bed-chambers.

“Recovering fast,” said that gentleman, following Gellow into a private room, “but very much excited. She will require rest and great care for some days.”

Gellow tapped him on the breast, and gave him a meaning look.

“No, she won’t, doctor,” he said, in a low voice. “I must get her home at once. Most painful for us both to stop. People chattering and staring, and that sort of thing. Most grateful to you for your attention,” he continued, taking out his pocket-book, opening it quickly, and drawing therefrom two crisp new five-pound notes. “Let me see, you doctors prefer guineas,” he said, thrusting his hand into his pocket.

“No, no, really,” protested Asher, as his eyes sparkled at the sight of the notes.

“Ah, well, I shall not press you, doctor; but I’m down and you are down after this painful affair, so what do you say to prescribing for us both pints of good cham and a seltzer, eh? Not bad, eh?”

“Excellent, I’m sure,” said Asher, smiling; “but really I cannot think of – er – one note is ample.”

“Bosh, sir!” cried Gellow, crumpling up both, and pressing them into the doctor’s hand. “Professional knowledge must be paid for. Here, waiter; wine-list. That’s right. Bottle of – of – of – of – Oh, here we are. Dry Monopole and two seltzers – no, one will do. Must practise economy; eh, doctor?”

The waiter hurried out, and Gellow continued confidentially, —

“Bless her! Charming woman, but bit of a tyrant, sir. Love her like mad don’t half express it; but there are times when a man does like a run alone. Just off with a friend for a bit of a cruise when the check-string was pulled tight. You understand?”

“Oh, yes; I begin to understand.”

“Ah, here’s the stimulus, and I’m sure we require it.”

Pop!

“Thanks, waiter. Needn’t wait. Now, doctor: bless her – the dear thing’s health. Hah, not bad – for the country. I may take her back to-day, eh?”

“Well, er – if great care were taken, and you broke the journey if the lady seemed worse – I – er – think perhaps you might risk it,” said Asher, setting down his empty glass. “Of course you would take every precaution.”

“Who would take more, doctor? Put out, of course; but the weaker sex, eh? Yes, the weaker sex.”

He refilled the doctor’s glass and his own.

“An accident. Pray, don’t think it was anything else; and, I say: you will contradict any one who says otherwise?”

“Of course, of course.”

“There are disagreeable people who might say that the poor dear sprang off the pier in a fit of temper at being left behind, but we know better, eh, doctor?”

“Oh, of course,” said Asher, playing with and enjoying his glass of champagne.

“It’s a wonderful thing, temper. Take a cigar?”

“Thanks, no. I never smoke in the daytime.”

“Sorry for you, doctor. Professional reasons, I suppose?”

Asher bowed.

“I was going to say,” continued Gellow, carefully selecting one out of the four cigars he carried, for no earthly reason, since he would smoke all the others in their turn. “I was going to say that it is a wonderful thing how Nature always gives the most beautiful women the worst tempers.”

“Compensation?” hazarded Asher.

“Eh? Yes; I suppose so. Going, doctor?”