When It Was Dark: The Story of a Great ConspiracyThorne, Guy
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When It Was Dark: The Story of a Great Conspiracy
Thorne, Guy
Christian fiction; Conspiracies -- Fiction; England -- Fiction
"I will here ask you to consider one or two other points. Professor
Llwellyn told us that he had a year's leave from the British Museum
owing to ill health. So long a rest presupposes a real illness, does it
not? Now, of course, one can never be sure of anything of this sort, but
it is, at least, curious and worthy of remark that Sir Robert seemed
outwardly in perfect health and with a hearty appetite. He also said
that he was _en route_ for Alexandria. Well, Alexandria is the nearest
port to Jaffa, which is but one day's ride from Jerusalem. Now comes a
still more curious part of my story. As I have told you, our parish in
Bloomsbury is one in which a great class of undesirable people have made
their home. It cannot be denied that it is a centre of some peculiarly
shameless vice. Much of the work of the clergy lies among women of a
certain class, and great tact and resolution is needed to deal with such
problems as these people present. Some months ago a woman, whose face
seemed in some vague way familiar to me, began to come to church. Once
or twice she seemed to show an inclination to speak to me or my
colleagues after the service, but she never actually did so. Eventually
she called on Ripon, and confessed her way of life. Her repentance
seemed sincere, and she was anxious to turn over a new leaf. It appeared
that the girl was a rather well-known dancer at one of the burlesque
theatres, and I must have seen her portrait on the hoardings and
advertisements of these places. She had been touched by something in one
of my sermons, it seems, and Ripon requested me to go and see her. I did
so, in the flat where she lived, and we had a chat. The poor thing was
suffering from an internal disease, and had only a year or two to live.
She seemed a kindly, sensible creature enough, vulgar and
pleasure-loving, but without any very great wickedness about her,
despite her wretched life. She wanted to get right away, to bury herself
in the country, and live a pure and quiet life until she died. The great
difficulty in the way was the man whose mistress she was, and of whom
she seemed in considerable fear. I explained to her that, with the help
of Father Ripon and myself, no harm should come to her from him, and
that her quiet disappearance from the scenes of her past life could be
very easily managed. Then it came out that the man in whose power she
was was none other than Sir Robert Llwellyn. _She told me that he had
been for some time in Palestine._ She was expecting him back every day.
While we were talking Sir Robert actually entered the room, fresh from
his journey. We had a fearful row, of course, and he would not go until
I threatened to use force, and then only because he was afraid of the
scandal. But before he went he seemed filled with a sort of coarse
triumph even in a moment of what must have been great discomfiture for
him. I had to explain what had happened to him. I told him frankly that
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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