This Man's Wife Part 48

"Would my dolls all be burnt, grandpa?"

"Oh, I hope not, my pet," he said soothingly; "but never mind if they are: grandpa will buy you some better ones."

"But I liked those, grandpa, and--and is my little bed burnt too?"

"No, my pet; I think not. I hope not. They put the fire out before it did a great deal of harm."

The child laid her head down again for a few moments, and then looked up anxiously.

"Thibs says the bad men tore the place all to pieces last night and broke all the furniture and looking-gla.s.ses. Oh! grandpa, I--I--I--"

Suffering still from the nervous shock of the nocturnal alarm, the poor child's breast heaved, and she burst into a pitiful fit of sobbing, which was some time before it subsided.

"Don't think about it all, my pet," said the doctor, tenderly stroking the soft little head. "Never mind about the old house, you shall come and live here with grandpa, and we'll have such games in the old garden again."

"Yes, and I may smell the flowers, and--and--but I want our own house too."

"Ah, well, we shall see. There, you are not to think any more about that now."

"Why doesn't Mr Bayle come, grandpa? Did the bad people hurt him very much?"

"Oh no, my darling: he's all right, and he punished some of them."

"And when will papa come?"

"Hush, child," cried Millicent in a harsh, strange voice, "I cannot hear to hear you."

The child looked at her in a scared manner and clung to her grandfather, but struggled from his embrace directly after, and ran to her mother, throwing her arms about her, and kissing her and sobbing.

"Oh, my own dear, dear mamma!"

"My darling, my darling!" cried Millicent, pa.s.sionately clasping her to her breast; and Mrs Luttrell drew away to leave them together, creeping quietly to the doctor's side, and laying her hand upon his shoulder, looking a while in his eyes as if asking whether she were doing wisely.

The doctor nodded, and for a few minutes there was no sound heard but Millicent's sobs.

"I wish Mr Bayle would come," said Julia all at once in her silvery childish treble.

"Silence, child!" cried Millicent fiercely. "Father dear, speak to me; can you not help me in this trouble? You know the charge is all false?"

"My darling, I will do everything I can."

"Yes, yes, I know, but every one seems to have turned against us--Sir Gordon, Mr Bayle, the whole town. It is some terrible mistake: all some fearful error. How dare they charge my husband with a crime?"

She gazed fiercely at her father as she spoke, and the old man stood with his arms about Mrs Luttrell and his lips compressed.

"You do not speak," cried Millicent; "surely you are not going to turn against us, father?"

"Oh! Milly, my own child," sobbed Mrs Luttrell, running to her to take her head to her breast, "don't speak to us like that; as if your father would do anything but help you."

"Of course, of course," cried Millicent excitedly; "but there, I must put off all this pitiful wailing."

She rose in a quiet, determined way, and wiped her eyes hastily, arranged her hair, and began to walk up and down the room. Then, stopping, she forced a smile, and bent down and kissed Julia, sending a flash of joy through her countenance.

"Go and look round the garden, darling. Pick mamma a nice bunch of flowers."

"Will you come too, grandpa?" cried the child eagerly.

"I'll come to you presently, darling," said the doctor nodding; and the child bounded to the open window with a sigh of relief, but ran back to kiss each in turn.

"Now we can speak," cried Millicent, panting, as she forced herself to be calm. "There is no time for girlish sobbing when such a call as this is made upon me. The whole town is against poor Robert; they have wrecked and burnt our house, and they have cast him into prison."

"My darling, be calm, be calm," said the doctor soothingly.

"Yes, I am calm," she said, "and I am going to work--and help my husband. Now tell me, What is to be done first? He is in that dreadful place."

"Yes, my child, but leave this now. I will do all I can, and will tell you everything. You have had no sleep all night; go and lie down now for a few hours."

"Sleep! and at a time like this!" cried Millicent. "Now tell me. He will be brought up before the magistrates to-day?"

"Yes, my child."

"And he must have legal advice to counteract all this cruel charge that has been brought against him. Poor fellow! so troubled as he has been of late."

The doctor looked at her with the lines in his forehead deepening.

"If they had given him time he would have proved to them how false all these attacks are. But we are wasting time. The lawyer, father, and he will have to be paid. You will help me, dear; we must have some money."

The doctor exchanged glances with his wife.

"You have some, of course?" he said, turning to Millicent.

"I? No. Robert has been so pressed lately. But you will lend us all we want. You have plenty, father."

The doctor was silent, and half turned away.

"Father!" cried Millicent, catching his hand, "don't you turn from me in my distress. I tell you Robert is innocent, and only wants time to prove it to all the world. You will let me have the money for his defence?"

The doctor remained silent.

"Father!" cried Millicent in a tone of command.

"Hus.h.!.+ my darling; your poor father has no money," sobbed Mrs Luttrell, "and sometimes lately we have not known which way to turn for a few s.h.i.+llings."

"Oh, father!" cried Millicent reproachfully. "But there's the house.

You must borrow money on its security, enough to pay for the best counsel in London. Robert will repay you a hundredfold."

The doctor turned away and walked to the window.