“She would stay behind to hold the fort here—unless she wished to go, of course.”
“She is allowed free will?”
He laughed at me.
“The asperity of your tone tells me that you do not altogether relish the idea of visiting your native land.”
“For what purpose?”
“To complete a little business.”
“Revenge?”
“You could call it that.”
“You are very rich now.”
“Rich enough to do everything I have ever dreamed of .. > apart from one thing.”
“And what puts that out of your reach?”
“Time. Death.”
“Not even you are a match for such adversaries.”
“Not even I,” he admitted.
“Are you in the mood for confidences?”
“Are you in the mood to receive them?”
“Always … from you.”
He laughed with pleasure.
“My dear Nora, my dearest Nora, you have done a great deal for me.”
‘l Know. i discovered gold for you. “
“And perhaps more important … I hope more important … my youth.”
That’s a little enigmatic. “
“Perhaps one day you will understand.”
“One day? Why not this day?”
He was silent, raising one eyebrow in the familiar gesture which used to intimidate.
“We’ll see,” he said. He leaned back in his chair and regarded me seriously.
“You know my lawyer has been to England where he has completed certain business deals for me. There has been a little buying, a little selling of certain shares. But I’ll not bore you with the details. This has put me into a position with regard to certain people which gives me a great deal of gratification.”
I said quickly: “Does it concern Whiteladies?”
“You’re a clever girl, Nora. Do you know that the only way in which I was able to live through that most terrible period of my life was by dreaming of myself at Whiteladies … not a humble drawing-master but the owner. I saw myself sitting at that table in the hall. You should see that hall, Nora. It’s grand. It’s noble. The ceiling is carved with the arms of the family; the family motto is engraved there. Service to Queen and Country. Elizabeth was the Queen referred to and the decorations are Tudor roses in honour, of course, of the royal house which gave the family its home after turning the pious white ladies out into the countryside to starve or beg. The walls are panelled; the great fireplace is of stone and there are seats carved out of that stone on either side of it. There are suits of armour there in which the men of the family lived up to their motto. There is a dais at one end and a table on it. Kings and queens have dined at that table. wanted to dine at that table. I made a vow, Nora. I was going to be master of Whiteladies. I was going to take my revenge on the man who ruined my life. I knew there was one thing he cared for beyond all else … more than his wife or his daughter. Whiteladies!p>
So I said: One day I will take it from him. I will marry his daughter and sit at that table where kings and queens have sat. I will look over that hall and say: “Whiteladies is mine.”
“But he’s dead now. So is his daughter. And she was married, you told me. She married the fop whom you so despised.”
“I believed I would wipe away the difficulties.”
“But death and time defeated you, as you say. So what now?”
“I have sworn that Whiteladies shall be mine.”
“And you are going to England to take it.”
He smiled at me.
“You think I can’t do it.”
“I can’t see how you can if the owners won’t let it go.”
“You will, Nora.”
“You are wrong. I know you are wrong. I know that revenge brings no happiness to anyone. You have your home here. You have people who admire you and care for you. Why can’t you be content?”
His burning gaze was fixed on me.
“Does that include you, Nora?”
I answered him at once.
“You know it does.”
He leaned forward.
“Why, Nora, I could almost settle for that.”
“If you are wise, you will,” I said.
“You will drop this stupid notion of revenge. It was all very well when it was useful to get you through that unhappy period. Now it is of no use whatsoever and it is folly to continue with it.”
“You dare to scold me, Nora.”
Yes, I do. “
“No one else does.”
“Then you should be thankful that there is at least one person in your life who is not afraid of you.”
“I am thankful for that.”
“Then why do you-not rest here in your contentment?”
“Nora, all these years I have waited. I made a place for myself in this country. I was secure; I had my son; we worked together. I was a man of substance but I had made this solemn vow to myself. If you think I would give up the theme of my life you do not know me.”
“I know you well and I think that you are wrong. We grow up; we change. Because when we are young we set up goals, that does not mean we must continue to follow them when we have learned more wisdom.”
“But Whiteladies is a beautiful house, Nora. Wouldn’t you like to live in such a house?”
I hesitated.
“I like this house.”
“You know this is an imitation a poor copy. Come, admit it.”
“I do admit that the original Whiteladies is a fine old house.”
“And you would enjoy calling such a place your home?”
“Yes, if it were mine by right.”
“And wouldn’t it be, if you had bought and paid for it?”
“I suppose so. But the family who had lived in it for generations would never sell it.”
“They might be forced to. We are only just beginning, Nora. My plans are in their infancy. They could not begin until I had made a vast fortune. Now, thanks to you, that is exactly what I have done. Did I tell you the whole story, Nora? Arabella married the man her father chose for her— a weakling, he was. His name was Hilary Cardew—Sir Hilary Cardew he would be when his father died. He could trace his family back to the Conqueror—even farther than the Dorians. He had a certain amount of money. The Cardews’ place was some ten miles from Whiteladies. The families had always been friends and young Hilary was meant for Arabella right from the start.”
“And when you went away she married him.”
“I didn’t hear of this until years later, not until I was able to send someone over to find out.”
“Why didn’t you go yourself?”
“I had vowed to myself that I would not set foot in England until I did so as a millionaire. Besides, I had married Maybella. I had a son and daughter of my own.”
“You might have been satisfied with that.”
“I am a man who always demands the ultimate satisfaction. “
“But doesn’t one always have to compromise in life?”
“I don’t.”
“But that is exactly what you have had to do.”
“Only with the idea of waiting for complete satisfaction. I always believed that if I had the money I needed I should get what I wanted. I wanted Whiteladies … and Arabella at that time.”
“But she had a husband and you had a wife.”
“My wife died with Stirling’s birth. I thought I would go back and find Arabella unable to maintain the estate. In fact, had I had the money, that was something I might have arranged. Did I tell you that Sir Henry was a man who did not believe in other people’s wasting their time? I gave Arabella a drawing lesson each day, but it was only a matter of two hours at the most. A resident drawing-master was an expense; therefore I acted also as Sir Henry’s secretary. I had a flair for business and was soon managing his investments. So I knew exactly how he was placed. He had extravagant tastes; he was. a connoisseur of wines; he drank rather to excess; he gambled. His financial status had become a little shaky even while I was there. That was why he wanted the Cardew marriage—to bolster up the family fortunes. But Sir James Cardew was another such as himself. I used to hear them discussing their business affairs. I wrote letters from my employer to Sir James and to his London brokers.