Domestic fiction; Inheritance and succession -- Fiction; Wales -- Fiction
"This is all that I ask you to sign your name to. As for the rest,
it is sufficient that you have confessed the truth to your uncle and
to me. I will just write a few lines that you shall sign, and then
we will go back to Carmarthen and do the best we can to prevent
the trial for next Friday." Thereupon Mr Apjohn rang the bell, and
asked Mrs Griffith to bring him paper and ink. With these he wrote a
letter addressed to himself, which he invited Cousin Henry to sign as
soon as he had read it aloud to him and to Mr Brodrick. The letter
contained simply the two admissions above stated, and then went
on to authorise Mr Apjohn, as the writer's attorney, to withdraw
the indictment against the proprietor of the _Carmarthen Herald_,
"in consequence," as the letter said, "of the question as to the
possession of Llanfeare having been settled now in an unexpected
manner."
When the letter was completed, the two lawyers went away, and Cousin
Henry was left to his own meditation. He sat there for a while,
so astounded by the transaction of the morning as to be unable to
collect his thoughts. All this that had agitated him so profoundly
for the last month had been set at rest by the finding of the will.
There was no longer any question as to what must be done. Everything
had been done. He was again a London clerk, with a small sum of money
besides his clerkship, and the security of lowliness into which to
fall back! If only they would be silent;--if only it might be thought
by his fellow-clerks in London that the will had been found by them
without any knowledge on his part,--then he would be satisfied. A
terrible catastrophe had fallen upon him, but one which would not
be without consolation if with the estate might be made to pass
away from him all responsibilities and all accusations as to the
estate. That terrible man had almost promised him that a way of
retreat should be made easy to him. At any rate, he would not be
cross-examined by Mr Cheekey. At any rate, he would not be brought
to trial. There was almost a promise, too, that as little should be
said as possible. There must, he supposed, be some legal form of
abdication on his part, but he was willing to execute that as quickly
as possible on the simple condition that he should be allowed to
depart without being forced to speak further on the matter to any
one in Wales. Not to have to see the tenants, not to have to say
even a word of farewell to the servants, not to be carried into
Carmarthen,--above all, not to face Mr Cheekey and the Court,--this
was all he asked now from a kind Fate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account