The Silent Shore: A RomanceBloundelle-Burton, John
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The Silent Shore: A Romance
Bloundelle-Burton, John
English fiction -- 19th century
"It is not known that he ever had any enemies," Penlyn said, as he
stood holding her cold hand in his. "He was not a man to make enemies,
I should think."
"He must have had some," she said, "or one at least--the one who slew
him." She paused, and gazed out of the open window by which they were
standing, gazed out for some moments; and he wondered what she was
thinking of now in connection with him. Then she turned to him again
and said:
"Do you think you could find out if he had any relatives?" and he
could not repress a slight start as she asked him this, though she did
not perceive it. "I never heard him say that he had any, but he may
have had. I should like to know."
"Why, Ida?"
"Because--because--oh, I do not know!--my brain is in a whirl.
But--if--if you should find out that he had any relations, then I
should like to know."
And again he asked: "Why, Ida?"
"I would stand face to face with them, if they were men," she
answered, speaking in a low tone of voice that almost appalled him,
"and look carefully at them to see if they, or one of those relations,
bore any resemblance to the shrouded figure that sprang upon him in my
dream."
"If there are any such they will, perhaps, be heard of," he said; but
as he spoke he prayed inwardly that she might never know of his
relationship to Cundall. If she ever learnt that, would she not look
to see if he bore any resemblance to that dark figure of her dream? He
was committed to silence--to silence not without shame, alas!--for
ever now, and he shuddered as he acknowledged this to himself. Once
more he bade her farewell, promising to come back soon, and then he
left her.
"She looks dreadfully ill and overcome by this sad calamity," he said
to Sir Paul before he also parted with him. "I hope she will not let
it weigh too much upon her mind."
"She cannot help it doing so, poor girl," the baronet said. "Of course
she told you that Cundall proposed to her on the night of his return,
not knowing that she had become engaged to you."
"She told me that he loved her, and that she learnt of his love on
that night for the first time," Penlyn answered.
"Yes, that was the case," Sir Paul said. "It was at Lady Chesterton's
ball that he proposed to her."
They talked for some little time further on the desire she had
expressed to see the murderer brought to justice, and Penlyn said he
feared she was exciting herself too much over the idea.
"Yes, I am afraid so," Sir Paul said; "yet, I suppose, the wish is
natural. She looks upon herself as, in some way, the person to whom
his death was first made known, and seems to think it is her duty to
try and aid in the discovery of the man who killed him. Of course, it
is impossible; and she can do nothing, though she has begged me to try
everything in my power to assist in finding his assassin. I would do
so willingly, for I admired Cundall's character very much; but there
is also nothing I could do that the police cannot do better."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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