Mystery fiction; Yorkshire (England) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
"We reasoned that by the time she grew to womanhood, the memory of James
Ogilvey's crime would have died away. At any rate, there was nothing to
be gained by letting her know that such a person had ever existed, and
you can take it from me that she was ignorant of the fact until a late
hour yesterday. Some eight years ago, my unfortunate brother was
released. I met him in London, supplied him with ample funds, and sent
him to the Colonies, taking good care that he should know neither my
altered name nor my address. I heard no more of him until the beginning
of June, two years since, when he wrote to me as 'Stephen Garth,' said
he was coming to live in my house, being tired of a roving life, and
threatened to take lodgings in the village if I did not receive him.
Now, my wife and I were determined that he should never cross our
daughter's path if we could help it, so a journey to France was
resolved on hastily and the two took their departure. For my own part, I
decided to await my brother's coming, and try to reason with him. If he
proved obdurate, I meant to join my wife and daughter abroad, and, to
that end, as Mr. Dobb is aware, I made over all my property to my wife
in trust for my daughter. This step was necessary, I believe, to save
them from persecution at my brother's hands, because he had hinted at
some grievance with regard to the disposition of my mother's estate, a
grievance quite unfounded, since I had dealt with him most generously on
his release from prison. In order to conceal his presence from the
villagers until I had tried every argument to prevail on him to leave me
and my family in peace, I arranged to meet him at Leyburn, and drive to
the edge of the moor. I brought him to the house without anyone being
the wiser, but I soon found I was a child in his hands. He played on my
fear of publicity by agreeing to lie _perdu_ if I would supply him with
drink. I bore with the infliction for some days until, driven to
despair, I refused to purchase any more alcohol. There was a furious
scene between us, and he threatened not merely exposure, but legal
proceedings to force me to 'disgorge,' as he put it, his share of the
property left by our mother, whose maiden name, by the way, Faulkner,
is well known here. I realize now that James was in a state verging on
dementia, but I may sum up a distressing period of four days and nights
of suffering by saying that, in a final paroxysm of rage, he was seized
with apoplexy, and died almost instantaneously.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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