LORD OAKBURN’S DAUGHTERS.
BY THE AUTHOR OF "EAST LYNNE."
CHAPTER LI.A LITTLE LIGHT.
Lady Jane Chesney sat before her dressing-glass, having her hair brushed by Judith, preparatory to retiring to rest, when they were interrupted by the entrance of Lady Laura.
“Jane, I want a little talk with you,” she said, sitting down by the bright fire. “Bring your chair round to the warmth.”
“I thought you said you were going to bed,” observed Jane.
“I don’t feel tired. Excitement is as good to me as rest, and I have had an exciting evening, taking one thing with another. Jane, you were right about Clarice.”
“Right in what way?” returned Jane, eagerly. “Have you questioned Mr. Carlton?”
“Shall I leave the room, my lady, and come back presently?” inquired Judith of her mistress, pausing with the hair-brush in her hand.
“No,” interposed Lady Laura. “There’s something to puzzle out, and I think you may perhaps help us, Judith. I have not questioned Mr. Carlton, Jane, but in—in—" Laura gave a slight cough, as though her throat troubled her—“in rummaging over some of his waste places to-night, I came upon a note. A note written by Clarice.”
Involuntarily Jane thought of the scrap of paper, the part of a note written by Clarice, which Laura had “come upon” once before.
“It is written to her husband,” continued Laura. “That Tom West, I suppose. And it proves that she came to South Wennock, and that Mr. Carlton must have attended upon her. Only think, Jane, to South Wennock! She must have been visiting at Mrs. Jenkinson’s, I fancy, where Judith’s sister lives, for the note is dated from Palace Street. I will read it to you, Jane.”
“13, Palace Street, South Wennock.
“Friday Evening, March 10, 1848.
“My dearest Husband,—You will be surprised to hear of my journey, and that I am safe at South Wennock. I know you will be angry, but I cannot help it, and we will talk over things when we meet. I have asked the people here about a medical man, and they strongly recommend one of the Messrs. Grey, but I tell them I would prefer Mr. Carlton: what do you say? I must ask him to come and see me this evening, for the railway omnibus shook me dreadfully, and I feel anything but well. I know he will come, and without delay.
“It was unreasonable of you, my darling husband, to wish me to be ill so far away. I felt that I could not; that I should have died; and that’s why I have disobeyed you. I can go back again when all’s well over, if things still turn out crossly for the avowal of our marriage. No harm can come of it, for I have not given our name, and you must ask for me by the one you and Mr. West were so fond of calling me in sport.
“Lose no time; be here in half an hour, if you can, for I do feel really ill; and believe me,
“Ever your loving wife,
"Clarice."
“I have heard part of that note before!” was on the tip of Judith’s tongue. But some feeling prompted her to stop the words ere they were spoken. Lady Jane took the note and read it to herself in silence, pondering over each word.
“It is incomprehensible to me,” she at length said, drawing the envelope from Laura, and looking at it. “Why, this is addressed to Mr. Carlton!” she burst forth.
“It must have come into his possession in some way; perhaps he and Tom West got their envelopes and letters mixed together,” returned Laura with composure. “I suppose there’s no doubt now that it was Tom West she married. Judith says he used to visit his aunt in Palace Street—old Mrs. Jenkinson,—and the letter’s dated from thence. If—Judith, what on earth’s the matter with you?”
“Thank you, my lady,” replied Judith, who was looking white and faint. “I feel a little sick. It will pass off directly.”
“It is evident that Clarice must have come to South Wennock without her husband’s consent,” resumed Laura, tossing a bottle of smelling salts to Judith. “I suppose he was stopping at Mrs. Jenkinson’s. Her number is thirteen, is it not, Judith?”
“No, my lady, Mrs. Jenkinson’s number is fourteen,” replied Judith, in a low tone.
“Oh, well, a mistake’s readily made in a strange number. Clarice must have———"
“Laura, I am all at sea,” interrupted Lady Jane. “Why should Clarice have come to South Wennock at all, unless she came with him? This note would seem to imply that he lived at South Wennock, but—he never lived here, did he, Judith? "
“Who, my lady? Mr. Tom West? no, he